In April of 2007, I received a random e-mail, from a random guy, who asked if we wanted to be a part of his truck build. He mentioned wanting to be featured in the magazine upon the truck's completion. After replying to his inquiry, I received yet another e-mail asking what it would take to be on the cover. Having been asked the question around 2,000 times, I quickly rattled off the necessary modifications, with the top of my list being a custom paintjob. His response was "OK, I'll do that." Having heard that scenario around 1,985 times, I dismissed the e-mail as another guy with big dreams. Almost a year to the day, I stand corrected, as Dave Timm of Springfield, Illinois, has himself a Truckin' magazine cover.
It takes a rare breed of man to want something so badly that he'll do whatever it takes to accomplish his goal. That's Dave, a hard-working police officer, SWAT team member, and explosive team specialist-who almost every night after work, builds trucks with his brother Brian. Their shop was appropriately named 2 Brothers Custom Trucks, located in Springfield. Together, the Timm brothers have successfully built dozens of trucks for local truck enthusiasts and dealerships. When it came time to build his own truck, Dave didn't take the task lightly, and with credit card in hand, he went on an aftermarket shopping spree.
Sticking with our original conversation, Dave sought out to find a shop in the area that could pull off a custom paintjob worthy of a cover truck. Dave found Jeff Schroeder of Attitude Airbrushing in Springfield. Jeff is the owner and artist at Attitude, so he was able to guarantee the end result the Timm brothers were going after. After dropping off the all-white GMC to Attitude, the truck was quickly transformed into a menacing rolling canvas. Before any pigments were sprayed, Jeff added a Street Scene front bumper cover, Street Scene bolt-on roll pan, and a SnugTop SL lid. Under Jeff's watchful care, the truck received vibrant colors from RM. White, candy red, yellow, silver, and blue were all applied to the truck. The key to this truck was Jeff's airbrushing work. For more on that, check out the full paint how-to on page 102.
Reassembling the truck, Dave added '06 Chevy taillights, Street Scene Speed Grilles, and Denali-style projector headlights. The end result is a truck worthy of the Hitman title. Trying to make a show deadline, the Timm brothers actually came to Jeff's shop and tore down the suspension while some of the paint and body were taking place. That's dedication.