You have seen this truck before. Although it may be unrecognizable now, but Jim Cantron's '02 Chevrolet Avalanche has been plastered all over the internet and has been featured in a few other magazine titles but he saved the best for Truckin'. Since the truck has last seen the light of day, it has been torn apart and locked inside the confines of Full Armor Customs' garage, Jim's Springfield, Missouri, fabrication shop. Seemingly endless hours were spent giving the Avalanche a refreshing facelift, which included new paint and eye-catching body modifications. The buzz surrounding Jim's Avalanche, which has been affectionately named Frostbite, has definitely put a freeze on the competition since it was first introduced to the scene. Hopefully, Jim is ready to weather another blizzard of praise.
One glaring attribute of the Frostbite's new charm is the paint scheme, which is a tribal scallop montage that Jim designed and sprayed himself. The House of Kolor Midnight Sapphire, Orion Silver, and Burple Candy hues detail almost every inch of the truck's body. The factory GM Summit White still remains a vital shade in the color palette since it plays nicely into the Avalanche's arctic ambiance. The body cladding that runs rampant on most Avalanche models was strategically smoothed and painted to make for a cleaner and uncluttered appearance. The paint has also dripped itself onto the undercarriage, under the hood, and into the doorjambs, which has been perfectly applied as to not disturb any detail lines.
And speaking of lines, it was tough to fight through the crowd to take a look at the unique, cantilever suicide rear doors that Jim custom-fabbed at his Full Armor Customs shop. The front two doors have received the ol' Lambo treatment from Vertical Doors Inc. The truck looks something like a robotic, Transformer-esque snowbird extending its wings while preparing for flight, but in a good way. Seeing any vehicle go from stock to shock simply by opening its doors is rather impressive. What better way to represent a new company than to have a rolling, award-winning business card that displays the high caliber vision and craftsmanship for hire? Jim also whipped up a matching set of front and rear quick release drop bumpers, which simultaneously satisfy the bumper height regulations in his hometown and make the Avalanche a bit more photogenic with only a minute's worth of labor.
Jim did, however, invest a little more time sending his truck into Himalayan heights. A Whiplash 10-inch cradle lift and Pro Comp nitrogen-charged reservoir shocks help keep the front of the truck higher in the atmosphere, while original Full Armor Custom's frost-resistant components are featured in the rear. A Full Armor four-link, lengthened track bar, 'hellbent' shock crossmember and a sway bar replacement have been positioned underneath the bed. 18,000-pound Phoenix semi dump trailer 'bags and a Viair 450 air compressor make for an exciting change in altitude. So much so that 10,000-pound limiting straps were required to keep the truck from leaping right off the ground. To fill up the space between the inner fender and the streets, Jim selected a set of 22x9-inch Jesse James .357 Mag wheels and 41/15.50/22 Interco Irok radial super swamper tires.