Starting out as a daily-driver work truck, this '97 Chevy dualie has seen its share of miles. David Hernandez, of Fremont, California, used the truck for everything to getting to and fro to loading up marble and granite when working at his business, Atlas Marble & Granite. That was then and this is now. Now the Crew Cab features an award-winning custom paintjob, 'bagged stance, and wild audio system. Talking about the 4 1/2 year journey brings a smile to his face as David just points to it and says "look at it." We took one glance and now we can't stop staring.
Staring is now the norm for this truck as the dualie was dropped off to David's brother, Jimmy who shaved the door handles, added the Escalade front clip, and completely welded close the tailgate and roll pan. Elvin Alvino applied the PPG blue-black pearl base coat and then Josh Stokes, of Greedy Fly Custom Paint, located in San Jose, stepped in and went to work with the graphics. Endless days of taping, masking, and painting went into the awesome paint job, which includes House of Kolor Kandy colors and ice pearls, airbrushed skulls, and tribal graphics. Now that David had himself a rolling work of automotive art, he turned his focus to the suspension.
Kenny McCardie, of Auto Sound Specialists in Union City, California, went to work building a 1-ton truck that could lay low and still be a driver. Airbags all the way around were installed, along with a four-link in the rear. Air is supplied by three 5-gallon chrome tanks and anything that could be taken apart was either painted or chromed. While at Auto Sound Specialists, Installation Manager Ruben took on the task of creating the huge clear Plexiglass bed floor and fiberglassed bed. Hours and hours of mixing, applying the fiberglass, and sanding were performed to get the perfect shape David has hoping for. Once it was 100-percent, Josh stepped in and painted the huge enclosure to match the rest of the truck. It turned out better than David could have hoped for. Good looks and a low suspension can only go so far-it was time for some tunes.