2009 Suzuki Equator - Project Street Shark

Arriving at L&G Enterprises with a detailed rendering created by Nate Shrum, of North Face Graphix, we knew what was in store for the Suzuki and we also knew that Theresa Contreras had the talent to pull off the look. Before paint was sprayed, the L&G team removed the badges, trim, and shaved the rear tailgate handle. Using the factory black as a basecoat, Theresa used Summit Racing's new line of single-stage acrylic urethane paints to spray the shark fin-styled graphics onto the Equator. Summit's Ultra Pearl Blue and Grey Metallic were used to give the Suzuki an aggressive appearance that perfectly matches the Suzuki GSX-R750 motorcycle we planned to mate with the truck. A slight tint was sprayed onto the headlights and taillights, giving the mid-size truck fullsize aggression. Capping off the great looks is a one-piece Street Scene Equipment Speed Grille in black chrome with a blue painted Suzuki "S". Painted-to-match Koko Kuture rings installed on the 22-inch DBL-G wheels tied the colors together and made the Equator look fast sitting still. With one week to go, we had ourselves a sweet-looking ride, but looks are only skin deep, so we dug a little deeper and took a drive to Audio Innovations.

Joe Provenzano, owner of Audio Innovations, in Glendora, California, is no stranger to building award-winning car audio systems, and when we challenged him to create an insane audio system, he didn't disappoint. Joe and his team quickly tore out the factory gear and replaced each speaker with Polk Audio components. A Sony DVD/navigation head unit was installed and then the rear jump seats removed. Why remove the rear seats? Simple, Audio Innovations had big plans to add big bass to our mid-sized hauler. Using wood and fiberglass, a rear sub enclosure was built to house three 12-inch Polk Audio subs and three Polk Audio amps. Theresa, at L&G Enterprises, then painted it to match and we had ourselves a certifiable concussion machine. An extended cab Equator with not one, not two, but three 12-inch subs meant anyone riding shotgun had to be warned and sign a waiver. At full volume, it sounds more like you're in a woofer, than in a truck--pretty much just the way we like it. Now having only two seats, we delivered our buckets to Classic Soft Trim, and when they returned them to us, we had blue and slate suede inserts with grey leather on the outsides. The look perfectly complements our Project Street Shark and also adds some flair to the dark interior. If you're keeping score, at this point we had two days before our deadline came and went (around this time, the sound of Monster cans being opened could be heard all over the office).

Continuing with the custom tradition, we also installed a MagnaFlow high-flow exhaust system, freeing up some much-needed ponies. Picking up the phone, we actually swindled a motorcycle from Suzuki. That's right, we conned our way into picking up a Suzuki GSX-R 750 street bike and before the suits at Suzuki could reconsider, we quickly drove away. With less than a day before transport, we contacted Stylin' Trucks for a set of aluminum load ramps to help get our Gixxer in and out of the bed. Arriving to Suzuki USA in style, it was official, we had a hot-new project in the transport rig, and did so with three hours to spare. Nice work everyone.