Brian "Shady" Baty, from Ellenwood, Georgia, is a humble guy who was quick to thank his friends for all of their hard work on his ride. With humility like that, you may think that his ride was a mild custom with some do-it-yourself mods-the end. Whereas he did perform much of the work himself, his truck is far from mild. Tucking 24-inch billet wheels, with a two-tone paint scheme, and a snake skin-covered interior, Brian's Chevy Crew Cab is in a league of its own. So how does a daily driver go from a cruiser to full-blown trophy-snagger? All it took was just a little push from his wife, Karen and a little help from his friends.
Building and driving several mini-trucks for years, Brian admits Karen wanted something bigger. In his own words, "She mentioned that I should stop screwing around and build exactly what I've always wanted to build." Besides giving Brian the green light to go buy a fullsize truck, Karen also motivated Brian to go wild and showcase what his friend, Robert Robinson's shop, Auto Extremes, in Conyers, Georgia, could do-sounds like the perfect woman to us. Three years later, Brian has himself a show-winning fullsize and more importantly, a happy wife. As with all good things, his truck build took work, and a great deal of it.
Telling us that "trailers are for horses and drag cars, and there is not a tail or parachute on this truck", Brian needed to have a truck that drove as good as it looked. Starting with the frame and body, Brian teamed with Dennis Ricks and Robert Robinson, his cohorts at Auto Extremes, to perform the 2 1/2-inch body drop. With the body ready to lay low, the frame was notched and custom lower and upper control arms were bolted into place. DJM drop spindles were then bolted to the A-arms and new spring pockets were fabricated and welded up front-a necessary step for the Slam Specialties airbag installation. Even though the front is set up for 26-inch wheels, Brian wanted billet wheels and found his perfect rolling stock in B.A.D. Havoc billet hoops mounted in 295/30R24 Toyo Proxes tires. Braking is handled by an upgraded hydraboost system from a Heavy Duty Chevy, which sends higher brake pressure to a Baer Eradispeed setup, complete with 15-inch rotors. Out back, the Auto Extremes crew had to customize the KP Components six-link kit to get everything perfect, but once the mods were made, the Silverado laid out over the 24s. Using KP shocks and the KP Watts-link, Brian says "the truck is still very street-able and even the wife does not mind riding in it for long periods of time." With that said, the truck may ride closer to a Cadillac than a Chevy.