Fear. Shock. Complete surprise. All of these emotions, and some choice few words, were all associated with victims of our Hornblasters Shocker 540 Conductor's Special. Hearing the constant train horn battles at truck shows left a bitter taste in our mouths and created an almost hatred for the loud devices. A few bad apples at a truck show shouldn't ruin our freeway fun, right? After fighting the urge to add train horns to one of our project trucks, we finally made the call to Hornblasters and ordered a Conductor Special (or train horn lingo for really friggin' loud horns).

When GM unveiled its 6.2L V-8 for fullsize trucks and SUVs in 2008, it sent a shockwave to its competitors and set the horsepower bar to an all-time high. Available in the GMC Yukon Denali, the LS-based engine produced 380 hp and 417 lb-ft of torque. For most people, that much power would make for miles of smiles, but for us gearheads, more power is always needed. Jerry Magnuson and his team at Magnuson Products in Ventura, California, have been producing roots-style superchargers for cars and trucks for some 40 years. The Magna Charger Radix Max intercooled supercharger systems are known for their incredible neck-snapping, low-end torque and overall horsepower gains with immediate boost response. This Magna Charger Radix Max supercharger is offered in three finishes: gray, black, and polished with a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty.inline_mediumwraptextrightPPC Customs30810204/tech/engine/0913tr_magnuson_mp1900_supercharger_installation0913tr_22+magnuson_mp1900_supercharger_installation+ppc_customs.jpgTrue

Coming up with one of the brightest (literally) ideas we've seen in a long time- the Rayzer RS is a one-of-a-kind, wide beam driving light invented in Europe, designed to help rally car drivers improve their nighttime driving performance. How do you provide a new spin on an old situation? The Rayzer RS is a new lighting package located inside the vehicle. A special mounting bracket holds the module tightly against the windshield and it is hardly visible from inside, positioned directly behind the rearview mirror. Compact in size but big on performance, the Rayzer RS comes into its own when the sun goes down. Wirelessly triggered by the high beam switch, the HID Xenon bulbs convert night into day. Providing three times more illumination than standard headlights, the lights in the Rayzer are rated at 3,000 hours or about five years of normal driving. Mounting was a snap. Using a docking plate that's attached to the windshield, the carbon fiber Rayzer module easily snapped in place behind the rearview mirror. Follow along while, Mike Ohren, ace electronics technician, accomplished the simple task of adding new lights and increased nighttime safety to our project truck.

Door Panels
Going completely wild, Daniel Stewart's cover F-150 had 100-percent fiberglass door panels. Complete with plenty of audio, a huge monitor, and suede-wrapped inserts, the door panels were also airbrushed to show the water flowing from one end of the truck to the other.

No one drives around in their truck wondering if their seats will support and keep them safe in the unfortunate event of an accident, crash, or rollover. Why should we, our seats are good enough, right? Wrong. For this story, we're looking at how factory seats need to be upgraded, just like new tires, new suspension, and other safety devices. Factory trucks are designed for minimum off-road use and in the event you use your truck for more than just a jaunt to the local fishing hole, your seats may be a weak link inside your cab.

A sick custom truck must roll with the right stance, wheel, tires and paint, but that's only a fraction of the complete custom equation. How about the interior? The truck's interior contributes to its overall style, comfort, and personality. The dash is the interior's focal point, which houses gauges, speakers, A/C vents, and audio components. A full waterfall center console serves two purposes: bridging the dash to the back of the cab, and separating the bucket seats. The dash and center console can be constructed from wood, fiberglass, aluminum, or steel. A good sheetmetal sculptor can create incredible contour, convex, curves and radiuses that contribute to a shocking interior.

What gets used and abused inside your truck more than anything else? Simple-your seats. You're always going in and out of your truck, wearing wet clothes when it's raining, and constantly moving around while driving. All that wreaks havoc on your seats. Long gone are the days of throwing a blanket or towel over your damaged or discolored seats and we can all agree that stock seats don't make an interior look good. We've found a great solution that keeps your interior looking stylish and keeps money in your wallet. Using a CAD computer system to create vehicle-specific seat covers, CALTrend knows a thing or two about custom-fitted covers. CALTrend is a Southern California-based company that produces high-quality "I Can't Believe It's Not Leather" seat covers with the look and touch of leather, but it's not. Using a synthetic-leather fabric, the seat covers are available in eight popular colors, cost less than real leather, last longer, and are easier to maintain. Sounds good to us.

There aren't many convenient ways to add custom-looking gauges to your interior. Sure, you can break out the fiberglass and incorporate some gauges into your one-off center console, but for the best bang-for-the-buck, pillar pods pack an incredible value. When one of our favorite project trucks needed some specialty gauges installed to keep track of some important engine functions, we knew that Auto Meter's A-pillar pod was a quick fix that would look great, especially after it was paint-matched to the rest of the interior. Once again we headed to Auto Essentials in Thousand Oaks, California, where Richard Chronister and his crew had the information flowing into the cab in no time.

From the Driver Deat
After the Ford 9-inch rearend was assembled it was installed into a '60 Chevy El Camino. The potent small-block Chevy produces 400+ horsepower to the rearend and with 275/40R18 tires that measure out to 26.5 inches tall, the crew at Currie determined that a 3.25 ratio would be best to send that power to the ground. The 3.25 ring-and-pinion gear set delivered snap off the line and spun right into the engine's highway comfort zone at 2,200 rpm at 70 mph.

In a world filled with ho-hum grilles and gauges that all look similar, it was refreshing to see No Fear bring its young and edgy styling to truck accessories. Stemming from the current trends found in its California-based clothing lines, No Fear has just released a line of high-quality stainless steel mesh grilles featuring large emblems of your choice. Made in the USA with a three-year limited warranty, these grilles are in-your-face thanks to No Fear's side-by-side .50 caliber pistol emblem, winged skull design, or its stylized "SoCal" emblem. You also get to choose between chrome-plated stainless steel or black-powdercoated stainless steel-whichever you prefer.

We knew it wouldn't be long before the aftermarket embraced the new '09 F-150. With a solid chassis and a world-class interior, it's bound to be a top pick for truck enthusiasts as it has been for years. For this month's Fantastic Four, Industrial Motoring in Anaheim, California, helped us out and let us shoot while they built a blacked-out F-150 to show off RBP's latest offerings. RBP's new 6-inch lift kit will fit 4x4 or 2WD trucks, like this one, and transform a plain-Jane truck into an off-road machine that will draw envious stares on the street or in the dunes. As with all of our Fan 4 stories, this one included RBP's new intake, exhaust kit, and mesh grille. With Toyo M/T tires mounted on RBP wheels, the F-150 went from a run-of-the-mill cruiser, to dominating the freeways and rugged off-road terrain the way only a new custom truck can.

From The Driver Seat
Before DVD monitors, seating in the backseat was boring, about the only entertainment was to watch the scenery go by. Vizualogic has refined and perfected the headrest monitor viewing with clarity of bright vivid colors, and incredible interfacing with the vehicles audio sound system. By putting the remote wireless headphones on you are instantly consumed in a surround sound atmosphere of your own. The audio/visual entertainment can be adjusted by the handheld remote without leaving your seat. Vizualogic has improved the way we see things from the backseat.

From The Driver's Seat
There are really no downfalls to upgrading your sound system. Well, given that all the components are wired and connected correctly-- blown amps and speakers, or drained batteries would certainly qualify as legitimate buzz kills. Quality components also have everything to do with a positive audio experience, so our Suzuki was given the royal treatment with excellent products from Polk Audio and Sony and expert installation from the crew at Audio Innovations.

Your Questions Answered

Your Questions Answered

During the warmer months, air conditioning is a definite must, but for those cool summer nights, it's great to cruise around with the windows down and the stereo turned way up. Very few late-model trucks are purchased without power windows and door locks, but in the case of our '00 Chevy S-10, leaning over to the passenger side to crank the window down or to flip open the manual door lock for a passenger has developed into a very annoying routine. Although the side lunge motion has turned into a quick, convenient way to get a little exercise while waiting at a stoplight, we'd rather save the effort for the gym.

Factory gauges usually only show the bare minimum of information which is hardly adequate for a modified vehicle. As aftermarket products are added to your truck, the need to closely monitor your truck's vitals increases. For lifted trucks and trucks that tow, transmission fluid temperature is critical. For trucks with forced induction, boost pressure, intake air temperature, and ignition timing are important to maintaining a healthy engine. David Lamanno's '04 Silverado will soon house a potent big-cube LSX engine, and the last thing he wants is to destroy his investment, especially if a heads-up from a set of gauges will allow him to prevent mechanical failure and prolong the life of his truck. SoCal Diesel had just the right piece to house two Aeroforce gauges in a spot that was both highly visible and unused, the factory overhead console, and the Aeroforce gauges provide a plethora of information from the truck's On-Board Diagnostic II (OBD-II) port, so we wouldn't even have to install any sensors. We visited Auto Essentials in Thousand Oaks, California, where Dave left the truck in the experienced hands of shop owner Richard Chronister for a quick and easy install.

If you own a Colorado you often get the short end of the stick when it comes to aftermarket parts selection. There are options for grilles, and Street Scene Equipment has some options for exterior styling, but the interior is pretty much up to you. While at our Havoc Fresno show last year, we met a Colorado owner who happened to be a CNC machinist. Ron "The Wolf" Sinople decided to make a few custom pieces for his Colorado and his friends were soon asking if he could make pieces for them. As the requests grew, Ron started Sin Sity Kustomz to cater to the demand and has done the R&D work on several billet pieces for Colorados, Canyons, Isuzu I-series trucks, and H3s. For this month's Basic Budget Bolt-on, we'll show you how to ditch the boring, drab plastic shift lever for a black nickel-plated billet piece as we start the customization on our Colorado.