In 2002, I ran across Eric Collier and his ‘02 Chevy Silverado, you see pictured here, at the Bowen Campbell Auto Expo. At that point in time, Eric’s truck was a mild custom with a lowered 4/6 suspension, plain black paint, APC taillights, and a low profile painted to match tonneau lid. Well, all I have to say is what a difference a year can make! Shortly after taking pictures of his truck in 2002, it was immediately garaged for several months for an extreme make over!

To begin with, Eric decided to get rid of a few things, first to go was the static suspension. Thanks to Wicked Kustoms (Lavergne, TN), Eric’s suspension is now adjusted as needed with a set of 2600lb Slam Specialties air bags at all four corners. The bags are aired up with two Viair 450 compressors with ½ inch lines and valves connected to a 12 gallon tank.

With the suspension scrapin’ the asphalt with ease, the next item on Eric’s list was a set of wicked dubs to set off the look just right. Eric appreciates chrome wheels just as much as the next guy, but instead opted to go the polished aluminum route. Billet Specialties 20 inch Twisted Talladegas caught Eric’s eye and also his wallet! A set of four 20 inchers were strapped onto each corner, with a 20 inch spare riding in the bed in case of a blow out, wrapped in 255/35/20 BFG rubber.

Eric was happy with the look of his truck thus far, but found himself scratching his head thinking “You know, I could go even wilder” and so wild it was to be! To go from mild to wild, Eric called upon the skills of Kings Kustom Auto (Joelton, TN). The first thing to go was the stock interior. Kings Kustom Auto replaced all of the stock fabric with a sporty black and gray tweed interior. The head rests were removed from each seat and the stock bucket seats were reshaped to fit the “wild look” that Eric was going for. In each seat, a blue outline of a tribal flame was stitched into the fabric, front and back. The stock center console was removed and replaced with a custom built, tweed covered, center console that flows from the dash all the way to the custom made back seats. The headliner was also replaced with a gray tweed headliner as well. A few billet accessories were also added throughout the cab and other than the audio/visual, the interior was complete.

Speaking of Audio/Visual, that is the next item Eric decided to have customized. The center console is fitted with four 12 inch Kicker Comp VR’s, powered with a 1100 D Directed Amp. The stock speakers in the doors were swapped out for a set of Alpine speakers. The tunes are sent to each speaker with an Alpine DVD/CD player. Finishing off the audio visual, is a 5" LCD screen in the center console and a 14.1 inch Farenheight flip down LCD screen located on the headliner.

When the final touches were finished up on the interior, it was time to make a few “wild” body modifications. For starters the rear bumper was ditched for an IF Customs molded in steel roll pan. The taillights, tailgate handle, and door handles were also shaved to give the truck a smoother appearance. In the roll pan, two 12 inch LEDs were installed to ward off any close followers. On the nose, a Street Scene painted to match bumper cover was installed with 3 inch round APC fog lights, a set of APC projector headlights, APC clear corner lenses, a billet bow tie, billet grille, and Billet Specialties wiper arms. Finishing off the “wild look”, the very talented Tim Armstrong of Kreative Kustoms went to work by laying down a set of mean looking tribal ghost flames throughout the body.

Other than the inside of the bed of Eric’s hauler, this truck looks complete, but as Eric puts it, it will always be “unfinished business”. Unfinished or not, we say hats off to Eric’s sense of contemporary style and determination to own one wicked hauler!

Shout Out: "A special thanks to everyone that helped me in any way. My truck is currently for sale at: $29,500. Contact ESM if you are interested and they will give me your contact information. Serious inquires only." -Eric