A Homebuilt Silverado With a Unique Twist

At Street Trucks, we specialize in featuring unique custom trucks. Chad “Chadcantcolor” Carothers, creator of Index Ink, is a good example of someone taking a factory rig and turning it into a one-of-a-kind ride. At first glance you might think his ’14 Silverado, Self-Made, is just a newer truck with a nice lift, but if you take a closer look, you’ll notice that there’s a lot more to it.

CHAD HAS HAD MANY INFLUENCES THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE, AND HE WANTED TO REPRESENT ALL OF THEM IN ONE BUILD.”

Chad has had many influences throughout his life, and he wanted to represent all of them in one build. When Chad was a kid, his grandfather was a dirt track racer, and later ran a body shop/speed shop once he retired from competition. Chad got hooked on custom trucks when he was very young, watching his grandfather produce wild rides. He also got involved in several action sports, and tried his hand at creating art using a variety of media.

His family moved quite a bit, bouncing around between several states on the East Coast and in the South. After high school, he ventured out to Southern California to attend college and jumpstart a career as an artist. Once he arrived in the Golden State, though, his school days were short lived. He realized that  he wasn’t interested in having other people tell him how to draw. Instead of racking up debt paying for school, Chad decided to take a shot at selling his own artwork.

His passion for art and action sports collided, and he’s now the creative director of the lifestyle brand known as Index Ink. Chad is also capable of working on his own rides, and he’s built several. Since most of his custom vehicles are slammed with big wheels, they’re not his first choice when traveling out to events to promote Index Ink. A lot of motocross and BMX events take place in remote areas where he isn’t guaranteed the luxury of driving over smooth paved roads.

When the new body style ’14 Chevy Silverado made its way to dealerships, Chad saw an opportunity to create a unique lifted truck. He wanted to showcase his talents by building a vehicle that incorporated some of his artwork and that he could take out to action sport events. He wanted to be able to load the inside with sponsored riders and haul bikes or merchandise in the bed, and he wanted to park the truck at the Index Ink booth to attract attention to his business.

Chad purchased this 4×4 truck with the LTZ package and started working on it in his home driveway. A 10-inch lift kit from McGaughys lifts the truck up and gives it better ground clearance. Strut extenders, spindles, differential relocating mounts and drop-down brackets with compression bars live up front. In the rear, the kit includes a set of leaf springs, blocks and shocks. Finishing the stance is a set of Fuel Off-Road Maverick two-piece wheels with Nitto Trail Grappler tires.

The truck already came with a 5.3L direct-injection V-8 that has a respectable amount of power to get this truck moving; however, the larger-than-stock rollers are heavy, and it takes more energy to get them going. To combat this, engine performance was improved with an Injen cold air intake and an Edge tuner. On the other end of the V-8 a cat-back exhaust from Gibson enhances performance and emits a nice tone from the mufflers.

NOT ONLY WAS CHAD ABLE TO ADD HIS DISTINCTIVE FLAVOR TO THE BUILD, IT ALL CAME TOGETHER AS A REALLY GOODLOOKING RIDE.”

On the outside, the truck looks mean. It was painted DuPont Black with flat inhibitor. Just to prove that modern vehicles can be built in old-school style, Chad created a makeshift booth in his driveway and painted all of the exterior pieces. Like any single-stage matte paint job it takes skill, because imperfections can’t be color sanded, which leaves just one chance to get it right. This is when his years of experience in the art world came in handy. To accent the rest of the exterior, he added a Grillecraft insert to the front and modified the headlights to remove the amber reflectors.

The wheel lips were dramatically altered, and you’ll notice that most of the new suspension components were covered with artwork using One Shot enamel. The interior is where most of the artwork was done, and the headliner is the main attraction. Chad pulled it out, shaped gallery canvas material over it and bonded the two together. The headliner and other interior plastics were primed and painted white before black artwork was applied. These pieces were all covered in clear so that they can be cleaned easily without wiping away the artwork.

The enhanced new body style combined with the one-off artwork gets this truck a lot of attention. Not only was Chad able to add his distinctive flavor to the build, it all came together as a really good-looking ride. The best part about it is that Chad has built a name for himself that’s clearly embodied in this truck. ST

---

TRUCK SPECS

OWNERS

Chad Carothers
2014 Chevy Silverado LTZ 4×4 Index Ink
Orange County, CA

ENGINE/TRANS

• 5.3L EcoTec3
• Injen polished cold air intake Edge tuner
• Gibson cat-back exhaust system
• Custom-painted engine covers and radiator shroud
• Six-speed transmission
• Factory driveshaft brushed and custom painted

SUSPENSION

• McGaughys 10-inch lift kit
• Custom art done with One Shot enamel

WHEELS & TIRES

• 22×12 Fuel Maverick two- piece wheels with custom artwork
• 325/50R22 Nitto Trail Grappler

BODY & PAINT

• DuPont matte black and gloss black on hood, roof and bumper insert
• Matte black vinyl-wrapped panels to protect paint
• All chrome was color matched
• Spray-in bedliner
• Modified headlights with Morimoto HID projector conversion
• Reshaped and color- matched front air dam
• Satin brushed metal finish fog light buckets
• Grillecraft MX series grille inserts color matched
• All badges removed

INTERIOR

• Headliner covered in canvas and custom painted
• Custom-painted plastics
• Kenwood component speakers in doors

Special Thanks: The crew at McGaughys Suspension, Fuel Wheels, Gibson Exhaust, Grillecraft and Index Ink

---