Not Just a Fad

Custom vehicle trends change with time, just like anything else. This is supported by the fact you can go to any custom car show and you’ll be able to determine when vehicles have been built by the various decades or phases you see. The father of all custom styles is hot rod, which began when GIs returning from World War II started applying mechanical skills they learned in the service to fix up their rides. Every other customizing scene stems from that, including the modern custom truck scene.

A good example of how things change is this ’03 Chevy Blazer Xtreme owned by Juan Quintana. Back in the mid-late-‘90s to early 2000s the most popular vehicles to customize were compact import cars and mini-trucks. This was probably because there was a flood of these affordable vehicles on the road back then. It was only a matter of time before guys started messing with these vehicles, making then look good and move faster at the line, too.

This scene gained popularity around the time Juan was in his early 20s and looking for a new ride. He was digging on S-10s, and he especially liked the factory Xtreme version because it came equipped with a V-6, body kit and a slightly lowered suspension. But then Juan’s interest changed a bit as he discovered there was a Blazer Xtreme also available. When he looked into it, he discovered that they were hard to come by, and there were only five of them at dealerships in the surrounding SoCal area. He found a black one not too far away and snagged it so quick that he didn’t even give it a test drive before signing the paperwork.

Juan began a mission to roll the cleanest Blazer around. Over time his plan changed somewhat. In the beginning, the truck was lowered with only a few inches of ground clearance, and it featured shaved door handles un- derneath a black paint job. As he customized his truck even further, he made more friends in the scene. Juan is now in Relaxed Atmosphere, and he got in simply by meeting a few guys at shows and hanging out.

Juan’s plan changed as a direct result of hanging out with his friends in Relaxed. He knew he wanted to step it up to have a chance of winning at shows, and his club friends were the perfect resource. Ruben Arteaga recommended that he go to Chris Burns of C&S MetalWerks in Corona, California, to get his truck ‘bagged. So, Juan checked out the shop and lat- er dropped off the Blazer to get cut. In order to get the beast to lay frame, Belltech spindles were used up front, while the frame and lower control arms were modified to fit a set of Slam Specialties RE7 airbags. To help with bounciness over bumps and handling in curves, a heavy-duty sway bar from a late- model Dodge Ram was made to fit with ball joints on the end links. The wheel wells were also re- moved, the air conditioning blower was raised and a set of tubs was fit to the inner fenders.

On the rear, the frame was notched to allow the axle to travel up. Bracing the frame is a custom bridge that connects the tops of the notches and holds the rear RE7 shocks in place. A custom-triangulated and cantilevered 4-link setup takes care of the adjustable rear suspension. The rear floor of the body also had to be cut and cov- ered with more sheet metal work for the wheels and notch. Now this Blazer is able to sit nicely over its 20 x 8.5 and 22 x 10 Rozzi Switch wheels with 235/30R20 and 255/30R22 Toyo Proxes tires.

When it came time for paint, friends helped again by referring Juan to Miranda’s Kustoms of Tulare, California. He also added a few acces- sories, like Street Scene side mirrors, hood and mesh grille inserts. At the time, the door handles, rear wiper and antenna were already shaved, so all that was left was to get rid of the third brake light. With bodywork out of the way, it was time for paint, and Juan decided to go with House of Kolor Lime Time Green on the bottom, and Iced Pearl Black on top with green flake. A silver break with custom 3D bubbles painted in the middle transitions between the two colors, and it’s all topped off with pinstriping by Ruben.

Helping to make the Blazer a well-rounded cus- tom vehicle, Juan decided to finish the interior. This includes the addition of gray leather and black suede applied by California Upholstery in Buena Park, California. Then Creative Car Audio & Motor- sports of La Mirada, California, added a banging sound system. They fiber- glassed the lower sections of the door panel to fit two 6.5-inch Rockford Fosgate component speakers in each door. There is only one tweeter in each door because the other two were set in the dash where the factory speakers used to reside. The Blazer now holds the sub box with three Rockford Fosgate 12-inch Punch HX2 woofers. A Panasonic 7-inch flip-out DVD head unit and two Rockford 800-watt amplifiers powered by two Kinetik HC1400 batteries control the system. Next, most of the interior plastics, including the dash, were sent to Miranda’s to be painted.

Though the Blazer Xtreme came with a 4.3L Vortec V-6 engine and auto trans, it’s always good to be able to crank out more power. A K&N cold air intake helps the engine breathe, while a custom dual exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers and down-pipes hidden under the body help the beast expel spent gases. Though body kits are not as popular in the truck scene anymore, Juan was able to make one look good again when he restyled this Blazer. Because the frames on Blazers are taller than their S-10 coun- terparts, the Xtreme kit makes the body appear closer to the ground and covers up the unsightly frame.

After all is said and done, Juan took this already clean Blazer Xtreme and turned it into something that could be appreciated for many years to come. ST

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