A Father and Son Bond Over the Build of This Wild GMC

A side from creating low-rolling, rim-tucking and head-turning art, the process of building a custom truck brings people closer together. Friendships are built as metal is shaped, chassis are brought closer to earth and panels are smoothed and coated with color. Stories stretch across the country and around the world about good buddies and family members who, after they punch out for the day, burn the midnight oil in the home garage building their dreams.

For Gilbert Cortez of Houston, the ’02 GMC Sierra pickup stretching across these pages was a team build that he worked on with his father Oscar Cortez Sr. Gilbert bought the truck when he was 19 and was inspired to customize it because he’d grown up going to car shows with his father and brother. With a vision for the project and pops possessing some pretty impressive bodywork and paint skills, the two went to work bringing the GMC to life.

RATHER THAN COVER THE EXTERIOR WITH WILD GRAPHICS, GILBERT CHOSE TO LET THE GRAPHIC DETAILS SHINE IN THE HIDDEN AND HARD-TO-REACH PLACES ONLY VISIBLE WHEN THE TRUCK IS SHOWN.”

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

Most custom trucks start taking shape in the chassis and suspension department. To set the stance on Insanity, Gilbert headed over to BTD Customs and had John modify the factory bones to set the frame rails firmly on the Texas soil over 24s. The frame was backhalved and stepped and the rearend narrowed to accommodate the massive 24-inch wheels. A custom 2-link was fabricated out back along with custom upper and lower control arms up front, and airbags on all four corners to hammer the domestic metal over the 24-inch Hoyo H7 wheels mounted on P255/30R24 Wanli tires. The wheels were accented with custom Long Beach Blue Pearl to complement the truck’s paint scheme. A custom-made aluminum gas tank resides between the custom rear frame rails to provide cruising ammo to the factory V-6. After the frame was sliced and diced to get the stance down to the right altitude, the frame and suspension were covered in Long Beach Blue Pearl for extra show detail.

The factory V-6 engine was left mostly stock save for the Spectre intake and Magnaflow custom exhaust. What it lacks in performance it more than makes up for in style with paint and polish detail surrounded by custom wheel tubs covered in Long Beach Blue Pearl topped with custom pinstriping.

PERHAPS EVEN COOLER THAN THE FINISHED TRUCK IS THE BOND BUILT AND FRIENDSHIP STRENGTHENED BETWEEN FATHER AND SON.”

After the chassis, suspension and drivetrain were dialed in, the father-and-son team dove into the bodywork. A smooth roll pan was smoothed. The rear taillights were shaved and the inside of the bed was covered in custom sheet metal and smoothed to perfection. The front end was blessed with a 2004 GMC front bumper along with a cowl induction hood for a performance element. All of the metalwork, bodywork, shaving, smoothing, sanding, filling, priming and blocking was done in Oscar Sr.’s garage as father and son worked together to prep the truck for its new coat of color. Once the metal was ready for the liquid candy, Oscar Sr. mixed up and applied the Sherwin-Williams Long Beach Pearl Blue automotive paint. Rather than cover the exterior with wild graphics, Gilbert chose to let the graphic details shine in the hidden and hard-to-reach places only visible when the truck is shown. A host of airbrushed graphics inside the cab, under the hood and inside the bed floor was pulled off by Tony Hernandez and Rudy Banda. Trick pinstriping by Big Johnson Pin Striping lends some classic hot rod flair to the modern sport truck picture.

Completion of the glassstraight bodywork and eye-piercing paint work lead the Cortez crew to Julio Tornero for miles of blue vinyl with brown stitching laid over custom handmade aluminum seats built by Jamey Jordan of Handmade Seat Co. Custom sheet metal was bent up for the floor mats and painted with wood airbrushing. Up above, a smoothed, painted and air-brushed fiberglass headliner was created to keep the slick theme flowing up top. The dash was smoothed, painted and complemented with custom blue gauges and a billet steering wheel. A custom fiberglass center console houses three Kicker 12-inch CVX subwoofer speakers powered by two 2,100-watt JBA amps mounted behind the seats. Kicker mids and highs pound in the doors, and all of this audio madness  is  commanded by a Kenwood 7-inch flip-out radio. An Optima battery keeps the power demands on point.

This stunning custom GMC is the result of many talented individuals flexing their custom style from grille to tailgate. Perhaps even cooler than the finished truck is the bond built and friendship strengthened between father and son. ST

---

TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

Gilbert Cortez
2002 GMC Sierra Houston,
TX Ground Zero

ENGINE

• Factory V-6
• Custom wheel tubs
• Custom paint work
• Magnaflow exhaust
• Spectre intake

SUSPENSION

• Custom 2-link with back half
• Custom upper and lower control arms
• Airbags
• Two custom-painted nitrogen tanks
• Shortened rearend
• Suspension mods by John at BTD Customs
• Painted and detailed frame
• Custom aluminum fuel tank

WHEELS & TIRES

• 24-inch Hoyo H7
• 255/30/24 Wanli tires

BODY & PAINT

• Shaved taillights, smoothed bed sides, molded rear roll pan, cowl induction hood, 2004 GMC bumper, sheet metal bed with custom wheel tubs
• Sherwin-Williams Long Beach Blue Pearl applied by Oscar Cortez Sr.
• Pinstriping throughout interior and engine bay by Big Johnson Pin Striping
• Airbrushing throughout by Tony Hernandez and Rudy Banda

INTERIOR

• Custom seat frames by Jamey Jordan of Handmade Seat Co.
• Blue vinyl seat bases and backs by Julio Tornero- Interior by Design
• Custom sheet metal and airbrushed wood floor
• Custom fiberglass, smooth, painted and airbrushed headliner
• Smoothed and painted interior panels
• Billet accessories
• Kicker and Kenwood audio gear

SPECIAL THANKS

• Oscar Cortez Sr. for being an awesome dad and doing the body and paint
• Interior by Design, Julio Tornero
• dropsRus, Jose Pena
• B2D Customs, John
• Big Johnson Pin Striping
• Jamey Jordan at Handmade Seat Co.
• Tony Hernandez and Rudy Banda, airbrushing

---