Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Kids, smoking is bad for you. But like, some of the branding is pretty cool, and when your job is supervising design for an international audio company, you pay attention to these things.

Behold, Tim Smith’s incredibly cool ’94 OBS. I mean, look at those colors—they have that pop in the sun and a cool black flip in the dead of night. Shoot, he calls it Black & Mild, having me recall my teenage years of sitting outside 7/11 toking wood tips, giving off the essence of cool. But again, smoking is bad for you. Whatever, I digress.

My guys Adam and Steve of Mobsteel/Detroit Steel Wheel Co. go way back with Tim since he works for Kicker Audio. When he reached out about his personal build, we were all excited to get him the look he wanted, and I couldn’t wait to plan a sick shoot with him. I got to meet up with him at Lone Star Throwdown and get the story behind his truck, proudly displayed with his Kicker Audio crew.

At this point Tim has probably had the truck for around 13 years, collecting parts along the way so he could bust it out when the time came. It had sort of a Baja look in the beginning, so he switched out the 2-inch lifted coils in the front for an Air Lift Performance altitude adjustment, running an 3H manifold with a FLO Airride 24-inch billet tank and dual Viair 480C compressors.

Tim learned how to drive in his dad’s ’94 standard cab short box Stepside Z71, but he was looking to build a 2WD slammed version of that. We love nostalgia! From the amount of time he’s been working on it and for what it means to him, he’s probably never going to get rid of it. Sorry, folks.

Instead of having to maintain a graphics package, he went with this gorgeous two-tone brown and black, breaking it before the headlights so it stuck with the blacked-out OE grille and bumpers. Paintwork was done by Charles Degand of CD Designs in Tuttle, Oklahoma. A bit like a time capsule, this style is pretty timeless when it comes down to it. Tim has always had a thing for our Detroit Steel Delray wheels (thank you very much), so he went with 20x8s with 4.5-inch backspacing all around. In his opinion, these are the cooler versions of the old steel wheels. Bigger is better, baby.

There’s a whole video on SoloFilms’ YouTube channel detailing this chassis being built—search for “Project Lunchbox.” Jake McKiddie of Phat Phabz installed the Phat Phabz OBS front kit and ¾-frame from the firewall back, kept the stock rearend, and narrowed the front track. There are Air Lift Dominator 2600-lb front bags and JRi Builders Series shocks up front, and Firestone F9000 tapered sleeve springs with Rough Country shocks out back. The truck is running a custom fuel cell by Phat Phabz and Fullway HP108 245/45R20 tires. Tim’s OBS also has factory disc brakes in the front and a Little Shop disc conversion. The truck also features Slosh Tubz in the front, as well as a shaved fuel filler door and stake bed pockets.

Tim is the supervisor of installation and design at KICKER Audio, so naturally he’s got his KICKER KMC4 radio, KS components in the kick panels, two 8-inch subs in an MTI Acoustics enclosure, a CXA12001 amp for the sub, and a KEY2004 mid/high amp with Kicker wiring. Did you get all that?

The Curtis Enochs (Curt’s Creations) upholstery crew installed a Katzkin kit over the factory bench seat, and if you look down at the pedals, you’ll see Tim’s homage to one of his dad’s trucks. He’s made it a rule to add the foot pedal to all of his builds as a nod to pops. Next up, Tim is looking to do an LS swap, keeping it period-correct, and to enjoy the process more by not giving himself a deadline. That’s the advice he’d give to anyone looking to build a similar truck, especially because he knew what he wanted it to look like, and he got it there. A heart transplant can come at any time as long as she’s running, you know?

Tim has so many friends to thank who helped him get to this point, and, as he puts it, an extremely understanding wife. I’d chalk that up to Stephanie Smith just being a super cool human who also wants a badass OBS parked in her driveway. Keep up with THAT, Kardashians!

I have to say, Tim and his whole KICKER team put in the work and always make their booth a cool spot to hang out at all the shows. I always have an awesome time hanging out with them. If you are heading out to shows like LST, Goodguys, Slamboree, Slamology, C10 Nats, Classic Truck Throwdown, or a local Stillwater, Oklahoma cars and coffee event, make it a point to find Tim and his team to have some fun. If you’re lost, just follow the smell of Black & Mild because it’s so on the nose you have to follow your nose, ya know(s)?

Truck Specs

Owner: Tim Smith
1994 Chevy OBS
Stillwater, OK
Negative Camber

Engine & Drivetrain

Beefed-up factory V-8
4L60e transmission
K&N intake
Custom exhaust

CHASSIS & SUSPENSION

Stock-floor bodydrop
Phat Phabz ¾-frame
C-notch
Air Lift Performance 3H air management
Air Lift Performance Dominator front ‘bags
Firestone F9000 rear sleeves
FLO Airride billet air tank
Hydroboost upgrade
Little Shop disc brake conversion
Phat Phabz fuel cell

Wheels, Tires & Brakes

Detroit Steel Wheel Delrays
Fullway HP108 245/45R20 tires

BODY & PAINT

Two-tone brown and black paint by Charles Degand of CD Designs
Blacked-out OE grille and bumpers

INTERIOR & STEREO

KS components in the kick panels
Two 8-inch Kicker subs in an MTI Acoustics enclosure
CXA12001 sub amp and Key2004 mid/high amp with Kicker wiring
Katzkin kit installed by Curtis Enochs of Curt’s Creations