It’s All in the Details

Building a simple and clean driver isn’t always as easy as it sounds, especially if you’re anything like Travis Alford from Taylor, Texas, owner of this pristine ’08 GMC Sierra. Travis bought the truck brand new in 2008 and had every intention of keeping it low key. He just wanted to use it as his work truck and daily driver, so all he did was lower it and slap on some wheels, just enough to satisfy his customizing desires.

For nearly two years he kept the urge to ’bag it at bay, but that custom itch was ever present, and soon enough he tore into the engine and built up the motor to give it some extra pep. Then he installed brakes from a C6 ZO6, and yeah, you guessed it: it was all downhill from there. With Travis, nothing is ever easy. His automotive OCD and exacting standards ensure that everything must be done just right every time.

So rather than take his truck to a shop to have it ’bagged, Travis built his own 40×40-foot work space. As soon as it was complete, that same week, Travis hauled in the Sierra and tore it apart. By this time, he had another daily driver so he could take his time and build the truck exactly as he wanted. Travis and his best friend Miles Parker spent the next two years meticulously building the Sierra in their free time.

For suspension, Travis ordered AccuAir controls, MMW arms, McGaughys drop spindles and an Nfamus 3-link. Once the truck was ready to lay out over the perfectly polished 24×10 Raceline Speedster 6 wheels wrapped with Nitto 420s rubber, it was time to see what all of their hard work looked like on the ground.

“IMPRESSED WITH THE STANCE AND QUALITY OF THE WORK, THE DUO WAS READY TO SHIFT THEIR FOCUS TO THE EXTERIOR.”

Impressed with the stance and quality of the work, the duo was ready to shift their focus to the exterior. A painful amount of work went into detailing to keep everything as clean as possible. Certain pieces were shaved and blended, but you’d never know it without comparing it side by side to a stock truck. Travis and Miles did all of the suspension and metal work, but Travis knew that to achieve the caliber of detail and quality that he was after, he’d have to leave the paint and interior to the pros.

“THERE ARE JUST ENOUGH CUSTOM TOUCHES TO KEEP HIS URGES SATISFIED FOR A WHILE, AND THE TRUCK MAINTAINS THE METICULOUS DETAIL AND FACTORY COMFORTS HE WAS AFTER.”

Travis loves the look of a clean white truck so he had Pristine Paint & Body lay down the gleaming DuPont White over the smoothed exterior. For the interior, he got help from Cato Custom Upholstery and Sculpt Garage. They combined their talents to create a very high-tech cabin. Building the system around a flush-mounted iPad mini and a custom center console running from the dash to the rear cab, Cato and Sculpt were able to pull off a very well-executed custom cabin interior and still keep things looking OE. Cato used black satin synthetic leather throughout, and even wrapped and stitched the dash. The duo also blended Focal components, JL subs and Alpine digital amps for a quality system worthy of even the pickiest audiophiles.

Nearly two and half years later Travis was finally completely stoked with the custom cruiser he’d created. There are just enough custom touches to keep his urges satisfied for a while, and the truck maintains the meticulous detail and factory comforts he was after. It’s certainly impressive from every angle, but if we know Travis, then we haven’t seen the last of this truck! Stay tuned, because nothing is ever truly finished when it’s in the hands of a custom truck lover like Travis Alford. ST

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TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

Travis Alford 2008 GMC Sierra Taylor, TX

ENGINE

• 5.3L V-8
• TSP 220 cam
• DOD deleted valves
• LS7 lifters and pushrods
• Comp springs
• Ported LS2 intake and custom air cleaner
• Kooks headers
• Custom Magnaflow stainless exhaust
• Custom-tucked wiring and stainless hoses
• 4l60E with Circle D converter

SUSPENSION

• Nfamus 3-link
• MMW control arms
• McGaughys drop spindles
• C6 Z06 brakes
• QA1 shocks
• Relocated control arms and modified spindle
• AccuAir systems

WHEELS & TIRES

• 24×10-inch Raceline Speedster 6 wheels
• 305/35/24 Nitto 420s tires

BODY & PAINT

• Shop: Pristine Paint & Body
• Precision grille
• Sculpt Garage custom headlights
• Modified and smoothed Ram bumper
• Reskinned tailgate, shaved XM, third brake light, shaved rear cab corners, wiper cowl and stake pockets
• Grant Kustoms wheel tubs
• DuPont White paint

INTERIOR

• Shops: Sculpt Garage/Cato Custom Upholstery
• Everything covered and stitched
• Custom console
• Rear bucket seats
• iPad Mini custom-molded into dash
• Focal speakers, JL 10w6 subs and Alpine digital amps

Special thanks from owner: Miles Parker, Michael Juranek, Dustin and Brandon Naivar and my wife for all of her support

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