Deep Burple | 2000 Chevy Silverado 

There’s nothing purer than a full custom show truck that carries its own weight to shows across the country. It takes a lot of faith to trust your painted, polished vehicle to unknown road conditions and careless motorists in the next lane over, but some guys wouldn’t have it any other way. Danny Terneus is just one such guy who has been building his ‘bagged trucks to not only get him around town, but to drive them up to hundreds of thousands of miles over the course of owning them. He’s been doing this for the better part of two solid decades, and doesn’t show any signs of slowing up. 

Over the years, Danny has owned a ’94 4-door Blazer that he built to lay frame on 18-inch wheels. It had custom bodywork and a full interior overhaul. He drove that truck for 12 years, and finally sold it with 210,000 miles on the odometer. His next ride after that was a ’99 2-door Tahoe that he built with a full paint job, and a suspension setup to lay on 22’s. He racked up 30,000 miles on that truck after it was completed, with multiple long hauls across many state lines for some of the biggest truck shows in the US. Obviously, there’s definitely a trend in the way he approaches the projects he takes on, which has carried on to his latest build Silverado build. 

“I love the custom truck scene”, Danny proudly admits. “I wanted to continue building the style of trucks that I like in hopes that I am doing my part to help keep the scene growing.” With so many extended road trips under his belt in the past, he was just itching to get his next Chevy project on the highways to spread the gospel on the road just like he always has. “I bought this Silverado 7 years ago (2013), and drove it daily for 5 years / 25,000 miles before deciding to redo it. It was a show truck when I purchased it, but was starting to show its age.” 

Wanting a more top-shelf truck to ride around in, Danny began lining up some big talent to help with the reconstruction. “I already had a painter in mind to help take the truck to another level. Victor Salas and I had kicked around some ideas on a paint color, and we landed on a standard House of Kolor basecoat (KBC13) on top of a Ford Deep Impact Blue color. “Among all the other modifications on the Silverado, the paint is the feature that gets the most attention.” The three coats of Sikkens clear on the body, and four on the hood ensure that the color is well protected and able to be polished to a deep shine with every detail job. 

Bill Bethauser of Explicit Customs in West Melbourne, FL joined the project, and played a huge role in the Silverado’s rebuild. Bill, along with Chris Kirshner, prepared a ’99 LS1 engine to be swapped in utilizing factory Silverado accessories. Bill also stepped up to improve truck’s suspension setup. Choppin’ Block upper and lower control arms, along with McGaughys drop spindles and a KP Components rear 6-link were utilized to allow Danny’s truck to be able to lay its frame over the 24-inch Intro billet wheels. “I can’t thank Bill enough for the bad ass work that he put into the truck. It was quickly exceeding all of my expectations in every single department.” 

Interior wise, Danny kept things extremely clean and plush inside of the cab. Robbie Collins participated in the build as he stitched up the King Ranch leather covered factory bucket and bench seats. Mr. Bethauser, once again, lent his assistance with the wrapping and dying the rest of the interior to match for a very dapper appearance and feel. With the amount of seat time Danny plans to put in year-in and year-out, a proper sound system was in order to keep his head nodding to the beat. He selected nothing less than JL Audio and Hertz components to help fill the cab with crystal clear, hard-hitting sound waves for the long road trips and regular commutes around town ahead. 

Even though Danny’s truck is still somewhat fresh out of the oven, he is already looking into the future with three simple plans in mind—“Drive the truck for a couple years. Add some graphics. Drive it some more.” He tends to stick with his trucks for a good amount of time, so don’t expect him to start with anything new for a while. We aren’t exactly sure just how many miles he’s racked up since the truck has been completed, but whatever the number is, it surely is only the tip of the iceberg. His Silverado already has a handful of respectable long-distance, round-trip excursions to its credit with many more already slated for the next show season. 

Even though he follows the beat of his own drum, Danny rightly admits to gaining inspiration from his family and close friends. “I’ve learned a lot from the great group of likeminded truck enthusiasts I’ve surrounded myself with. They have pushed me to chase my goals of driving hard and showing well. Guys like Mike Barcia, Brad Bosman, Jimmy Graham, John Turner, Tony Rispoli, Dave Shulman (I could go on), have proved to me with their own respective builds that show quality trucks can be dependable, road-worthy vehicles. My wife Rachel and daughter Sophia have also inspired me by allowing me more than my fair share of time in the garage and away time at shows. Their support, along with everyone who has stopped to talk to me at shows or while I’m out anywhere else with the truck means everything to me.” 

Truck Specs
Owner – Danny Terneus
2000 Chevy Silverado
Oviedo, FL
Club – Negative Camber

Engine

• Shop: Bill Bethauser @ Explicit Customs and Chris Kirshner 
• 1999 Chevy LS1 
• Engine sway using factory accessories 
• Lunati camshaft 
• Shorty headers 
• Magnaflow exhaust system 
• Flowmaster muffler 
• Engine tune by Mike Norris 

Chassis & Suspension 

• Shop: Bill Bethauser 
• Dropped body mounts on factory frame, rear step notch
• Body dropped 2 7/8 inches
• Choppin’ Block upper and lower control arms 
• McGaughys drop spindles 
• KP Components 6-link rear with Watts link
• Dual Viair 480 compressors 
• Slam Specialties RE7 ‘bags 

Wheels & Tires 

• 24×9 Intro Arctic full polish billet wheels 
• 255/30/24 Nexen N’Fera SU1 tires 

Powertrain & Brakes 

• Shop: Ken’s Performance, Orlando, FL 
• Rebuilt 2000 4L60E transmission 
• TransGo shift kit 
• Narrowed rearend w/ Moser axles 
• Baer EradiSpeed 14-inch rotors 

Exterior & Paint 

• Shop: Victor Salas @ Brennan Bodyworks 
• House Of Kolor Burple Kandy basecoat 
• 2006 Silverado HD hood 
• Weld-in roll pan 
• Shaved tailgate handle and front bumper license plate tag holes 
• Raised bed floor with Line-X Ultra by Brevard 
• Removable panel in bed to access air ride 

Interior & Sound 

• Shop: Robbie Collins and Bill Bethauser 
• Factory bucket seats and rear bench 
• Covered in authentic King Ranch leather hide 
• Billet Specialties Chicayne steering wheel 
• JVC head unit 
• JL Audio HD 600/4 amp, W1 10-inch woofer in custom enclosure 
• Hertz Mille component speaker sets in custom door panels by Explicit Customs 

Engine Pic: The freshly tuned ’99 LS1 provides the truck with everyday driving dependability and plenty of power to cut through highway traffic. 

Wheel Pic: 24-inch Intro Artic billet wheels are featured at every corner. 

Interior Pics (seat close-up and steering wheel): The interior has received quality King Rang leather upholstery, and a full helping of color matched trim and accessories.