Warding Off All Enemies, Both Foreign and Domestic

Sometimes we take our liberties for granted, like living in a comfortable society with the freedom to customize our trucks any way we want. And, we have this awesome opportunity just because we were fortunate enough to be born in the U.S. Some, like Army Staff Sergeant Chris Stafford, are actually brave enough to put everything on the line to defend our freedom and help us retain the privileges we have.

When Chris isn’t busy protecting our homeland, he can be found wrenching on trucks in his garage in Franklinton, Louisiana. Chris got his passion for trucks when his father handed down an ’83 Chevy C-10 when Chris was still in high school. Since then, he’s worked on many trucks and hit up the show scene too. One of the body styles he’s been fond of ever since he was a teenager are the 1988-98 GMs, also known as C/Ks. After housing a few different trucks in his garage, Chris found this ’97 Sierra step side that was up for trade. Soon enough, he had the truck he’d always wanted.

This C/K was already ’bagged and Chris planned to make it his show truck/daily driver. He took it to Ekstensive Metalworks to get the suspension nailed down, and then the exterior and interior were finished up. One night while he was out late cruising around (his friend in the driver’s seat), a deer decided to be a kamikaze. The front end was wrecked and the deer slammed underneath the truck, ripping off the roll pan and destroying the fiberglass bed sides. There was no way the truck could be shown or driven in its wounded state.

Though he was bummed, Chris decided to put the truck back together and do all of the things he originally wanted to do. First on the list was to swap out the factory V-6 for a V-8. Luckily he was able to get one from Ray Leon of RPM Graphics who was doing an LS motor swap on a ’96 C/K. Ray and friends completed the swap. The C/K was also beefed up with a Spectre Performance intake, Summit Racing shorty headers and a custom 2.5-inch exhaust with a Magnaflow muffler.

One of the other things he wanted to do was give the truck a stock-floor body drop. This time around Chris was more involved in the build up and helped out while Matt McClary, of McClary’s Metal-works in Bay Minette, Louisiana, performed the body drop. They cut out and replaced the frame section under the cab with 2×4 DOM tubing and elevated the rest.

The front suspension still consists of Air Ride Technologies control arms, Firestone 2600 airbags, Belltech dropped spindles and KYB shocks from a ’94 4WD Toyota Tacoma. The rear lays with help from an Ekstensive 2-link with panhard bar and another set of Firestone ’bags and KYB shocks. This was all configured to bring the body down over a set of 20 x 8.5 and 20 x 10 Raceline Deceptive billet wheels with custom blue powder coating. They are wrapped in a set of 255/35R20 and 275/35R20 Nitto 555 tires. Helping to bring them to a stop is a pair of ceramic brake pads with drilled and slotted rotors from Brake Performance.

On the body, the Cadillac Escalade front end had to be swapped for a new straight version. Because of the body drop, Chris ordered up a matching IF Customs sectioned front bumper. The fenders were modified to tuck the ends of the bumper to fit flush, and a set of custom wheel tubs was fabricated on the insides. Moving back, the raised bed floor was covered in sheet metal, and Ray Leon cut a Severed Ties logo and attached it over the notch cover. The tailgate handle was shaved and a pushbutton version in the shape of the ST logo was added to the inside. The bed was finished with a Sir Michael’s roll pan that was bolted in place with extra bracing.

To slick it out a bit, the antenna, third-brake light and stake pockets were shaved. While Jeremy Pounds, of Mo’s Paint and Body of Bogalusa, Louisiana, worked the body straight so it could be painted PPG Jet Black, Chris helped out and took some pointers. Before the clear was applied, Patrick Reid of Mad Concepts in Galveston, Texas, drove down, and took a weekend to add the PPG World Rally Blue Pearl stripes with inset graphics of mobster-themed skulls to warn away any of this truck’s enemies. The bed was lined by Jeremy Pounds to mimic the paint. Chris wanted to rep his club in a big way, so he sent his back glass to Jaime McBride in SoCal to have Bob Thompson paint the logo on it.

Chris also wanted to step it up on the interior, so he smoothed and painted the dash and all other plastics jet black. A few billet accessories were added like the ST logo rearview mirror and the Colorado Customs steering wheel painted to match the graphics. Chris was able to send his seats, door panels and headliner over to LB Upholstery in Wilmer, Louisiana, so they could be recovered in suede and smooth leather to match the paint. Controlling the AccuAir VU4 manifold is an AccuAir E-Level held in a custom mount that Chris came up with and commissioned FS Fabworks to build. A Joe Dirt-style footprint gas pedal from Mooneyes finishes things off.

An Alpine 4886 head unit feeding an 800-watt MB Quart fivechannel amp turns up the tunes. The music comes out of the Alpine Type-S components in the doors, 4 x 6-inch plate speakers in the B-pillars and 10-inch subwoofer in a custom-ported enclosure.

Now Chris’ C/K is complete again and has everything it needs to help him enjoy a nice cruise and defend his game at shows.

Chris would like to thank: Jeremy Pounds, Julian Thomas, Kade Brumfield, JT Kustoms, Doug Turnage, Jeff Sharp, Jamie McBride, Mike Alexander, Rocky Fox, Christian Case, Stephen Corkern, Patrick Reid, Ray Leon, Cary Iaccino, Severed Ties and his wife Mandy Stafford. ST

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TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

Chris Stafford
1997 GMC Sierra
Franklinton, LA
Severed Ties

ENGINE

• 5.7L V-8 Vortec
• Spectre Performance intake
• Custom Magnaflow exhaust

SUSPENSION

• Stock-floor body drop
• Ride Tech Strong Arms
• Ekstensive Metalworks 2-link with panhard bar
• Firestone 2600 airbags
• KYB shocks

WHEELS & TIRES

• 20 x 8.5 and 20 x 10 Raceline Deceptive Wheels
• 255/35R20 and 275/35R20 Nitto 555 tires

BODY & PAINT

• 1999 Cadillac Escalade front clip
• IF Customs sectioned front bumper
• Sheet metal bed floor
• Custom Severed Ties pushbutton tailgate handle
• Sir Michael’s roll pan
• PPG Jet Black paint with custom graphics over World Rally Blue Pearl stripes

INTERIOR

• Original bench seat cut down and covered in leather
• All plastics painted black
• Billet Severed Ties rearview mirror
• Colorado Customs steering wheel
• Alpine Sound System
• MB Quart five-channel amp

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