WE all go through adversities that change the course of our lives. Sometimes they propel you into a different way of life, but sometimes they keep you on a path to put things more into perspective. Derek Belt has been an avid truck enthusiast since he was sixteen years old and has quite a resume of owning bagged full-size trucks. Although never having owned a mini-truck, Derek became enamored with a ’94 GMC Sonoma he had seen grace the cover of a truck magazine while he was growing up.

In 2005, Derek suffered a horrible accident when he fell twenty feet at work. Among his injuries were a broken neck, fractured back, collapsed lung, brain hemorrhage, three different skull fractures, and a broken orbital eye socket. The injuries were so severe the doctors didn’t give him much hope for survival. Once he began recovering, he actually had to retrain his eyes to work together. As you can imagine, the injury put him out of work for a full three years.

His love for trucks and his appreciation for everyday colors increasingly grew with each day he was recovering at home and going to therapy. As fate would have it, that same mini-truck that Derek had pined over became available from a guy named Rook in Tomball, Texas. After some negotiations, Derek and Rook agreed on a price, and the Sonoma became the first mini-truck Derek had ever purchased. Once he took possession, Derek brought the truck to a show as-is and parked with the Committed Truck Club since he knew them all pretty well. The president and official painter of the club, Patrick Reid, immediately realized ideas for what could be done to update Derek’s Sonoma.

The truck was in pretty decent shape because it hadn’t been driven much in the six years since its cover shoot, and it certainly hadn’t been to many shows. Shortly after the show, Derek brought the truck to Patrick Reid, where he tried to find the original paint codes from back when it was originally built. Unfortunately, those colors had been discontinued, so it was time for a complete overhaul. Once Patrick began stripping the paint off, he saw some poor bodywork and Bondo that had to be redone. Patrick got to work adding a full paint job, but he won’t disclose the exact paint color mixtures he used, so don’t hold your breath. “When I dropped the Sonoma off, all I said was that I didn’t want yellow,” Derek admits. “The rest was up to Patrick to figure out.”

When Derek arrived to pick up the truck, Patrick had a car cover over it. Once revealed, Derek was in shock at the final product. Inside Patrick’s shop sat a custom subwoofer box built for a Ford Ranger that he offered to Derek. The box was modified to fit into the rear section of the GMC and was painted to match. Now that the interior upgrades had been started, Jr. ‘s Upholstery was entrusted to remove the stock brown seats and interior and change it over to black vinyl with blue reverse stitching. The carpeting and headliner were customized to match.

The once bright red GMC was now turning into Derek’s style with the color and interior change. The next step was performance, as his friend Matt at Altered Concepts addressed the oil leaks and added new gaskets on the motor to seal everything up. Kenny Haritos was brought in to handle the tune-up as well as add a new Edelbrock carburetor, fix the brakes, and do some other odds and ends to get the GMC to peak performance. Derek had Max at Maxxed Performance mount the new rims and tires onto the Sonoma just in time for its official debut at Battle in Bama in Mobile, Alabama.

Derek was adamant about naming his new truck Sempiternal, which means eternal and unchanging, to symbolize his passion that never wavered. It only grew stronger from his serious personal setback. Now a member of Committed, Derek strives to constantly prove that it’s more than a club; it’s a family, and that’s something that will be there for life.

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TRUCK SPECS

 Engine & Drivetrain

• SBC 350
• Mild cam
• Headers
• Edelbrock 1406 carburetor and intake
•  Billet valve covers and breather by Matt at Alerted Concepts and Kenny Haritos
• 700R4 transmission

Chassis & Suspension

• ThorBros upper and lower control arms
• Little Shop MFG No-Toe kit
• Firestone 2500 (front) and Air Lift 2600 (rear) air bags
• 2×3 back half
• 2-link and track bar
• Dual Viair 444C compressors
• 7-gallon air tank

Wheels & Tires

• 22×8.5 and 22×10 Bonspeed LiteTwist wheels
• 245/30R22 and 265/30R22 Lionhart LH-Five all-season radials

Body & Paint

•  2 ½-inch traditional body drop
• Full rear skin
• Shaved door handles, gas door, antenna
• Molded wheel tubs under the hood by Patrick Reid and Jonathan Barron
• Custom blue, a variety of PPG colors, and House of Kolor purples

Interior

• Two bucket seats with black vinyl with blue reverse stitching
• Suede headliner and black carpet by Jr.’s Upholstery in Conroe, TX
• Custom fiberglass console and interior painted by Patrick Reid and Jonathan Barron
• Pioneer DEH-X8800BHS head unit
• Two Alpine 12-inch subwoofers in a custom fiberglass box
• Alpine amplifier

Special Thanks

“To my friend Patrick Reid and Jonathan Barron from MADD Concepts for the paint and body, Jr.’s Upholstery, Alexis Belt, Madison Abshire, Kenny Haritos for getting the truck running right and always helping, Max and his crew at Maxx Performance for always coming through any time I need him, as well as my family in Committed, and Taylor Haney from Lufkin Coca-Cola for the photo location.”