Silky Smooth, Big Bill’s Latest Mistress in All Her Glory

We all have varied backgrounds, families and reasons for falling head over heels in love with custom trucks. Some of us are lucky enough to have a “car dad” or family immersed in automotive culture, while others stumble upon this path on their own. “Big Bill” Watson had been drawn to cars since before he could even drive. I’d have said since before he could even see over the steering wheel, but anyone who knows Bill knows that he could probably see over the wheel before he could walk— he’s not called “Big” Bill for nothing. Most awesome thing ever: seeing Big Bill cruise his fully custom, blacked-out Smart Car that he can pretty much bench press.

Big Bill is a car guy through and through and scooping up his first project car at the ripe age of 14 only furthered this addiction. He began to tinker and learn the craft on a ’72 Monte Carlo, and he found himself spending most of his time in the garage and going to every car show possible. Being exposed to different tastes and appreciating all sorts of customs and styles, his passion evolved to focus on trucks. He ultimately became one of the family when he was logoed into Relaxed Atmosphere. Throughout the years Big Bill became more and more involved in the car show culture that he loved as a kid, owning and customizing well over 100 vehicles to date.

This brings us to Bill’s most current build, which his wife affectionately dubbed The Mistress. The Mistress was a truck that Bill had always wanted to build. He used to tow with an Avalanche, and he knew if he laid one out it would be his ultimate automotive fantasy! It just so happens that one day Bill got a call from a friend in California. This friend wanted to sell his Devious Customs-built Avalanche, and Bill knew right away that he had to have it. But how does a successful shop owner turn something like this into his own?

That question was answered pretty much the second the ’07 Avalanche made its way from California and rolled into Bill’s shop, Phat Designs, in Horn Lake, Mississippi. Bill knew he could take what a talented builder had put in place and add his own “Phat Designs Touch” to the mix to turn The Mistress into his fantasy come true. Building upon the custom Devious Customs suspension groundwork that had already been laid, Bill and his crew got right to work with a few tweaks, setting the suspension up to lay out on 26s along with some Air Zenith compressors and Slam Specialties ’bags for the necessary travel. Next, they got down to business with the bodywork and paint, smoothing everything out, laying down a nice satin black and completely blacking out all of the trim.

Next up, anyone who knows anything about Phat Designs or Big Bill’s rides knows that The Mistress was destined to sing— loudly. So the Phat Designs crew began to overhaul the interior and audio, adding an Alpine 8-inch in-dash multimedia player, and they went to town loading the truck down with Kicker amplifiers and woofers all powered by the Kinetik HC1400 power cells.

The crew worked day and night to get her ready to debut at The All Star Event in Millington, Tennessee. At the show, the overwhelming crowds gathered proved to Bill and his team that their hard work paid off. They had transformed The Mistress into the perfect cruiser and Bill stood back to soak it all in.

Together, Big Bill and his loving wife and son have become a family of auto enthusiasts; both his wife and son have vehicles that have been featured in multiple magazines. It’s a family affair that they can all be proud of, and it doesn’t get much better than that! Special thanks to Erik Harbour and Shannon Harmon of Kinetik, Shane Peacock of Phat Designs, Katrinia and Bryan Watson, Tim Smith of Kicker, Jeff Davy of Devious, Steve Brown from Alpine, Air Zenith, Missing Link Audio, Street Scene Equipment, Viper, Baer Brakes, Low Rider Depot, Slam Specialties and Phat Designs. ST

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TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

Bill Watson
2007 Chevy Avalanche Horn Lake, MS Relaxed Atmosphere

ENGINE

• 5.3L V-8
• Airaid intake
• 2.5-inch Flowmaster mufflers
• Hidden wires

SUSPENSION

• Devious Customs 4-link
• Sectioned control arms
• Belltech drop spindles
• Narrowed rearend
• Devious Customs fuel cell
• Slam Specialties airbags
• Bilstein shocks
• Baer brakes

WHEELS & TIRES

• Versanti VE 212 26×9.5 wheels
• Goldway S2000 275/25/26 front 295/30/26 rear

BODY & PAINT

• Custom stretched and sectioned fenders
• Street Scene bumper
• Matte Black TYC Headlights
• Raised bed floor
• Blacked-out trim
• SEM Satin Paint

INTERIOR

• Jet black carpet
• Katskin leather seats
• Black suede headliner
• Low Rider Depot air switches
• Custom-built Phat Designs center console
• Alpine 8-inch INE-Z928HD head unit
• Four Kicker QS65.2 components
• Four Kicker CVX 12-inch subs
• Two Kicker ZX1500.1 amps and one Kicker ZX650.4
• Kicker wiring
• Four Kinetik HC1400
• Missing Link Audio voltage module

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