One of the most frequent questions I get asked is "How can I get my ride featured?". Well, it is simple, have a wild ride that conforms to contemporary standards of the scene, or if you desire to keep it simple, make sure it is real clean. Justin Epley of Bremen, Kentucky knows exactly what I am talking about.

You see, Justin can appreciate all of those wild rides just like the rest of us, but found out that if he goes with a clean look mixed with a unique color, he can get as much attention as those rides with the dancing flames and other off the wall artistry. Sounds simple, huh? Wrong!

In fact, Justin's truck, a 1999 GMC Sierra, was at one time a project that was not making any headway. It was originally white with a few mods, but nothing that would make it stand out amongst the sea of GM vehicles that are always present at custom auto shows. So, Justin decided to put the truck up for sale in hopes of maybe finding another ride and basically starting over from ground zero. As fate would have it, two days later Justin was driving down the road when he hit a patch of ice causing his truck to spin out of control and eventually slamming into a ditch causing over $6,000 in damage. After being released from the ER with a clean bill of health, Justin, like any true hardcore custom auto enthusiast, immediately decided that it was time to make his truck the real deal.

Originally the truck had all of the emblems shaved, it had 20 inch wheels, and it was lowered with a 4/6 drop. That was all fine and dandy for your standard run of the mill truck owner, but not Justin. Before the insurance check came in the mail, Justin had big plans for his GM hauler.

For starters, the outside of the truck was in pretty bad shape after the accident, so a lot of parts had to be replaced. Justin cruised over to his local GM dealership where he just so happens to have a friend in the parts department. He bought every part that he needed to help in the four month recovery plan. Justin did some of the work himself, such as smoothing out the plastic parts getting them ready for paint, but most of the glory goes to the skills of Daimon and Eddie Wester of Westers Body Shop in Powderly, Kentucky.

The truck was already shaved from before including the stake pockets, door handles, and tailgate handle. To change things up a bit, this time the stock tail lights were shaved and a set of 1997 Caddy taillights were molded in their place. A molded in Sir Michaels roll pan replaces the bulky stock bumper and the "Dumbo Mirrors" were swapped out for a set of Street Scene mirrors.

On the nose, Justin swapped out the stock headlamps with a set of Denali projector beam headlamps. The turn signal lights were swapped out for a set of clear turn signals and a billet grille insert finishes off the look.

Once the body was reworked and smoothed back to its original shape, Justin looked at a few paint swatches and decided to go with a total color change from white to Honda Fiesta Green, which was not only applied to the exterior, but to certain areas of the engine compartment and interior as well.

Once the paint had dried, Justin picked up the truck and along with his grandfather began to install an Air Ride suspension system. Justin's truck uses IF Customs two link with Conitech bags. The bags are filled quickly with an Air Lift engine driven compressor which is attached to three five gallon air tanks mounted securely under the bed of the truck. The frame was notched for proper clearance and custom diamond plate skid plates were installed.

Once the Air Ride was installed and working properly, Justin was pretty pleased. However, it just wasn't enough! Over the winter time in 2004, Justin took the truck back apart and cleaned up the frame by smoothing out all of the welds, added two inch dropped spindles under the nose, Moog ball joints, custom fender wells, and moved the Air Ride gauges into the dash bezel.

Under the hood, Justin kept things some what simple by installing a K&N air filter, Hypertech thermostat, Corvette Servo, Flowmaster 70 series muffler. The coolant tank, intake, and fuse box were all relocated to accommodate the new adjustable stance.

Finishing off the look, Justin opted to go with a set of chrome 20 inch American Racing Maxim wheels wrapped in 245/40/20 Hankook Ventus Sports rubber, sponsored by Performance Tire Wholesalers.Com.

Justin says he enjoys the truck as it is now, but he still wants to do more. Future plans include a body dropless chassis, a custom center console, a detailed bed, and a set of 22 inch meats. Justin says that, "Maybe then I'll be happy enough with the truck to call it completed, but I doubt it." Justin, we could not agree with you more!

Shout Out: "Thanks to Westers Body Shop and my grandfather for their help and Elite Streets Magazine for the feature!" -Justin