When this truck was purchased in November 2004, Tom Glass was lucky enough to have purchased it from a friend, Alan Jackson of Smyrna, Tennessee, who was responsible for making the truck into the drivable stereo system it is today. This gave Tom an awesome opportunity to own a truck that sports the high-end equipment his shop, Audio Specialties of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, retails and installs... kind of like a business card with wheels.

For starters the truck sat way too high off the ground for any mini-truck enthusiast to be comfortable. Bringing this custom rig out of the clouds and down to mother earth, are Belltech dropped spindles with an Air Ride Technologies suspension setup. The rear frame was boxed in and received a monster c-notch for proper clearance, as well as a custom triangulated four-link. An Air Lift engine driven compressor provides instant air to all four 2600lb Firestone air bags, mounted on each corner.

With the S-10 on the ground it still needed to undergo some visual changes. A factory paint job will never pass muster at a show, so the keys were tossed to Tommy Boswers and Carlton Hunter for a paint upgrade. The truck was dressed in stock pewter at the time and it was Tommy's and Carlton's job for the next few weeks to turn it blue.

To save on masking tape for the paint job, the tailgate handle, taillights, antenna, rear bed steps, and gas door were all shaved. The stock bumper was ditched for a Grant Customs molded-in roll pan with custom LED lights and a low profile fiberglass tonneau lid was installed. Up front, the stock bumper and grille were upgraded to GMC Envoy parts with billet grille inserts. The stock head lights were swapped out for a set of GMC envoy lights as well. The OEM hood made it to the dumpster and a Street Scene ram style hood made it to the S-10.

After some research, Spies Hecker Viper Blue became the chosen color for this custom show rig. After Tommy and Carlton got the official nod, the paint gun was loaded up and three weeks later, the shiny beauty rolled out ready to win the hearts and minds of the mini-truckin' scene.

Paint isn't everything though. The next stage in this truck's journey was an engine swap. The original 2.2 cylinder 4 banger power plant just wasn't going to cut it. A donor motor from a Chevy S-10 Extreme was found, ironically to help bring this truck into the extreme status! Before the engine was installed several modifications were made to the power plant to improve overall performance. The stock headers were exchanged for a set of JBA headers and the spark plug wires were replaced with Taylor performance plug wires. Once installed, other engine modifications include an MSD ignition system upgrade, the stock intake was trashed for an Injen cold air intake, and the stock alternator was swapped out for a much needed 300 amp alternator.

The next and most important step in the buildup of this show rig was an interior change. A big and loud change that is. This is where the title of our article, "Sound Check," comes into play, for this truck is a lean and mean, drivable stereo machine! The original owner, Alan, believed that if you are going to compete in auto shows, why skimp on mediocre audio equipment? To complete the audio setup in this truck nothing but the best would help to kill the competition and gain the respect of mini-truckers both far and wide, which is why Memphis Audio is the primary stereo equipment representative for this truck. Alan summoned the audiophile capabilities of Kaze Williams of Audio Visions in Murfreesboro, Tennessee to complete the daunting task at hand... making a mini-truck loud... real loud!

For starters, the cab has a walk through with four Memphis 12 inch LVS subs with four Memphis Studio 10,000 watt amps offering them much needed power. Two 4x6" Memphis speakers are mounted in the dash and two 6.5" Memphis kick panels are mounted at floor level. Two 8" Memphis mid range speakers are mounted in the front doors and two 6x9" Memphis speakers are mounted in the extended cab doors. The rear seat was taken out to make room for a custom fiberglass enclosure which houses two 8" Memphis Studio subs. Five Memphis Audio amplifiers power the speakers found throughout the cab. All amplifiers installed in this truck have been neatly stacked in a special enclosure between the bucket seats to give a trick center console type of appearance. Finishing off the audio system is an Eclipse 8053 CD head unit.

The rest of the interior also received a very tasteful upgrade. The stock bucket seats were replaced with 1989 Acura Integra seats covered in Symphony Suede and black Landau Vinyl. The stock carpet was exchanged for black carpet and the headliner received the Symphony Suede treatment. The stock door panels were removed and a custom set of fiberglass door panels were constructed that are emblazoned with the Audio Specialties logo and painted with Spies Hecker Viper Blue at the bottom and covered in black Landau vinyl and carbon fiber vinyl on top. The dash board and steering wheel column were sanded smooth and painted Viper Blue to match the exterior. Finishing off the interior, the stock steering wheel was upgraded to a Trenz billet steering wheel, the A/C control panel was moved to the glove box, and the rest of the cab received various billet bright work.

After all of that custom craziness, the truck needed one more component for optimum aesthetic appeal... a set of rims. Centerline Dagger billet wheels were chosen to make the ground connection assisted by Kumho 225/40/18 rubber up front and Kumho 265/35/18 rubber out back.

After all was said and done the S-10 was ready for its first "Sound Check" and the beginning of a long career as a custom show piece.

Shout Out: "Thanks to Alan Jackson of Smyrna, TN; Josh at Wicked Customs of LaVergne, TN; Tommy Boswers and Carlton Hunter Metal Works & Paint, and Kaze Williams of Murfreesboro, TN. " -Tom