Anyone who knows Josh Hawkins of Smithville, Tennessee, can probably attest that he is a sucker for custom trucks. Since a lot of Josh's paycheck goes toward the financing of his truck hobby we must agree. Josh bought the 1988 Chevy 1500 you see here from his dad in 1990. It was in bad shape, but it wasn't going to stay that way forever. Over the years Josh saved every nickel he could by mowing lawns which enabled him to buy the truck in the first place. Considering how much work had to go into this rig, Josh likes to call his truck "Hand-Me-Down" and so the title of this feature was born.

As I stated earlier, when Josh got his poor battered Chevy, he was determined to get the ball rollin' on a cool custom rig no matter how long the wait. With support from his family and his friends, Josh was able to transform a pile of truck into a smooth and sexy cruiser.

Josh started with project "Hand-Me-Down" by giving his '88 a lower stance. Using a Silver Star air bag suspension system, Josh's truck will now lay frame with the help of a C-notched frame out back. A 450 Viair compressor fed by a 5-gallon air tank provides plenty of air on tap for each bag. Rolling stock consists of 18-inch Dip X04 Wheels wrapped in Nankang 245/40R18 rubber.

The nose of Josh's rig is adorned with a 1988 chrome grille with billet inserts, clear headlights, clear corner lenses, Street Scene sport mirrors, billet wiper post covers, smooth wiper cowl, a smoothie bumper with billet grille inserts, and a billet bow tie. The side molding, door handles, antenna, tailgate handle, bedrail, and stock bumper were shaved for a clean look. In the rear the stock tails were ditched for a set of Euro styled lenses that keep "tailgaters" in check. Once the body was sanded, smoothed, and massaged to perfection, the Detroit metal received a coating of Blue paint. Once the blue paint was dry a set of silver flames were laid for the finishing touch that even reach into the engine compartment.

The interior is just as kewl and in fact matches the exterior, including the flames, perfectly. When you open the doors, the first thing you'll notice is the custom painted flamed door panels. The leather bench also has flames embroidered in the middle that run from the seat cushion up to the top of the seat backing. A custom blue leather headliner, silver leather sun visors, and various billet aluminum accessories complete the cockpit's esthetic appeal, including: a flamed steering wheel, window cranks, manual gear shifter, heater box cover, Maltese cross rearview mirror, and diamond plate floor mats.

The sound system is a mild setup, but one that does what it is supposed to do... provide good tunes while cruisin' the Tennessee show scene. A JVC CD head unit takes care of the tuning while sending the lyrics and instrumental sounds to a pair of Memphis Audio 6x9 speakers mounted in the original factory locations.

Under the hood, Josh had the 350ci engine rebuilt bored 40 over. The engine was then dressed up with chrome valve covers, chrome air breather element, billet master cylinder cover, and a chrome ribbed radiator hose.

Now Josh and his wife, Stephanie, get to cruise the highways and byways that crisscross the South in a hot-rodded hauler. Have fun, you two, but don't go too far, because Josh says he still has plans to change the truck up even further... we can't wait to see what "Hand-Me-Down" will look like next!

Shout Out: "Thanks to my wife Stephanie, for the help and dedication she put into the truck. I also want to thank Gary Bandy for the time and effort he put into the paint job and air bags. Finally, thanks to J.R. from Elite Streets Magazine for featuring my truck!" -Josh Hawkins