Trucks are for hauling a load of gravel that was dropped from 12 feet up, bouncing off basketball sized boulders as they careen down a rut strewn back road framed by snow capped peaks somewhere in the Colorado wilderness…  Or so the advertisers would have you believe.  We love trucks.  When considering a late model project, it was the obvious choice.  Not that we needed to careen down a deserted pulp wood road with our gravel, but we need to haul stuff, and tow stuff, sometimes QUICKLY…   TRUCKS!

“Scottsdale” brings back memories of the lime green Stomper 4×4 toy I had as a kid.  Watching the warm glow of the tiny headlights as it motored along the carpet, provided endless hours of entertainment.  The square body has an enduring charm and we wanted to capture some of that with this new project.  At least that is where we ended up.  We started with a Blackout edition 2017 single cab Silverado.  Black vehicles are undeniably cool, and we planned to leave this one with its original finish, until we found out that we couldn’t.  See, black does not photograph well, and for a SEMA show spot that would not do.  This is when we decided the old school two tone of the square body would be the theme.  Pfaff designs penned the color scheme and stripe design.  Wilson Paint and body laid it all down, and buffed to perfection.  The late model sculpted body and Chicanery fenders were never meant to mimic the classic two tone.  The whole thing could go tragically wrong with the incorrect placement of one stripe.  Thankfully, Jeremy Wilson spent hours with us, insuring the stripe placement was perfectly tuned to the modern shape.  Akzo Nobel paint was provided by Byrds Automotive supply.

The wide body kit from our new startup brand Chicanery Racing was developed for the 2016-2018 6.5 foot bed truck.  It will actually fit any of those models but the filler cap presents an issue on the super short beds.  We think of those as “baby beds” or “token beds”  Why in the world a truck would have a bed shorter than 6 feet is beyond me.  Of course, you can buy a front wheel drive truck with a minivan chassis too, if you can stand the sniggering of onlookers as you drive through the Lowe’s parking lot..  

Our truck was to be a Muscle truck!  It is easy to find a single cab with the miserly v6, but that won’t do.  Long search by our friends at Edwards Chevrolet finally located the one.  A 5.3 LS powered single cab blackout edition with rubber floors.  With the help of Magnuson, we would have somewhere around 475 hp to play with.  The horsepower club is much more exclusive than it used to be.  The delicate task of ECM tuning was handled by Blake Fondren of Avid Speed.

 

Chicanery Racing fenders perfectly cover the standard off road 12” wheel.  A 20×12 0r 22×12” wheel will have a -44mmm offset.  Couple that with a drop spindle ,mild rear lowering, and the look is phenomenally aggressive.  Wheel Pros fabled brand KMC, offers a beautiful line of two piece XD wheels.  The polished lip and milled edges on the black centers stir a striking pose in combination to the blue and white paint.  The kit lowers the truck visually 2-3 inches and the extra width does something wonderful with the proportions.  It is a rolling cartoon.  It should be in a huge tonka toy box with a toy motorcycle in the back and real engine sounds when you hit the button.

Standard issue problems with the tight ergos of the cab floor pan and front tire turn clearance required a trim of the inner fender (which incidentally has a curious furry texture) and flattening the cab floor seam with a hammer.  No other modifications are needed.  The only custom body piece not ours is the cab spoiler.  EGR provided that to us and it was a perfect fit, eliminating the awkward round cab lines of the aging 2007 design.

We considered adding Nerf bars on the sides like we have seen others do.  But wouldn’t it be super kick ass to have old school side pipes?  Yes please.  All of the exhaust kits for these are fake duals.  Not Cool!  No one makes side pipes for this truck, or even true duals!!?  So we got busy and fabricated our own set.  Cutting the Scottsdale SS logo into the heat shields adds the perfect finish.  The glass pack rumble ain’t half bad either.  Almost feels like we are busting along with the Duke Boys, Rosco P Coletrain in tow when we listen to them thrum with the windows down. If we get enough interest, the side pipe kit could become available soon.

 

Truck Hero, came through in a big way with their BakFlip solid tonneau cover and Bedrug.  The solid cover locks securely with the Tailgate and keeps everything dry and safe.  When it comes to Truckin’ duties, those are key qualities.  The back of our truck is now nicer than some of the hotels we stayed in on the Power Tour.  Lighting enhancements were provided by Hella with the contribution of their 36” dual field light bar.  It tucked perfectly into the space left under the bumper by the Chicanery spoiler and adds the brilliance of daylight to any dark situation.

 

Track day was coming up.  How would a Full sized truck do on the world renowned Barber Race track w streettires and Heavy 22” rims?  Tune in next time to find out.