Makin’ You Sick – Clint’s Pepto Pink Frontier

Custom Truck: Nissan Frontier

Sometimes you’ve got to go against the grain.

Take Clint McDowell, for example. If you saw the 20 year old on the streets of Phoenix, you’d wonder how one person could get so many piercings in their face, and how they were able to dig up a set of Max Headroom style glasses out of the 1985 parts bin. To say Clint is unique is an understatement in its highest form. Seriously on his tech sheet under “other interests” he put: “Hockey and Monkeys.”

It’s probably  no surprise then to know that this bright pink Frontier used to be a Desert Runner. Yes, Nissan’s factory pre-runner truck was in Clint’s driveway just a few years ago, really high off the ground with a funky blue color. It was neat for a while, but seriously, Clint doesn’t go for what regular people do. He couldn’t leave the truck stock, that’d be too… normal.

He wanted to reduce the daylight underneath the truck, and knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task. After searching far and wide, he came across Kevin Blysdale from Just Plain Trick in Mesa, Arizona. Kevin’s not a normal guy either, and he’s pretty handy with a plasma cutter and a welder. It was a match made in heaven.

The factory suspension is based off the 4X4 Frontier, so that had to go. Kevin cut off the front clip like it was nothing and in its place installed a front frame section from a ’94 Nissan Hardbody. After that, all of the crossmembers were raised up, and the rear end was swapped for a ’97 Hardbody axle. Now it was time to get this thing on the ground like it needed to be.

Up front, a set of 2-inch dropped spindles were paired with Slam Specialties bags to get the new front crossmember on the concrete. Kevin then built a custom 4-link to attach the new axle to the frame, then bridged and bagged the back half. Now the truck was laying frame and good to go, right? Nope. Clint wanted to go lower.

Out came the sawzall and the next few months were a blur. The truck was bodydropped 3.25 inches, the interior was done in black tweed and zebra print, and then the body was fully shaved and prepped for paint. Now the only question was, what color?

We asked Clint at our shoot that very question. “Dude, this is a sick color, but what made you pick pink?”

Clint turned to us, looked up from under his bowler hat and said, “Pink is my favorite color.”

Yeah, he’s different alright.

The resulting truck not only breaks stereotypes but also looks cool as well. Yes, the pink is a bit out there, but then again, so is Clint. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Cherish Her – Bear’s Nissan Hardbody

You’ve  probably met guys like Jerry before. He’s a good guy, always worked hard at his job, been around the local club scene for a while, and has built a few cool rides in his time. Then one day, he steps it up a notch and builds something really wicked. That’s just what happened to Jerry Taylor, of Glendale, Arizona and this Nissan Hardbody.

Except Jerry doesn’t go by Jerry. Most know him as “Bear,” a nickname used by all of his fellow club members in Kastawayz. He’s built a little stable of rides over the past few years, including a pair of Hondas, a bodydropped Nissan Hardbody, and a Toyota mini. When Bear bought this particular Hardbody a few years back, the goal was to really go above and beyond what he had done in the past. Something that would get some attention, and really take the custom scene by storm.

It started in Bear’s garage, a cozy little spot named “Bear’s Customs.” In that 20X20 space, he tore into his hardbody, starting with the suspension. The factory Nissan 6-lug had to go, so Bear did a spindle and rear axle swap with a ‘90’s Toyota pickup, giving him the coveted 5-lug he needed to get some decent wheels. Next, it was time to get it on the ground. Up front, Slam Specialties bags smooth out the ride, while the back was completely redone from the cab rearward, with a custom cantilever setup built around a pair of Firestone airbags. In the bed live a pair of 3-gallon air tanks, which are flanked by an Air Zenith compressor. The whole truck was hardlined with copper tubing, for that extra step of reliability.

With the frame resting on terra firma, it was on to the body. With a welder in hand, Bear went on a mission to weld up all the extraneous parts on his truck. That meant the third brake light, cowl vents, antenna, tailgate handle and gas door all went the way of the dodo. While the welder was out, he frenched a license plate box into the tailgate, and welded in a roll pan as well. As a finishing touch, Bear cut in an electric sliding ragtop to let the sun shine in.

The sheetmetal work was out of the way, so now he had to get it all straightened out. Around that time, Bear had started a new day job at Autostyle in Peoria, Arizona, and just two doors down was the crew at Auto Renew. Dave took control of the project, first by blocking the truck down to flat perfection. Then he sprayed the truck with a House of Kolor True Blue Pearl basecoat, then laid down a simple graphic in House of Kolor Light Blue. The result is a paintjob that plays tricks on you; It looks like a single color from some angles, and from others it’s got a killer graphic job.

At the time, Bear’s hardbody had a full interior, but it needed some work. Out it came, and with the help of Cameron from Autostyle, it was all replaced with a Katzkin black leather and blue suede kit. Now he needed a system, so he hopped next door to talk to Jason at Autostyle about doing his stereo. The crew installed a pair of 9” Icon monitors in the doors, and an Eclipse in-dash dvd player up front. Then the extra-cab section was gutted and in its place a mammoth fiberglass box was built. It holds the trio of JL Amps: one 450/4, and a pair of 1000/1’s. Those amps power a quartet of JL Audio 12W6’s, subs known for their poundability. Everything that needed paint, including the dash, was sent off to the legendary Krazy Kenny to lay down some more True Blue Pearl.

For a long time, the truck was rolling on some 18’s that were neat, but nothing crazy. A few phone calls later, and a set of 19” Bonspeed Laguna II’s were rolling Bear’s way, wrapped in some super low pro 215/35 Kumho tires.

It’s been a long, strange trip as they say, but Bear’s pretty happy with the results. He’d like to throw some shouts out to Scott at Autostyle, Air Zenith, Kumho, Auto Renew, his car club Kastawayz, his brother Justin for helping put things back together, and a special thanks to his wife Bobby Taylor, and their son for all their support.