Truckin’ – October 2019

• TRUCKIN.COM [3 6 ] OCTOBER 2019 -

In 2013, Patrick’s father Allen suddenly passed away. Patrick

made a new goal: to transform the GMC that was once the reliable

pride and joy of his father into something special to honor him. As

a natural painter, Patrick started by adding some basic flames. Then

he moved on to a modest airbag suspension kit. And, as Patrick puts

it, “I simply can’t leave anything one way for too long.” With 180,000

miles on the workhorse, Patrick used his suspension expertise to

body-drop the GMC to the ground.

Considering the GMC was still being used as a tow pig for

Patrick’s other trucks, most people wouldn’t put a showstopping

paintjob on it—but most men aren’t Patrick. “There was no predesign

or renderings,” Patrick tells Truckin. “I just sat down with a beer and

started taping graphics.” A total of 20 different PPG colors were used

to add biomechanical graphics throughout the entire body of the

Sierra. Patrick also added a molded rear bumper and bedliner in the

bed to give it a sleeker look while towing.

When it came time to customize the interior, Patrick located a

set of Suburban bucket seats and had Arjona’s Upholstery wrap

them in red suede. Once the seats were mounted, Patrick painted

everything inside, built a new center console, glued the carpeting

down, recovered the headliner, and wrapped all the miscellaneous

pieces inside. Two shallow-mount Rockford Fosgate speakers were

mounted in the center console and fired downward for maximum

sound. Patrick has always been a fan of the retro look, so the choice

was simple when it came time to add wheels to the Sierra: 22-inch

HRBB Trifans were fitted with Lionhart tires to finalize the build.