Boss Hogg's new ride is still white and still big, but now it's four-wheel drive. If you could travel back to Hazard County, old JD would be proud to flaunt his bullhorns off the front of this steed. Redlands, California, dweller Brandon Hogg lays down the law in his '02 Chevy HD.
General Motor's answer to the American dream, just like its trademark, is "just like a rock." The Chevy HD stands proud as its flagship product, synonymous with the United States of America. With 300 ponies and 360 lb-ft of torque, this near 6,000-pound truck stands on top in its class. With a standard towing capacity of 9,800 pounds, the HD is ready to pull your boat, buggy, or whatever else you buy.
As the manager of Tom Bell Chevrolet, Brandon has some horsepower when it comes to dealing with any of the local fabrication shops. Quality is an attribute he values, and he exclusively counts on Custom Motorsports in Riverside, California. He drove his new truck off the Tom Bell lot right over to Barry at Custom Motorsports. Fulfilling his customer's dreams is what Barry does best. When the lift finally landed on the ground, the metamorphism included 12 new inches of suspension. The massive 4x4 rolls proud on a set of 39.5-inch Super Swampers mounted on a quartet of 16x10-inch Weld Super Singles.
Underneath the hood, the reliable 6.0L Vortec powerplant provides ample horsepower in its stock configuration. Regardless, some aftermarket respiration apparatus was used on the big Chevy. A K&N air filter and a Flowmaster exhaust sustain better breathing on both ends. With the addition of the 4:10 gears, getting up to speed is no challenge for the new Chevy.
The rear suspension upgrade was made simple with the addition of the 12-inch Atlas springs. Minor fabrication was required to make room for the dual mounted Bilstein dampers. With four total dampers in the rear, the truck steals the bumps right off the highway.
Up front, the challenge of 12 inches was a big one. The independent front suspension handles diverse terrain well. However, the CV joints are limited in articulation. Luckily for Brandon, Custom Motorsports is more than just a bolt-on installation shop. It came up with a drop-down kit for the differential pumpkin. The drop down also serves as the new mount for the lower A-arms. 4130 chrome-moly upper A-arms bolt into the stock pivot locations. Some major spindle modifications let the systems function rely on the successful factory geometry. Using the stock upper pivot locations distributes the weight burden on to the frame of the truck instead of another bolt-on apparatus. Atop of the new arms sits a pair of Bilstein 9100 series shock absorbers. All the bases are covered with this big truck as both pairs of shocks are connected via a chrome-moly engine cage.