Back to Life! The Rebirth of a 2004 Chevy Silverado 3500 Dually

It’s Just So Back!

This 2004 Chevy Silverado 3500 dually may look slightly familiar to you, and it would be for good reason. As devoted readers of Street Trucks, you’ll find it in your May 2022 issue in a feature titled “OMG Becki,” albeit with a somewhat different look. And if you read that article (you do read them all, right?), you know that the truck sustained an unfortunate accident right after it was photographed for that feature. For many, that would be the end of the story—a once great truck that was just too far gone to fix. 

Well, this is the result of the hard work it took to bring the truck back from yard art to pavement pounding behemoth. A year and a half of rebuilding, and you’d never know that the taillights were once almost occupying the same space as the rear wheels—not exactly the kind of patina folks are going for these days. Bill Dubuisson loves his truck, so there was no doubt that he was going to go even bigger and better than before, and it was obviously worth the effort!

Since the majority of the damage was to the bed and rear of the cab, that’s the first thing Bill tended to by dropping the truck off with his buddy Eric Hingle at Hingle’s Street Rods & Customs for some much-needed love. When Eric was done, not only was the bodywork once again flawless, but it was now True Blue Pearl thanks to the fresh Urechem paint instead of the previous Calypso Green. In addition, Eric color-matched even more of the body, including the 1500-series bumpers and tow mirrors.

Since its overhaul, Bill has had the truck at tons of events, where it usually picks up a Best Paint award, if not Best of Show—or both.

A fresh basecoat meant that the truck was now ready for a new set of graphics, so Bill called up Daniel Smith at Smithworkx for some bright and bold designs using Orion Polarity Pink, Green Flash, Mimosa, and Nitrous Blue Kandy. Even the inner bed sheetmetal was color-matched to the paint scheme with a sprayed-in bedliner.

…the new color and graphics completely transformed the truck’s attitude and somehow makes it look longer and sleeker, especially when it’s skating down the highway with a loaded gooseneck trailer!

Although similar in some ways, the new color and graphics completely transformed the truck’s attitude and somehow makes it look longer and sleeker, especially when it’s skating down the highway with a loaded gooseneck trailer! Oh yeah, even with the low-profile 24-inch Fullrun tires and MTW HMDD wheels in full tuck mode, this Chevy works every bit as good as it looks thanks to its stout body-dropped and air-ride equipped Phat Phabz chassis! A chassis, mind you, which survived completely unscathed by the low-speed collision which prompted the rebuild. It definitely pays to use quality parts!

In case you did miss the original feature, the interior is every bit as crazy as the exterior, even though not as in-your-face. Cut-down factory bucket seats were upholstered by Innerworx in Sarasota, Florida, with matching customized interior panels and a front-to-back center console, which also doubles as an enclosure for the Kicker subs and amps. A Budnik Ice billet steering wheel was bolted onto the steering column as the crowning touch and adds just enough bling to the color-matched dash area.

Since its overhaul, Bill has had the truck at tons of events, where it usually picks up a Best Paint award, if not Best of Show—or both. And with a truck this large and in charge there’s no trailering it, so it gets plenty of miles put on it despite its show-winning status. Now let’s just hope that there’s never a need for a Becki 3.0!

TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

• Bill Dubuisson
• Slidell, LA
• 2004 Chevy Silverado 3500

CHASSIS & SUSPENSION

• Phat Phabz complete air ride chassis w/gooseneck setup
• 3,800-lb. airbags front and rear
• QA1 shocks front and rear
• 28-gallon fuel cell

WHEELS & TIRES

• 24-inch MTW HMDD one-off wheels
• 275/30R24 Fullrun F7000 tires

ENGINE & DRIVETRAIN

• 2006 GM 6.0L V-8
• Custom air intake
• Color-matched engine cover and accessories
• 2006 4L80E transmission

BODY & PAINT

• Color-matched 1500-series grille and bumpers w/billet inserts
• Custom front and rear wheel tubs
• Yitamotor headlights
• Mictuning rock lights in fenderwells
• Urechem True Blue Pearl basecoat by Eric Hingle/Hingles Street Rods and Customs
• Custom graphics using Orion Polarity Pink, Green Flash, Mimosa, and Nitrous Blue Kandy paint by Daniel Smith/Smithworkx

INTERIOR & STEREO

• Upholstery by Innerworx in Sarasota, FL
• Cut-down factory bucket seats upholstered with red leather
• Custom color-matched interior panels and center console
• Pioneer AVH-600EX head unit
• Kicker subwoofers
• Kicker amplifiers