PICKLES APPROVED

The Remix

When you see a super clean, body dropped truck rolling down the road or sitting at a show, your first thought might be, “Man, that guy has a nice truck.” Don’t feel bad, because we think the same thing most of the time. But in this case, that comment couldn’t be further from the truth. This 1992 Nissan Hardbody belongs to a gal—Heather Montgomery from Canton, Georgia, to be exact. If her name or the title of this article sounds familiar, then you might be from around the southeast U.S. You could almost say her dog Pickles is more famous than she is. Pickles travels the show scene with Heather and her other half, Waka, and everyone knows who Pickles is.

You could almost say her dog Pickles is more famous than she is. Pickles travels the show scene with Heather and her other half, Waka, and everyone knows who Pickles is.

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Heather set out looking for a truck she could drive and enjoy but also something she didn’t have to put a ton of work into to make it her own. After loads of time searching the internet, she found a truck that had plenty of work done to it and had made a name for itself. But as soon as she saw it, she knew that with the right touches and the right upgrades, she could have a truck that fit her style perfectly. Once she acquired the truck, it was time to “remix it,” as she says.

REMIXING PICKLES’ RIDE

When Heather picked up the truck, it had a traditional 3.25-inch body drop with torsion bar ‘bag brackets and 2,600-pound Slam Specialties ‘bags in the front and a one-off reverse triangulated 4-link with 2,800-pound Slam Specialties ‘bags in the rear. Two color-matched Air Zenith OB2 compressors, 8-gallon air tank, and Air Lift controls power the suspension. The entire frame was painted black while the rear notch and bridge were painted the body color to tie the bed work into the theme. For rollers, Heather went with 18-inch polished Boyd Coddington Magneto wheels wrapped in 215/35-18 tires for that classic mini-truck look.

The body had quite a bit of work done to it, the rear of the truck especially. The taillights, gas door, and tailgate handle were shaved, a roll pan was welded in, and LED taillights were grafted into the tailgate. With the rear so custom, she decided the front end needed some work to make it flow nicely, so the stock chrome front bumper was shaved and smoothed. The inside of the bed had a ton of sheetmetal work, plenty of dimple die holes added, and the notch poking through. Knowing she wanted a new color to make it her own, the truck was sanded down and prepped for new paint. She decided to let Mike Issacs with Outlaw Paint in White, Georgia, spray the Peacock Green base color with a holographic pearl. This way the paint flips colors in the sun. She also had Mike color match the door handles and newly smoothed front bumper. A T-Rex billet grille and clear corner markers wrap up the exterior.

NEXT-LEVEL INTERIOR

With the exterior where Heather wanted it, it was time to tackle the interior. Being the previous owner added a bunch of sheetmetal work to the interior, Heather knew changing up the door panels, audio, seats, and tying it all together with some strategically placed leather, she could push the interior to a whole new level. The dash is custom-built aluminum with a console that flows to the rear audio. A Dakota Digital gauge cluster makes sure she has a full view of all the truck’s stats while driving. In the extended cab section, two 10-inch JL Audio subs and an Alpine amplifier power the entire audio system. A pair of 4-Runner bucket seats were also added. The custom door panels, seats, audio, and several trim pieces were wrapped in Ford medium-parchment leather with rainbow plaid inserts and rainbow stitching. Matching carpet was also added to tie it all together. Donnie Desinise at Complete Upholstery in Commerce, Georgia, handled all the work.

Now that all the key parts of the truck were dialed in, the only thing left was the engine bay. The stock engine got a few cosmetic upgrades, including a color matched valve cover and plaid battery tie down. Heather also added a Nissan 240 intake and heat wrapped the headers and exhaust.

DO IT!

While at the photo shoot, we were able to sit down and talk with Heather about her truck and tried to find out what her future plans with it were.

“Maybe new wheels and a ragtop, but other than that, I just want to try and hit as many shows as I can with it,” she says.

We also asked her what advice would she give someone thinking of building a truck. She replied with, “Do it! Everyone has a different taste. Build it how you want it to look.”

TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

Heather Montgomery
Ride: 1992 Nissan Hardbody
Hometown: Canton, GA

WHEELS/TIRES

• Wheels: 18-inch Boyd Coddington Magneto
• Tires: 215/35ZR18 Nitto

CHASSIS MODIFICATIONS

• Suspension (front): Torsion bar ‘bag brackets, Slam Specialties ‘bags
• Suspension (rear): One-off reverse triangulated 4-link, Slam Specialties ‘bags
• Compressors: Two color-matched Air Zenith OB2
• Air Accessories: 8-gallon air tank with Air Lift components, black frame with color-matched notch and bridge

BODY MODIFICATIONS

• Shaved: License plate, taillights, tailgate, gas door, and molded front bumper; all-aluminum bed with rivets and dimple die holes
• Bodydrop: Traditional 3¼-inch
• Bolt-ons: LED taillights, custom mirrors, modified tailgate

PAINT

• Brand & Colors: Peacock Green with Holographic Pearl
• Performed By: Mike Issacs at Outlaw Paint in White, GA

INTERIOR

• Seats: 4-Runner buckets
• Dash: Custom aluminum dash and console
• Misc.: Dakota Digital gauges
• Material: Ford medium-parchment leather with rainbow plaid and rainbow stitching
• Performed By: Donnie Desinise at Complete Upholstery in Commerce, GA; Altered Image Customs did the aluminum dash

STEREO

• Head Unit: Alpine
• Mids & Highs: JL Audio
• Subwoofers: Two JL Audio 10-inch
• Amplifiers: Alpine
• Engine: Stock
• Detail Work: Painted valve cover and accessories, Nissan 240 intake, heat-wrapped headers and exhaust

SPECIAL THANKS

“Thanks to Waka for supporting me throughout this build,” says Heather. “Many thanks to Mike Issacs and Donnie Desinise for listening to me on how I wanted it to look and exceeding what I ever thought it would look like, Justin Shubert for helping with all the other small things for the truck at the house. When people say, ‘It must be nice,’ well, yes, it is. I try to enjoy the truck as much as I can.”