Sergio Tijerina’s Journey: Turning an ’06 Chevy Silverado into a Ground Zero Worthy Ride

Believe us: We know peer pressure. It’s never a good idea to ask your buddies whether or not you should buy those new wheels, or have your seats redone, or even something as simple as getting your windows tinted. Inevitably, the chants of, “DO IT, DO IT, DO IT …” win out, and next thing you know, you’re spending major coin on your ride again. Truthfully, we usually just want that gentle nudge in the right direction. We were probably gonna do it anyway, but we use that nod of approval to help justify it to ourselves, our spouses and our bank accounts, right? 

For Sergio Tijerina, the pressure was immense, but most of it actually came from within. Sergio grew up seeing the members of a certain club, Ground Zero, around his hometown and always knew that he wanted to build a ride that would be worthy of running the GZ logo. This obviously wasn’t going to happen overnight, and like all of us, Sergio had a budget to contend with, but with plenty of planning and a flawless game plan he eventually ended up with the truck of his dreams. 

Right out of high school (which for Sergio would be about a decade ago, give or take a year), Sergio put together enough scratch for a down payment on an ’06 Chevy Silverado. Many years of extra hours at work yielded some more play money, and at one point, Sergio just couldn’t contain himself any longer and dropped off his truck at The Drop Shop Customs in Mission, Texas, for a static drop. As often happens, though, Sergio saw the other projects in the shop and decided that he didn’t want to have to do things twice, so he gave shop owner Piri the go-ahead to knock out an air suspension setup that would allow Sergio to lay the frame on the ground. Piri also shortened the rear axle tubes and installed some fresh Moser axles to allow for some deep-lipped, 24-inch Intro Twisted Rally wheels shod in Toyo tires. 

From there, as Sergio tells us, things snowballed. “As soon as it came out of The Drop Shop, I took it to Gustavo Gutierrez, who started on the bodywork and paint. I had heard of Edgar Solis and the type of graphics work he did from my cousin, so I got in touch with him and told him to throw some of his artwork on my truck, no matter the cost. Finally, it went to RGV Auto Sports for the clear.” When all was said and done, Sergio’s truck had been relieved of its door handles, tailgate handle, factory taillights and other “unnecessary” items that tend to clutter up a custom ride’s exterior. Once the bodywork was finished, Gustavo applied several coats of Ruby Red Metallic paint before Edgar laid out the graphics, and Hector from RGV finished things off with tons of clear for a deep shine. 

As you can see, the collaboration that went down on the exterior of the truck was amazing, but it did generate one negative: The interior looked downright drab in comparison! To remedy this sad situation, Sergio took his Silverado to Palmas Upholstery in McAllen, Texas, for a complete overhaul, which involved ditching most of the factory interior and starting from scratch. A customized bench seat from a 1985 C-10 was stitched up with Katzkin Mandarin Orange leather, as were the door panels, a headliner and a custom subwoofer box by Audio Shop. Joe, Roberto and Efrain from Audio Shop took care of the sound department, installing a variety of Sundown Audio’s latest stereo equipment, which is controlled via a Pioneer head unit. Finishing off the interior work is an Intro Rally steering wheel, several AutoLoc switches and Billetin.com AC vents and headlight knob. 

It was a long journey, but Sergio finally reached the goal he set for himself as a teenager. “Now … after years of hard work and dedication, I can take my ride out to Texas shows and am proud to say I’m a member of Ground Zero!” And that, folks, is what this whole truck thing is about. 

Tech Specs

Owner: – Sergio Tijerina
San Juan, Texas
2006 Chevy Silverado
Club: Ground Zero

Engine & Chassis:
Stock 5.3L V-8
Spectre air filter
6.0L engine covers
Rearend housing narrowed 3.5 inches
Moser axles
3.73 rearend ratio
Custom fuel cell

Suspension & Brakes:
Work performed by The Drop Shop Customs
Ekstensive Metalworks rear 2-link kit with step notch
Ekstensive Metalworks front air ride kit
Ekstensive Metalworks upper and lower control arms
Firestone airbags
QA1 shocks
Dual VIAIR 444C air compressors
Slotted front brake rotors

Wheels & Tires:
24×9 and 24×10 Intro Twisted Rally billet wheels
265/30R24 and 295/30R24 Toyo Proxes ST II tires

Body & Paint:
Work performed by Gustavo Gutierrez, RGV Auto Sports, and Edgar Solis
2006 HD hood
Tucked and color-matched front bumper
Shaved door handles, fuel door, stake pockets and third brake light with AVS filler panels
AVS Cali combo with LED lights, shaved factory taillights
Ruby Red bedliner
Painted notch cover
AVS billet fuel filler on bed rail
Tubbed for 24-inch wheels
PPG Ruby Red Metallic paint
Graphics and pinstriping by Edgar Solis
AVS air horns
Custom license plate holder by Chassis Fab John

Interior & Stereo:
Upholstery by Palmas Upholstery
1985 C-10 bench seat
Katzkin Mandarin Orange leather upholstery
Katzkin leather headliner
Custom door panels
AutoLoc billet door handles and Daytona window switches
Billetin.com AC vents and knobs
Empire billet gas and brake pedals and rearview mirror
Stereo work performed by Audio Shop
Pioneer head unit
Sundown wiring
dB Drive P7 6.5-inch separates
Sundown SA series 12-inch subwoofers
Sundown amplifiers
Optima Yellow Top battery

Special Thanks From the Owner: “I want to thank Piri from The Drop Shop Customs for the suspension work, Edgar Solis for his awesome graphics work, and Gustavo and Hector from RGV Auto Sport. I also want to thank Rafa Jr.; Lino Palmas Upholstery; my cousin, Cesar Tijerina; my parents and family and all of my Ground Zero fam from Cali to Monterrey, Nuevo León.”