10-4 Magazine March 2023

64 10-4 Magazine / March 2023 with a large in-dash touch screen. The seats were redone with red and gray covers from EZ Pete Interiors, and a chrome steering column and painted steering wheel were added, as well. The roof is covered with black suede, and custom door panels were made. In the engine compartment, the 550-hp 5EK CAT was painted and then fitted with a new turbo, manifold, and air intake from PDI, and then got a “hot” tune from a local provider, boosting the powerplant to about 650-hp. The guys have plans to make some big modifications to the interior and under the hood, so look for those changes to be done soon. To finish out the build, One of a Kind Customs smooth welded the top of the frame panels, added custom air ride to the front axle, installed a custom welded rear cab panel, modified and smoothed the engine firewall, and used bronze glass for the side windows and two-piece windshield. They also had custom aluminum wheels machined locally at a shop in Sigourney, IA. Being built as a lowrider style custom truck with all the modifications mentioned was unique in and of itself, but what really sets this build apart is the amazing paint work done to it. Dan and Brett selected Joe Manley to complete the painting and striping of the Low Life Peterbilt. I met and spoke to Joe at the 2022 Dirty Business show, and he provided me with a very detailed and informative explanation of the paint work done on the truck. Dan and Brett worked with Joe to select the color combination of House of Kolor Kandy Apple Red and Solar Gold to paint the Pete. The frame is painted with Solar Gold, and the hood, cab, and sleeper are covered in Kandy Apple Red, along with 13 layers of painted stripes and clearcoat. Over 13 gallons of paint were used to cover the entire truck. They depleted the paint supplies of these colors from three different suppliers to ensure they had enough product to do the job! Every area of the truck was painted, including the engine. The total products used were 14 gallons of clear, 12 gallons of Solar Gold, and 2 gallons of Kandy Apple Red. In addition, three pounds of gold flake and one pint each of Kandy Tangerine and Kandy Root Beer were mixed into the base paint to create the distinct colors. The final touch that Joe added was variegated (enhancing the different colorations) Gold Leaf. It took five weeks and 375 hours to complete the paint and striping on this truck. When it all was said and done, the finished custom Low Life Peterbilt has won many awards at several well-known shows like The Red Dirt Showdown in Oklahoma, Frenchy’s Truck Jamboree in California, Walcott Truckers Jamboree in Iowa, and the Waupun Truck-n-Show in Wisconsin. The coup de gras was receiving an invitation to the Lowrider Super Show in September 2022 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. To get this invitation shows the ultimate respect and recognition this venue had for the Low Life truck build. It was a first-ever accomplishment in the industry, and for One of a Kind Customs. This awesome build, completed by Dan, Brett, Blake, and all the guys at One of Kind Customs, truly represents and reflects many aspects of the lowrider style. Being a big fan of lowrider cars, I have a great appreciation for what they accomplished with this Low Life Pete. I hope you too will appreciate all the hard work, time, effort, and creativity that went into this build. With this ride, One of Kind Customs is Livin’ the Low Life in Iowa, of all places. Congrats, gentlemen, on a fantastic build! n