Robbie Azevedo's heavily modified 1948 Chevrolet Roadster Pickup looks more like something that rolled off the assembly lines of Mattel, rather than Motown. Don't let its sleek and shiny exterior fool you though. This is no kid's toy. This is a man's vehicle, a superb blending of old-school style and high-tech electronics, with enough muscle under the hood to beat up both you and your dad.
Azevedo, of California's Pacific Coast Customs, was looking for the right vehicle for his first solo installation, one that, when finished, would show the world what he and his shop were capable of. Well, mission accomplished, Azevedo. (And he's only 21-doesn't that just make you weep?)
Bod Mods
What you see here is a far cry from what Chevrolet intended when it dreamed up the '48 Roadster Pickup, and to get it that way Azevedo had to perform over 50 modifications to the body alone. That included chopping the top, changing the grille, shaving the door handles, adding plenty of fiberglass and doing just about everything else save adding wings and propellers. The engine was junked in favor of a 2000 Camaro LS1 powerplant, complete with Magna Charger blower. For suspension, Azevedo bagged it, front and back, with Slam Specialties air sacks. The final touch was the application of Hot Hues Alabaster and Tango paint at Creative Images in Lodi, CA.
Old Meets New
The most striking feature of the interior is, without a doubt, the computer sitting on the transmission hump between the driver and passenger. The VGA touchscreen computer monitor is housed in a fiberglass frame, painted tango to match the rest of the vehicle. Below it sits a standard, full-size keyboard, connected to a Castle-Tek PC, which is hidden under the seat.
The PC handles not only navigation but audio duties as well, which is fed through an Audiobahn A3351 head unit, hidden away to keep the dash clean. And check out that trackball!
Speaker placement up front is slightly unusual. Instead of dropping the speakers in the doors, Azevedo went instead with pods in the front kick panels, aimed at the passenger on the opposite side. The pods, which each house a set of 6 1/2" Kicker SS components, were fabricated from fiberglass and covered in leather. A similar speaker placement was employed behind each passenger, with the speakers firing to opposite sides of the cab.
Raise the rear tonneau lid and you'll be exposed to another pair of 6 1/2" Kicker SS component speakers, mounted for the enjoyment of any tailgate party that happens to be brewing. And, so Azevedo doesn't have to get back into the car should the choice of music prove inadequate, there's a second 10-inch touchscreen VGA monitor mounted between the Kickers. Now that's style.
Out Back
To get the most bass, Azevedo divided up the rear enclosure into three chambers. The outer two chambers each received a Kicker L7 12" Solo-Baric subwoofer, pointed out, while the middle became the home for a Kicker L7 15" Solo-Baric sub, pointed inward.
Amplification comes courtesy of an array of Kicker amps, arranged under the tonneau lid for maximum exposure. One Kicker KX1200.1 powers the L7 15" sub, while another makes sure the two L7 12" subs keep booming. A Kicker KX450.1 powers the rear SS component speakers, one Kicker KX250.2 amp powers the front pair of SS components, and another powers the rear cabin pair.
So Wired
Azevedo's Roadster is unbelievably clean, so it's no surprise that he hid all wiring and interconnects under the body in channels and tubes. He used Scosche EFX gold-plated RCA cables, 4-gauge to the amps and capacitors, and 0-gauge from the batteries to the distribution blocks.
Two Optima batteries went under the rear fenders to power the car, while two Scosche EFX batteries under the tonneau keep the amps juiced. Four Scosche EFX 1-farad digital top capacitors mounted under the amps keep the signal clean, as do the Scosche EFX black iced fuse distribution blocks under the tonneau cover.
For the future, Azevedo plans to take his wheels to as many shows as possible. He's already won a few awards for it and is sure to win many more. Azevedo would like to thank Hot Hues, Billet Accessories Direct, Painless Performance, Budnik Wheels, Castle-Tek PC, Kicker, Scosche, Iacono Design Group, Pacific Auto Salvage, Slam Specialties, Flowmaster Exhaust, and his brother, Willie Azevedo.
Tech
Wheels: 20" x 8.5" front, 22" x 10.5" rear
Tires: 245/35ZR20 front, 285/30ZR22 rear, Dunlop SP Sport 9000
Engine: 2000 Camaro LS1 withMagna Charger blower
Suspension: Air-bagged front and rear with Slam Specialties bags
Body: Full custom body with over 50 exterior modifications
Shop
Pacific Coast Customs
Installer: Robbie Azevedo
American Canyon, CA