Bobby Hillgaertner from Ocala, FL, has been working on his '97 S-10 from the day it rolled off the showroom floor in 1997. It's now on its fifth or sixth major makeover, but Hillgaertner says now that the body's been dropped and the V-8 is in place, the truck is finally complete. In the beginning, the S-10 was a dedicated stereo vehicle and Hillgaertner was very active in sound quality competition. The innovation-filled Chevy became an IASCA World Finals winner very early in its career, but shortly after its first win, many of the rules in sound competition changed so Hillgaertner moved from stereo competition to the custom car circuit. Predictably, the radical ride also became a regular winner at car and truck shows, collecting many trophies during its time on the circuit and gaining a new look almost every year.
But, old habits die hard. At this year's Spring Break Nationals in Daytona, the truck was featured in the Car Audio booth and not only captured Best of Show in the custom vehicle category but also finished fourth in sound competition, beating last year's world champion. And that was accomplished without an EQ or processor in what Hillgaertner describes as his "simple" system.
How do you pull off such a feat? "The way it's built, the way it's set up, and of course, the product that's in there," Hillgaertner says. Names like Morel, Ixos, Alpine, Arc Audio and Sony contribute to the excellence of this modestly described, "simple" system. While the current component mix is primarily oriented toward video entertainment at shows, the truck is still a formidable competitor on the sound circuit and we'll show you why.
Tech Box
Engine: 425hp, 350 V-8 crate motor and Street Fighter automatic trans.
Suspension: Suicide Doors 7" step notch, Pete & Jakes triangulated 4-link, CanDo Specialties front end, Wilwood brakes, Air Zenith compressors, RE7 bags and BellTech shocks.
Wheels: Intro 22" Twisted Vista II
Tires: Nitto 555
Thanks: Great vehicles don't occur in a vacuum. Hillgaertner would like to thank Nick at Slam Specialties, Steve at CanDo, Jim at Morel, Air Zenith, Intro Wheel, Acrophobia, Angel, his fianc Stephanie, and especially his Dad for allowing him to take so many half days at work.
 With both driver's side doors...  With both driver's side doors of the Extended Cab open, the one-piece, seamless fiberglass dashboard (Hillgaertner crafted everything in his driveway) catches the eye. Twin Accele 10.5-inch screens reside in a handbuilt dash that puts a monitor in front of the driver and passenger. It's a perfect fit around the Flaming River steering column and BAD wheel. |  Angled toward the passenger...  Angled toward the passenger and driver are a trio of speakers, beginning with the Supremo tweets on top, the Morel Elate 5" mids just below and the 9" Morel Elate midbass units in vented fiberglass enclosures in the kick panels. Hillgaertner says, "They are just a great all round speaker." Access to the passive Elate crossover network and fuse blocks is accomplished by removing one of the passenger-side speakers. |  Spanning the full width of...  Spanning the full width of the cab, the fiberglass amp enclosure holds the huge Sony Reference amplifier and fuse blocks with a second sub amp and Stinger capacitors hidden underneath. Hillgaertner believes the Sony 2-channel, 2-ohm reference amp is only one of two left in existence. He says it's an amazingly clean, well-designed amplifier and since he chose not to use a processor or EQ, it fills the bill perfectly.
Bass for the system comes from the single Morel Elate 10" sub in the passenger-side rear quarter panel, receiving 1,000 watts from the hidden Arc Audio 2.150SE amp. Hillgaertner designed a 0.8 ft3 sealed enclosure that fits nicely in the side panel. |