For many of us, our vehicle builds begin with the plan to finish them over a course of a few years. The reality of it is, that many never get finished or they take a very long time. Brad Mateko, a Moorpark, California resident, was able to get his 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD dually ready for the famous SEMA Show (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association) in Las Vegas, Nevada in only six months.

Mateko is no stranger to building trucks. In fact he has been customizing trucks for roughly 20 years now. It all started with his 1986 Chevy 3500 dually. At that time he was into lowering vehicles, so he air-bagged, body-dropped and even cut the roof off to make his ’86 into a convertible. His love for the outdoors brought him to build his second truck, a 1993 GMC 3500 Crew Cab. He was going to use it for his outdoor adventures and decided a 7-inch lift with some 35-inch tires was perfect. In ’93, that was a pretty radical truck in Southern California because it wasn’t something a lot of people did.

Mateko built this ’08 Chevy Silverado 3500HD last year. He bought the 3500HD to explore the outdoors with his kids and it was perfect for camping, fishing, and the occasional snowboarding trip. The start of his build was adding the bed cap to store all of his gear for camping trips. After purchasing an A.R.E. Z Series bed cap, Mateko posted a couple of pictures on his social media accounts and was contacted by a representative from A.R.E. Accessories. They asked if Mateko would like to take the 3500HD to a car show. While Mateko did not think his truck was worthy of a car show, he decided to go anyway, not knowing this would start his road to many sponsorships, and eventually the SEMA Show.

Iron Cross Automotive first asked Mateko if he would like to go to the SEMA Show, and after hesitating for a while he decided to jump on the challenge. He was given both the front and rear bumpers, and being that SEMA was only nine weeks away, he was on the phone trying to get some sponsors. Mateko took his truck over to Scott’s Hot Rods N’ Customs in Oxnard, California, and asked them to dismantle the suspension and install his new bumpers and lights.

The exterior was starting to come together once the new Iron Cross bumpers were installed and fitted with a set of LED pod lights from G2 L.E.D Lighting. The front bumper is equipped with a Mile Marker 15,000-pound capacity winch to help get out of any bad situation. Along with the pocket-style front fender flares from Bushwacker and the X-Series-Studded two-piece front grille from T-Rex the exterior had the style and look Mateko was going for.

The lighting is one of Mateko’s favorite parts of the build. Since his main use for the truck is for outdoor adventures, it only makes sense to add some serious lighting to help in any late night exploring. Mateko added a G2 L.E.D. 52-inch curved light bar over the cabin and two 40-inch light bars behind the two-piece front grille. Let me tell you from seeing it first hand, this truck lights a path for as far as you would ever need to see in the middle of the night.

Mateko always wants to be different in his builds, so when it came to wheels he knew two things. First, it had to be a black and white paint scheme. Second, they had to be big to make the truck stand out at the SEMA Show. Mateko received a set of 24-inch sidewinder dually wheels from Evil Twin and had them fitted with a set of 38×13.5-inch R24 Nitto Grappler Tires. The wheels look great on the truck and with the big three-piston tri-power brake kit from SSBC, he will no problem stopping his 3500HD.

Since Mateko went with such a big wheel and tire setup he knew his lift had to be just as big. Mateko decided a 10-inch suspension lift from Rize Industries would give his truck the perfect look with his new wheel setup. Mateko opted to run a set of dual Fox Racing shocks up front with upgraded upper control arms from CST and in the back, and leaf springs from Atlas Springs paired with Fox shocks.

With only weeks to go until the show, Mateko wanted to add some performance mods. They included a cold air intake from Volant, a MagnaFlow five-inch performance exhaust system with a Hex Flo exhaust tip from Monster Hook, Inc., and an Evolution CTS programmer from Edge Products. To finish it up, he added a Mag-Hytec 14-11.5 differential cover and two Optima Red top batteries.

The interior has a simple and clean look with a set of Roadwire leather seat covers and carpet in the bed liner from Bed Rug. For the long camping road trips Mateko added a Kenwood 6.1-inch double-din navigation receiver, two 12-inch eXcelon shallow subwoofers, and two performance series amplifiers, a Class D mono power amp for the subwoofers and a 4/3/2 channel amplifier for the door speakers.

The six-month build was a challenge, and the only regret Mateko has is that he wishes he had more time to work on the build, but he is happy with how it turned out. He would like to thank Scott’s Hot Rods N’ Customs, A.R.E. Accessories, Iron Cross Automotive and all his sponsors that helped along the way.

Base Vehicle

• 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD LTZ Crew Cab Dually pickup
• Duramax 6.6-liter turbodiesel V8
• Allison six-speed Automatic Transmission

Exterior

• Iron Cross Automotive (Front and Rear Bumpers)
• R.E Z series Bed Cap (with carpet headliner, three outlet Power block, 12v dome light and additional rope light & clothes hanger.
• Bushwacker (Pocket Style Front Fender Flares)
• T-Rex Grilles (X-Metal Series–Studded, two-piece Front Grille)
• G2 L.E.D Lighting (52-inch curved light bar, (2) 40-inch light bars, (4) 8-inch light bars and two pods
• AMP Research Power Steps
• Plain An Simple (Head Lights)
• Recon Automotive Lighting (Rear Tail Lights)
• Monster Hook Inc. (five Swivel Hooks)
• Mile Marker (SEC15 15,000-Pound Capacity Winch)
• Bolt Lock (Padlocks)
• Factor 55 (Pro Link Shackle Mount)

Wheels & Tires

• Evil Twin (24-inch Sidewinder Dually Wheels)
• Nitto (38x 13.5-inch R24 Trail Grappler Tires)

Chassis

• Rize Industries 10-inch Suspension Lift.
• SSBC (Three-Piston Tri Power with 13-inch Rotors Front and Rear
• Fox Shocks (Dual Front and Single Rears)
• CST (Upper control Arm)
• Atlas Spring (Rear Leaf Springs)

Power train

• Volant (Cool Air Intake
• MagnaFlow (Muffler back five-inch Performance Exhaust System)
• Monster Hook Inc. (Hex Flo Exhaust Tip)
• Edge Products (Evolution CTS Diesel Performance Programmer)
• Mag-Hytec (14-11.5 Differential Cover)
• Optima (2) Red Top Batteries

Interior

• Roadwire Interiors (Leather Seat Covers)
• Blitzpro (Custom Switches)
• Kenwood (DNX6980 eXcelon two-DIN Multimedia DVD Receiver with Navigation and Bluetooth with 6.1-inch Screen
• Kenwood (2) eXcelon 12-inch Shallow Subwoofer
• Kenwood (Performance Series 4/3/2 Channel Power Amplifier)
• Kenwood (Performance Series Class D Mono Power Amplifier)
• Bed Rug (Carpet Bed Liner)