Shon Reece is a member of Relaxed Atmosphere, an avid auto enthusiast for 18 of his 32 years, and runs Diverse Customs, a body shop in Easley, South Carolina. Luckier than some, Shon is able to combine his work with his hobby. He has owned more than two dozen vehicles, some of which you may recall seeing. His door-dragging S-10, called Jaw Breaker, was featured in Mini Truckin' magazine, while his '87 Blazer, called Neck Breaker, made the cover.
This '84 S-10 Blazer is the latest in a long line of trophy-winning cover trucks. Shon found it in Dayton, Ohio, partially complete, and his first approach was to gut it completely and bring it back to factory specs. The customizing process began with a traditional body-drop of 5-3/4-inches, suicide doors, shaving the body lines, door handles, tailgate, and roof rack, then adding a '93 grille. A good portion of the customizing process was devoted to getting the huge 22-inch Star wheels to fit inside the fenders. Then, a fresh V-6 replaced the tired original four-cylinder, ensuring this custom goes as good as it looks. Shon's first Neck Breaker Blazer was a purchased truck that he had rebuilt. This time around, for the Seven Deadly Sins Blazer, he wanted to show that he had what it takes to build an entire truck from the ground up. So that is exactly what he did.
Moving inside, the Blazer is now a two-seater with an elaborate fiberglass dash and center console, which flows between the reupholstered Miata seats to the intricately designed fiberglass enclosure in the rear hatch. The combination amp rack and sub enclosure holds four Audiobahn subs, two of which were reversed to show the custom baskets. The Audiobahn amps send approximately 4,000 watts to the subs for some window-rattling bass. The mids and highs up front are powered by the Panasonic CD/DVD player, which was mounted in the center console next to the skull shifter. The dash boasts a full complement of instruments, along with component sets that were angled toward the driver and passenger for increased fidelity.
The radical paintjob, done by Shon's good friend, Jason Miles, sports an unusual theme of the seven deadly sins. Beginning with the hood, it shows greed, then moves around the truck to envy, sloth, lust, gluttony, pride, and wrath. As the perfect subtle addition, there is a cool close-up shot of the Mini Truckin' magazine cover that commemorates Shon's previous custom.
So, what else could the future hold? Shon is already thinking about additional paint tricks, a V-8 swap, and even more custom touches to the interior. After that, who knows? Like most talented artists, the fun for Shon is the creative process. He tires soon after completing one of his masterpieces and either sells it or trades it for something new. For us, that means we could be seeing something even more elaborate very soon!