Owner: Adam Lovette
Ride: '87 Nissan Hardbody
Hometown: Garland, TX
Club: Twisted Images
When Adam Lovette was just a child, his dad always had friends over on weekends, doing what guys do. That included working on old hot-rods. As Adam became older, his love for the automobile played out before his father's eyes, it took the form of a '87 Nissan Hardbody pickup. Old-skool influence, combined with new-school ideas, would eventually make Adam's road to success; but not without a few bumps along the way. He always remembered something that his father once told him: always build to your own tastes, even if it's not the norm. With that in mind, Adam went to work.
Having previously owned a 'bagged Blazer, Adam wanted to do something a little different with his Nissan. "Everybody does air," Adam explained. "Plus, hydraulics make everything look more mechanical." Having said that, Pro Hopper hydraulics, along with 3-inch lowered control arms, an adjustable four-link, and a step notch set Adam's framerails flat against the pavement.
It wasn't long after the suspension had been completed that the unthinkable happened. A motorist pulled out in front of Adam and caused a major collision. It also caused major damage to the entire front end of Adam's Nissan. Unable to wait around for long, since his truck is a daily driver, he immediately went to work to remove the bent sheetmetal and replace it. Since the truck was down, Adam also decided that the body needed to lay just as low as the frame. With the help of the Hack Shack, Adam's Nissan received a 4-inch body drop. It didn't stop there, though. The truck was completely shaved and smoothed, including the body line, which as Adam explained, throws many people off upon first impression. "It keeps people guessing, they don't see the body line, they don't know what it is."
To finish up the exterior, Adam quickly moved his Nissan into the paint booth and sprayed the entire truck blue. When a friend showed up to spray a few parts for a motorcycle that he was building, Adam quickly decided two-tone would better suit the style that he desired. An Orion Silver dividing flame was then chosen as the way to separate the colors. Adam was pleased with the result of the two-tone paint scheme.
Inside, Adam went with a painted fiberglass, blue tweed, and black ostrich combination. Flames can be found throughout the cab of the Nissan, including the seats and the door panels. To keep the old-skool hot-rod theme going, he took a trip to his local Lowes and picked up several feet of chain. He promptly went back to the shop, welded the links together, then sprayed it with water, and let it rust. His friend, Dean, gave him a screaming Indian as a gift, so Adam quickly made it the shift knob for his new rod-inspired chain-link shifter. He also installed a simple Alpine and Memphis Audio stereo.
For rolling attire, Adam first chose 18-inch Boyd Coddington Magnetos at all four corners, but it wasn't long before his hot-rod roots changed his mind. He ditched the rear wheels and replaced them with 20-inch Magnetos instead. Wrapped in ultra-low rubber, Adam was ready to drag the streets in style.
While he isn't exactly finished with his daily driven Nissan, Adam is pleased with the results thus far. Many hours of hard work by Adam, as well as many other people, helped to create his vision. Those people are the ones that push him to continue creating and building, he said. With their help and knowledge, Adam seems very pleased with the result.