SPECIAL CK

When you have a solid crew, or “Crüe,” as Jason Hill likes to call his amazing team of builders, no feat is too large to tackle. As the owner of Hill’s Hot Rods, Jason has been producing some of the highest quality rides on the planet for his customers since 1995, but every once in a while, he’s able to slip in a personal project after hours. Even the busiest chef deserves to eat from their own restaurant from time to time. Right? 

Such was the case with the ‘97 Chevy C1500 you see here. The idea for such a project had actually been rattling around Jason’s head for a while, and as he explained: “We wanted to build a top-of-the-line CK like we would have back in the day when the shop just started, but with today’s high-end upgrades. We cut our teeth on sport truck builds from day one, and we believe this SPECial is a good rendition of what we would have done back then if the aftermarket was as expanded and available as it is today.”

Jason began the build with a clean rolling shell. According to him, the truck was perfect since it was solid throughout and didn’t have any extra parts that wouldn’t be needed. Well, except for the entire chassis, suspension, and brakes. You see, this particular truck has the distinction of having the first Roadster Shop Slammed SPEC coil-over chassis for OBS pickups, giving it a special place in the history of custom ‘88-98 GM trucks. The custom framework allowed the Chevy to be quickly transformed into a touring/canyon carving machine since it incorporates performance-minded front and rear suspension with sway bars, as well as a 9-inch rear end with Watts link, and 14-inch Baer brakes all around. 

While no one would have batted an eye if everything had been tucked away under the hood and customized with tons of billet or carbon fiber, the rad thing about this build is that it looks factory, from the stock style airbox to the ECU mounted on the inner wheel tubs. Of course, GM’s LT engines weren’t even in development when Jason’s truck rolled off the assembly line in the late ‘90s, but the 5.3L version in this C1500 looks like it was born under the hood.   

With Jason being known as one of the finest custom painters in Texas, it must have been quite the exercise in self-control to not add graphics to the truck, but he resisted and ended up with an amazing PPG-based two-tone paint job consisting of a custom-mixed deep metallic blue and fine pearl white paint. The rest of the exterior sports a combination of parts from LMC Truck and Classic Parts of America, as well as some NOS parts that Jason picked up here and there. 

As far as the interior, a quick glance might lead you to believe that it’s completely stock, but it’s actually been modified quite a bit! A Fesler USA bench seat was covered with Apex leather, and the door panels were wrapped and stitched to match. The sound department consists of an Alpine head unit, with Kicker amplifiers and speakers installed in custom enclosures. 

While Jason will no doubt be creating tons of memories with the truck in the future, he’s already been enjoying it since it made its debut at the Goodguys LMC Truck Lone Star Spring Nationals back in March. In fact, he tells us that the best times so far have been simple things, such as, “…running three deep with the bed full of luggage and golf clubs around Des Moines, Iowa, with zero problems and smiles on our faces. This truck is ultimately a driver and will be tested every chance we get.”