Tinker Toys: Options for customizing vehicles seem limitless

Kirk Baird

Monday, Aug. 2, 2004 | 8:08 a.m.

Unless it's burning on a freeway, an '89 Mustang LX might not be worth a second glance.

Then again, no other Mustang LX or car, for that matter looks like the one owned by Clint Stevenson.

Parked in front of his southwest Las Vegas home, the sports car barely resembles what it once was: the door handles, antenna, cowl panel (where the windshield wipers are connected to the car) and even the door to the gas tank have been shaved off the body, replaced by smooth painted metal. Stevenson now relies on a remote control to open his two doors, while the gas panel has been hidden away inside the trunk.

Rear air bag suspensions can lift up the car 8 inches or have it sink flat on the ground, and every piece of the engine and front suspension has been taken out and painted, polished or chromed.

The outside of the car features an eye-grabbing custom paint job: sunset orange, purple flames with pimped-out skeletons playing cards and rolling dice.

The interior also has been painted to match the exterior, with custom-made door panels, fiberglass dashboard and center console, along with custom-made leather seats.

Stevenson's ride is so impressive that a group of neighbors can't help but gather 'round the car as he motors it back into the garage, where it remains until the occasional outing, which more often than not entails competing in a custom car show. It usually places first and sometimes takes best in show.

Although the 23-year-old does custom paint and body work on cars and trucks for a living, he considers his work on his Mustang a hobby.

And an expensive one at that: Stevenson spent more than $20,000 customizing his car.

When asked why, his answer is simple.

"I like (customizing). It keeps me out of trouble."

But Stevenson isn't alone in his passion for customizing cars.

Souping up cars and trucks has always been a part of American culture, only now this "hobby" is bigger than ever.

Popular shows such as the Discovery Channel's "Monster Garage," TLC's "Overhaulin' " and MTV's "Pimp My Ride" are showing it's cool to have a custom ride.

"The marketplace is growing at a ridiculous pace," said Beth Greenwald, creative executive in charge of "Pimp My Ride." "It's not just kids. It's not just boys. It's all across the markets. And that market is just growing and growing."

Deanna McGuinness, 25, certainly isn't your stereotypical car junkie. Nevertheless, she is very much involved in helping her husband customize their three cars: an '86 Nissan Hardbody, a '67 Mustang and an '88 Mustang GT.

An employee at a Las Vegas AutoZone, Deanna is referred to as "the mechanical brains" of the couple by her 27-year-old husband, Stephen, while he serves as the "hands-on mechanic."

It's a partnership that works.

Stephen's decked-out minitruck, which features a full custom frame and an air bag suspension, received two trophies in recent custom car shows, while Deanna's car has fared even better.

Her classic purple Mustang features a custom black interior, shaved door handles, antenna and emblem, a brand-new motor and 17-inch rims.

"I've taken more trophies than his truck," she said sheepishly.

When asked if there are other women involved in customizing cars, Deanna acknowledged there aren't many.

"But slowly, more are coming around," she said. "I took a different route than most of them. Most of the chicks have Hondas or Focuses. I'm a little offbeat."

While the McGuinnesses have spent more than $30,000 on customizing their cars -- including buying a '90 Thunderbird they plan to scavenge for parts -- there are alternatives for those with less money to burn.

There are the popular spinner wheels, shiny coverings that replace hubcaps, spinning even when the car isn't in motion. A set used to cost $12,000 when first introduced to the market several years ago, but now sell for as low as $500.

Ground effects, or body kits, which change the appearance of the car by making it more aerodynamic and lower to the ground, can be bought for as low as $1,500.

And neon tubes, which were in fashion, then out of fashion and now are fashionable again, have new technology that features color-changing kits for $1,300, including installation.

For those looking to spend even less, there's also Billet Grilles ($100) for the front of the car, clear corner marker lights ($19-$200) to replace the standard orange lights, and good ol'-fashioned pinstripes ($100-$900).

But for those who can afford it, a car or truck can be nearly as versatile as their imagination: Suicide doors, which open to oncoming traffic; "Lambo," named for the Lamborghini doors that open skyward; hydraulic or air bag suspensions to elevate and drop the car or truck; custom-made fiberglass and Plexiglass interiors, and elaborate custom paint jobs.

And TVs. Lots and lots of TVs.

"The more TVs the better," joked Steve Platt, owner of Plattinum Audio Designs.

Platt recently installed a 25-inch widescreen monitor into a 2004 350Z Nissan that would raise up out of the center console with the press of a button.

But his favorite was a nine-TV installation job in a Dodge Ram truck.

"All he had was a front seat ... (but) there were TVs in the doors, dash and in the head visors," he said.

Extreme? Sure.

But that's often the case when it comes to customizing cars.

Standing in Musso Motor Sports, the Las Vegas custom car and truck shop he co-owns, Joe Musso has gotten creative in personalizing cars and trucks.

One project still under construction is a 2002 Toyota Tacoma with suicide doors and a rear-window factory switch that will allow the glass panel to slide up and down.

The truck's frame also drops to lay flat on the ground, its large wheels just barely tucked into the body.

"There's no real reason why" people customize their cars or trucks, Musso said. "It's all personal preference. Everybody's got their own style and vision of what they want."

But ultimately, the car or truck is a reflection of its owner.

"Your personal statement is your vehicle," said J.D. Wyrick, a 24-year-old custom car enthusiast and vice president of the Southern Nevada Mini Truck and Car Council, which oversees 20-plus local car clubs.

"Whatever you can imagine, someone can build."