2008 Chevy 2500 HD Duramax-Powered Mobile Music Studio

Diesel Meets Music Studio

Like most diesel enthusiasts, Alan Fraze purchased his diesel truck primarily for its load-carrying capability and powerful diesel engine. But Fraze, a music producer from Denver, Colorado, didn’t intend to haul typical loads; he bought the truck to haul the extravagant custom sound system that he planned to have installed. Working with Elite Creations owner Tim Olsen, they designed the massive sound system but needed to ﬁnd a vehicle that could house it as well as keep up with the electrical demands.

The rear axle utilizes dual Fox Racing Shox on each side with fabricated mounts. You can also see the center-dump RBP exhaust and the bottom of the battery cover for the four Odyssey batteries that power the sound system.

Looking under the truck you can see the polished driveshaft as well as the CST drop suspension bracket for the torsion bars.

Considering that Fraze wanted to build a daily driver, not a simple trailer queen, they opted to go with a 2008 Chevrolet 2500 HD knowing that the big Duramax truck could handle the extra weight of the audio system and the engine could keep up with the electrical needs. They also knew that the diesel platform wouldn’t have any trouble getting the extra weight from the stereo system moving, allowing him to drive the truck in a normal manner.

The truck underwent its trans- formation in just four months at the hands of Olsen and the team at Elite Creations in Corona, California. Exterior modiﬁcations came ﬁrst, including the CST suspension lift that uses dual Fox Racing shocks at all four corners. The shocks feature remote reservoirs and polished bodies to make sure they look as good as they ride. In the rear, he installed a new set of leaf springs to compensate for the additional weight of the sound system, along with a 4-inch lift block for the proper stance. New shock mounts were fabricated in the rear for the dual shocks that are now mounted on the rear side of the axle.

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The impressive stance comes courtesy of the CST suspension lift.

Dual Fox Racing Shox on each corner of the truck give it a smooth ride while the massive Brembo brake upgrade is sure to whoa the truck down from speed.

While the crew was working under the truck, they also polished the aluminum rear driveshaft and installed a set of AMP Research motorized running boards to make it easier to get into the truck. They also installed a Brembo brake upgrade on the front of the truck to make sure that Fraze wouldn’t have any problems stop- ping despite all the added weight from the sound system installation.

The massive Brembo calipers sport six pistons for plenty of clamping force on the 15-inch cross-drilled rotors. In the rear, the stock rotors were retained and the rear calipers were painted red to match the Brembo fronts. It’s easy to see the brake upgrade through the custom color-matched eight-spoke RBP 24-inch wheels wrapped in 37X13.50R24 Toyo M/T Open Country tires. The rear differ- ential cover and transmission pan were both replaced with cast aluminum pieces from Mag-Hytec for better cooling and serviceability.

Each front A-pillar is home to a pair of Dynaudio tweeters that are molded into the suede-covered panels and positioned to provide excellent sound quality.

The refinished suede headliner is home to a factory sunroof as well as an Alpine video monitor for rear seat passengers.

To dress up the rest of the exterior, the badges and molding were removed and nearly everything that could be removed was removed and color-matched to the deep blue of the truck. Among the items painted were the hood vents, mirrors, door handles, tailgate handle, bumpers and tonneau cover. The lights were also treated to a light smoke treatment to blend better with the body. To give the truck some more style and an aggressive touch, they replaced the factory Chevy grille assembly with a matte-black mesh RBP grille that has chrome accents. Of course, dark tinted windows are a manda- tory addition to keep prying eyes at bay.

After the exterior was whipped into shape, Olsen and the crew at Elite Cre- ations turned their attention to power and performance upgrades. In addition to the new pan, the Allison transmission was treated to a full performance rebuild with the team from Red Line Performance wrenching on the trans.

The Duramax engine was outfitted with three 340-amp alternators to power the mighty sound system. The engine was enhanced with an aFe intake and RBP exhaust as well as EFILive tuning to make sure the engine could handle the extra electrical load and weight of the system.

From any angle, Fraze’s deep blue Chevy is a beautiful truck. Here you can see the color-matched rear bumper, tailgate handle, tonneau cover and door handles that combine with the badge removal to give the truck such clean lines.

The 6.6L Duramax engine was also tweaked for improved performance with a new RBP exhaust system that dumps in the center behind the rear axle. To help the LMM inhale easier, the build team installed an aFe cold air intake system. They also installed a Snow Performance water/ methanol kit for a little added power as well as improved fuel economy. To bring the engine package together, they tuned it with EFILive and estimate that the engine is making around 550-600 horsepower. In the future, Fraze may go for getting more out of the engine by upgrading the turbo and fuel injectors.

The build team also replaced the factory alternator with a high-current 340-ampere unit and even added custom mounts for two additional 340-amp alter- nators to power the massive sound system. The alternators charge a pair of Odyssey PC-1500 batteries in the factory locations under the hood and four large PC-2150 batteries mounted under the bed where the spare tire once resided.

When the air-controlled lift cylinders raise the tonneau cover, the heart of the beast is shown with eight JL Audio amplifiers and four massive JL Audio subwoofers, all custom molded into the bed.

The low-frequency sounds are channeled into the cab behind the rear bucket seats with a cut-through section in the bed and cab. When peeking into the enclosure you can see the custom-molded panels that hold the massive JL Audio W7 subwoofers.

For Fraze, as a music producer, the audio system is one of the most important aspects of any of his vehicles, and this one does not disappoint. Olsen and his Elite Creations team of builders custom fabricated every aspect of the audio sys- tem, including reconﬁguring the interior for four bucket seats with a modiﬁed center console that runs the length of the cab but looks factory. The heart of the system is the Alpine audio/video head unit molded seamlessly into the factory dash location. A drop-down Alpine video monitor is mounted to the headliner for rear seat entertainment in addition to the pair of Alpine headrest monitors.

The front and rear door panels were reconstructed to house Dynaudio compo- nent speakers while retaining a factory style integrated look with a midbass and midrange in each rear door and two mid- bass and two midrange drivers in each front door. The front A-pillars hold a pair of integrated Dynaudio tweeters on each side for high-frequency performance.

Both the front and rear door panels were reworked to hold the Dynaudio speakers while giving them a factory look and feel.

To handle the low-frequency sounds, the Elite Creations crew cut through the bed into the cab and built a sub enclosure to house four massive JL Audio W7-series subwoofers. The subs feature chrome- plated baskets that are visible through the curved Lexan panel that forms the top and rear of the enclosure. The bed of the truck also houses eight JL Audio ampliﬁers that power the sound system. With the ton- neau cover down, the system is neatly hidden from view, but pneumatic actua- tors lift the cover and reveal the glory of sound production that ﬁlls the bed of the big Chevy.

The rear bucket seats are separated by the factory-style center console that continues to run from the dash all the way to the back of the cab. Also notice the suede inserts in the seats as well as the Alpine monitors integrated into the front seat headrests.

The control center for the audio/video system is the Alpine head unit that’s framed by a custom-fabricated bezel that makes it look integrated, just like a factory head unit.

In addition to the big sound system, the interior of the truck was also reuphol- stered to make it more comfortable. The headliner was recovered in suede and the bucket seats were redone with a suede center section to contrast the dark leather outer portion. Suede inserts were also installed in the door panels to tie the whole interior together and make it look like a factory option.

While it looks like a full-blown show truck, the Chevy was built as a daily driver that Fraze could use as a mobile office and sound studio. The Duramax engine and payload capacity of the truck were the keys to make the rig possible. Even with- out the amazing audio/video system, this is one killer truck and the system takes it way over the top. DW