During your travels you encounter a host of road signs like, deer crossing, construction ahead, slow down, stop, etc. Well you ever see the sign, "Dangerous Curves Ahead"? If so, this is not the same warning! These curves belong to a custom Pete called Danger!

Meet Alex Garcia and his family of truck-loving designers and fabricators. Alex and his team are from Miami, Florida, and have been in trucking for over 16 years, owning a host of trucks. On this spring day in Florida, I had the honor of visiting with him and his dangerous Peterbilt 379 with all its customs features!

Alex's shop in Miami is a family-run company called A & A Stainless Steel Plus. They make custom components for big rigs of all kinds, and even some that are dreamed up in one's mind! This is a full custom shop; nothing is out of reach from this team. Don't believe me? Come on, let's find out why.

Now you and I both know that it takes a real craftsman to come up with a vision and then bring it to reality. Well that's exactly what this team did. They had a vision of doing something extreme; something unlike like no other truck on the circuit. Starting with a basic Peterbilt 379 and stripping it down to nothing, they started from the wheels up! As you already know, I have seen some jaw dropping custom trucks in my time, but this one is indeed at the top list, let me introduce you to this war machine.

It started out as a 1997 Peterbilt 379 conventional, with a 3406 E Caterpillar engine, 13-speed transmission and a 63'' bunk. You can stop right there if you dare. For from this point on, it gets dangerous! Alex and the crew started looking and sizing up the big Peterbilt for its transformation! First they had to disassemble it. Everything from bumper to bumper was undone and dropped to the floor. Looking at that bare frame, they instantly knew the truck had to be long! First off comes the stretching of the frame to a 305'' wheelbase! Next, it had to be low, so the team dropped the frame suspension for that long and low look and feel. This set the team in motion for the forthcoming profile of the truck. A custom in-house bumper was made to mimic the front of an old fashioned locomotive train (the cow catcher rack.) The grill and headlights had to have the custom appeal as well, so the grill was custom made and the headlights were flipped on end to give that evil eye effect to the front of the trcuk. The truck's fenders, as you can tell, are totally redone in that heaby armour effect, giving off that tank-proof or bullet-proof feel!

Don't stop now, we just got this puppy rolling! You know you can't have a custom hood without having a custom engine underneath, right? Well here you go. The team also put a host of custom features under the hood of this monster, Stainless steel accents that would blind you, along with an explosion of shine, tubingand custom fabrications that takes the eyes hostage and makes your body gasp for air! The flat back Caterpillar with the chrome, stainless, green paint and array of vented covers is breathtaking! Alex closed the hood to expose the highlights of the cab's custom accessories.

One of the first things to grab your attention are the breather ram intake jets. Like the horns on a mighty Braham bull, this Pete looks ready to charge! With this effect, no air escapes this big Caterpillar's inhaling demands. The cab is also loaded with custom featues: louvers, door panels, window glass, window frames, mirrors and, of course, windshield. All these things were done in-house and were custom cut to meet the needs of the design. Notice that visor and windshield framing. I know I did! It, too, was custom fabricated in the A & A shop. Vented mesh was added to keep down vibrations in the wind, but also to give that mean frontal attack look along with the window trim, makes it look like a battle helmet. It looks very cool at night. The cab visor is lined with a host of pin LED lights, which introduces you to the roof line that slams into the 30mm rotary canon exhaust stacks. Now you know why it is dangerous.

Below the cab is a set of custom cab skirts with mesh LED lights behind the shields that travel all the way back through the sleeper. Back to the exhaust. This is done in 2 parts. First is the 10'' exhaust, which travels underneath the cab then to the top of its roof line. Then there's the rotary canons complete with polished control rings and heat transfer shields; all done in smoke stack black paint!

The sleeper is a 63'' factory unit with a bed and all the comforts of road life. Well, Alex envisioned it a differently. His idea was to make it a secondary sitting area complete with a couch and lounge area. The sleeper was fully redone and cut to 48'' long and lowered 12'' to match the cab. New custom doors and a rear window were added. The interior is set in wood and black leather, has bench seating and a custom stereo sound system that carries sound like that at a stadium concert. A set of custom tanks were set on both sides and wrapped in stainless steel, and a special undercarriage panel was constructed between the tanks. This is highlighted with LED lighting with the title "Danger" cut into it.

Almost done. The frame was wrapped with custom skirts, flared intake vents trapped from the sleeper to the front rear axle, and fully armoured fender effects on the rear tires. This is indeed a battle wagon ready for action! Once again, this is all done in-house and the special effects are done in metal! The interior is done in black leather and wood. All of the chrome controls are laid out strategically, and even the custom stitched interior panels wered one in-house.

Finally the polished fifth wheel was added after the flat black and green paint had cured, and the skull and cross bone were then added to complete the danger theme. I could go on and on with this custom built ride, but the pictures of this truck can speak louder than any words can. So with that in mind, I want to thank Alex and his family for an awesome shoot. Special thanks to Daniel, (my translator), for spending the day with us. Look for this rig to be in upcoming videos and TV spots, because what better place to find "Dangerous Curves" than in Miami? We had a blast with this one!

We out! EEW Magazine

KUENN MCCLINTON / EDITOR IN CHIEF

Kuenn McClinton, the creator of De-Elegant Model Truck Fleet who brought you some of the most realist replicas in the industry for the trucking industry. Now I would like to share some these rigs with you. As a lover of trucks, photography, and design. with all these credits, combined I have the gift of making the world smile.