THE LOWDOWN
Best Friends Partner on a 1997 Chevy S-10
AFTER 10 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP, MIKE BISCHOFF AND BERNIE SCHWEIGMAN OF BALTIMORE ARE INSEPARABLE. After many years of checking out automotive shows together, as well as spending time with other friends who like cars and trucks as much as they do, the dynamic duo decided to make a joint purchase. Mike is a painter and Bernie is a great mechanic, so they knew they could tackle any challenges a truck build could throw their way.
After a bit of hunting and consulting with friends about a team build, they were directed to a late’90s S-10 that was sitting in a front yard. The truck’s owner at the time had attempted to start a build himself, but he didn’t have a lot of know-how or experience. The body was pretty rough, and the motor was locked up, but Bernie and Mike decided to make the owner a lowball offer anyway, and they took the truck home.
Once they began the frustrating task of fixing someone else’s mistakes, it became evident that it probably would have been easier to start with a stock truck instead. It seemed as though for every problem they fixed, two more popped up in its place.
The friends decided to cut their losses and take the truck down to bare frame. They wanted to build their ‘97 S-10 the way it deserved to be built. They got started with renewed purpose, laying down paint on the clean, bare frame rails.
The bad engine prompted a full stock rebuild, and while the motor was out of the way, they decided to paint the firewall and engine bay. They also gave that 2.2L four-cylinder a matching coat of paint. All of the suspension had been set up incorrectly, so they installed a 3-link setup in the rear with tubular control arms, upper and lower, and Slam Specialty ’bags to help lay the 3.5-inch body-drop to the ground. Once they’d wrapped up the suspension and engine details, they moved on to Mike’s specialty, paint and bodywork.
Custom shaved and painted pieces litter the interior and exterior of the S-10. Mike and Bernie
THE PAIR WORKED DAY AND NIGHT TO RESTORE THE TRUCK TO ITS PRE-WRECKED GLORY. THE FINAL PINSTRIPE WAS LAID THE NIGHT BEFORE THEY LEFT TO ATTEND THE TENNESSEE SHOW, AND THE REST IS HISTORY.”
cleaned up the exterior lines, and then Mike shaved the door handles, antenna, washer fluid nozzles and the gas door. They built a fully custom sheet-metal bed and shaved the roof seams. Next, a set of 1995 Cadillac El Dorado taillights was frenched into the rear of the truck for a unique touch. To finish off the exterior, Mike laid down Sikkens Lincoln Candy Red Pearl Gloss two-toned with Ford Charcoal Graphite. He carried the same red pearl throughout the interior.
As the two friends were wrapping up the interior, which is filled with custom modified, shaved and painted parts, they made their final few decisions. They installed Bravada leather and suede seats in two-tone gray to match the charcoal paint on the exterior to tie the inside with the outside of the build. Considering the amount of red pearl they carried into the interior, they thought it would be too overpowering to make the seats a flashy color, which made neutral gray the perfect choice.
With the truck mostly finished, they felt great about their accomplishments, having finished a major project in just a year, with a week to spare before their planned debut at Lay’d out at the Park. Just when everything seemed to be going as planned, an F-250 dually rear-ended the completed S-10, severely damaging the bed. The pair worked day and night to restore the truck to its pre-wrecked glory.
The final pinstripe was laid the night before they left to attend the Tennessee show, and the rest is history.