DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR CHILDHOOD DREAM TRUCK? The one you’d drool over at truck shows, clip photos from magazines and always watch for on the road? You had all the details picked out, from the paint, wheels and tires to its chassis and engine. The fantasy ride was your ticket to freedom!
Texas iron worker Hector Marmolejo sure remembered his childhood dream truck—this squeaky clean black and red 2016 Chevy Silverado you see before you—and believe it or not, it only took him three months to complete.
“I had great hands who assisted me all the time,” Hector says. “They made it the easiest part of the build.”
The exterior modifications on the Silverado include front tub work and beadrolled seams, thanks to the crew at Drops R Us in Pasadena, Texas. It’s painted a shiny, slick PPG Black all over the outside, with PPG Eggshell Red on the truck bed, inside the cab and under the hood; Robert Meza of Alamo Customs in Alvin, Texas, is responsible for the stellar paintjob.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
THE LITTLE RED PICKUP THAT COULD
This Backyard-Bound 1990 Toyota Pickup as Been on an Adventure of a Lifetime
ROCK CRAWLING CRUISER
There’s no terrain too tough for is 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser
CONTINUING A LEGACY
Lexus LX Takes Reign As New Model Land Cruisers Cease To Be Sold In U.S.
OUTDOOR ADVENTURES BY YYOTA
Points To Consider When Building An Adventuremobile
CHOP WORTHY
Dicing It Up With The Snow Peak Cutting Board Set L.
SOUTHEASTERN MINITRUCKIN NATIONALS
THE 27TH ANNUAL EVENT ROLLS INTO NORTH CAROLINA
MAGMA
Fantastic the First Time
Project Burnadebt
1959 CHEVY APACHE BODY RESTORATION
SHOWOFF SERIES STAGE II
NO SHORTAGE OF TEXAS TRUCKS!
BLACK WIDOW
This 2016 Chevy Silverado is a Dream Come True for Hector Marmolejo
An Abortion Pill Supply Chain—by Mail Order
Indian generic drug makers are drop-shipping the medicines to US women facing local curbs
The Fight Ahead
The Supreme Court's decision to end federal protections for abortion access didn't just rewind the clock 50 years, it opened a Pandora's box of confusing, potentially life-threatening legal complications. VF talks with five women on the front lines.
Coming Home
The Uvalde tragedy set me down a path from my west Texas hometown to the hallowed halls of Washington, D.C., from political outsidercynic to inside broker on gun reform that changed me forever.
Surveillance State
From abortion to schools, the GOP is turning Ben SPIK everyday citizens into culture war snitches.
COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF TEXAS LAW ON SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATION
A federal appeals court ruled in favor of a Texas law targeting major social media companies like Facebook and Twitter in a victory for Republicans who accuse the platforms of censoring conservative speech.
CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER VS. TOYOTA COROLLA CROSS
The Toyota Corolla Cross is one of the more notable all-new models for 2022.
Practicing Positivity
“HOW DO YOU TAKE CARE OF SO MANY PLANTS?” This is always the first question people ask me when they walk through my door. My front porch is home to a few dozen plants. It leads to the jungle of my living room, where hundreds of plants hang from my ceiling or grow happily on counters, windowsills, and plant stands. Every room in my house has an assortment of vines and leaves, and my garden is an outdoor green sanctuary.
The New Abortion Prohibition Era
Americans disagree about abortion. This is the understatement of 2022, yet it bears repeating in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the June Supreme Court decision that returned abortion policy to state and federal legislatures. Ten states have already banned abortion and another four have prohibited abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which amounts to nearly the same thing.
How Texas’ Grid Beat the Heat
Rewarding businesses that cut power use the most during peak times sparks a conservation race
A Very Dangerous Place to Be Pregnant
Texas leads the US in maternity ward closures, and nowhere is this more of an issue than in the western part of the state