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A Modern Throwback
Mike Schott’s 1992 Chevy Silverado
BY Tim KingImages by THE AUTHOR
T

he 1980s conjure images in your mind of long hair held up with an abundance of hairspray, heavy metal music, and neon colors. For General Motors, 1988 welcomed a new era of the truck line, ending the famous Squarebody Chevrolet trucks that lasted from 1973 to 1987.

These new trucks would forever change how trucks were viewed. Instead of being more of a utilitarian-based vehicle made for hauling loads and getting work done, the 1988 Chevrolet and GMC trucks were built with the influence of the comfort from a car, ushering in a new era of trucks. Affectionately named “OBS” Chevys (Old Body Style), these trucks were wildly popular back then and still are today.

Slammed or lifted, they look great and were easy to modify. No matter how the trends changed over the years, there’s nothing quite like a slammed OBS with a killer set of wheels. Enter Schott Wheels out of Southern California.

Schott Wheels picked up this 1992 Chevrolet Silverado to be their OBS Chevy throwback build. To start, the entire truck was repainted in the original Medium Aqua paint you see. The billet grille was an original aftermarket grille from 1992, so they left that in there.

Rear-side view of a teal 1990 Chevrolet C1500 Sportside, highlighting the clean tailgate and chrome wheels by the beach
To upgrade the ride quality but decrease the ride height they opted to ditch the leaf springs in the rear and install a complete React Suspension rear coilover kit that converts the leaves to a four-link system. In the front, a set of Belltech drop spindles was utilized to bring it down. To complete the suspension and stance a set of Aldan American coilovers were used front and rear. This combination brings the truck down 4 inches in the front and 6 inches in the rear. Being a wheel manufacturer, they naturally had to throw on a set of Schott Wheels to show off.

They chose their Mach V Cover-Loc design finished in 20×8.5 up front and 22×10 in the rear. Schott finished the wheels off with a combination of brushed and polished spokes to bring out the details and wrapped them in Michelin tires.

To bring the truck to a stop they ditched the factory brakes and upgraded to a set of 14-inch Baer Pro+ brakes in the front and a set of Baer SS4+ brakes in the rear. The engine was left stock but was upgraded with a set of JBA headers and full exhaust to hit the right tone.

Custom gray and white interior of a 1990 Chevrolet C1500, featuring diamond-stitched upholstery and modern steering wheel
Custom interior door panel of a 1990 Chevrolet C1500, with quilted gray stitching and smooth leather finish
Rear bench seat of a 1990 Chevrolet C1500, showcasing custom diamond-stitched upholstery in gray and white tones
While the interiors were comfortable and useful in OBS Chevy trucks they were basic and not very flattering or performance-minded. TMI decided to give these OBS trucks their touch by giving them an interior they truly deserved—an interior that not only looks great but is upgraded and suitable for any level of build.

The first easy upgrade was to develop a set of brackets to be able to easily install a set of TMI’s Pro-Series Universal Sport-DDS Low Back seats. Stitched in a Y-972 medium dove gray vinyl and Y-4818 dark suede to match the factory gray OE plastic A- and B-pillars and dash, these seats feature an iconic Double Diamond Stitch pattern. The TMI Double Diamond Stitch pattern complements the Schott Wheels spoke accent in their road wheel design as well as the steering wheel design.

Nestled comfortably between the bucket seats is a TMI Sport console with storage compartments and dual cupholders in matching upholstery. The rear seat was reupholstered to match the front seats and bring the design throughout the entire interior.

Engine bay of a 1990 Chevrolet C1500 with a detailed, clean, and polished V8 engine, featuring custom headers
Chrome 22-inch wheels on a teal 1990 Chevrolet C1500, paired with performance Michelin tires and custom disc brakes
By far one of the biggest upgrades to the interior were the door panels. In factory form they are flat and don’t match the new bucket seats. Starting from scratch we created a complete set of molded door panels. These panels feature the same Double Diamond Stitch pattern on the insert to match and complement the bucket seats to give a truly custom look right out of the box.

By this point in their lives most of these trucks will have cracked dashes and sagging headliners. We installed a one-piece headliner to solve the issue of the sagging headliner along with a new set of matching sunvisors. The dash was covered in TMI’s matching dashpad that offers the same French seam for that custom look.

The cherry on top of the dash is the Schott Wheels steering wheel. This is the very first steering wheel that Schott Wheels produced. The design of the steering wheel mimics the same design as the wheels, with the same level of detail and finish. TMI took the wheel and wrapped it in matching upholstery to really tie in the interior and exterior.

Side profile of a lowered 1990 Chevrolet C1500 Sportside in teal, featuring chrome wheels and smooth body lines
Close-up of a teal 1990 Chevrolet C1500s bed cover, reflecting the surrounding palm trees
The last piece of the puzzle was to install a complete TMI carpet kit and floormats made from TMI 607 Charcoal Loop to get rid of the dirty and worn-out original carpet in this truck. The result is an interior that looks like a custom one-off but is an out-of-the-box interior that can be installed by anyone.