2002 Cadillac Escalade - I'm Leaving it Stock

At least that's what the owner of this Escalade thought until a night out at the movies changed his plans

MotorTrend StaffWriter

In 2002, Jaime Ayala was in the market for a family vehicle. But instead of hauling the family around in a minivan he opted for a more luxurious option: A new Escalade. The vehicle was daily driven in stock formation, and while he had no intention of customizing it, that all changed when one night he walked out of the theater to find out it had been vandalized.

Knowing that it needed to be repainted, he had the truck stripped down and opted for a color change. Looking for something with a little more pizzazz, he decided to go with a different color and chose violet. Back in the lab, they mixed up a few samples, shot test panels, and once he found the right shade of violet they doused the iron pig in paint, only the final outcome wasn't what they had expected. The color was spot-on to the samples they had sprayed but they didn't take into consideration just how large the vehicle was. When the truck came back, the couple looked at each other and the first thing they said to each other was: "That's a whole lot of violet!"

It was far too much violet for them, so to diffuse the base color they began adding pearl and candy patterns in tangerine, lime green, and different shades of purple until they wound up with its current look. Knowing that it needed just a tad bit more, Toni Ayala came in to add pastel color striping while Freddy Alfaro airbrushed a mural on the hood before Antonio at PR Customs stitched up the bright suede interior and custom sounds.

Soon after completion, he joined Nokturnal, a group of likeminded show car enthusiasts, and that's when he began showing the vehicle throughout NorCal before it was retired. In the end, Jaime is happy with the results of his build, but as he began to think out loud, he says, "Initially I didn't buy the truck with the intention of fixing it up. If I did I would have purchased a used one and not paid full price for a brand-new one just to be customized." And while the truck remains a significant part of his life, he's since shifted his focus to running his PR Custom Shop, and his truck serves as a reminder as to how far he's come and what he's able to accomplish.

2002 Cadillac Escalade

NicknamePhat Nok1

Owner

Jaime Ayala

City/State

Ceres, CA

Club

Nokturnal

Engine

6.0 with AEM (Bruite Force) air cleaner, Stinger alternator, B&M wires, Borla headers/exhaust system

Body/Paint

House of Kolor violet pearl paint with multi-color patterns

Interior

Tangerine, lime, and violet suede interior with painted parts

Sound

Eclipse stereo with two Zapco amps, six 6.5-inch MB Quart speakers, and three 12-inch Eclipse subwoofers

Wheels/Tires

26-inch TIS Modular wheels with 295/25-26 Pirelli Scorpion tires

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