Full Feature: Rodney

T-XL aka Leche

Liberty VIP member Rodney from the Bronx NY, has defined convention by choosing to start a VIP inspired build with a much smaller luxury car.  A fitting name for the owner of this 2006 Acura TL would have been David.  He went against Goliath’s and not only did he hold his ground, he parked right on it and did so from 100 feet away with his Airrunner air suspension wireless controller.  “I love the big body Lexus and Infiniti’s but I wanted to be the first to execute correctly on the smaller TL.” said the giant killer.  What truly made this an amazing build was the fact that the car is a FWD vehicle.  RWD  cars are typically used to execute the look partly due to the fact that they can take some deep dish wheels with minimal work.

Not only did he push the limits for TL wheel fitment, his front wheels would take some work to fit on the rear of a BMW 750iL.  The low offset 10” width front and 11” width rear wheels have many wheel shops scratching their heads in disbelief.  The center caps of his Japanese 3pc. Leon Hardiritt Orden’s read “Bravery and Wisdom.”  Both bravery and wisdom were needed to go forward and flawlessly execute on what we now call the “T-XL.” The foot prints of this machine are larger than of its bigger brother the RL.  How was this done?  Through custom body work performed at Dreamakers Kustom’s in Endicott, NY.  The fenders were pulled way beyond factory position and so were the edges of the bumpers to continue the flare to fit these massive wheels.  Each side is a good 3” wider.  The work is so smooth, that is looks as if Acura designed the car this way.   Before you go out and order the most aggressive size wheels you can find, know that lots of measuring and knowledge of body work was used prior to placing his order.  The last thing he wanted was a car that was not proportionate or didn’t flow with the factory body lines.

Once the work was complete, he graduated from staggered fitment and moved onto “swagger” fitment.  Wheels that require lots of body work and fit flush to the fenders, earn that title.  “What’s chicken without Adobo? (Spanish seasoning)” Asked Rodney.  “I had to add a little flavor.”   That he did.  When you move over to the rear of the vehicle, you may notice that the exhaust tips are not the usual dual round tips.  They were taken from the king platform of the VIP world, the LS460.  On the Lexus, they are made to not be functional.  On the T-XL, they blow smoke.  The rear lip is from the A-spec Acura TL and it was molded onto the car.  The opening of the vent on the rear bumper and the shape of the tail lights make these exhaust tips the best possible aesthetic fit for this project.  Fitting them was no walk in the park.  Nate at Dreamakers had to perform some surgery in order to have them appear as if they were a factory option.  Lighting up the front of the car are custom retrofitted headlights with an added projector in the TL’s headlight integrated fog light location to keep the symmetry.  Stepping inside the interior, you will first notice the beautiful curtains that surround each window.  They bring a grown and sexy feel to the interior that is surrounded in leather, suede and wood grain.  Some plastic parts were sent away to get dipped in a burl wood pattern to make the interior appear much more luxurious.

As we drove into the city while watching the “Bronx Tale” DVD off of the factory navigation screen, the first thing I noticed was the crystal clear sounds.  The sound system is powdered by 4 Alpine PDX amps. I then turned my attention out the windows and noticed many people breaking their necks.  That was even before he showed off his reverse light HID’s or his train horns that could wake up the city that never sleeps.  What was crazier was the fact that this was in front of a high-end restaurant that had many six figure cars parked in front.  “I could have never imagined to have gotten this type of reaction out of a TL, I feel blessed.” said Rodney.  Anyone else in his position would need custom Tee’s with XL size collars to fit their big heads.  This guy on the other hand always gives credit to those who helped with the build, his family and God.  This is what I call a VIP class act.

-AGIM JONES  (Widebody_Q)