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A Three-Generation Panel Truck Transformed by Fat Fender Garage

Trucks have a unique ability to become an integral part of a family. A reliable truck can loyally serve a family for generations through hard work and constant movement. Many of these workhorses form the backbones of mom-and-pop operations, putting in plenty of miles on farms, ranches, and small businesses everywhere across the USA. Without a truck, most of these ventures wouldn’t survive. Like a favorite dog or pet, parting with the family truck is almost inconceivable.

All of that is true for this beautiful 1956 Ford F-100 panel truck. The Castellano family’s grandfather originally purchased it 65 years ago to make deliveries for his furniture business. It was a role it dutifully performed for years before being passed down from father to son. As his first vehicle, the younger Steve Castellano drove it through high school, learning how to shift its three-speed manual transmission. Steve would even take the young woman who would later become his wife on their first date behind the wheel of the truck.

Like any first vehicle, Steve eventually moved on to other rides. However, he couldn’t quite bring himself to sell the panel truck that had helped create so many lasting memories and served his family so well. An idea hatched to restore the truck to its original glory, but like so many projects, life got in the way. Instead of being rebuilt, it sat unceremoniously in his garage, slowly becoming enveloped in layers of dust and rat excrement. In fact, it was garage-ridden for so many years that Steve’s great-grandfather, Giovanni Reviglatti, dubbed it the Duomo—a joking nod to the magnificent Milan Cathedral that took nearly six centuries to complete.

However, well aware of the panel truck’s infamous nickname, the younger Steve had no desire to follow in the footsteps of the artisans who worked on the original Duomo di Milano for centuries. Unlike the many Italian workers who never got to see the completion of their life’s work, Steve wanted to be able to enjoy and drive the Duomo in his lifetime. To complete the build with the same level of attention and craftsmanship found in the famous cathedral, but in a much shorter time frame, he turned to Fat Fender Garage.

FFG, the Gilbert, Arizona-based Ford specialist, is well-known for its extensive array of parts and meticulous full builds. While Fat Fender Garage definitely knows its way around early Ford trucks, The Duomo was its first panel truck build.

To create something truly unique, the Fat Fender Garage team designed a custom frame built by Porterbuilt Fabrication. Resting between those one-off frame rails and providing way more power than the panel truck’s original mill is a Gen 3 Coyote 5.0L V8. Its spent gases evacuate through a unique side-exit exhaust that provides an aggressive tone without being over the top. A Ford 10R80 10-speed automatic eliminates the clunky manual shifting of the original slush box, adds seven more gears, and hands power off to a Currie 9-inch rear axle.

The Duomo’s panel body was both a blessing and a curse.  While rare and unique in appearance, there is also a lot of body to work with. The Fat Fender Garage team spent countless hours perfecting it before lathering it in a custom mix of BASF Burnt Orange. The eye-popping hue shifts from a deep copper to a bright orange, depending on the light and angle. Perfectly placed side graphics were applied to break up what would otherwise be an expansive sea of orange. A custom tilt hood, 245/35/20 front and 335/30/20 rear tires wrapped around Schott forged wheels, and a myriad of other details complete the exterior.

Inside the Duomo, a hand-crafted interior blends modern upgrades with classic looks. Fat Fender Garage created new wood flooring throughout, along with a custom interior kit for the side panels. Resting in the new dash is a Sony Mobile ES touchscreen radio that also serves as a backup camera. Dakota Digital gauges look the part while reliably relaying vital information. A dual air-conditioning system keeps the occupants cool in the hottest weather while comfortably perched in the bespoke Fat Fender Garage seats.

But the Duomo is more than a sum of its parts. Evident from the photos are the extremely high levels of build quality, craftsmanship, and detail that went into every aspect of its creation. Like the original Duomo in Milan, countless hours of work and thought went into the build, transforming a utilitarian and tired work truck into a family heirloom that can be proudly passed down to even more generations of Castellanos. Thanks to Fat Fender Garage, the Duomo is finally complete, out of its garage, and ready to be enjoyed.