John Mata Jr. April 10, 2024 Chevrolet
Photos by Victor Lopez
Mini-trucks have got to be one of the most unique and infectious genres of custom vehicles of all time. They just have a style all their own. They’re loud, they’re low, and once you get mixed up in building and driving them, there is no going back. Even when venturing out and dabbling with other types of automobiles, the mini-truck aesthetic tends to follow in some degree of form and function.
Ivan Zavala of Claremore, Oklahoma, knows exactly how that goes. He grew up in Texas during the ’90s and had plenty of exposure to custom mini and full-size pickups back then. This influential period of the sport truck scene holds a special place in the minds and souls of many enthusiasts, but as we get a little older, we must face one important fact. A slammed and bodydropped mini is fun while we’re young, but it gets harder to squeeze into one as a full-grown adult. Let’s not act like that isn’t a real factor these days.
“I always knew I wanted a wild mini-truck with the crazy graphics and billet wheels,” Ivan admits. “If I had built one way back in the day, it would have been a true mini model for sure, but since I am just now getting around to it, I decided to build a mini-inspired full-size truck.”
He didn’t know it back when he started, but Ivan began his project during one of the weirdest times of our collective lives. COVID knocked us all upside down in 2020. In fact, we’re still dealing with certain repercussions from it, but none as impossible as they were that year. We don’t have to remind anyone just how bad it got. Life as we knew it came to a screeching halt, but things had to move on—somehow.
“I bought this truck for my birthday in April of 2020,” Ivan explains. “I purchased it with the sole purpose to build, and luckily Jake McKiddie at Phat Phabz in Choctaw, Oklahoma was still working at full speed all throughout the quarantine and was available to take on my project.”
While Jake was able to take care of whatever he could physically lay his hands on, the guys did run into some issues while attempting to source key components to make progress with upcoming phases in the build.
…Ivan quadrupled down on his order by requesting four extra hides of the same Lambo orange leather used on the steering wheel.
Jake paired the Silverado with a full custom frame, and he even performed a bodydrop to allow the truck to sit further down on the set of big wheels that Ivan was dead set on running. This is where the first major issue popped up.
“I first wanted to go with a staggered set of front 28-inch wheels with 30s at the rear, but Jake convinced me to just go with 30s all around,” Ivan adds. “I initially ordered a set from Intro, but they just couldn’t make it happen due to the struggles associated with COVID. It was understandable, but I was forced to look elsewhere. I contacted MTW and asked if my order could be moved up the list since Jake had already completed the frame install. We were in a pinch, but the wheels were soon on their way.”
After fitting the wheels and getting the Wilwood 16-inch rotors and 6-piston brakes to function properly, Ivan’s Silverado was ready for the next round of customization. The truck was taken to S&R Designs in Fort Smith, Arkansas, where Ryan Kidd and Steve Anderson were awaiting its arrival. Once there, they shaved the bed stake pockets, all plastics in the bed, and the gas door clean off the Chevy. The rear bumper and top of the tailgate were also cleaned up. Next, the bed floor was raised to accommodate the much lower ride height, and custom sheetmetal wheeltubs were also fabricated for both ends to house the much larger wheel-and-tire combo. To give the Silverado a different look than the rest, a 2023 High Country grille and LED lights were incorporated into the front-end restyling.
The exciting part of the exterior overhaul came when it was finally time to apply the insanely cool ’90s mini-truck style paintjob. The colors and graphics seem to have jumped straight off the pages of a comic book! No surface is spared, as the colors run clear across the smoothed rear bumper and into the bed with yellow paint that features a unique splatter design that makes for an interesting touch. It took two trips and waiting though a six-month delay for paint and materials, but the masterful work of art was completed as soon as the guys had all the tools required to prep and spray all the layers of paint and clear.
“The truck won the best paint award at the Bandas Y Trocas show in Fort Worth,” Ivan says.
With the combination of colors artfully intertwined, it’s easy to see why the truck made such an impact on the judges.
Ivan was soon faced with the decision of how to reconfigure the interior space of his Silverado. It all started with ordering a custom leather wrapped/carbon fiber clad steering wheel from AZA Auto Wheel. With the company being in the Ukraine, the estimated time of arrival for the wheel to reach his Ivan’s doorstep was looking right around six months. Instead of looking elsewhere for alternate unit to be delivered much sooner, Ivan quadrupled down on his order by requesting four extra hides of the same Lambo orange leather used on the steering wheel. His plan was to reupholster the truck’s seating, console, dash, and all panels within the interior. Draztik Changez of Houston then lent a hand to color-match a handful of interior pieces with matching Gravity Blue paint pulled from the exterior surface. JA Custom Audio also participated in the interior overhaul by wiring up Supreme Sounds speakers and amps that have taken up residence on the back cab wall.
“Overall, this project has taken around three years from start to finish, and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my wife Cristy—she is always ready to hit a truck show or take a trip to a shop with me,” Ivan concludes. “Thank you to my friends Del Karlos Jorge, Joe, Miguel from Team Billet, Ryan and Steve from S&R, and especially Jake and the whole Phat Phabz crew for helping get the build rolling. It has always been a dream of mine to have a truck that stood out for being so different, and that also had those classic ’90s to early 2000 mini-truckin’ vibes that I fell in love with years ago.”
TRUCK SPECS
OWNER
Ivan Zavala
ENGINE & DRIVETRAIN
CHASSIS & SUSPENSION
WHEELS, TIRES & BRAKES
BODY & PAINT
INTERIOR & STEREO
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