FOREVER AND A DAY

Sometimes when you look at a truck at a show you think, “That must have taken forever to get done.” Thing is, you’re probably right. Show trucks do take a ton of time, effort, and, lest we forget, cash, to get built properly, but that time part? Sometimes it’s not in the build itself, but more in the waiting. 

But let’s not get ahead of things. This 1984 Chevrolet Silverado is owned by Robert and Becky Samaniego, and a few years back, Robert was over at a buddy’s house, doing what you do when you hang out with friends. This particular pal had a squarebody Chevy sitting around with an LS engine and powdercoated frame ready to go, but he had lost motivation and needed some extra cash to remodel his kitchen to sell his home. This truck needed a ton of TLC, but Robert was looking for a new project, so a deal was struck, and shortly after that the ’84 was towed to its new home. 

Now Robert knew what he wanted to do with the truck. The plan was to take the LS3 that came with, put it in the powdercoated chassis that also was a part of the deal, and have a nice little restomod-style build. Something reliable to get to and from work, and he even had a shop in mind to do the job. He dropped it off and thought everything was taken care of, but a year later very little was complete, and he knew this wasn’t the right place for him. So, off the truck went back to his home to sit for another year. At this point, it wasn’t in much better shape than it was with his friend, but Robert still had plans. He just needed a way to execute. 

Let’s sidebar for a sec to talk about what Robert does for a living, because it’s pertinent. Robert owns a business, and he owns trucks and pays the salaries of multiple employees. This company is a contractor for FedEx Ground, which, if you didn’t know, contracts out all their ground deliveries. Basically, Robert’s responsibility is to deliver packages via truck for FedEx, and he’s got to maintain his fleet. 

Have you ever seen a FedEx truck? They’re huge, and sometimes they get damaged from an errant tree branch or some careless driver. Fortunately, Robert had a place that took care of all that stuff, and he did so much business with them that he purchased a 5-gallon drum of white paint for them to have on hand whenever he called. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), that shop was going out of business, so Robert had to pick up that paint. That was the plan until the owner called him up and said that there was a guy who wanted to buy the barrel instead. Did Robert want to meet him? 

Robert’s a busy guy. He was on his way to a business lunch but decided to stop in on the way to see about selling the paint. And the guy who wanted to buy it? That would be Todd Leishman of Killer Toadz Kustoms, the man who would eventually build the ’84. 

The two became fast friends, and with the square at Todd’s shop, they started to plot and scheme to figure out how to make the vehicle as cool as possible. Robert had a bunch of parts, after all, so building it with the original goal of a clean daily was definitely attainable. Todd though, he had some other ideas. He pitched them to Robert and once they ordered the 24-inch Raceline wheels — the rears being 24X15 — well they had to build the rest of the truck to match. The LS3 was sold and replaced with an LSX454, and a little over three years later (with steady progress, mind you), the truck was out at shows. 

The parts list for this truck is daunting. On first glance, it’s just overwhelming how many different things went into building the ’84, and there are some who focus on the quantity of parts in their project, as opposed to the way they’ll all work together. Not so with Todd and Robert. Every component has a purpose. The LSX454 puts enough power to those 24X15s to roast the Pirellis, but also looks tailor made for the clean and shaved engine bay. The bed floor is immaculate and does a nice job hiding all of the suspension and air ride. But it’s all hinged and lifts up via an air bag setup to not only show off all of the Todd’s hard work, but also allow for easy access to the parts. It’s these kind of thoughtful touches that put the truck above and beyond the rest. 

As a result of all that hard work, the ’84 took Truck of the Year at the Dallas C10 Nationals, as well as a bunch of other hardware along the way. And frankly, it deserves every bit of it. So yes, this truck did take forever to get done, and that time wasn’t all in the build, either. But in the end, all those hours are well worth it when you get a result like this.