A wise man once said that we own our trucks temporarily; we’re just their custodians for today, and at some point, we will pass them on to a new person who will take on the same role. It’s a romantic way to look at vehicle ownership, sure. But it’s also an incredibly accurate lens through which to view this particular vehicle.
This is Chad Weaver’s 1959 Suburban, and he’s its current custodian. In the past decade the truck has seen many different people with that title, and each have contributed equally to where it sits today. So, while this is Chad’s Suburban, this SUV’s story doesn’t start with him. Instead, it begins over a decade ago in a desert town just southeast of Tucson, Arizona.
Joe Munoz from Benson, Arizona had a vision for his 1959 Suburban. It had a great patina and was in good condition, which made it the perfect platform for a build. As such, he started collecting parts. The GSI chassis, the LS3, and a ton of other pieces all came together to help him manifest his vision. It was well on its way to becoming the stunner that graces these pages today.
Unfortunately, hard times came for Joe, and he needed to sell the Suburban and all its parts. Fortunately, he knew a guy. See, Joe paints vehicles for a living, and one of the people he works with is Ric Maestas at Home Grown Rides in Benson, Arizona. The two of them worked out a deal and the truck traded hands. Then, Ric became the custodian, and after a few conversations, decides to turn the GMC into a SEMA build. That’s when the grind really happened.
Ric went through the SEMA crunch with flying colors. While the ’59 wasn’t perfect, it didn’t have any of the compromises that some SEMA vehicles have. It functioned and looked great to all in attendance, so much so that a deal was struck with a gentleman from the Bayou state who wanted to add the Suburban to his collection. There were a few finishing details to sort out though, and Ric was already slammed with work. But what he could do was get the Suburban to someone who could handle the small tasks, and then he could ship the truck out East. It was a plan.
The Suburban went off to Switch Suspension in Mesa, Arizona for the next leg of its journey. Ric did a lot of work on the truck, but he didn’t have all the rear floor sorted out. Switch took care of that job, as well as a few other odds and sods. Then it went to Louisiana to be with its new owner.
Louisiana Man, as we’ll refer to him from here on out, is the custodian of a few different vehicles, and as a result the Suburban wasn’t driven as often as one might prefer. It sat for a long time. Five years, give or take. Anyone who’s owned an old truck knows that these things have to get some road time no matter how modernized they are, and while it still ran, it didn’t get the chance to stretch its legs enough over the years.
This is where Chad comes into the picture. While he is a retired California police officer, that doesn’t mean he’s in his 70s. No, he’s a young-adjacent man with a few decades of history with custom vehicles. Some of them he bought as-is, others he modified along the way. Basically, if Chad’s owned a car, truck, or SUV, he’s done something to it.
Chad is also something of a horse trader when it comes to his rides. He’s had quite a few, and sometimes they enter and exit his life in pretty short order. For example, he owned an ’82 Squarebody that was laid out on billets, and he then traded that for a ’54 Bel Air that was also sitting flat, and that’s just in 2024.
Then comes November of that year. Ric built this 1961 C-10 for a customer of his, and that man connected with Chad. He loved the Bel Air, Chad loved the ’61, and so a deal was made to trade the two vehicles at Dino’s Git Down. In the process, Chad met Ric, which was good for both of them; Ric has a lot of connections who are looking to sell their projects, and Chad loves to buy cars and trucks. It’s a good combination.
Now Ric ends up getting a DM about the Suburban. Something along the lines of, “I know where it is, and I can get you in touch with the owner if you want to buy it.” Ric doesn’t necessarily want it again, but you know, maybe he knows a guy. So, he reaches out to Chad and, wouldn’t you know it, he’s sold the ’61 and wants something new. Would Chad be interested in the ’59? Of course he would, and so deals were made, the truck got on a trailer and soon ended up back on the West Coast.
Chad took over as the custodian of the ’59, and all he wants to do is drive it. But as nice as everything was, there were some things he needed to tweak. To sort those details out, he went to Willie and Sick Nick at Creepworks, located in Long Beach, California. They took care of the miscellaneous stuff, and when he got the truck back it was good to go.
There was one more stop though before Chad could have some fun, and that was at STD Performance in Manhattan Beach, California. The transmission was shifting weird, and there was some engine hesitation to sort out as well. Fortunately, STD Performance knows their stuff and were able to dial it all in just right, giving the truck the reliability and performance Chad wanted. Everything was good to go.
Which leads us to the obvious question: Did Chad then sell the truck immediately and move on to the next one? No. Actually, he tells us the Suburban is perfect. He loves driving it and does so regularly to Phoenix, Las Vegas, and all over California. It’s been quite the cruiser for him, and while he’s already redone the seats and is planning to do some engine mods, this might be one that he keeps for more than a few months. It’s been pretty special for him.
And that’s the story of this particular 1959 GMC Suburban. What started as an idea in Joe’s head then turned into reality with Ric and, after a five-year stint with Louisiana Man, became a retired police officer’s perfect cruiser. And while Chad is its custodian today, at some point the ’59 will go to a new owner who will take care of it in their own way. But until that happens, Chad is going to have as much fun with it as possible.