The Showman

It’s pretty safe to say that the vast majority of horsepower junkies don’t have the same level of enthusiasm about real horses. Have you every thought about the correlation of the two before? Yeah, we haven’t either. The topic really hasn’t come up around here, honestly, and while there may very few of you out there that can appreciate both, the crossover between custom automobiles and equestrian sports hardly ever mix – but they will today.  

Randy and Sydney Weaver of Weaver Customs in West Jordan, Utah, share a passion for building extraordinary custom vehicles of all kinds. Their track record speaks for itself, as they specialize in amazing bodywork, fabrication, design and engineering as well as custom paint. While this power couple also puts a big emphasis on performance and horsepower in their custom builds, they also enjoy spending time with real horses in their off time. It was this extracurricular activity that led them to the opportunity to link up with an unlikely individual for a project truck that has since turned out absolutely incredible. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s introduce you all to another important player in this story. 

Andrea Fappani, a big name in the highly competitive sport of reining horses, hails from Italy, but now calls Scottsdale, Arizona, home. We realize that most of our readers will not recognize his name, but if you’re interested, search his name on Google – the accomplishments this guy has under his belt is downright impressive. Well, it turns out that besides working with horses, Andrea really digs trucks. Maybe it’s because there weren’t many around where he is from in Italy, but here in the States, they’re everywhere, and he has found himself naturally drawn to them. 

“Knowing Andrea from many horse events, our conversations began to gravitate away from horses and started revolving more about the types of cars and trucks we build at Weaver Customs”, Sydney recalls. “Andrea once spent a lot of money on a ’94 ½-ton Chevy truck that was super ugly (he’d even admit it now), but he still thought it was cool back then because it was a truck.” Well, even though that OBS Andrea once owned is now one of the hottest to customize right now, he set his sights on a truck with a little more age to it, but he wasn’t looking to going the patina route. He was actually interested in something quite the opposite. 

Wanting more, Andrea went on a hunt for the perfect 60’s C10 to start on. The ’65 GMC he found in Arizona was a true farm truck. It was a long bed and had a dinosaur of a 305 V6 in it. While the truck sat around for a bit The Weavers were able to convince Andrea that it was time for them to transform it from farm hauler to street brawler. “Obviously, the goal for us here, like with all of our projects, was high end results but with that ‘cool factor’ we consistently strive for”, Sydney says about the jump-off point.

Believe us when we say that this truck was initially destined to be a daily driver, but things have a tendency to take a turn up the scale, especially for the Weaver Customs crew. “The build just took off, and when it did, we made a vow to do it right the very first time around”, Sydney says. That old 305 was torn out and would soon be replaced with a supercharged 2019 GM LT4 with plenty of get-up-and-go. 

Andrea very much liked the lowered stance that the other Weaver Customs’ vehicles have featured, so to get his GMC down to a more respectable level, a front air ride setup from Choppin’ Block was utilized, as was a rear 4-link, Ridetech ‘bags and Fox shocks at all corners. To finish off the chassis overhaul, the Weaver crew was looking to run with a unique set of wheels, and decided what’s more unique than a one-off set of specially machined 18’s and 20’s? How’s that for going the extra mile? 

Moving forward, Randy and his team quickly found themselves at the point of planning the body and paintwork. To get the body just right, a hefty amount of metal massage work was added to the agenda. From front to back, inside the engine bay and bed, to all sides and every angle, this GMC has been blessed with some of the slickest, smoothest modifications out there. “It was the process of the whole thing that Andrea seemed to enjoy the most”, Sydney states. “This is the first full build he has watched come together, and it was exciting to see his excitement as every phase progressed.” To capitalize on the smooth bodywork by Carlos Delgado of Weaver Customs, Randy cooked up a killer custom paint color, affectionately named ‘Fappani Steel Blue’, to finish off the look properly. 

Even though the GMC’s exterior does feature some pretty wild mods, they were done tastefully and subtly, which is why the crew planned on letting loose inside of the cab. The Procar seats were modified slightly before being wrapped in eye-catching burgundy leather. In fact, the entire interior was wrapped in the same upholstery, from the dash to the door panels and areas behind the seats. Team Weaver even installed an entire flurry of audio goods so Andrea could blast his favorite tunes while he cruises. 

Nothing was held back during the build of this ’65 GMC. There is something custom at every corner, whether your eyes pick up on it or not – that’s the caliber of vehicle Weaver Customs has been known for creating. “We’ve been asked lately if there’s anything about the build that we’d like to see done differently”, Sydney adds. “We always strive to build our vehicles badass the first go-around to avoid any regrets later down the line. We love how the ’65 turned out and Andrea seems just as happy with how it turned out.”