RETRO DELUXE` | A LOWRIDER-INSIPRED HOT ROD ‘BURBAN’

The early ’90s were a hot bed of custom mini-trucks. They were the style of the times, the must-haves with thousands of teenagers hitting up shows, cruise nights and river runs. At the time, the rest of the scene thought of California style as brightly colored graphics, billet wheels and OP shorts. But if you took a closer look at the mini-trucks being built in Southern California at the time, there were more styles than those that reflected the stereotype, and they could be grouped into two categories: Orange County (OC) and Los Angeles (L.A.) builds. The OC trucks took their cues from the surf and boat crowd and pop culture of the time, whereas the L.A. style had its roots in the lowrider community. It was with the L.A. style where Juan Trevino got his start with several lowrider-inspired mini-trucks that crossed over into other scenes.

Then there was a natural split that occurred in the mini-truck scene with many of the lowrider or L.A.-style truck builders delving further into the traditional lowrider scene, with others crossing over into hot rods and custom trucks. When Juan started hanging out with the some of the early mini-truck elite, like Sean Mahaney and Mike Shartris, he was inspired by the hot rod and Euro influences emerging in the truck scene at the time.

Juan and his wife Maria established many relationships within the industry, and when he decided to build a classic truck a few years back, he looked to his close friends. He‘d been inspired by the trucks that his friend Mike Filion of Pro Design built, including Sublow, which had been featured on the cover of Street Trucks a few years prior. Looking to build a classic cruiser, Juan came across a ’65 Chevrolet Carryall Suburban that he could build from the ground up.

Juan approached his close friend Richard Briones of Classic Parts Depot first because the Suburban needed replacement panels and parts, and he talked to Sean Smith who had some design ideas. The teardown began and the classic was rebuilt in a clean resto-mod style with plenty of hot rod and art deco-inspired components, as well as lowrider styling cues as a nod to his custom truck heritage. The crew at Pro Design shaved a few items and reworked C-10 side trim to fit the Suburban, which didn’t come with it from the factory. USA Auto Body sprayed the truck before Dennis Jones laid down some old-school leafing and striping. On the inside, the seat frames were powder coated and Bill’s Custom Upholstery stitched up tuck-and-roll vinyl throughout, including the headliner. Later, PCC crafted a custom art deco-style console and a hidden speaker grille timepiece and custom kick panels.

Once finished, the SUV made its way to SEMA with Kinetik. When the ’Burban returned to SoCal, it was sent to Robbie Azevedo at Pacific Coast Customs to finish up the wiring on the engine with his brother Willie. PCC also built several custom interior pieces including a wood bed floor with the help of John Kisiel, an art deco metal console and more. Juan also had several custom interior piecesbuilt, including a wood bed floor, art deco metal console and more. With help from Ryan Smith, Robbie also crafted a trick front suspension setup with custom control arms and coil-overs.

The Suburban made its way back home just in time for the Grand National Roadster Show with the rest of Relaxed Atmosphere trucks that were on display.

Now Juan and Maria enjoy cruising the Suburban as often as they can, and they’ve even cruised it in weddings, parades and Quinceañeras. They would like to thank everyone who helped with the build, including Richard Briones, Mike Filion, Dennis Jones, Mr. 19, Robbie Azevedo, Erik Harbour, Alfonso Hernandez, Gil Lara, Mark Gregorian, Jay Ortega,

Topher Fierek, Big Joe, Robert Ramirez and dedicated to Kristen Filion, love your guts. St

TRUCK SPECS

Owner

Juan & Maria Trevino
1965 Chevrolet Carryall Suburban
La Habra, CA
Relaxed Atmosphere

Engine 

Shop: Classic Parts Depot
350 SBC crate engine
Billet pulleys
TBI fuel injection
Mattson’s aluminum radiator
700R4 transmission
B&M Racing shift kit
Moooneyes air cleaner
K&N filter
JBA headers
CGS Motorsports exhaust
EZ wiring

Suspension 

Shops: Pro Design and Pacific Coast Customs
Bilstein coil-overs
Drop spindles
Custom PCC control arms
Rear drop springs
Trailing arms with modified panhard bar
1985 Chevrolet rearend
5-lug conversion
CPP disc brakes

Wheels & Tires

18×8.5-inch and 20×10-inch Intro Speedster billet wheels
Cooper 255/40 and 285/40 tires

Body & Paint

Shops: Pro Design, USA AutoBody and Dennis Jones
Flipped, shaved and tucked bumpers
Molded hood markers and shaved antenna
Truck side molding
PPG Sunburst Orange and Cream
Variegated copper and pinstriping

Interior

Shops: Bill’s Custom Upholstery, Pacific Coast Customs and Mr. 19
Orange and cream vinyl tuck-and-roll
Tuck-and-roll headliner
Speakers hidden in dash clock
Rust-colored loop carpet
Wood cargo floor
Custom metal center console
Auto Meter gauges
Virgin Mary statue
Lokar 32-inch shifter
Custom wood kick panels
Orion sound system
iPod connection
Kinetik HC1800
Dynamat
Colorado Custom ///RA horn button
Pacific Coast Customs crafted an art deco-inspired center console that matches the fins of the Mooneyes valve covers and custom kick panels.