AS SEEN IN OUR MAY 2026 ISSUE – Buy Now!

Driven From Disaster and Built From Love

Although first introduced in 1975 as a trim package, the Chevy Silverado was introduced in 1999, succeeding the Chevy C/K series. As a true Chevy truck fan, Frankie Davila of Des Moines, Iowa, needed a truck and decided to purchase one in St. Louis based on an advertisement. The truck was a solid 2002 Chevy Silverado with no body damage and a perfect working motor. Frankie made the trip with a good friend so that they could drive it back home. Once they arrived, Frankie inspected the truck, and they began their trip back home with his friend driving the new purchase and Frankie riding shotgun.

Twenty minutes into the drive home, Frankie’s friend lost control of the Silverado and went into a concrete drainage ditch. The entire front end was smashed in, but luckily, the guys were still able to drive it home. The original plan was just to drive it and possibly put an air-ride system on it, but once the truck arrived back home, Frankie began repairing the damage caused by the accident. Always a fan of uniqueness, Frankie began looking into front-end conversions and saw a ton of trucks online with Tahoe conversions but not one with a Tahoe Hybrid conversion. Thus began the birth of Mamalona.

Being a body man by trade, Frankie had a hand in the entire build, and when it came time to add more bodywork, he decided on changing the door handles on the Silverado. He found a set of Nissan GT-R handles, made custom mounting brackets, and welded them onto the doors. The next step was to customize the interior. Instead of the standard bucket seats, he replaced them with an OBS bench seat. He then contacted A Stitch In Time Upholstery since the business is a sponsor for Lowdown Roundup, which is a show he is involved with in Des Moines. They were able to transform the boring stock interior into something that turns heads everywhere Frankie goes.

Being a body man by trade, Frankie had a hand in the entire build…

OWNER  Francisco “Frankie” Davila
2002 Chevy Silverado
Des Moines, IAFor paint, Frankie relied on his good friend Greg Talburt’s expertise. Greg had originally gotten Frankie into trucks, so it was fitting that he would handle the biggest part of the build. Greg added Deep Crystal Blue Mazda custom paint to the Silverado, as well as ghost graphics in lace that pop on bright sunny days. A mixture of metal flake and PPG clear coat rounded out the paint process, bringing the bright interior out even more when contrasted with the darker exterior.

Frankie wishes to thank his entire family for all their support, as well as his good friend Greg, for his masterful paintwork on the Chevy. A special thanks to Heidi and Tom and the rest of the Lowdown Roundup staff for everything they do to help him succeed and become one of the most badass trucks, or mamalonas, in the Midwest.

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TRUCK SPECS

 Engine & Drivetrain

• 4.8L V8
• BTR Truck Norris cam, push rods
• LS1 rocker arms
• LS7 lifters
• Custom air intake
• Speed Engineering headers and 3-inch dual exhaust
• Carven R mufflers

Chassis & Suspension

• Air Lift Dominator 2,600-lb bags front and rear
• Phat Phabz front suspension kit
• Twisted Metalworkz 4-link
• Nfamus Metal Watt’s link
• Air Lift 5-gallon tank
• Dual Viair 485 compressors
• Air Lift 3P air management
• Wheels, Tires & Brakes
• 24×10-inch Ferrada FT1 wheels
• 275/30 Lexani LX-Thirty tires
• Drilled and slotted rotors

Body & Paint

• 2012 Tahoe Hybrid front-end conversion
• Suburban rear quarter molded into bedside
• Nissan GT-R R35 door handles
• Shaved stake pockets
• Welded roll pan
• OBS tailgate handle
• Street Scene door mirrors
• Raised bed floor
• Tinted U-Pol Raptor liner
• Laced roof with a pearl base
• Deep Crystal Blue Mazda paint and PPG clear by Greg Talburt
• All bodywork by owner

Interior

• OBS bench seat
• Leather upholstery with diamond double-stitched suede inserts
• Shaved glove box
• Suede headliner
• Leather-wrapped dashboard and plastic trim
• Forever Sharp steering wheel
• Custom floor mats
• Alpine Halo9 floating screen
• JBL 6×9-inch speakers, 6.5-inch door speakers, and tweeters