Reviving ‘Nina’: The Journey Behind Juan Portillo’s Custom Silverado

PHIL GORDAN . November 01, 2024 . Chevrolet

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A Costly Setback Took Its Time to Make Perfect

There’s a certain advantage to purchasing a truck that’s already completed, but there is also a sense of pride and determination when you purchase a truck brand new and build it to superiority. Back in 2004 in Merced, California, Juan Portillo purchased his brand new ’04 Chevy Silverado from Courtesy Chevrolet. He’d recently sold his ’90 V-6 and needed an upgrade, scooping up a brand new 5.3 LS Silverado with a quicker V-8. Originally from Dos Palos, California, Juan moved to Temple, Texas, with his new purchase in tow due to a job transfer.

With just a simple tint job and some exhaust, the Silverado was about to undergo some serious cosmetic surgery. Juan decided it was time to convert his truck to something with a little Cali and Texas flare all in one. Juan originally brought the Chevy to a local shop to lower the truck and shave the tailgate. The next step was shaving the roll pan, taillights, doors and turn the standard operating doors into suicide doors.

“It was the first time he had ever done doors like this,” Juan tells Street Trucks, “but you’d never know based on his quality of work.”

The Chevy rode in primer for a few months until Tony Iniguez got a hold of it. One of his brother’s friends and also a painter, Tony painted the ’04 in a bright red paint and added realistic flames on the sides. Now that the Silverado was appealing with a new paintjob, Juan needed to keep going further.

He dropped off the truck at a shop to handle the bodydrop and kept getting updates for weeks until they stopped. Juan went to the shop and found out they closed. Having already paid the guy, Juan was at a crossroads. At this point, a lot of truck enthusiasts would have given up, however Juan had bigger plans.

When Juan finally got a hold of the shop owner, he wasn’t able to get his money back but was able to get the truck back in pieces. Juan had the Chevy sitting in his driveway for a bit until he was able to recoup his losses and save enough for the bodydrop to be completed. With some caution, Juan contacted Jacob Stone of Stone Custom Fab who assured him that he could bring the truck back to life.

For the next few years, Jacob and his hardworking crew took the build in steps. The first step was building a new frame for the stock floor bodydrop and powdercoated all the suspension.

Jacob and his team made a custom fuel cell, custom front and rear tubs for wheel clearance and cut the firewall. The truck floor was tubbed for the transmission to have more clearance with the body drop. A two-piece drive shaft was built along with a full sheetmetal bed with bead-rolled sides. A tube frame on the bed floor was added to weld the smoothed panels on. All the wires and the fuel line were hidden through the frame to clean up the aesthetic appeal of the build.

When it came time to add a little giddy-up under the hood, Juan turned to Jarrett Charnock for the motor work. Jarrett installed a new cam, polished the radiator, intake and timing cover, as well as the dip sticks. The Car Shop in Temple, Texas, tuned the motor to get it running at peak performance. The entire block and everything that could be turned to red was hand-painted by Tony and color-matched to the exterior red.

Inside the Chevy’s cabin, Jacob Stone and his crew laser cut all the panels and James Esqueda bead-rolled them. Juan used his own expertise to add Cadillac Escalade door panels and seats inside the Chevy replacing the original cloth seats. Juan added the head unit and all the speakers inside the Silverado for sounds to cruise with. Juan was scrolling through Instagram and saw the work of Sam Alfano through his company Kutworks and sent him a message asking if he could match a steering wheel to his Intro wheels. Sam took a few days designing it and Juan was more than pleased by the matched steering wheel.

Although Juan had a pretty significant and costly setback, he picked himself up and was able to rebuild and restore his vision with the help of his wife Leslie, his good friends and family for their support, and with a huge thanks to Jacob Stone, Richard Galindo, Tony Iniguez, James Esqueda, and Jarrett Charnock. A special thanks to Intro Wheels, Slam Specialties, Viair, Accuair, AVS, Texas Speed and Speed Engineering, and Stone Custom Fab.

OWNER Juan Portillo
2004 Chevy Silverado
Temple, Texas
Nrastra (One Low Family)

Why Nina?

Juan was at a loss when he was asked to name his prized truck, but a friend of his came to the rescue naming it “Nina.” When Juan asked why Nina, the friend simply responded, “it’s an older Mexican woman’s name and since you’re Mexican, she’s your woman.” With a smile on his face, Juan accepts it and knows that you can call her anything you want as long as she’s finished.

TRUCK SPECS

Chassis

Front Suspension: Stone Fab control arms, Slam Specialties RE7 airbags
Rear Suspension: 4-link, Slam Specialties SS7
Air Management: Accuair E-Level, two Viair 480c compressors, two 6-gallon custom air tanks

Engine & Drivetrain