"I've been building trucks since I was 16," Shawn Giordano tells us.
We'd seen Shawn's truck humble the field at Rialto Off-Road Raceway, and we knew that his latest creation should be shown to Off-Road's readers. Giordano ran sans fiberglass at ROR, so we could see the clean fabrication as well as observe that the truck was suspended by custom A-arms up front and tried-and-true leaf packs out back. Since there wasn't a hood to block our view, we could also see that four-cylinder power motivated the truck. Under a microscope, there's nothing too crazy or exotic about any single part on this truck, quality fabrication notwithstanding. Assembled as a whole, the complete package works astoundingly well. On a regular basis, trucks with more suspension travel and more horsepower than Shawn's are left peering through a fading dust cloud, wondering why they got passed. This truck simply works.
 All of the pivots are mounted...  All of the pivots are mounted in double shear and are further reinforced with gussets - evidence that Shawn did his homework before he started cutting and welding the tubing. We've yet to see a dirt-specific book about vehicle design and fabrication, so we glean what we can from the pavement racing books. Carroll Smith's books are worth a read. |  Look behind the bedsides of...  Look behind the bedsides of today's best prerunners and race trucks and you're bound to see one of two things: a well-engineered link system or a pair of Deaver leaf packs. This 62-inch Deaver spring features a custom arch to work optimally with Shawn's rear spring mounting system. |  Pulling off the Hannemann...  Pulling off the Hannemann Tundra conversion front 'glass reveals the same high-caliber construction that's on the rest of the truck. Check out the brackets holding the air filter and the top of the radiator in place: good-looking and race-ready. The Hannemann front clip isn't the only thing that lifts clear of the truck for easy access - Giordano modified the roof and the B-pillars so they also unbolt quickly and easily. |
Giordano started not with a truck, but with a pile of parts. The frame came from a wrecking yard, and the cab and engine were bought from a friend. Single-cab trucks tend to be rather cozy inside (some would say cramped), but the standard cab weighs less than an extended cab, requires fewer feet of tubing to properly 'cage, and replacement cabs are cheaper and more readily available should the truck take a nasty tumble. The cab and the frame fit what Shawn had in mind - almost. The truck needed more wheelbase.
 American Racing Outlaw II...  American Racing Outlaw II wheels of the 15x7-inch variety are the inner circle of the Toyota's rolling stock. We like custom, high-end stuff, but we also appreciate smartly selected salvage-yard substitutions. This smart substitution is a pair of Bronco 4x4 hubs that spin on matching spindles. The Bronco spindles bolt to the custom-fabbed steering knuckles/uprights. Since there's no need for a lockout hub on this 2WD, Shawn built a pair of aluminum slugs to keep dirt out of the hub and away from the wheel bearings. Wilwood four-piston calipers squeeze the Bronco rotor. |  It isn't the same as bringing...  It isn't the same as bringing a knife to a gunfight, but the 22RE is far from a rocket engine. This mill benefits from a few mods to bring more power alive than a stone-stock engine produces. The motor pulls fresh air through a high-flow K&N filter and exhales through a Doug Thorley header. The block is bored 0.020 over, and the head features a Snyder camshaft. The 22RE's plusses are its reliability and light weight. |  In case you missed "Why the...  In case you missed "Why the Wild Wash Matters" in our July issue, here's another frame of Shawn's sky shot captured by Mike's Race Photo. Nice flight! The truck landed on its wheels, but the spare-tire carrier and a corner of the righthand were also involved in the touchdown. |
Rather than start over with an Extra Cab or go scouring the wrecking yards for a longbed frame, Shawn put his fabrication skills to work and added 8 extra inches between the front and rear wheels. Custom spring hangers were welded to the frame behind the stockers, and a section of 2x3-inch tubing was spliced onto the tail end of each framerail to give the shackle pivot a home. The 8-inch stretch brought the wheelbase to 112 inches. The gains? The truck has a smoother ride and is much more stable at speed compared to an equally built truck with a shorter wheelbase. Extra length between the front and rear axles means that it's tougher to upset the chassis.
 |  In the heat of the desert,...  In the heat of the desert, there's no such thing as too much radiator. Shawn relies on a monster-sized aluminum unit to get the cooling chores done. This radiator combines with the stock engine-driven fan. This combo has worked well so far, but if the motor ever needs further improved cooling, a custom fan shroud could be added to the equation. |  A Ford 9-inch rearend out...  A Ford 9-inch rearend out of a Lincoln Continental is a sought-after junkyard jewel. Giordano added a stout brace across the back, an extra layer of steel under the pumpkin, and a custom skidplate. Axles are of the 35-spline variety. The 9-inch third member boasts the strength of a full spool and is fitted with a 6.33:1 ring-and-pinion. The ultra-low ring-and-pinion ratio lets the four-cylinder pull the 35-inch BFGs with almost the same authority as a bigger motor. "We do well until Fourth and Fifth gear. In Fourth and Fifth, the V-8 trucks can pull away from us in the sand washes, but we can get them back as soon as the terrain gets tighter and rougher," Giordano tells OR. |