Brotherly Love: ShowTime Metal Works’ 07 Silverado

Like many businesses in the diesel industry, ShowTime Metal Works started out as a hobby. Brandon and Dustin Naivar were two brothers out of Taylor, Texas, who had a lifetime passion for lifted trucks.

“We had a couple of half-ton Chevys and we would try to get them taller and bigger and stronger,” says Brandon. “If it won’t hold up to 40-inch tires, we’re not interested in it.”

The Naivars quickly found that the bolt-on suspension kits they were buying didn’t deliver the performance they were looking for. The brothers grew up around metal fabrication and are both certified welders, so instead of spending more money on suspension parts, they invested in fabrication equipment and began building their own.

“We decided the only way to achieve our goals was to build the trucks ourselves,” Brandon says. The Naivar brothers’ creations took several best-in-show and best-engineered suspension awards. Soon they started doing weekend work on other people’s trucks, and before long ShowTime Metal Works was born.

The bumper business started in much the same way as the suspension business. The brothers weren’t happy with what was out there, so they started making their own. Bumpers have now become a major portion of STMW’s business. This 2007 Silverado was built to show them off at SEMA, and Brandon now uses it as a daily driver.

One of the first things to go was the independent front suspension.

“We wanted a ¾-ton Duramax where you could get the front wheels off the ground, land it, and still be able to drive it home,” Brandon says.

Evidence of the attention to detail can be seen in the front suspension. The Naivars planned to install a Dana Super 60 front axle out of a Ford Super Duty with a 12-inch lift and a custom long-arm four-link suspension. The goal was to make the steering as accurate as possible and to ensure that the custom-built driveshaft would run without binding. Brandon called on Transfer Case Express to supply a Ford transfer case custom-machined to bolt up to the Allison transmission—an expensive solution, but the result is that the driveshaft sits at the factory angle and doesn’t bind, even with the suspension at full droop.

“I like things to work right,” Brandon explains.

Under the hood, the Duramax has been upgraded with an AEM cold air intake, Air Dog 2 lift pump, EFILive tuner, and a 4-inch MBRP turbo-back straight exhaust finished with a 4-inch to 7-inch Pypes polished tip. Output is in the neighborhood of 625 horsepower and 925 lb-ft of torque.

For paint, the Naivar’s decided to keep the Silverado in its native Silver Birch, with subtle graphics on the doors, bed sides and tailgate. Keeping the truck in touch with the ground are 22-inch American Force Evade FP8 wheels and Nitto Mud Grappler tires (40-inch, of course). We like the less-is-more look of the truck, which highlights the outstanding metal fabrication work on STMW’s suspension and bumpers. The Naivar’s Chevy is a great showcase for ShowTime Metal Works’ components and a real testament to the art of truck building. DW