GRUNT – A 1964 International C1100 Shop Truck for Weaver Customs
Randy Weaver’s “Grunt” 1964 International C1100 Shop Truck is a most befitting parts hauler for his rod shop – Weaver Customs in West Jordan, Utah. Weaver’s calling card is diesel engines, turbocharged Cummins in particular.
Grunt is just one of the latest Cummins-swapped projects to roll out of the Weaver Customs facility. Rather than towing project cars, running parts or hauling new builds to events with his daily pickup, Randy Weaver thought it would be cool to do all of that with an old truck built to suit each of those needs. Weaver believes every hot rod shop should have an old pickup as a parts runner.
Found in the middle of a field in Cheyenne, Wyoming in the summer of 2016, Grunt was ripe for the picking. Being last tagged in 1982, Weaver knew he had to put it back on the road, and knew just how to do it.
Randy and his wife Sydney towed the International home and went to work updating the stock chassis with a Mustang II front suspension, a 4-linked Ford 9-inch housing using Midnight 4×4 rod ends and tubing along with RideTech adjustable coilovers all around as well as GM disc brakes.
Tucked underneath are one-off custom billet 22×9 inch solid wheels which were painted to match Grunt’s stock blue patina. To preserve that perfect patina, Axalta flat clear was applied. Adam’s Polishes shines Grunt up, as best they can.
Grunt more than earns its keep. It’s often referred to as the Employee of the Month with a torquey 5.9-liter Cummins built with Attitude Performance products producing upwards of 1,200 ft/lb and 650 horsepower to the rear wheels through a Randy’s Transmissions full manual 48RE. A 68mm single turbo assists those numbers, while a Flowmaster exhaust system extinguishes the diesel smoke. Grunt regularly has the open deck trailer attached, hauling projects to media blasting appointments, and can be seen running around town picking up whatever parts and pieces are needed at Weaver Customs. It’s also been known to hurt the feelings of a few “Corvette Guys” on the highway.
To solidify Grunt’s road-worthiness, Randy, Sydney and some friends piled in for the 2017 Hot Rod Power Tour and completed the Long Haul starting in Kansas City, MO, venturing through Newton, IA, Davenport, IA, Champaign, IL, Madison, IL and Indianapolis, IN before arriving in Bowling Green, KY. Nary a problem surfaced proving Randy’s masterful touch.
Modern creature comforts were added inside such as King Ranch bucket seats and center console, a Kicker / JW Speaker audio system, Dakota Digital gauges, B&M shifter and an Ididit column. Power steering and brakes were also necessary to maneuver this 4,400-pound beast of a truck.
This truck is special. It’s always reliable, gets down and dirty rain or shine, can haul a heavy load and over the past year has become a staple in West Jordan, Utah. Townsfolk smile and wave as Randy and Grunt run around town, stylin’ and profilin’.
A lifelong car kid, Steven grew up around drag strips – his name may sound familiar because his grandfather is Bob Bunker, a Pro Mod pioneer who piloted the “Folsom Flash” ’55 Chevy from the ’70s through the ’90s. Steven’s father, Bob Bunker Jr., heads up Bunker Motorsports and is a regular in the West Coast racing scene, building chassis and race cars for more than 30 years. With genetics like that, it’s no wonder Steven has a passion for both cars and motorsports. In addition to helping his father and honing his fabrication skills at Bunker Motorsports, Steven began shooting photos at the drag strip and capturing the action with his Canon camera. He is now artfully crafting stories around the awesome machines at the shows, as well as the men and women behind them. When he's is not on the road covering events, he spends his downtime out on the water fishing, building his 1962 Chevy Nova, or cruising his 1987 GMC Suburban.