Cordial Co. - Piaggio Ape Beverage Edition

Bevi E Vivi - Piaggio Ape Beverage Edition

Grey Vintage - Refrigerated Piaggio Ape Beverage Edition

This Piaggio Ape is the second generation of refrigeration. The floral was actually a second choice, if you can believe it! Originally it was going to be a rich terracotta, but unfortunately the tile just did not go with the classic grey exterior. Brainstorming trying to figure a solution this tile popped out at us and we had to go for it.

The refrigerated section holds up to 12 sixtel kegs and is encased in 1/2’ thick food grade cutting board material for durability and easy cleanup. This entire section is CNC cut for perfect assembly and insulated with marine grade foam insulation for maximum thermal efficiency. Access to the battery bank is located here as well and blends into the floor for easy maintenance when needed.

Greats of Craft - Refrigerated Piaggio Ape Beverage Edition

This Piaggio Ape is the first of its kind to hold a whopping 10 beverages on tap..all while staying at temp with custom refrigeration in the rear. This beautiful marble was selected for its incredible creamy orange veining to pair with the paint scheme and to compliment the lovely tones of the solid mahogany wood encasing the display.

It was important to the client to have drains under the faucets and that the plumbing was hidden. Given that the shelf is only 2'“ thick, traditional drain trays wouldn’t work because the plumbing would’ve extended down into the lower shelf. We solved this by making the drains from scratch out of solid brass and customizing the drains to exit out the rear instead of the bottom. The product came out beautifully and the client was thrilled.

This Piaggio comes with many new and custom features such as a glass flip up display window that can be used as a menu display board when up in the air. It has reinforced mounts to secure it from any wind blowing it down while in service.

The refrigerated section holds up to 12 sixtel kegs and is encased in 1/2’ thick food grade cutting board material for durability and easy cleanup. This entire section is CNC cut for perfect assembly and insulated with marine grade foam insulation for maximum thermal efficiency. Access to the battery bank is located here as well and blends into the floor for easy maintenance when needed.

Piaggio Ape Ice Cooled Beverage Edition

Vintage Piaggio Ape - Beverage Edition - The Little Gem

Vintage Piaggio Ape Beverage Wagon - Free Spirits Tap Co.

About this Piaggio Ape Conversion

Cam and I freakin LOVE THESE GIRLS. Suzie is a bad-a vegan chef for the Baltimore Ravens and Sasha is a tatted up cafe racer/bike bike/motorcycle blog owner and enthusiast who WORKS FOR NASA. How cool are these best friends???!!

Vino Van - Piaggio Ape Beverage Wagon

About this Piaggio Ape

Where to even begin. Before we started importing these vintage Piaggio Apes ourselves we were at the mercy of seemingly the only importer in the US. To not venture too far into that we will just say that we are VERY happy to be sourcing and importing them ourselves now. This Ape came from that importer and came WRECKED. Not wrecked in the sense that it was hit by a car but wrecked as in the motor was basically seized up, the whole thing was rusted and falling apart, all the tires were cracked, the seats were crumbling, the floor was missing, the doors were caved in…honestly I think I would have preferred one that was just hit by a car instead.

This restoration was intense. Fast forward -> There was a very eager young gentleman by the name of Cameron who wanted to be a part of Silverside Design. He hailed from the paint and body industry and was employed by a company that specialized in the repair of super cars(I.e. Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Rolls Royces, Aston Martins..you get the picture). I fired the last painter that worked for me and was being forced to outsource paint and body so this seemed like a good opportunity for both Cameron and I. I decided to give him a test. Come to the Silverside Design shop after hours and not only restore this piece of garbage Piaggio Ape, but make it the best looking Piaggio that Silverside Design has ever released. I gave him a pretty strict deadline on the finishing of this project too. I needed to design, fabricate and finish all the remaining components and I work fast. He had to beat me.

Well if you’re looking us up on Instagram (click here for our IG), you’ll probably notice the company is now titled “Jazzy Jeff & Killer Cam”. Cameron completely blew my mind. Hell, this Piaggio is now probably the strongest, most resilient one on the market with how much new, and thicker, metal we had to put back on this bad boy. While I don’t really post many “before” photos, I’ve dropped one below for everyone’s viewing enjoyment.

This engine was completely torn down and every.single.mother fatherin piece was replaced. I’m talking piston, gaskets, plugs, wires, rings, etc. We decided with the heart of this vintage Piaggio Ape being brand new..we needed to give it a paint job that reflected its inside..free of charge ;)

Tippy Tap - Piaggio Ape Prosecco Bar

Back story

Ah, where to begin. Honestly, there isn’t any crazy story behind this build. I met Alicia (co founder of Tippy Tap Atlanta with husband, Cory) via the good ole interwebs of Instagram and we hit it off immediately. Alicia worked in weddings and her husband, Cory, worked in finance. After chatting a while we found out we were connected by 1 degree of separation. Go figure.

Alicia had been following Lowcountry Valet and was a big fan (thanks Alicia!!) and naturally followed Silverside Design once it launched. What I really liked about this build was that during the initial talks before we settled on the build, I felt comfortable enough to disclose how bummed I was that I lost an auction by $100 while bidding on my DREAM truck. I sent her a picture of it and Alicia asked if I wanted to build the Tippy Tap vehicle using the truck as inspiration. I WAS SO STOKED.

BE BOLD

That truck was basically all I could think about at the time so it was really easy to start designing a miniature Piaggio Ape truck around it. First of all, the colors were a perfect tribute to the 50s and that pop of red…woof. Sexy. Also this was a color palette that would fit into any occasion which made it perfect for the Tippy Tap’s goals. Most vehicles stay “safe” with really neutral palettes and I think the pops of red made a really bold statement so I wanted to keep them included everywhere I could.

Less is more

During the design phase of this vehicle, we tried a lot of different looks. I really liked that Alicia and Cory trusted my advice on a less is more approach. In the end the product was stunning and I was extremely pleased with how it turned out. Alicia and Cory shared my sentiments so it was a success all around. They were so laid back and easy to work with that I decided to offer to deliver it to them myself in Atlanta. If you happened to check our instagram story that day, you would’ve seen Cory scaring the crap out of me zooming it around his neighborhood.

Piaggio Ape Prosecco Bar - Chugalug

Back story

This project was a great treat for me. My long time friend Theresa, who worked for our client Lowcountry Valet, approached me about building a mobile bar concept that she had bouncing around her brain. It just so happened that I was already bouncing the idea around myself and was on my way to acquiring a couple of these vintage Piaggio Apes with no definite plans of what to do with them. Fate had a way of aligning us and the Chug was born. While we originally intended on a 6 month build (always planning extra time on projects we've never faced before) but shipping ended up being greatly delayed pushing our build time from a 5 month window to a 3 week window!  Through a miscommunication between us, the Chug had been booked for a big event prior to completion! Yikes! I slaved from the crack of dawn to the late night hours every day to get this little beauty done.  In all honesty, it was a nightmare haha, but that's kind of the business sometimes. Some projects are a stroll in the park, others mug you while you're on that stroll.  I definitely stressed poor ole Theresa out as well. I think she called me more during that time than the equivalent of our friendship(sorry Theresa!).

(see below for the rest of the story)

The Story Continues..

The day of the event came upon us and all hands were on deck putting all the finishing touches on. Even Theresa had joined in the commotion! No one was allowed to stand idle.  With 1 hour until the event started, Theresa headed out to prepare and left Jr and I (pictured toasting to the far right) to load the trailer and bring the vehicle on site.  Just as we are tootin along towards the trailer we realize a mistake has been made...the trailer is too small!! ….. 

Driving Through Charleston..

It is now 5pm in Charleston, SC on a Friday…rush hour. With little time to think, I hopped into the Chug and pulled out onto the main road and started driving. (Might I add, never do that with one of these things.) 

I was on a mission. This chug needed to be delivered. I can't speak on what was going through everyone else's mind but believe me, I was terrified. Completely blinded by the Chug's rear box, I said a prayer and changed lanes on faith alone. About 4 miles and what seemed like forever later, I pulled into the venue unscathed and happily exhausted. We set up and tested out the system and triumphantly shared the very first pour of ice cold Prosecco that would soon become the Chug A Lug’s claim to fame.

Lowcountry Valet - 1950s Luxury Vintage Bus

A vintage school bus turned into a rolling work of art for 50+ guests

Custom Leather Seating

Mid century Sconces

Warm design for a classic 40s feel.