Big Trucks & Buried Treasure

It’s been a busy fall. In between work, projects, travel and moving to a different apartment here in San Francisco, it seems like there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. You know where I’m coming from. With much of the world on the verge of re-opening (kind of), I’ve been working to find new ways to get inspired once my magazine and garage activities are done for the day. Seeing that it’s 2020, that means more time in front of a screen.

To be honest, that’s not totally a bad thing. You see, I recently have started tuning into YouTube for tutorials on everything from sheetmetal welding to riveting brake shoes. There’s a whole different corner of the hot rod and custom car world that I’ve only begun exploring. And of everything out there, the show put together by Matt and the crew at Iron Trap Garage in Pennsylvania has been my favorite.

I don’t know Matt or anyone associated with the series, but for the past two weeks I’ve been watching just about every episode. The premise is pretty straightforward. If it has to do with building, restoring or digging up traditional hot rods, they’re all-in. Through the years, they’ve built a wide variety of interesting projects ranging from a period-perfect T roadster to a bright red 1934 Ford Tudor that they returned to its mid-’60s guise. There’s no drama, fake deadlines, SEMA builds, #sponsoredcontent or chair throwing (that I’ve seen). Pretty enjoyable stuff all around.

Today’s post revolves around the videos that drew me in. First, there’s the recovery mission of a 1928 Ford Model AA pickup. It captures the excitement of taking the risk, buying something and then convincing your buddies to help you haul it home. Sometimes it can be a grueling task, but the Iron Trap team takes it in stride and has a blast extracting the old beast.

In the following episode, they take the logical next steps. After taking inventory, they use the simplest approach to try to get it running. It’s relatable, informational and, above all, fun. I won’t spoil anything, but it’s worth checking out if you have the time.

—Joey Ukrop