Get ready, King Of Trucks is coming...

So I had a '53 Chevy Bel Air more door for a while now. I took it about as far as I wanted to with a cool interior and lowering with wide white bias plies. Just a simple cool family style cruiser. I also have a '63 Chevy pickup. I love love love Chevy pickups. Any year, any body style, any engine. From the late '40s to today, every year the chevy pickup will outstyle anything offered by any other manufacturer. I'm sure some will argue and for me, the only other honorable mentions go to late '40s to '56 Fords and the very late '60s Fords. And while those Fords are cool, the same year Chevys still have more style. Otherwise it's Chevys ONLY for the winz all day every day.

Like a lot of you guys, I start getting "the itch" after a year or so of having a vehicle and driving it every day. It always starts the same way. You see somebody's "fill in the blank" and get inspired. If I had one of those, I'd do this and this and this. Then you start searching for pics and saving them. You know, one has a certain aesthetic element, another has the right stance, another has the right wheel and tire combo, another has the color maybe a shade off, etc.. This has happened over and over for me in my automotive career/obsession/addiction. It's a disease.

For me, the holy grail has always been the '55-'59 Chevy pickup, specifically '55-'57. As far as I'm concerned, this is the end all be all of any pickup ever made. When I was 13 or 14 and first started getting interested in cars, my dad pulled out his old pictures. He was in the Air Force in Cali in the mid to late '50s. He was quite the O.G. hot rodder. Gives me quite the legit pedigree, lol.

So there in his albums are some pics from '59. His '57 Chevy stepside. "El Relampago" it was called. Seeing this truck gave me tingly feelings all over. I poured over the details. Floating grill. Chromed door panels. TJ tuck and roll. Low. Kick ass SBC (I thought these weren't "traditional", lol). It was literally the coolest thing I'd ever seen.

I've shown these photos before, but it only makes sense to post them here too.









So fast forward to today. Or rather a couple of months ago. That itch, remember? Yeah, it started again. Not again, why can't I be happy with what I've got? So I "decide" I must have a '55-'59 chevy pickup. More like fate decides I must have one. Really, I don't choose projects, they end up just happening. The universe quakes, the stars align, an image is implanted in my brain and that's it. That's how it starts. They always end the same way though. Utter badassedness with a touch of redneckery. So, I put the Bel Air up for sale or trade and get some stupid trade offers. I pass. I start wondering if I'll just end up keeping the cruiser and resign myself to be happy if it doesn't sell. I'll just drive it, it is still fun after all.

Then I get the message. A fellow hamber is looking for a family cruiser. He has a truck. Let's trade. Lightning strikes. Earthquakes happen in diverse places. The universe aligns. A king is born. We talk through PM's, email, and over the phone. Straight up trade is the deal. He's coming day after tomorrow with the truck from GA.

Here it is, King Of Trucks...



Well, more like King Of Trucks in Tonga or something. But like Steve Austin, we can rebuild him. He will reign supreme. His rule will be all encompassing, but benevolent. His kingdom will be the entire world of truckdom. I've been modifying cars, trucks, and bikes for just over 20 years now. I've learned a lot along the way. I'm by no means at the level of a lot of the fine craftsmen here, but I'm no slouch either. It is time. This will be my masterpiece and my keeper.

Plans are for not so much a clone of my dad's truck, more like an homage. Dropped axle, very low, stock body with shaved trim, wierd engine, sombrero caps, and kick ass interior. Basically the same vein as dad's, Southern California style kick ass truck from the late '50s. No "new" shit here. But, a new style nontheless. My style has always been an almagamation of many different styles. If it can be pinned down, my style is more akin to the Japanese rods, customs, lowriders, and choppers. Konichiwa m'n'f'er.

I'll be selling my '63 pickup to buy the crown and purple robes. You better get ready. King Of Trucks is coming.............





I hope I didn't just jinx the deal by posting before it's technically mine, lol.

 

someone's been listening to a little CLUTCH...

 

I clicked into this thread expecting a budweiser delivery truck with 44" swampers.

 

But that wouldn't be "trad"...wait, the beer would but I'm not sure about the swampers...!!!

R-

 

Jesus on the dashboard.

 

The crowd goes wild!

 

Yeah, too bad this isn't a traditional muddin' forum. Or I would've posted this. King Of Muddin'...




Cause it's badass is why. But this ain't about muddin'. This is about the King Of Trucks. I'll have more pics tomorrow after lunch.

 

I kinda thought that too.


Cool truck Terd!

 

For me, the holy grail has always been the '55-'59 Chevy pickup, specifically '55-'57.

I must agree with with you on that.. But for me I have a huge soft spot for the panel truck. I don't know why, they just do something for me. And at last like mana from the heven, that could only be God sent. I find a 1955 Chevy Panel at a neighbors house and it was love at first sight. All I could do was think " Hurry Indy " we must make room in the stable for this wounderful oppertunity.

 

Exactly. Hurry Indy. Archeological treasure and whatnot. Spear chuckers and poison arrows. Giant balls (of rock). The world is spinning to one specific time and place. And that is today. Only this treasure will not be secreted in a giant warehouse among crates and crates of jibber jabber. It will be on display here for the entire world to marvel. Birds will sing. Flowers will bloom. Well, next spring they will anyway. The King Of Trucks is half way to his new castle.

 

The King is here. Pics to follow soon.

 

Pics will come tomorrow. Too much to do non-truck wise today. Here's the rundown...

The bad...
Lower front inch or so of the front of the stepside fenders are holey (easy fix).
Door bottoms are holey (patch panels, easy fix).
The doors sag a little when open (easy enough fix).
The bed is steel and partially rhino lined (I prefer wood and paint).
The battery cables are loose making starting iffy at best. The ground is a little short (came with extra longer cables).
The column shifter gets bound and stuck in gear occasionally (open the hood and pop it out, just an aggravation for now).
The glove box doesn't close (already got a new button and latch).
The wiring is messsy and tons of loose worn wires everywhere (easy enough with a painless harness).
Ugly ass seat from a '70s car.
.390 rear makes highway speeds out of the question.


The good...
Stovebolt runs strong with no leaks.
.390 rear makes for good acceleration.
Trannyy shifts well.
Brand new brakes from the master cylinder to the wheels.
Brand new tires.
Only the rot mentioned above. All the panels that are expensive to replace or difficult to patch are solid.
New floor and tranny cover patches already installed.
A bunch of brand new rubber seals still in the bags.
Extra fender (needs lower patch, came with patch panel) and inner fender.
It is cooler'n'hell and that ain't no jibber jabbery style oinkery neither.


Overall, both me and Eddy (the guy I traded with) are very happy with our new rides. I made a new friend and got a new truck. The hamb is a wonderful place. All is right in the universe. It will get righter soon enough.

 

DO NOT TOUCH THE TRIM!

Now you need two of these and you can sammich a sumbitchin' boat right inbetween 'em.

I like the old Chevy trucks too, I've got a '69 stepside that I just got running this past week. Hoping to have it driveable by next spring.

 

I do now have two trucks. All I need is a boat. Don't you touch that sumbitchin' boat. The boat is mine.

 

Well done Terd, them are indeed to best lookin trucks ever, sep for Diamond T’s

 

I like the louvers on your dad's truck. Gonna copy that on my '58

 

Thanks.

 

I wish I had a better shot of the hood. But those are the only photos I've got.




I'm going to go clean it up real nice and get some pics to post up.

 

I got the outside cleaned up pretty good and took a couple of pics. I'll get the cab cleaned out tomorrow and take some more.

 

I have been down with the sickness for some time now. I love trucks. Especially chevy trucks.

 

After reading this, Im EXCITED!!!! for you and ready to go work on mine. Cant wait to see it, how youre imagining it.

 

Hey, thanks. I can't wait either.





Well, step one, get it insured, registered, and tagged. Check. Next, tune up and carb rebuild. It probably doesn't need it, but I like to do it anyway to know what I'm working with. Like, you never know how bad a new (to you) car ran til you gave it a tune up and carb kit. $100 well spent almost every time. Also, it's probably time to change all the fluids. Who knows when they were last done. Again, money well spent for peace of mind.

After that, I'd like to get it lowered. But, I really need to sell my '63 pickup first. It's advertised on craigslist. Until then, I'm going to get to work fixing the rust in the door bottoms and starting on the interior. This will be a full on sweet tuck & roll, zodiac naugahyde, kick ass interior. Think Fat Lucky's style. Did I mention I'm gonna learn how to sew? Lol. King Of Tucks will be 100% DIY, no farming out of work.

King Of Trucks is moving along smoothly so far.

 

Looks like I'll be rewiring this thing before I do anything else extensive. She started running really rough today. I checked and found the wire to the coil cracked in half hanging on by a single strand of wire. Lots of other wires to nowhere with bare ends and stuff like that.

Anybody know if Rebel Wire is an Alliance vendor? I heard they were. What's the discount? Thanks.

 

The discount is one million dollars and yes I think Rebel is a friend of the HAMB.

So is this thing getting a budweiser paint job or not? Please tell me king of trucks is at least getting a roll bar so the tube top princesses got a place to hang on when they're wavin and hollerin to all their subjects.

 

Budweiser is no longer king of beers, or king of anything for that matter. They were sold to Inbev, a Belgian company. Pabst is the new king of beers. They make PBR, Colt .45, Schlitz, etc.. All hail Pabst, one of the last of the great American beer makers.

And no roll bars. Them womerns can fend for themselves. You may ask, with that kind of atitude, how will there even be any womerns wavin and hollerin? No womerns can resist my charms hoss.

 

Staying stovebolt for the long haul?

 

I'm staying stovebolt for the forseeable future. Or until it blows up. Two carbs and a split, open exhaust for that sweet sound. Then a 327 or caddy mill.

 

OK, I'm in this one for the long "hauL"

I certainly love a pretentious builder, especially one of Terd's caliber...

I really look forward to the entire saga of "The King of Trucks"...

R-

 

It's good you're in it for the long haul. Because it is gonna sure start out boring. A full on tune up and rewire. Exciting to say the least. I'm going out today to get the tune up stuff and I'll order a Rebel harness next week. Pics to follow.

 

A couple of days ago, the truck started running rougher'n'hell. I checked around and found the wire to the coil broken and barely hanging on by a single strand of wire. Also, there were no ring terminals on the coil. I fixed both of those and fiured a full tune up was in order. So today, I changed the coil, rotor, condenser, and points and set the points gap. The cap, plugs and wires looked like new so I left those.

It now idles even better than before. It is stumbling when you get on the gas though. I suspect the carb was tuned for the filthy air cleaner that was in it, lol. I'm getting a carb kit Monday and am going to rebuild the carb. I suspect after the carb kit, it'll be running like a new truck. Can't wait.

I also went to change the fluid in the rear diff as there was a small leak. Turns out the plug on the cover was welded shut. There's no other plug on the pumpkin so I'll have to find another cover. I'll also change the engine oil and tranny fluid very soon along with flushing the cooling sytem.

A tune up and full fluid changes is always how I start out any "new" vehicle. It's really a smart thing to do, even if the previous owner has done it recently. It's not that expensive and you know what you're working with once it's been done.

Like I said, a pretty boring start. It'll get more exciting soon, I promise.



To sum up, here's a list of what's done so far...
Ignition components are a go.
Braking system is a go.
Tires are a go.

Here's what's coming up soon...
Full fluid changes of all systems.
Carb rebuild.
Full rewire.

Thanks for looking and thanks for this great forum.