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History The Ayala '51 V1

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by Ryan, May 22, 2023.

  1. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,632

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
    Staff Member

    Ryan submitted a new blog post:

    The Ayala '51 V1

    [​IMG]

    Continue reading the Original Blog Post
     
  2. WiredSpider
    Joined: Dec 29, 2012
    Posts: 1,258

    WiredSpider
    Member

    Bruce Geisler (Well known dry lakes racer)ended up with the truck and painted it pink. It ended up with a blown SBC in it under his ownership. He sold it around 2011/2012 and it is under restoration
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2023
    Tim, 41 GMC K-18 and hrm2k like this.
  3. Ryan
    Joined: Jan 2, 1995
    Posts: 21,632

    Ryan
    ADMINISTRATOR
    Staff Member

    Here it is from a 1958 Trend Book:

    [​IMG]

    And here's is the latest photo I have... stolen from Kustomrama:

    [​IMG]
     
  4. 57JoeFoMoPar
    Joined: Sep 14, 2004
    Posts: 6,138

    57JoeFoMoPar
    Member

    It's here in NJ in the shore area. That picture from Kustomrama was taken at the Wayne's Auto Body Toys for Tots run, historically the first weekend of December, and the unofficial end of the cruise season in NJ.

    It still looks awesome and appears to be in good hands with the current owner.
     
    Sancho and Hot Rods Ta Hell like this.

  5. It's now owned By Jim Bobowski. He and his dad are the owners of the Eddie Dye Roadster. Jim was sending Rik Hoving pictures of the restoration progress (taking it back to the original version) but there have been no updates since 2018. Rik has a couple of articles on his site with the pictures he was sent.

    https://www.customcarchronicle.com/...om-shop/gil-ayala-51-gmc-restoration-started/
    https://www.customcarchronicle.com/cc-builders/ayala-custom-shop/ayala-49-gmc-restoration-part-2/

    And the colour pictures.
    CCC-ayala-colors-auto-body-works-gmc-color-602x434.jpg
    CCC-ayala-colors-auto-body-works-gmc-02-color.jpg
     
    Rand Man, Sancho, Jack Rice and 8 others like this.
  6. 41 GMC K-18
    Joined: Jun 27, 2019
    Posts: 3,561

    41 GMC K-18
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    "Everything old, is new again"
     
  7. saltracer219
    Joined: Sep 23, 2006
    Posts: 1,071

    saltracer219
    Member

    I spent a lot of time in that old truck and have driven it hundreds of miles myself. My racing partner the late Bruce Geisler and I had a lot of great adventures in that old pickup, we even used it as a tow rig one year going to Bonneville. He bought it from the Ayala's in 57 and according to Bruce it was pretty used up. He had it redone and let his Mother pick the color, it is a 57 Lincoln color. He was not happy with her choice but kept his word. He traded it off to a Chevrolet dealer in the midwest for a new 58 Chev with a 348 4 speed. Apparently they used it for a shop truck for a while but that is where the story gets a bit cloudy as the next time it turned up was in a New Mexico wrecking yard where it sat for many years "not for sale". Bruce was finally able to befriend someone close to the yard owner and get the truck back in the 80's.
     
  8. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 17,086

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    Very cool
     
  9. It's interesting that it's a longbed (3/4-ton or 1-ton?).

    I like the Chevy truck grille much better, but yeah, the branded grille was a bit much.
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2023
    63fdsnr likes this.
  10. Rolleiflex
    Joined: Oct 25, 2007
    Posts: 1,243

    Rolleiflex
    Member

    I'm not a fan of pink by any stretch of the imagination, but I actually like that version better.
    Probably has something to do with ogling over this picture for years.
    [​IMG]
     
    Sancho, Pist-n-Broke, 302GMC and 7 others like this.
  11. Yup, Cole Foster and Bruce Geislers trucks are inspiration to me. Loved the Ayala truck for at least 40 years. Looking for a pic of Greg Fleury's from the 80s as well. All good chops..


    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    FOUND IT
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2023
    Sancho and Tim like this.
  12. Kevin Lee
    Joined: Nov 12, 2001
    Posts: 7,582

    Kevin Lee
    Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    That grille reminds me of one thing... NADS! Hahahaha.
     
    Busted Knuckles and Tman like this.
  13. We recently worked with Jon Schuchart/Schuchart Customs here in York, PA, on installing a quick change in a customer's Model A. Jon restored the Fairman (Summers) '36 Ford coupe for Jim Bobowski and he's in the process of restoring the Ayala truck. I took a bunch of photos of the QC install, but this is the only one that shows the truck in the background. It's my understanding it's going back to the first version. Jon does really nice work!
    Screen Shot 2023-05-23 at 5.21.28 PM.png
     
  14. Here are a couple more from Jon's shop.
    IMG_0794~photo.jpg
    IMG_0795~photo.jpg
     
  15. Cool to see the resto!
     
    Sancho likes this.
  16. 302GMC
    Joined: Dec 15, 2005
    Posts: 7,856

    302GMC
    Member
    from Idaho

    It took me a long time to finally figure it out - GMC built a long box 1/2 ton
     
    Chavezk21 and KingArthursKnight like this.
  17. bubba67
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 1,842

    bubba67
    Member
    from NJ

    Yes, the truck is at Schuchart Customs. Unfortunately, the project got back burnered a few years ago when we did the Jimmy Summers fadeaway coupe. Plans are to get back on it shortly.
    It is a half ton long bed and is actually a 1949. It often gets mistaken for a ‘51 since it has vent windows. The Ayala’s updated the original 1949 doors by adding the vent windows when they originally customized it. Hope this info helps. Jim
     
    SS327, saltracer219, Sancho and 3 others like this.
  18. Thanks for chiming in.
     
    Sancho likes this.
  19. The truck was Kool for sure and I miss it being around. I miss Bruce being around more.
     
  20. I did not know Bruce but looked up to him for his truck AND his Bonneville exploits!
     
    saltracer219 and Sancho like this.
  21. Bruce was driven to do B-Vill and leave a mark of his own as he did. B-Vill was not all there was to Bruce. He was a full-Blown gear head to the bone. His collection of Cars was quite vast for one guy and I can't think of much he owned that didn't have a Blower on it. His sense of humor was comparable to none. He lived and breathed from the Far-Side. We called him Fuzzy and his shoes will never be filled again.
     

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