Innholdsfortegnelse for Volume 4, Issue 37 - September 2023 i Classic Truck Performance

Whether you build classic trucks as a hobby or operate a shop that cranks out several builds a year, you know the importance of the cooling system. As a well-known builder of hot rods and custom creations, Alan Johnson of Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop faithfully used Walker Radiator Works because of their durable construction and reliable performance. Vernon Walker revolutionized the street rod world with traditional brass and copper radiators that would cool even the most radical builds. When Walker Radiator Works closed its doors, Johnson stepped up to the plate to buy the operation. All of the machines, patterns, and notes came with the purchase, but the name was not available, so he renamed it Johnson’s Radiator Works and moved the operation near his hot rod shop in Gadsden,…

Coming from an era when auto parts, truck parts, and even hot rod parts changed hands eye-to-eye across a knowledgeable storekeeper’s counter, I can’t help wanting to continue doing business that way. Old-fashioned as it may be, that type of personalized service does still exist for those of us who are willing to drive somewhere for it. At our shop in Montana, our only customer job (the same ’55 Chevy second-series pickup) is for the most part in the paint department. At the time of this typewriting, however, we’re experiencing a particularly bitter winter. Since our paint booth draws in outside air, it’s not the best time for us to be painting. To keep the build moving through our Montana cold snap, there’s something else we ought to think about.…

From behind the wheel of a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevy on the track to behind the wheel of a slammed OBS Chevy on the streets, former professional racer Wendell Chavous knows his way around a Silverado! While Wendell’s career in NASCAR may have ended in 2018 (he chose to pursue a family business), his newly found classic truck hobby is just starting to blossom. “This [Chevy OBS] is my first build,” Wendell told us. “I had an idea of what I wanted and started making plans and purchasing parts for the build. But when I got to the point that I needed to get a shop involved, I found that getting anyone on the East Coast to help was nearly impossible.” Luckily for Wendell, there’s this thing called…

If you were to ask us what it was like going to this show, we would honestly answer that by saying that it completely blew us away! The turnout was so impressive that we are now having withdrawals from all of it. We also have no hesitation in saying that if you like classic Chevrolet pickups, this is one of those events that you’ll either want to show your truck at or get inspiration from by seeing some of the sickest versions of them from across the nation. Held on May 12th and 13th at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, the infield of the NASCAR spec track was literally packed with thousands of jaw-dropping classic pickups. No matter what type of Bowtie fanatic you are, the C10 Nationals…

1. LS BRACKETS SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR CHEVY TRUCK ENGINE SWAPS Sometimes, generic engine swap solutions aren’t good enough, so that’s why Kwik Performance has developed a front accessory drive bracket system called the High & Tight series specifically for Chevy LS swaps in C10 and ’88-98 OBS Chevy trucks. The High & Tight A/C bracket mounts the smaller Sanden SD7B10-7176 compressor right in front of the passenger-side cylinder head, which solves the low factory compressor location issues with framerails and crossmembers. The High & Tight alternator and power steering pump bracket keeps the alternator and power steering pump that typically comes with a salvage yard engine but solves several issues when trying to reuse the factory truck bracket. For example, the idler pulley is placed under the alternator, which means…

One Thing Leads to Another There probably isn’t a better feeling in the show scene than hearing Bill Carlton of Ekstensive Metal Works refer to your truck as the “C10 of all C10s” on television. He really spoke those words on record on Texas Metal where Carlton and his crew began and finished the long process of building up Jose Rubio’s ’68 Chevy C10 from nothing more than a pile of beaten parts. The build of Jose’s truck was covered in four episodes of Texas Metal, but in actual real time, the project spanned two years of construction. Now, when Jose dropped the truck off with Ekstensive, all he had was the cab, the bed, doors, and the front clip—that’s it! All he was asking of Carlton was to create…

Don’t call it a comeback—but that’s exactly what happened with Doyle Thomas and Mike Rutter with this gorgeous ’71 Chevy that Rutterz Rodz built for Mike, then Doyle, then Mike, and finally for Doyle again! “Doyle Thomas’ ’71 Chevy C10 started life as a project that I was building for my shop, Rutterz Rodz in Bristol, Tennessee,” Mike told us. “In 2019, at SEMA, Doyle asked about buying the truck (we had started it a couple years earlier), so I agreed to sell it. He asked for it to be painted orange/white (like Whataburger) and have an LS powertrain. “After SEMA we began the teardown process and were headed in the direction he wanted. A couple months later Doyle called and said he thought that maybe he didn’t really need…

In the Aug. ’23 issue of Classic Truck Performance we began the installation of C4 Corvette front and rear suspension under Paul Wilson’s ’52 Chevy pickup with components from Don McNeil’s Flat Out Engineering. We planned on installing a small-block Chevy for power, and while there was a certain appeal to keeping our hauler all Bowtie from end to end, there was a more practical reason for Corvette suspension than brand loyalty. We knew the C4 suspension would provide excellent ride and handling characteristics and McNeil’s installation kits would make our truck’s transformation quick and easy. The one thing we didn’t anticipate was a problem with the factory frame. McNeil has decades of experience building award-winning vehicles of all descriptions—drag racers, Bonneville competitors, show winners, and street machines. As an…

I’m not an old-timer when it comes to classic trucks, but I have been involved in this great hobby/aftermarket industry for over 30 years, so I have had the distinct honor of rubbing elbows with many of the true old-timers over the past three decades. Since we devote the majority of feature content to the fresh builds (and a lot of the up-and-coming young builders), I felt it only necessary to set aside some precious page space to those who’ve created the foundation on which both the hobby and the aftermarket industry are based today. And who better to kick off our Legacy Series than the late Pat Ganahl and his famous ’56 Ford F-100. Pat was without a doubt an inspiration and mentor of mine—his history with Rodder’s Journal,…

The “Grand Nats,” as we like to call it, is to us Ford truck enthusiasts what SEMA is to most everyone else: HUGE! Bringing over 1,000 classic Ford truckers and their Blue Oval passion to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for the 2023 event was nothing short of awesome. Joe Carpenter and his family/team put on such a good show for all of us to enjoy. There was something there for everyone, from early Ford trucks to fat fenders, fridges, slicks, bumps, dents … heck they even let in bulls, bricks, and OBS trucks, too. You had all kinds of builds from show quality to daily drivers. The Top 3 honors go to TJ Potter in his ’52 F-1, Robert Gahagan in his ’56 F-100, and Bruce Bolen in his ’64 F-100.…

The Chevy OBS truck series, known in 1988 as the GMT400 platform when introduced, was all new from the ground up. The series ran through a successful decade of hard-working trucks, along with Tahoes and Suburbans, and today are sought after by truck enthusiasts. We’re lucky enough to have a two-wheel drive Tahoe that serves as a daily driver and remains mostly stock. But, at 25 years old, there are plenty of worn-out pieces that need replacing to keep the rig riding and driving as nice, and safely, as one would expect. One area that was overdue for some maintenance and attention was the front suspension. As a daily driver, this Tahoe sees it all, from carrying loads, to road trips, and a lot of running around in stop/go traffic.…

If we think back to our first 16 years of life, before coming of driving age, we may recall it as a long, boring period. Provided the DMV (or MVD, or whatever it’s called where you live) was open on our birthdays, we were there in line for the test. Growing up around classic truck hobbyists can certainly fuel a youngster’s fire. Being raised by the professionals who assist those hobbyists (in this instance at a Riverside, California, transmission shop) was gearhead insurance for young Gilbert (just “G” to his family and friends) Aguilar and his younger brother, Ray. The Aguilar brothers’ Chevy pickups are both ongoing works in progress. Both trucks are father and son projects, and both sons are quick to give due propers to their father, Roman.…