DEFYING NATURE
August 14, 2024
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THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
Right Rod
If you attend car events in California, such as NHRA’s California Hot Rod Reunion in Bakersfield, the West Coast Kustoms show in Paso Robles or the L.A. Roadster Show in Pomona, you will notice that rat rods are a growing segment of the hot rod hobby. Years ago, when they started becoming a common sight at many of the shows, the mechanical aspects of most of the cars were scary at best. You could see cars with no springs, some without floorboards, and many constructed with less-than-desirable stick welding. It is this type of construction that created the name “rat rod.” Fortunately, over the past few years there has been an attempt to upgrade the construction of rat rods, even though the enthusiasts want to use as many original parts as possible.
THE INTRUDER
From the first time you see this beautiful ’57 Ford Ranch Wagon, you know it’s special, both in its concept and its execution. You might also know this is the latest creation from one of the Midwest’s elite rod builders, Troy Trepanier, a guy who has been doing it his own way since he first started shaping specialized vehicles back in the late 1980s. Since that time, Troy and his crew have been stopping people in their tracks with fresh, leading-edge designs, and their latest innovation certainly carries that tradition into a new era. After taking possession of another Trepanier creation, the ’54 Plymouth known as the Sniper, George Poteet decided he wanted Rad Rods By Troy to rework another car that he had been thinking about for some time. As with all such projects, it began simply enough, but soon a well-worn Ford station wagon was well on its way to an entirely new life.
S.U.V.
For the last ten years or so, SUVs have been the buzz in the world of new cars, soccer Moms, and the general motoring public. As a matter of fact, this trend is so strong that automakers from Kia to Porsche have offered myriad variations on the theme, to the point where most of us can’t even begin to name them all. With names ranging from half of a state name to words that don’t mean much of anything (Dakota, Cayenne, Rainier and on and on) the onslaught of SUVs seems to show no sign of slowing down.
Spotlighter
A RADICAL DRIVER
Don’t Call Rick and Terri Nowak’s ’48 Chevy Anything but a Hot Rod
Some of the most interesting conversations around the office usually center on whether a rod built without shiny paint can be considered a finished rod or something else. There are some trendy names floating around that are often associated with these cars, but we don’t particularly think these names are appropriate or accurate for a proper description. Just because a rod has a satin finish doesn’t mean it is lacking any aspect of a finished rod. Rick Nowak’s ’48 Chevy pickup definitely falls into the latter category. As its owner and builder say, “It’s not a ratty rod; not perfect, just a radical-looking driver.”
Author
Will Smith
Story and Photography
A Labor of Love: The Nowaks’ ’48 Chevy Pickup
Rick Nowak’s journey with his 1948 Chevy pickup began with a vision and a bit of inspiration. Originally built with an S-10 front clip and a Chevy 350 engine, the truck served the Nowak family well for four years before Rick decided to give it a complete makeover. Inspired by the shop truck at Gaylord’s Tops and Interiors, he and his wife, Terri, tore the pickup apart and rebuilt it from the ground up.
Chassis and Suspension: Merging Old and New
Nowak combined an S-10 front subframe with the original ’48 Chevy frame’s rear section, integrating steering, brakes, Monroe shocks, V-6 springs, and Belltech 2-inch drop spindles. The suspension upgrades included Energy Suspension bushings for durability, while red-painted 15×6-inch steelies from Wheel Vintiques with chrome bullet hubcaps and Coker wide whitewall tires set the stance. Out back, a ’57 Chevy rearend with 3.08 gears and BFGoodrich Silvertown whitewalls wrapped around 15×8-inch steelies provided a classic touch.
Powertrain: Balanced Performance with Vintage Style
The Chevy 350 engine remained at the heart of the build. Featuring an Edelbrock RV cam, intake, and 600cfm carb, the setup delivered a solid 300 hp. For style, Mooneyes finned accessories like the air cleaner and valve covers added flair. A Turbo 400 transmission, built by John Mardis, completed the drivetrain.
Bodywork: A Masterclass in Customization
The Nowaks transformed the pickup’s body, channeling the cab over the frame and wedge-chopping the roof 4 inches in the front and 3 inches in the rear. They sectioned the body 4 inches for a sleek, proportional look, replacing the stock hood with a modified dump truck hood. Suicide-style doors, widened Old Chicago rear fenders, and MAR-K weathered bed components added further customization.
Paint and Finishing Touches
The truck’s flat black paint emphasized its hot rod flavor, complemented by Brandon Bowling’s pinstriping and door lettering for “Jim’s Garage Rods and Kustoms.” This tribute to Rick’s father, who fixed bicycles in his garage, gave the truck a personal touch.
Interior: Simple Yet Striking
Inside, Rick narrowed a ’59 Impala dash by 9 inches and fitted Classic Instruments gauges. A tall Lokar shifter with an eight-ball knob, a painted LeCarra Mark X steering wheel, and Terri’s Mexican blanket upholstery on the Dodge minivan bench seat tied the design together. For comfort, the cowl vent was retained, eliminating the need for air conditioning or a stereo.
On the Road
The Nowaks’ Chevy is more than a showpiece—it’s a driver. The couple takes it to events like Goodguys and NSRA gatherings near their Kentucky home. Its blend of craftsmanship and personality ensures it stands out wherever it goes.
A Legacy in the Making
As wild as this ’48 Chevy is, the Nowaks have already taken their creativity further with a second truck build featuring parts from vehicles like a ’59 Cadillac, ’71 Camaro, and even a Subaru. Whether it’s this flat-black masterpiece or their next creation, the Nowaks’ passion for hot rodding guarantees they’ll be turning heads at every event.
’48 Pickup Buildup
The stock ’48 cab appears to be in great shape prior to the buildup. The proportions between the roof and body are good, but the truck is still kind of tall and thick.
Rick Nowak decided to cut around the rear window. Doing so allowed him to keep the stock-size opening, giving him good visibility and eliminating the expense of custom glass.
With the cuts made and the top welded back together, you can see how smoothly the operation went. Notice also the three cuts on each side of the cab to shrink the metal and provide the right contours for the chop.
The rear of the cab is finished, but the front still looks like this. The top and bottom of the pillars will have to be leaned more in order to meet in the middle.
This cut to the roof of the cab allowed Nowak to angle the upper portion of the A-pillar forward while cutting the base of the A-pillar provided the same effect.
The addition of some filler metal, welding and a lot of time left the A-pillar looking like this. The wedge chop looks good, and the windshield angle works, too.
The top chop is complete, but it’s easy to see that the door will no longer fit. Before cutting the door, though, Nowak opted to finish his work on the cab.
Nowak sectioned the cab so that its proportions would still match those of the roof. He cut the front portion of the cab relatively high on the body.
Conversely, the cut at the rear of the cab is much lower than the cut at the front. So long as the cuts are the same size, it doesn’t much matter, but positioning your cuts like this to avoid complex curves can make such a job much easier.
With the cab welded up again, you can see the vertical cuts to the cab, which are made in the same fashion as those to the roof. These cuts allow the slightly different contours of the areas above and below the cuts to match up again.
The new, smooth firewall and distributor recess look great. Check out the bottom portion of the door resting in place. The rest of the door is being modified to fit the shape of the roof.
The door modifications are now complete as they, too, have been chopped and sectioned. Nowak also modified them to open suicide-style with rear hinges.
Here’s the ’59 Impala dash on the floor with the stock dash still in place. Make note of how much space is between the end of the dash and the first gauge on the left.
Now look at how little space there is between the first gauge and the end of the dash. Nowak had to cut 9 inches from the dash to get it to fit in place, and these cuts came from each end and the middle of the dash to preserve its shape and proportions.
Here Terri Nowak is prepping the hood for sectioning. This build was a true family project, with Rick and Terri each putting in a lot of work to make this Chevy look good.
After many, many cuts to the hood, it ended up with this shape. Rick Nowak took 5 full inches from the hood, but it looks great now and fits the hammered look of this ’48.
All of the really heavy work on the front sheetmetal is done. It still needs basic body prep and sanding, but that’s easy compared to what the couple has done so far.
