Street Rods
Experience the remarkable metamorphosis of a 1954 Dodge pickup as it evolves from a utilitarian workhorse to an award-winning showstopper. Immerse yourself in the meticulous craftsmanship by Hot Rod Garage, featuring a Mopar 360 crate engine, custom bodywork, and a DuPont Super Jet Black exterior. Marvel at the interior’s camel Ultraleather, Budnik steering wheel, and Vintage Air Gen III system. Discover how Charles Black’s once-overlooked ’54 Dodge became a masterpiece, earning accolades and recognition at events nationwide.
Becky Walker, a housewife and career woman from Jarrell, Texas, has two hobbies: raising Great Pyrenees show dogs and her purple prism 53 Chevrolet show truck, appropriately named 53 PAW. About six years ago, my husband, Billy, dragged this raggedy old 53 Chevrolet farm truck home and told me he was going to fix it up for me to drive. That was the beginning of a major project that lasted over two years. We worked every night, weekend and holiday on that truck. In fact, I distinctly remember spending one New Year’s Eve, back in 2004, helping Billy change out two sets of springs.
Witness the transformation of a ’55 Chevy panel truck as it embraces modern comfort with the installation of a Hot Rod Air climate-control system. Designed for convenience, this aftermarket system seamlessly integrates power steering, power brakes, and air conditioning, ensuring a comfortable and enjoyable driving experience. Follow the step-by-step installation process, emphasizing the easy-to-follow instructions and plug-in connections. Discover the potential for personalization with chrome-plated upgrades, billet mounts, and other enhancements offered by Hot Rod Air, allowing enthusiasts to customize their street rods according to their preferences.
It often takes a serious challenge to test a person’s capabilities. After years of driving a string of performance cars, Terry Short wanted something different sitting in his North Tonawanda, New York, garage. So, he set out and found this ’55 Chevy big-window pickup in an apple orchard. He just knew he had met his challenge.
Terry Short’s ’55 Chevy pickup has a just-right rake, a monochromatic finish on a super-smooth body and a potent big-block Chevy. All these elements combine to make this Hot Rod Red truck a perfect cruising machine. Short’s goal was to build a truck that if you couldn’t see it, then you could certainly hear it coming. Though the roof went unchopped, the remainder of the body was extensively reworked and is devoid of chrome accessories.
Longtime classic truck enthusiast Mark Coleman has built countless classic cars and trucks over the years, including a trio of early Mustangs, a ’56 F-100 Ford panel truck and a ’55 Ford SuperCab, which have graced these very pages. When it came time to build another truck, Coleman took a long, hard look in his own backyard and decided that his old ’53 F-100 would be the prime candidate.
Adding power windows is a popular aftermarket option for classic vehicles these days. Worn-out window regulators have given people problems for years, and as replacement parts have become increasingly more expensive and harder to find, it’s simply easier and often cheaper to replace the old regulators with new electric ones. In the past we had to raid wrecking yards for parts that would adapt into our vehicles, and as expected there were generally a few problems associated with doing this. First, you don’t always know the condition of the parts being used, even though they look good; and second, you would need some background in window geometry to get the job done correctly. Finally, you need a certain level of basic fabrication skill and tools, which would be more than basic hand tools. With today’s technology and the availability of well-engineered aftermarket power window kits this has all changed, as it’s commonplace for most people to go straight to a kit designed for their vehicle.
Be Cool is no newcomer to cooling heavy metal. For years it has provided cooling solutions for some of the most impressive high-performance engines to rumble down the streets and dragstrips of America. The folks at Be Cool understand that having the proper cooling components in any car or truck is vital to keep an engine safely within its operating temperature range. They also understand that to make cooling and installation easier, they had to design a full bolt-in system, a system that would fit hundreds of applications for classic cars and trucks, as well as more modern vehicles that also need cooling help.
When the owner brought this truck to Buxton in late 04, it was an old farm truck with a straight-six engine, three on the tree and studded snow tires. Buxton began by boxing the frame and adding an IFS unit. With Air Ride Technologies airbags and 2-inch dropped spindles, the front end of the Chevy was able to go very low. In the rear, a Currie Enterprises 9-inch rearend was suspended with ART airbags on a four-link system. Speaking of the rearend, it has been equipped with Strange Engineering 3.73 gears. As the Chevy would obviously come across a few bumps, aluminum QA1 adjustable shocks are used on all four corners. Speaking of the corners, a set of Wheelsmith smoothie wheels adorns this Chevy, giving it a very cool retro look.
The owner of this ’56 Ford pickup purchased it for a daily driver, and after driving it for a short time decided to make it more comfortable. Still running the original suspension, it rode rough and typically handled like an old truck, which it happens to be. He wanted a softer ride, and for the truck to handle like a modern sports truck, so several chassis improvements were in order.
After 1-1/2 years of preparing a rock-solid foundation for our Cimtex Rods-constructed ’56 Chevrolet Super Cameo pickup, the time finally came to hang sheetmetal, but not without experiencing a few major disappointments. “All I can say is, before you buy a truck cab or any kind of old car body, look before you leap,” commented Darrell Cimbanin of Cimtex Rods after picking up our ’56 Chevy big-?window cab from True Grit Sandblasting in Hutto, Texas. This cab was in worse condition than we originally thought. It’s easy to disguise what appears to be a good-looking truck cab with plastic filler and a nice paint job. Sometimes even the experts can be fooled.










