Manufacturers
Before the advent of the “smoothie look,” people were slicking down the lines of their cars and trucks in numerous ways, and shaving door handles was one of the more popular mods. Today the trend is to fit later-model door handles rather than no door handles at all. This still provides a simple way to clean up your vehicle with very little effort, yet retains the convenience of manually opening the door. If you have the patience, talent and imagination, you can borrow the parts from a donor car or truck and fit them to your own project, thereby achieving a cool, smooth look that will be unique to your vehicle.
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When Jorge Torres was young he would help his father around his shop. Named after the senior Torres, Armando’s Custom Upholstery in San Jacinto, California, opened in 1989 when Jorge was still in high school. In 1992, he began working full time with his father and brother, Armando Jr. He stared doing old cars and went to a few shows to promote their work. During this time he mentioned to his dad that he wanted to build a 1969 Chevy pickup. It turned out that his dad had a friend who owned one, but he was told that the truck was in pretty rough shape. All Jorge heard was that the price, at $1,500, was in his range.
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The longer we are in this business, the more we are certain that the one skill which is most important to know is how to paint. A custom painter can take nearly anything and turn it into a fine ride. Sure, those who can work on suspension or engines are able to take their specialty and turn it to their advantage, but no one modification makes more impact than a cool paint job. That is why guys such as Sam Spinelli, a custom painter for more than 12 years, can cruise around town in this 1990 Chevrolet C1500. Adorned with a killer basecoat and an amazing set of flames, it would be a show truck for the rest of us, but he simply describes the Chevy as his daily driver.
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The ’07 Tahoe, Chevrolet’s premature baby, hit the street in late March 2006. Introducing the next generation of Tahoes so early was part of some master marketing scheme, born and nurtured in the hallowed halls of Chevrolet corporate. In any case, the ’07 Tahoe’s rear ride height measured 23-1/8 inches from the center of the hub to the lip of the fenderwell, while the front measured only 20-1/4 inches. As usual, the rear stood considerably higher than the front.
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Television has created an unusual interest in all things high-performance, both cars and trucks. On any night you can watch some creation of modified vehicles, and even though there’s not much reality to the builds, you can get a good idea of what’s going on. But don’t get your hopes up: Unlike the team of experts that supposedly does this in a week, your build will probably take six months or more, and longer at some shops. While you can witness a number of world-class cars rolling across the auction block, commanding huge prices from over-?enthusiastic bidders, you will find that this, too, is not the reality that most of us live in each day, as many auction samples are some of the more rare in existence. The one thing each of these shows has in common is that typically the owner rarely gets his hands dirty and if there is any owner involvement, it is often limited to writing a check.
This no doubt is a great way for some to enjoy the hobby, but it’s not the approach that most enthusiasts take, and that includes Rick Finzer. As a way of introduction, Finzer is the event coordinator for a much respected Florida car show and swap meet known as the Turkey Run. The legendary Turkey Run is celebrating its 33rd anniversary and is well known by most enthusiasts, and Finzer has been involved since its inception.
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Langston, a longtime rodder and home builder, has owned several awesome rides in the past, including a ’63 Vette convertible, a ’51 Chevy pickup and an ’84 Chevy street truck. The only problem with all of these cars is that they are two-seaters—one driver and one passenger. Alan and his wife, Amy, have three boys who absolutely love hanging with their dad at the rod shows. Since Alan and Amy needed room for Sam, Jacob and Trace to ride when going to and from the local rod runs, they decided to build a vehicle that would provide enough room for five, and plenty of room to load up and go on trips. Alan decided that since he’d previously owned a ’51 and loved it, the ride would be an Advanced Design Chevrolet.
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The owner of this ’77 Chevy pickup got tired of the performance and poor fuel economy of the truck’s 350 small block, and rather than rebuild the engine, he decided to replace it with something better. If there’s an engine better than a small-block Chevy, it’s one of Chevy’s new Gen-III small-block engines, which include the Vortec truck motors, LS1/LS6, and even the new LS2/LS7.
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When Ricardo Lopez began building this 1955 Chevy he had some help, as well as a plan. In the beginning, this little Chevy pickup was to provide an excellent chance for Ricardo to spend some time with his son, Ricky, and to be able to show the boy some of the tricks that he had learned over the many years he had worked as a customizer, bodyman and painter. As owner of Paint By Lopez in Compton, California, Ricardo had hopes of his boy taking over for him in the years to come, maybe even calling the shop Paint By Lopez & Son. Unfortunately, Ricky was taken from Ricardo and his wife, Monica, in a freak accident. At first Ricardo was going to sell the truck, as the sight of it was almost too much to bear. But upon reflection he changed his mind. Ricardo thought that finishing the project was not only a perfect way to work through his grief, but it would also give him a chance to feel connected to the son he had lost. When the Chevy was completed, it would be a way to honor Ricky’s memory.
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Those who know Ottawa, Kansas Roger Ward are almost certainly aware of his dry wit, his candid demeanor and his unique ability to create understated cars, one after the other. His talent in applying the most understated details to relatively unsung vehicles provides a lesson for us all that the best way to make a strong statement is to say as little as possible and do it your own way.
While his daily duties revolved around reworked body panels and refining those efforts with a paint gun, his lifelong hobby has focused those skills on a series of cars that exudes the same laid-back character which can be enjoyed in this extremely subtle, yet equally eye-?catching, 64 short-wheelbase Chevy pickup. As with so many trucks of this era, previous owners didn’t worry too much about retaining its pristine originality. Dented and rusty, this truck had been through the proverbial ringer, which made this conversion that much more difficult to achieve. Then again, Ward’s particular talents have made a great deal out of lesser vehicles, so this would simply be another test of his talents and another example of the skills he wields.
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In Hawaiian, “wiki wiki” can mean “hurry” or “fast,” depending on its use and interpretation.
New Zealand-born transplant Kim Greenwell’s Kahului, Maui-based black-on-black, 1988 GMC Sierra 1500 is definitely “wiki wiki” with its 500-plus-horsepower, Whipple-supercharged 383 small-block stroker. Greenwell’s basic intent was to build a stock-bodied hot rod pickup that he could use to advertise his automotive repair business, Kiwi Car Care. “I was looking for a nice, straight, rust-free truck that I could paint black,” says the Kahului automotive repair shop owner. “This truck was perfect. It was low mileage, and the price was right. But the brown color definitely had to go!” That’s not the only thing that got changed. “I kept the outside of the truck as stock as possible, but under the hood it’s a true sleeper.”
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