HOW TO BUILD A DEUCE HIGHBOY
March 27, 2025
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
ALL BUSINESS BUICK
Keith Samrany was poking around at a swap meet about 25 miles from his home in Grand Island, New York, when he found a ’35 Buick Series 40 business coupe that was just begging for a new owner. The coupe was in remarkably good condition, having been driven until around 1985, when a previous owner began a restoration that was never finished. Samrany, owner of KS Auto Stores in North Tonawanda, New York, had been a car guy for years, so he was very knowledgeable about the myriad of parts needed to build a hot rod. Enlisting the help of Dave Klock and Mark Morer, Samrany started to work on a project that eventually would take eight years to complete.
Inferno
Builders Joe Keenum and Dan Ehle are best friends and business partners. Initially drawn together by their love for classic cars and trucks, the two have created a number of super rods and classic trucks over the years out of their shop in Leighton, Alabama. Keenum and Company has built trucks that compete with the best of the top-name builders in the country. Producing upwards of a dozen custom vehicles a year, the duo decided it was time to go it a bit further and build a radical shop truck that would showcase the expert craftsmanship the shop is capable of producing.
After running across this 1972 Chevrolet 1/2-ton pickup in early 2006, they felt this was the classic truck that would make the ideal candidate for the project they had in mind. 0nce Keenum and Ehle acquired the truck, they began the extensive build. The truck was a nice driver, and the previous owner performed a rather simple hot rod restoration, leaving the truck on the frame and updating a few of the components here and there. However, Keenum and Company had other plans for this classic.
70 Years of Cool: The Tri-Five Chevy Turns Platinum
In 1955, Chevrolet didn’t just redesign a car—they ignited a movement. The Tri-Five Chevys (that’s shorthand for the 1955, 1956, and 1957 models) arrived like a thunderclap and never really left. These machines were leaner, lower, and louder—in both looks and performance—ushering in a new era of V8-powered excitement. The shoebox shape, the tailfins, the grille teeth…every detail had attitude. And the world noticed.
Spotlighter
MULTITASKING FOR THE MASSES
Installing Haneline’s 3-in-1 Gauge Clusters
Author
Matt Emery
Story & Photography
Say you drive an older pickup in which the original designers weren’t all that interested in engine management. Thanks to the addition of that high-horsepower engine, however, you are very interested in what it is up to. But you are also interested in keeping the dash area clean and don’t want to put a bunch of holes into it. You also don’t really want to have an old-style gauge panel hanging beneath the dash. What to do?
For those who drive a 1947-’53 Chevrolet pickup truck, the ideal way to handle this problem is to install Haneline’s 3-in-1 gauge clusters.
Haneline has a long history of producing high-quality gauge packages that are designed as a direct replacement for a majority of classic autos and pickup trucks. It is well known for its “machine” finish gauge panels and vintage-appearing gauge faces, but with the advent of these multitasking gauges the company is reaching out to those owners who don’t actually have dash panels.
As with most of the Haneline product line, the 3-in-1 gauge clusters are a snap to install. It takes only an hour or so to install the units (not including the time to install the senders).
We were on hand as Jim Bible showed us how to install the units into a Chevy dash. Okay, it was not one that was actually mounted into a truck; it was one that Bible used to design the billet ring, as well as the size of the gauges that he would use in the kit. Haneline includes a detailed installation sheet with the kit, which takes into consideration not just how to install the gauges into the dash, but how to install the sending units and even how to calibrate the speedometer to work with a variety of tire sizes.
So if you like a clean dash, as well as being completely informed on how your truck is running, take a look at Haneline. You will probably like what you see.
Haneline’s 3-in-1 gauge clusters do exactly what they say; they encompass three gauges in a single housing.
There are two housings, so that actually makes six gauges, which give the driver all the engine’s information.
This dash is out of a 1947-’53 Chevrolet. It was used by Bible to design the gauge package for this kit. Now it will be used to show how the Haneline gauges are installed.
The billet ring is held in place in the dash with three set screws. They are installed into the rings.
The billet rings are inserted into the dash openings and the set screws are tightened (but not too tight, or the ring could distort) so that the rings are secured.
The wiring harnesses are fed through the openings.
Care is taken to make sure that the gauges are aligned straight.
A pair of L-shaped brackets is used to secure the gauges to the billet rings.
The gauges are in place and held fast, thanks to the
A 1/2-inch hole needs to be drilled to mount the trip/odometer button. This button will change the LED display from the trip odometer to the main odometer.
Though the lead wires are attached as the unit comes from Haneline, they need to be removed from the button so that it can be mounted through the hole. A nut holds it in place from behind.
There you have it. In less than an hour you can have a complete set of gauges installed into your Chevy pickup. These Haneline gauges not only look great, but they also give the driver a complete look at the operational parameters of his ride.
ARTICLE SOURCES
Haneline
P.O. Box 430
Morongo Valley, CA 92256
888/878-8678
