TEXAS TRANS-AM
July 20, 2023
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
Hot Rods Abound in the Nichols Garage
Few things are more fun than spending a day doing a good old-fashioned garage crawl. No, that doesn’t mean getting down on your hands and knees looking for the washer that just rolled across the floor; we’re talking about doing the tour—runnin’ from one garage to the next just to see what folks are building, what kind of cool tools and memorabilia might be around, and of course, spending a little time swapping lies. Yeah, a garage crawl day is pure fun.
HOW WE BUILT A SHOW-STOPPER
(and Why We Built it the Way We Did)
THE QUESTION THAT we always seem to get asked at shows, at work and even when we are at a restaurant or just chilling at a bookstore is this: Everyone wants to know why Neil and Mei Tjin spend big money on their cars.
If you must know, it’s the love of the game and wanting to have the best of the best. Everyone always talks about JDM-this and JDM-that. Well, how about just getting the best parts from anywhere— Japan, Australia, America, wherever—and putting them on the car?
Hot Rods Dirt Cheap
Jack Fuller has been at this hot rod game for a long time, and while he builds hot rods for a living, make no mistake—this is a man who loves his work. As a matter of fact, the mantra of the garage is, “When the fun stops, the doors close for good.” It’s pretty simple stuff, and oddly enough, that seems to be the specialty of the house—basic hot rods that look cool and work well. Jump in a Jack Fuller hot rod, and you’ll know it was designed to be driven. Jack’s own ’32 cabriolet has seen untold miles over the years, as have most of the other hot rods he has built.
Spotlighter
NOTHING’S IMPOSSIBLE
A ’51 Ford Panel That’s Now 5 Inches Wider
Author
Charlie Hughes
Story & Photography
How perceptive are you? Sight is perhaps one of the most important of the human body’s senses. We use our eyes to define shapes, color and lines. We do so much with our eyes, yet one must ask: “Can the eye be fooled?” The old saying “What you see is what you get” has been around forever.
Now, before you think we strayed too far into the science field, study this ’51 Ford panel van for a few minutes. Look it over closely. Did you notice anything different? Could your eyes determine that the entire vehicle is 5 inches wider? Take another look.
Dave Kaminski wanted a custom-built truck, but he also wanted a vehicle he could take to a dealer for repairs, plug it into a computer for a diagnosis and determine the problem. In this hobby, that is hard to do with an old truck, given that computers rule the functions of today’s engines.
Kaminski met with Frank Strianese, owner of The Car Shop in Springville, New York, and explained that not only did he want an old new truck, he wanted it to blend in with the Ford service trucks used by his Besroi roofing and contracting business in Buffalo. Ideas were passed back and forth, and soon a project began to unfold. Once you read how it was accomplished you will know that nothing is impossible to do.
Kaminski brought what was left of the clapped-out ’51 to The Car Shop. The bottom of the truck was all rust. The fenders and floors were history. He and Strianese decided a donor vehicle was needed for a chassis, engine and dashboard. After much measuring, Kaminski acquired a 2002 Ford Explorer that was totaled in a rollover accident. The wheelbase was the same as that of the panel truck. The plan was to put the ’51 panel body on the newer chassis so Kaminski could take the truck to a local Ford dealer for service. Imagine the expression on the face of the service manager the first time Kaminski drives up and asks him to put the ’51 on a computer for a diagnosis!
The Explorer had 12,000 miles on the clock when it was rolled, so the warranty was still good, which should cut down on repair costs. The Explorer chassis and engine were kept stock as far as running gear and suspension. Remember that with the sophisticated diagnostic tools at dealers, the 2002 emissions equipment and exhaust had to be retained, too. Other than a good cleaning, the engine is just as it was in the Explorer. After all, why load it up with a lot of chrome when this is a work truck?
The Car Shop crew cut the front section of the chassis to adapt to the ’51 body and then cut part of the back of the chassis to align with the ’51, otherwise the Explorer platform would not have fit properly. The 2002 Explorer gas tank was modified to fit the ’51 section. The entire panel body was cut in two lengthwise and then widened 5 inches. For the hood and grille area, though, a 2-1/2-inch strip was cut on each side (rather than 5 inches in the center) to maintain the peak of the hood.
Many months were spent getting the body fitted into shape and smoothed. Paul Hersee, a bodyman on the Strianese crew, cut, welded and sanded for hours and hours. Along with widening the body they decided to mold in a third brakelight and Street Works digitally sequential LED taillights. Because the early Ford body becomes narrower as it goes from back to front, the dashboard from the Explorer had to be narrowed 5 inches to fit in the panel cab. Using the Explorer dash was another factor in being able to get dealer service.
As bodywork progressed the decision was made to not make the rear doors wider. To retain their original size the body was cut away from the door housing and 2-1/2 inches were added between the housing and the area between the doors and rear fenders. Because there were no fenders when they got the truck, The Car Shop made F-100 fenders out of some F-250 Ford fenders they located.
The truck rides on American Racing Torq-Thrust II wheels, 16×8 in front and 16×9.5 in back. Discover tires were chosen for the truck to ride on, 265/70SR16 for the front and 275/70SR16 for the rear.
When the body was completed, Kaminski took it to the Besroi shop, where company painter Dave Tab applied the DuPont Silver Birch Metallic finish. Then the truck was sent to Boston, New York, so Sandy Richter could go to work with her airbrush to incorporate the company logo on the panel sides.
The truck was then sent to Z-Best Interiors in Orchard Park, New York, for upholstery. There, Joe and Deb McDonell sewed the leather for the Explorer seats and worked the Besroi logo into the two-tone leather covering the inside of the cargo area panels. Hideaway storage compartments were made for the cargo seat area. Moe’s Auto Glass provided the tinted glass for the truck. Specialty Power Window units were installed, along with one of the company’s windshield wiper systems. The original Explorer stereo system was retained during the body exchange.
With the truck ready to roll, Kaminski soon learned it was an absolute pleasure to drive. As expected, it handles just like a 2002 Explorer panel truck should.
Kaminski doesn’t expect it to have very many mechanical problems for quite a while. If it does, he just may have to bring a camera to the Ford garage to catch the look on their faces when he asks them to connect it to their computer.
’51 Ford Panel Build
1. This is the wrecked 2002 Explorer donor car before the body was stripped from the chassis. The interior, chassis and seating were kept for the panel truck project.
2. Here’s another view of the donor car.
3. The body is being lifted off the ’51 chassis. Note that support braces are in place. The next step is to begin making cuts in the body to make it 5 inches wider so it will fit the Explorer chassis.
4. A cut was made down the center of the body. Chris Tomasik and Paul Hersee are checking the bracing before proceeding. Several flooring crosspieces were cut, and only a couple remain to be done in this photo. The two body pieces will be moved apart 5 inches and the area will be filled.
5. The driver’s side of the panel truck is shown here after the center cut was made.
6. The passenger’s side waits while the crew sets up the proper supports to hold the two sides in place so they can make measurements for the 5-inch-wide insert to be tacked into place.
7. The body is now 5 inches wider with the new centersection welded into place. The body rests on a special support the crew built for support. The doors were held in place with supports so final measurements could be made. It was decided to widen the body 2-1/2 inches on each side of the rear doors rather than widening the doors.
8. The body is shown on the Explorer chassis. No alterations have been made yet to the front of the chassis concerning the structure surrounding the engine. The center strip is shown in place and ready for finishing, and work is beginning on the back of the truck.
9. The fenders were positioned into place on jackstands, allowing the hood to be fitted after two 2-1/2-inch sections had been cut. The now-three-piece hood was tacked together with bracing, and work will begin to fill the strips shown. It was decided not to widen the hood down its center because the peak would have been lost.
10. The body was moved to a portable stand, leveled and remeasured. The hood is on the floor on the right. The areas where the hood will be widened can be seen.
11. The hood has been filled with the strips tacked into place. Note the area directly below the hood where the body was widened and filled.
12. Openings have been cut for the taillights and the rear pan has been added. Seams will be filled and hours of sanding will be needed before it is ready for primer.
13. Here’s a closeup of the opening for the taillight. Filler is now being applied, bringing the truck another step closer to being finished.
14. The third brakelight has been molded into the top and matches the narrow theme of the taillights.
15. The wheel tubs can be seen in this view, along with the framing that is being fitted for the new floor.
16. The body is being sanded off the chassis, and this view shows how the dust covers everything. The framework for the floor can be seen over the rear end.
17. This is a view of the hood pieces being brought together by the use of thin strips to hold everything in place.
18. All of the body pieces were set in place over the Explorer chassis so the crew could check the fit. The hood has yet to have the metalwork finished. The original grille was maintained so the truck would look almost as original as possible.
19. Here the widening process of the body has been completed. The new panels are in place in the back of the body, the doors are in place for a test fit and the third brake-light opening has been cut in the top.
20. This view provides a closer look of the area between the doors and the rear fender. A new pan was fashioned to replace the original.
