, so here we are in October already (even though it’s July as I’m writing this, the issue is dated 10/24, which you’ll be reading in late August … make sense?!) and I feel like I’ve gotten a lot accomplished, but there’s still plenty more to cover before the year is over.

From a personal perspective—at least as far as my two projects are concerned—I’ve covered more ground in the last 6-8 months than I have the entire time I’ve owned them! I’d kinda given up on the 1948 Chevy, to be honest, but thanks to Paul et al at Old Anvil Speed Shop the three-window has been resuscitated—not only in the aspect of driveability but in the sense that I have an all-new appreciation for the truck I once hated and was on the verge of selling as-was.

Initially, Paul had agreed to install the Air Lift/Flo Air Ride control system, ditching the cool but antiquated manual-valve old-school air ride installed many moons ago. Also, he wanted to use the truck as a test bed (no pun intended) for Old Anvil’s new All Access VIP bed floor kit utilizing a Curly Maple wood kit I’d already acquired from Bedwood & Parts (they will be teaming up to offer complete kits for Stepside and Fleetside trucks!). Once Paul had torn into the truck, as you’ve seen in past articles, he ended up replacing the old, worn-out exhaust (with an all-stainless system that incorporates Speedway Motors components) as well as the under-performing fuel system (now upgraded with an Aeromotive in-tank pump kit). Furthermore, the brakes, which actually worked too good (if you can imagine that?!), were redone using an underfloor Wilwood master (sans booster) fed by a firewall-mounted reservoir—ultimately ensuring the truck stops as it should, without putting the driver (me) into the windshield! Oh, and in the process of all the mechanical fixes, they were kind enough to not only install a fresh new stainless grille from Golden Star, but to properly align the entire front sheetmetal group … so now I can open/close the hood without the use of any tools! 

Now, while all this has been going on, the 1969 C10, which I’ve lovingly dubbed the “Polished Turd,” has also been making great strides toward completion! At our Tech Center in Placentia, California, Ryan Manson has lent his expertise in finishing up the Granatelli stainless oval tube exhaust, plumbing the stainless lines for the Wilwood brakes, facilitating the Lokar Electronic Sport Mode shifter and accessories, and as of late “retrofitting” the bed accommodations from Fleetside to Stepside. But, most recently, we hauled the Turd out to Corona where my buddy Ross Berlanga was gracious enough to take on the interior to debut TMI Products’ all-new in-house installation and design center—and boy am I glad they ended up doing it instead of me! It’s turning out beyond awesome, and hopefully TMI will have a new product or two for C10 guys when it’s all said and done! 

Once the 1969 is finished at TMI, it will head over to Mike and Jeremy at FiTech (literally around the corner) to once and for all get her up and running with a complete LS-style EFI/management system for the 454 big-block and Phoenix 4L70E. 

If I’m lucky (blessed), I ought to have both trucks on the road before year’s end—but knowing me, I’ll surely find more stuff to do to them … like swap out the 1969 front end for a 1968, do some interior in the 1948, and so on and so on!