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Fuelish Media with the cover shot of the flaming-hot, Ekstensive Metal Works–built ‘68 Chevy C10 for Jose Rubio!
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Rodney Bauman, Tommy Lee Byrd, Ron Ceridono, Michael Christensen, Ron Covell, Grant Cox, Dominic Damato, John Drummond, Fuelish Media, Eric Geisert, John Gilbert, Joe Greeves, John Jackson, Barry Kluczyk, Scotty Lachenauer, Don Lindfors, Ryan Manson, Josh Mishler, Todd Ryden, Jason Scudellari, Chris Shelton, Tim Sutton, Chuck Vranas, Michael Yamada – Writers and Photographers
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Still Hammerin’
BY ROB FORTIERoesn’t seem like it was that long ago when categorizing a “classic truck” was simple: a pre-’70s/post-’30s domestic truck, right? OK, that may have been way back in the ’90s, but still … the definition was pretty cut and dry!
Here in 2023, with that classic truck cutoff clear up past the time period I was just reflecting on (1998), things aren’t so cut and dry—not by a long shot! But above and beyond the year break, the real so-called dilemma lies in the vehicle itself: How far above and beyond the presence of an actual truck bed still qualifies a vehicle as a classic truck?
So, we obviously agree (or at least I’m assuming so) that Suburbans and Blazers fit the description, but what about Ford Broncos? I’ve been asked on multiple occasions why CTP doesn’t feature early Broncos (a true predecessor to the modern SUV), and, up until now, I’ve simply shied away due to them having their own following, so to speak … but that may change here real soon. Now that we’re delving more into the off-road/4×4 realm, it would only seem natural that we include them, right?
Parts Dept.
Feature
Photography BY Tim Sutton’m not an old-timer when it comes to classic trucks, but I have been involved in this great hobby/aftermarket industry for over 30 years, so I have had the distinct honor of rubbing elbows with many of the true old-timers over the past three decades. Since we devote the majority of feature content to the fresh builds (and a lot of the up-and-coming young builders), I felt it only necessary to set aside some precious page space to those who’ve created the foundation on which both the hobby and the aftermarket industry are based today.
Tech
1. Award-winning hot rod builder Alan Johnson takes on a new venture with Johnson’s Radiator Works.
Photography BY THE AUTHORhether you build classic trucks as a hobby or operate a shop that cranks out several builds a year, you know the importance of the cooling system. As a well-known builder of hot rods and custom creations, Alan Johnson of Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop faithfully used Walker Radiator Works because of their durable construction and reliable performance. Vernon Walker revolutionized the street rod world with traditional brass and copper radiators that would cool even the most radical builds. When Walker Radiator Works closed its doors, Johnson stepped up to the plate to buy the operation. All of the machines, patterns, and notes came with the purchase, but the name was not available, so he renamed it Johnson’s Radiator Works and moved the operation near his hot rod shop in Gadsden, Alabama.
FeatureBY Fuelish Media
One Thing Leads to Another
here probably isn’t a better feeling in the show scene than hearing Bill Carlton of Ekstensive Metal Works refer to your truck as the “C10 of all C10s” on television. He really spoke those words on record on Texas Metal where Carlton and his crew began and finished the long process of building up Jose Rubio’s ’68 Chevy C10 from nothing more than a pile of beaten parts.
Event
Photography BY THE AUTHORhe “Grand Nats,” as we like to call it, is to us Ford truck enthusiasts what SEMA is to most everyone else: HUGE! Bringing over 1,000 classic Ford truckers and their Blue Oval passion to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, for the 2023 event was nothing short of awesome.
Joe Carpenter and his family/team put on such a good show for all of us to enjoy. There was something there for everyone, from early Ford trucks to fat fenders, fridges, slicks, bumps, dents … heck they even let in bulls, bricks, and OBS trucks, too. You had all kinds of builds from show quality to daily drivers.
The Top 3 honors go to TJ Potter in his ’52 F-1, Robert Gahagan in his ’56 F-100, and Bruce Bolen in his ’64 F-100. If you are into classic Ford trucks, make sure to put the dates for 2024 on your calendar: May 16-18, 2024, back in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We look forward to seeing you there!
Tech
InTheGarageMedia.com
Photography BY THE AUTHORoming from an era when auto parts, truck parts, and even hot rod parts changed hands eye-to-eye across a knowledgeable storekeeper’s counter, I can’t help wanting to continue doing business that way. Old-fashioned as it may be, that type of personalized service does still exist for those of us who are willing to drive somewhere for it.
At our shop in Montana, our only customer job (the same ’55 Chevy second-series pickup) is for the most part in the paint department. At the time of this typewriting, however, we’re experiencing a particularly bitter winter. Since our paint booth draws in outside air, it’s not the best time for us to be painting. To keep the build moving through our Montana cold snap, there’s something else we ought to think about.
To this point there’s been little attention paid to the project truck’s rearward sheetmetal. Providing you’ve been with us, you may’ve noticed that we tend to spend way too much doggone time repairing original body panels. This time, that won’t happen, as the original bed and rear fenders are beaten up to the point where we wouldn’t even consider salvaging them.
Feature
Photography by John Jacksonon’t call it a comeback—but that’s exactly what happened with Doyle Thomas and Mike Rutter with this gorgeous ’71 Chevy that Rutterz Rodz built for Mike, then Doyle, then Mike, and finally for Doyle again!
“Doyle Thomas’ ’71 Chevy C10 started life as a project that I was building for my shop, Rutterz Rodz in Bristol, Tennessee,” Mike told us. “In 2019, at SEMA, Doyle asked about buying the truck (we had started it a couple years earlier), so I agreed to sell it. He asked for it to be painted orange/white (like Whataburger) and have an LS powertrain.
“After SEMA we began the teardown process and were headed in the direction he wanted. A couple months later Doyle called and said he thought that maybe he didn’t really need another project right now and would I be upset if he changed his mind. I had no problem taking the truck back for myself and agreed with him that he basically had no room at home for another hot rod since he had just added onto his garages and was out of room again! Even without the truck build we still had projects going for him!
Tech
InTheGarageMedia.com
Photography BY Taylor KempkesVideography BY RYAN FOSS PRODUCTIONS
he Chevy OBS truck series, known in 1988 as the GMT400 platform when introduced, was all new from the ground up. The series ran through a successful decade of hard-working trucks, along with Tahoes and Suburbans, and today are sought after by truck enthusiasts.
We’re lucky enough to have a two-wheel drive Tahoe that serves as a daily driver and remains mostly stock. But, at 25 years old, there are plenty of worn-out pieces that need replacing to keep the rig riding and driving as nice, and safely, as one would expect. One area that was overdue for some maintenance and attention was the front suspension.
FeaturePhotography By Grinder TV
rom behind the wheel of a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevy on the track to behind the wheel of a slammed OBS Chevy on the streets, former professional racer Wendell Chavous knows his way around a Silverado!
While Wendell’s career in NASCAR may have ended in 2018 (he chose to pursue a family business), his newly found classic truck hobby is just starting to blossom. “This [Chevy OBS] is my first build,” Wendell told us. “I had an idea of what I wanted and started making plans and purchasing parts for the build. But when I got to the point that I needed to get a shop involved, I found that getting anyone on the East Coast to help was nearly impossible.”
Tech
Pickups
Photography BY THE AUTHORIn the Aug. ’23 issue of Classic Truck Performance we began the installation of C4 Corvette front and rear suspension under Paul Wilson’s ’52 Chevy pickup with components from Don McNeil’s Flat Out Engineering. We planned on installing a small-block Chevy for power, and while there was a certain appeal to keeping our hauler all Bowtie from end to end, there was a more practical reason for Corvette suspension than brand loyalty. We knew the C4 suspension would provide excellent ride and handling characteristics and McNeil’s installation kits would make our truck’s transformation quick and easy. The one thing we didn’t anticipate was a problem with the factory frame.
McNeil has decades of experience building award-winning vehicles of all descriptions—drag racers, Bonneville competitors, show winners, and street machines. As an avid hot rodder and astute businessman, McNeil knows full well how important it is to establish the reputation for offering chassis parts that fit and work as intended, which he has done. He also knows that if you start off with a frame that is out of square the end result will be a chassis that will not work as it should. That’s why McNeil stresses that checking the frame for dimensional accuracy is the first step to installing his kits. In our case, the frame was out of square 5/16 inch, the max should be 1/8 inch. It took some effort, but with the frame square we installed the Flat Out Engineering front crossmember—which is where we left off last time.
FeatureInTheGarageMedia.com
Photography BY THE AUTHORf we think back to our first 16 years of life, before coming of driving age, we may recall it as a long, boring period. Provided the DMV (or MVD, or whatever it’s called where you live) was open on our birthdays, we were there in line for the test.
Growing up around classic truck hobbyists can certainly fuel a youngster’s fire. Being raised by the professionals who assist those hobbyists (in this instance at a Riverside, California, transmission shop) was gearhead insurance for young Gilbert (just “G” to his family and friends) Aguilar and his younger brother, Ray.
The Aguilar brothers’ Chevy pickups are both ongoing works in progress. Both trucks are father and son projects, and both sons are quick to give due propers to their father, Roman.
Event
Photography BY The Authorf you were to ask us what it was like going to this show, we would honestly answer that by saying that it completely blew us away! The turnout was so impressive that we are now having withdrawals from all of it. We also have no hesitation in saying that if you like classic Chevrolet pickups, this is one of those events that you’ll either want to show your truck at or get inspiration from by seeing some of the sickest versions of them from across the nation.
Held on May 12th and 13th at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, the infield of the NASCAR spec track was literally packed with thousands of jaw-dropping classic pickups. No matter what type of Bowtie fanatic you are, the C10 Nationals definitely had something for you to ogle at. All styles of Chevys were present, including sky-high behemoths, slammed knuckle draggers, and even high-performance speed freaks.
If by some chance you were bored of looking at parked vehicles in the Show-N-Shine sections, there were multiple action-packed happenings throughout the weekend. This included the C10 Truck CPP Autocross, which was a blast to not only watch but also participate in. The schedule of events during the show also included the Gandrud Chevrolet Dyno Challenge, Sunoco Donuts and Drifting exhibition, and burnout contest. Friday afternoon was the Summit Racing Drag Racing; after the awards ceremony on Sunday registered vehicles could participate in the cruise around the oval track under the lights.
Ad Index
- AFFORDABLE STREET RODS71
- AIR LIFT PERFORMANCE51
- ALL AMERICAN BILLET15
- AMERICAN AUTOWIRE41
- ART MORRISON ENTERPRISES37
- AUTO METAL DIRECT23
- AUTOMETER PRODUCTS25
- AUTOMOTIVE RACING PRODUCTS49
- BEDWOOD AND PARTS81
- BOESE ENGINEERING97
- BORGESON UNIVERSAL CO.43
- CHEVS OF THE 40’S89
- CLASSIC INDUSTRIES39
- CLASSIC INSTRUMENTS79
- CLASSIC PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS4-5, 93
- DAKOTA DIGITAL99
- DINO’S GIT DOWN65
- DSE/GEAR FX29
- EATON DETROIT SPRING95
- ENGINEERED COMPONENTS97
- FITECH EFI79
- FLAT OUT ENGINEERING95
- GEARSTAR PERFORMANCE TRANSMISSIONS93
- GOLDEN STAR CLASSIC AUTO PARTS7
- GRANATELLI MOTOR SPORTS81
- HEIDTS SUSPENSION SYSTEMS71
- HEINZMAN STREET ROD SHOP97
- KUGEL KOMPONENTS93
- LEGENS HOT ROD93
- LMC TRUCK100
- LOKAR2, 61
- NATIONAL STREET ROD ASSOCIATION77
- OLD AIR PRODUCTS87
- OPTIMA BATTERIES11
- PAINT OVER RUST PRODUCTS85
- PHOENIX MACINE PRODUCTS97
- POWERMASTER PERFORMANCE85
- PPG INDUSTRIES27
- PREMIER STREET ROD6
- ROD SHOWS75
- SCOTT’S HOTRODS87
- SPEEDWAY MOTORS45
- SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT17
- THERMO-TEC AUTOMOTIVE95
- TMI PRODUCTS95
- TRIPLE CROWN OF RODDING, LLC63
- VINTAGE AIR9
- WILWOOD ENGINEERING19
- WINTERS PERFORMANCE89
