ust about a month ago, while sorting out a coolant recovery system for our ongoing ’55 Chevy second-series build, we painted up some pieces—and they turned out real nice. Ordinarily that’s a good thing, but we were hoping to illustrate clever ways to fix minor imperfections, too. This time around it looks as though we’ll have our chance to do that.

With a little help from nearby Reynolds Radiator we’re wrapping up the truck’s cooling system. When we first received the job, it came with a functioning used radiator. It wasn’t much to look at, but at the time it seemed to fit in with its surroundings just fine. Now that those surroundings are shiny like-new, the radiator needs a little attention.

Just to catch us up, the truck’s OE-type used radiator has already been flushed, pressure-tested, and pronounced healthy to run. Our radiator guru, Howard Lilly, offered to paint it with a waterborne coating, but we opted to pass on that. Then sure enough, back at our own shop, we began to notice a number of cosmetic hiccups, like a dented top tank and mangled copper fins.

any classic truck enthusiasts have very fond memories of driving a truck with a parent or grandparent when they were a child, or perhaps driving themselves to high school. Most of those trucks were likely less than a decade old at the time, so they drove and handled quite well. Flash-forward several decades and those same trucks are now classics. Being reunited with the same-era truck that is linked to your memories is a beautiful thing. The problem is you are now accustomed to driving your modern car or truck, so when you get behind the wheel of a stock classic truck … it doesn’t drive so great in comparison. For this reason, MetalWorks Speed Shop gets approached on a nearly daily basis with the question of “can you make my classic truck driver closer to my modern truck without ruining its look?” The answer to that question is a resounding “Yes,” and the simplest way to achieve it is with an Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) chassis.

he crew at Gary’s Rods & Restorations has been working diligently on Jason Souza’s ’56 F-100. The most recent work has been on the front fenders. For reasons that are unclear, these trucks were designed with the wheelwell opening far off the center of the fender, pushed back close to the back edge.

It’s a fair amount of work to move a wheelwell, but Jason thought the work would be justified, and we think you will agree when you see the finished product. Knowing this change was coming, the new front suspension was located on the truck’s frame so the wheels could be centered in the fenders.

One of the first steps in modifying the fenders was laying out the cuts for the original wheelwell, with the goal of placing the joints in places where the edges would fit together reasonably well in their new location. With the original wheelwell cut out, it was centered on the wheel and checked visually to make sure it looked good from all angles. It was raised about an inch and a couple of “nips and tucks” were required to get the proportions just right.