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December 2022
Preview Issue
Make It Yours. Make It Lokar. Modern Performance. Classic Style. Endless Options.
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Series Restored by Lokar
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CTP TOC
InTheGarageMedia.com
Butch Lloyd’s '54 Chevy
Four Important Products to Keep Rust Away
Butch Lloyd’s '54 Chevy
Four Important Products to Keep Rust Away
Behind the Scenes: L & S Customs
Rod Simmons’ '53 Ford F-100
All-New ’69-72 Blazer Body
Robert Tucker’s '68 Chevy C10
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CLASSIC TRUCK PERFORMANCE VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 28 • 2022
December 2022 cover
On The Cover:
Despite the looming temptation to partake in Crow and Wolf Brewing Co.’s craft offerings, Tim Sutton was able to capture some amazing snaps of Pat Graham’s gorgeous Cameo, including this month’s cover!
Hot Rod
Classic Truck Performance ISSN 2692-2347 (print) ISSN 2692-2355 (online) Issue 28 is published monthly by In the Garage Media, 370 E. Orangethorpe Avenue, Placentia, CA 92870-6502. Postage paid at Placentia, CA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Classic Truck Performance c/o In the Garage Media, 1350 E. Chapman Ave #6550, Fullerton, CA 92834-6550 or email ITGM at subscription@inthegaragemedia.com. Copyright (c) 2022 IN THE GARAGE MEDIA. Printed in the USA. The Classic Truck Performance trademark is a registered trademark of In The Garage Media.
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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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Editorial contributions are welcomed but editors recommend that contributors query first. Contribution inquiries should first be emailed to info@inthegaragemedia.com. Do not mail via USPS as we assume no responsibility for loss or damage thereto. IN THE GARAGE MEDIA reserves the right to use material at its discretion, and we reserve the right to edit material to meet our requirements. Upon publication, payment will be made at our current rate, and that said, payment will cover author’s and contributor’s rights of the contribution. Contributors’ act of emailing contribution shall constitute and express warranty that material is original and no infringement on the rights of others.

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The Classic Truck Performance trademark is a registered trademark of In The Garage Media.

Still Hammerin’

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Rob Fortier headshot
BY ROB FORTIER
PLATFORM VARIATIONS
W

hen we started In The Garage Media nearly three years ago, we were so amped to launch our smart device digital version on VERTIQUL’s truly unique platform. Prior to discovering the VERTIQUL experience, our past dealings with digital media were not that, well, exciting—at least as far as the print-to-electronic translation with smartphones and tablets was concerned.

VERTIQUL worked out all those previous bugs and offered an experience that seemed to surely be the future of Classic Truck Performance, Modern Rodding, and All Chevy Performance. Or was it?

Personally, I’m not a smart device (nor computer) media connoisseur … I don’t even like reading lengthy emails, to be honest. I am and likely always will be a fan of traditional printed media. So, that said, my initial thoughts about the benefits of our high-tech digital platforms—which also now includes a Zinio version—had me a bit worried as far as the future of our printed versions was concerned.

CTP  Parts Dept.

InTheGarageMedia.com
Classic Instruments’ ’73-79 Ford Truck Package
1. Classic Instruments’ ’73-79 Ford Truck Package
Classic Instruments releases an all-new Ford direct-fit ’73-79 Ford truck package. It debuted at the NSRA Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, in the new product competition. The package will be available in black and white and fits ’78-79 Ford Broncos and ’75-91 Ford Econoline vans. This all-electric cluster features a speedometer, fuel, oil, temperature, and volt gauges. It has green turn signal indicators, a blue high beam indicator, and two red warning lights. Classic Instruments’ Hybrid LED Lighting offers the feel of the original perimeter lighting and the visual benefits of backlighting: even illumination and clear nighttime readability. The cluster also has a built-in dimmer and separate power (12V) and ground leads in the wire harness for the warning lights. The cluster is wired with a single snap-in wire harness on the back of the cluster. Mounting hardware is included to install with the original bezel and lens and setup is a breeze with push-button speedometer calibration. The fuel gauge is programmable for any ohm range with a selector switch on the back of the cluster, meaning the fuel gauge will work with the stock sending unit, any other factory sending units, or any Classic Instruments fuel sending unit. All other necessary sending units are included with a Classic Instruments Ford no fuel sending unit kit (PN SNFDNF). Save space with Classic Instruments’ Zeus Speedometer Technology built-in, meaning the cluster requires no external control boxes and works directly with ECM or VSS signals and it has a built-in ECM signal filter switch.
CTP Feature
InTheGarageMedia.com
Limitless title
Limitless title
Pat Graham’s Stunning ’57 Chevy Cameo
BY Rob FortierPHOTOGRAPHY BY Tim Sutton
F

leetside. A pickup truck having flat bedsides; i.e., no protruding (removable) rear fenders, hence the term “quarter-panels.” I have often used Fleetside to describe any manufactured slab-sided truck, however, much to the dismay of FoMoCo (Styleside) and Mopar (Sweptline) fans, Fleetside is a GM nomenclature—coined after the development of their revolutionary “non-commercial” Cameo Carrier in 1955.

CTP logo Tech

InTheGarageMedia.com

Prevent & Protect With Por-15 title image
Four Important Products to Keep Rust Away

BY Taylor KempkesPhotography BY THE AUTHOR

Four different containers of Por-15 steel treatment
R

ust is the enemy of a classic truck meant to be driven. Whether it’s your original floorpan and framerails or all-new sheetmetal, if you leave it alone long enough the elements are bound to do damage. Before we go much further, no, a couple coats of black rattle can just ain’t gonna cut it! What you really need is to clean and prep the metal the right way and then seal it with a product that will actually last. From our experience, POR-15 has a robust product line dedicated to doing just that.

All this talk about preventing and protecting came about when we started planning the build of our ’64 Chevy C10. Step one of the build is going to be a complete front subframe install from our friends over at Scott’s Hotrods ’N Customs. While we could pull a Roadkill move and bolt the fancy new front suspension to our grimy old framerails, we’d rather do it the right way. That means cleaning, prepping, and sealing things up beforehand. It’s a process that, depending on your level of filth, could take just a few hours or part of a weekend, but it’s a process that is completely worth it in the long run.

CTP Feature
InTheGarageMedia.com
Practical Magic
Side view of the - ’54 Chevy
Butch Lloyd’s Dual-Purpose ’54 Chevy
BY Chuck Vranas  PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE AUTHOR
T

here’s nothing more gratifying than putting your classic truck to use for its original intended purpose. From the moment it came off the assembly line it became one of the most important tools for an individual or business, regardless of whether its life was devoted to farming, making pickups and deliveries, or servicing clients. Sure, we’re all passionate about our trucks and treat them like they’re part of the family, with many still rolling as stockers while others get dropped, packed with a hot V-8, and treated to a myriad of custom updates. Somehow though, it seems that creating a dual-purpose hauler would bring the best of both worlds together. The slick ’54 Chevy 3100 Series laid out across our pages, owned by Butch Lloyd of Wilmington, Delaware, is one such truck.

CTP Event
InTheGarageMedia.com
Classic red chevy pickup truck
BY Rob FortierPhotography BY The Author
Street is Neat
The 53rd Annual NSRA Street Rod Nationals
A

s I’ve done for the last quarter-century-plus, the beginning of August kicked off with a lovely plane ride from Southern California to Louisville, Kentucky, for the annual NSRA Street Rod Nationals at the Kentucky Exposition Center.

2022 marked the 53rd installment of the National Street Rod Association’s staple event—28 of those years at the current state fairground location. Prior to calling the Expo Center home back in 1994, the Nats was held originally in Peoria, Illinois, its inaugural year in the summer of 1970 before migrating through Ohio, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan, and a one-year stint in my old stomping grounds of Syracuse, New York!

2022 also marked the 23rd consecutive year for our annual Builders’ Pizza Party (the 2nd year for In The Garage Media, of course, but since WE started it, we get ALL the credit!). Originally started back in 1999, it’s the magazine’s way of showing gratitude to all those in the industry “behind” the builds, as it were … from the actual builders to the companies who manufacture and supply the products that make the vehicles.

Tech

InTheGarageMedia.com

Blazing New Trails typography

Premier Street Rod’s All-New ’69-72 Blazer Body

BY CLASSIC TRUCK PERFORMANCE STAFF
H

ot on the heels of their successful ’67-72 C10 cab, Premier Street Rod just released the latest in their line of reproduction Officially Licensed GM components: the “complete,” 100 percent brand-new ’69-72 Blazer body! (At the time of printing, the licensing is pending for the Blazer.)

As with their cabs, the new Blazer “tubs” are fully assembled and manufactured in-house at Premier’s Lake Havasu City, Arizona, facility. All panels are to spec from OEM; when it comes to the assembly of the tub, the fit and finish is far beyond the factory requirements.

These tubs have many options so you can personalize them to your own specs (additional custom upgrades coming soon). These tubs come with doors hung and gapped and include era/series-correct dash and latching tailgate. All tubs are built to order and are available with a two- or four-wheel drive option.

CTP logoFeature star Feature

InTheGarageMedia.com

Quarter Century Evolution Title
Rod Simmon’s Covington Customs-Built ’53 F-100
BY ROB FORTIER & Rod Simmons Photography By JOHN JACKSON
Y

ou know, no matter what angle I take when talking about someone else’s truck, it will never come across the same as when that individual—be it the owner or builder—tells the same story. Never. But I love writing, so I take every opportunity I can to tell the tales of their trucks, regardless of the point of view.

Tech
InTheGarageMedia.com

1. John McLeod puts the finishing touches on the Detroit Speed & Engineering (DSE) SpeedMax front suspension under his C10 Chevrolet.

High Tech & Low Down typography
Installing Detroit Speed & Engineering’s Innovative SpeedMax C10 Suspension System
BY Ron CeridonoPhotography BY John McLeod
W

hen the doors to Detroit Speed & Engineering (DSE) opened in late 2000, those doors were mounted on a two-car garage in Detroit and the first parts offered to the public were for early Camaros and Firebirds. Due to superb engineering and beautifully built products, it wasn’t long before the demand for DSE components grew and eventually it was goodbye little Detroit garage and hello expansive facility in Mooresville, North Carolina. Today that’s where Kyle Tucker, mechanical engineer, former GM employee working on Corvette suspension development, and most notably hard-core, hands-on performance enthusiast, oversees DSE’s production of products for a variety of GM cars, Ford Mustangs, and ’73-87 Chevrolet Squarebody pickups.

Feature
InTheGarageMedia.com
BY Fuelish Media
Birthright
Building New Memories for the Next Generation
B

efore Robert Tucker took ownership of this ’68 C10 it had belonged to his grandfather who bought it brand new some 53 years ago. While Robert has specific fond memories of the truck from his childhood, he has also been given the opportunity to share the very same pickup with his own grandchildren. This old Chevy has been through a variety of life experiences in its long history within the Tucker family—some great, some not-so great, and others that were simply ordinary. Robert decided that it was time to give his grandpa’s old truck a fresh lease on life that was focused on capturing more of those positive snapshots he has collected from back when he was a kid.

’68 C10
Tech
InTheGarageMedia.com
BY Rob Fortier Photography Courtesy of L & S Customs
Behind the Scenes title image
The L & S Customs ’67 Long Box Custom C10
I

f you’ve been reading Classic Truck Performance for any length of time then you know full well we’re all about the behind the scenes! Showing readers what’s really “behind” the top builds we feature is a great opportunity for everyone involved, as it gives people a chance to see what really lies beneath those gorgeous paintjobs—something most will never see once a truck is finished.

On stage this month, L & S Customs (Prospect Hill, North Carolina) provided us a little “hindsight” on the beautiful ’67 C10 longbed—the very same one pictured in all its completed state glory (prior to John Jackson’s proper feature photo shoot!) in our NSRA Nats coverage in this issue on page 44.

CTP Event
InTheGarageMedia.com
Shiny blue classic pickup truck
22nd Annual NAPA Auto Parts Syracuse Nationals
Classic Truck Takeover
Backview view of blue classic pickup truck
BY Chuck VranasPhotography BY Tim Sutton
F

or classic truck owners there’s no better adrenalin rush than opening the shop doors to greet a new event season, especially if you live in the Northeast portion of the country where the long winters give you plenty of time to wrench on your ride. Regardless of whether you’ve been putting the finishing touches on a platform change, engine swap, or tuning a hard driven hauler back to perfect health, one thing for sure is that once the temps start to rise it’s time to top off the tank and start laying down the miles. Sure, heading out to the local burger stand or cruise night is a gas but hitting the open road with a destination in mind rules, particularly when you’re mapping out plans to take in a large-scale national event like the 22nd Annual NAPA Auto Parts Syracuse Nationals in Syracuse, New York.

Being one of the largest horsepower festivals in the Northeast, the level of excitement paving the way to the New York State Fairground also gave drivers the ultimate opportunity to experience firsthand the area’s very picturesque Finger Lakes region along with plenty of timeless architecture as they rolled into town. Once you’re at the fairground, it’s the perfect time to get into cruise mode as you roll across 360 acres of manicured grounds, featuring plenty of neat vintage buildings, tree-lined roads, and classic outdoor eateries that’ll transport you back to when you were knee-high to an F-100 bumper. Once settled in it was time to hit the pavement and check out an endless stream of classic trucks covering a myriad of build styles, from traditional to contemporary and everything in between, perfectly complemented by loads of hot rods, muscle cars, customs, and restorations.

CTP Tech
InTheGarageMedia.com
Checkin' It Twice
Fine-Tuning a Hard-Earned Hood-to-Cowl Gap
BY “Rotten” Rodney BaumanPhotography BY THE AUTHOR
D

uring the course of most any classic truck build, sooner or later we’re going to do something twice. Double-checking ourselves can certainly lower the risk, but wouldn’t that also be doing something twice? If it is, it should be OK here since double-checking a hood-to-cowl gap goes a bit quicker than repainting a hood and cowl.

For an earlier issue, we did a little tech story that dealt with hidden damage. The inspiration came with the discovery of depressions in our project ’55 Chevy second-series cowl. Being optically challenged, I didn’t see it—and I must not have felt it before installing brand-new Brothers hood hinges right over the damage.

With the covered-up problem, mock-up alignment for the hood and surrounding panels was a struggle. We just couldn’t get our hood-to-cowl gap right without a box of shims. Our shop manual says: “If necessary, add shims between hood and hinge.” It says nothing about adding shims in other places. In order to achieve a factory-suggested 3/16 gap that still might later eat paint, we had to add shims at the lower hinge-to-cowl bolts, too.

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Thanks for reading our December 2022 preview issue!