Feature
Photography BY Wes Allisonn accumulation with age, there’s always a story that comes with a classic truck with years of family history attached. The ’54 Chevy 3100 gracing these pages, known as the “Hemi Truck,” is no exception.
It was the mid ’70s in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and young Ricky Seedorf drove this five-window ’54 Chevy to high school every day. After graduating high school Ricky parked the ’54 outdoor next to a barn and it sat rusting away for decades. Then one day Ricky and his older brother, Tom, a devout Mopar guy, got to talking and Ricky gave Tom the ’54, with the only caveat being he wanted a ride when it was done; shortly afterward in 2014 Ricky rolled his truck on I-40 heading toward Oklahoma City and was killed.
Clay’s first step was to call Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) and order an AME GT Sport Performance chassis for the ’54 Chevy pickup. When Clay requested the chassis be fitted with motor mounts for a Gen III 392 Hemi with a six-speed TREMEC, AME told Clay they didn’t make motor mount provisions for a Gen III Hemi, they suspected the Gen III Hemi might be too big to fit.
The cab, the fenders, the bed, everything about the ’54 Chevy, was extremely rusty to the point of missing big chunks of sheetmetal. Clay advised Tom to get a better cab but Tom said he wanted to keep the cab that Ricky rode in. Clay looked to Auto Metal Direct for replacement body panels. After a complete mockup Clay disassembled the ’54 down to individual parts and prepared for paint. Clay formulated a custom color inspired by an original ’54 Chevy truck color and had Randy Nunley of Carter Paint Co. in Enid mix up a batch of premium-quality PPG products.
With the five-window ’54 cab in final paint Clay personally transported the cab out to California to have Ron Mangus create a custom leather interior. Creature comforts include ice-cold Vintage Air A/C and Nu-Relics power windows. A Grant steering wheel sits atop an ididit tilt steering column; the sound system is by Rockford Fosgate.
Clay custom-fabricated Gen II 426 Hemi valve covers to adorn the Gen III 392 Hemi heads. To eliminate unneeded OEM-mandated features and vastly improve ascetics, a Holley Sniper EFI fabricated intake manifold saves weight and adds horsepower. It has Borla mufflers and the exhaust system exits JBA headers into a custom-fabricated stainless steel exhaust system by Mickey Tessneer at Modern C10 in Norman, Oklahoma. The cooling system is based around a PRC four-row aluminum radiator and the OEM-quality wiring harness is from American Autowire.
In 2019 Harold’s Hot Rod Shop initiated a tradition of debuting completed projects to its clients in Building 4 at the Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) in Pomona, California. For GNRS 2022 Clay showed a ’66 Chevelle and Hemi Truck. Clay called Tom to come see the completed Hemi Truck as they were loading it on the enclosed trailer for Pomona, and as fate would have it that coincided with Ricky’s birthday. At GNRS 2022 the Hemi Truck took First Place in the Full Modified Class and was awarded Outstanding Truck of the Show.