The love of old trucks is deep-rooted into Manny Navarro, a contractor from Mesa, Arizona. It all started with a '72 two-wheel-drive Blazer he picked up in high school and then later sold, which is something Manny says he still regrets. After he got his mind straight he went on the lookout for another '67-'72. "I love the body lines and flow these trucks have." Well, his search was short because sitting across the street was this small window that his neighbor was using as a workhorse for his landscaping business. Manny offered to buy the truck on numerous occasions, but not until his neighbor set the bed on fire did he actually take delivery. Instead of building it while he drove it, Manny set out to build the nicest '67 in Mesa, not an easy task in the gearhead capitol of Arizona.
The chassis was sent to Tito's Auto Detail in Mesa for the restoration. Tito's shop went to town on the '67's rails, boxing them completely before it hung all the new suspension. Up front, the stock A-arms were modified to hold the Air Ride technologies 'bags and hooked to a set of Belltech spindles and factory '72 discs. Out back, Tito fabricated a triangulated four-link and supported it with more 'bags to hold the 9-inch disc brake rearend fitted with a locker and 4.10s. The fuel, brake, air lines, and all the wiring were run inside the frame to give it a clean, uncluttered undercarriage. The frame was then sanded, primered, and painted body color. Tito was also in charge of the driveline, so he picked up a ZZ4 crate motor for GM and fitted it with a slue of polished Street and Performance products such as the fuel injection dress-up parts and the drive pulleys. Backing it with a Precision Transmission prepped 700-R4 filled with Jet goodies was next. Once they were coupled together, the motor and transmission were cleaned of the raw sand-cast finish and sprayed body color-that's right, the motor and trans were sanded smooth.
The chassis was taking shape, and Tito didn't slow down a bit. He welded up a set of headers from scratch and hooked them to the Flowmaster mufflers. Last on the chassis was the wheel and tire selection. Manny ended up using 20-inch Budnik Arrowheads and BFGoodrich sticky rubber.
 A ZZ4 crate motor fitted with...  A ZZ4 crate motor fitted with all kinds of polished Street and Performance Products powers the small window. |  The fuel tank was relocated...  The fuel tank was relocated under the bed for more cab clearance and now fills through the custom door. |  |
The body saw just as much attention as the undercarriage, thanks to Lee's Customs and Collision in Mesa. The crew shaved just about all you can on these trucks, from the door handles to the drip rails and even the vent holes in the cowl. It also installed the front and rear roll pans and the Cal-Vu mirrors. Lee made sure the truck was straight as an arrow before he sprayed the PPG Meadow Green hue. Now the two components were matted together and the parts started to resemble a truck. Every nut and bolt has been polished or chromed, basically given the attention to detail the rest of the build has seen. All the rubbers and replacement parts came from Rick's Pickup Parts. "Thank goodness for Rick and his parts," says Manny.
 |  Behind the Budnik BFG combo...  Behind the Budnik BFG combo are factory disc brakes, but the calipers have been chrome-plated. |  Here you can see how smooth...  Here you can see how smooth the truck is, thanks to Lee's Customs and Collision in Mesa. The shop shaved just about all you can, including the cowl vents. |
The truck idles with a nice rumble, but Manny wanted to drown it out when he felt like doing so. He turned to Brian Kline to have the interior and stereo completed. Brian scratch-built the door and kick panels along with the sub bow, which houses the Rockford Fosgate amp and diamond audio subs. Brian used MB Quart separates in the kick panels and ran them all with a pioneer DVD/CD head unit. The Tea Design seat was covered in matching leather, and the floor was covered in Mercedes carpet. The last thing in the cab is the console that Brian filled with the air gauges and crossover.
Manny knows his truck is nice, but how nice is all in who's looking, and the judges at the Super Chevy Show thought his truck was super nice; they gave it Best in Show, an honor not usually given to trucks.