The truck was sprayed by T.K....
The truck was sprayed by T.K. Customs with '84 Olds Cutlass Blue paint that was mixed with a flatting agent to produce the suede look. The air cleaner received some more stripes from Von Dust.
Ever wonder how some people find their projects? You always hear tales of the guy who spotted some badass ride just sitting in the back yard getting overgrown in weeds and after some haggling he takes it home for a song. Well, this is one of those stories-not quite the same, but still cool. Stan Kratowicz and Greg Manker showed up to work one day to find their boss Jim Linder standing there with an odd look on his face. Stan and Greg looked at each other and inquired what was up with Jim, and then he hit them with it. "I got you guys something, but you have to make a choice. You can have these two gold watches or what's in the mystery box." The guys thought to themselves, A watch is a watch, but the mystery box could be anything! It could even be a watch! Now that's not really how it all went down, but it sure sounds funny.
What really happened was their boss gave them this truck as a bonus for all the hard work they had done for him. They also received a credit account at a few local parts suppliers to buy everything else to make the truck road-worthy. The cab of the truck was bought off of eBay and shipped to them in Indiana from San Francisco. Once it showed up, everyone in the shop came to help build this truck, which only took 96 days from start to finish-not too shabby by any means.
Since they were starting with just a cab, there were a few things they needed, such as a frame and a bed. Tom Culbertsons, of Culbertsons' Customs, constructed a full tube chassis and a bed from scratch for the project, as well as providing a '37 Ford front axle and '57 9-inch. That's right. What sets this truck apart from most of these early rods is this one is a Chevy built with Ford parts. Stan and Greg would like to give special thanks to Terry Engile, Uncle Walt Hergenroether, Bondo at T.K. Customs, Tom Culbertsons of Culbertsons' Customs, everybody at the shop, and of course, Jim Linder who started this whole thing.
A set of '28 Chrysler headlights...
A set of '28 Chrysler headlights fit right in with the '37 Ford axle. They went with this particular year's axle because it's one of the only few that have a tube design, instead of I-beam style.
Tom Culbertsons of Culbertsons'...
Tom Culbertsons of Culbertsons' Customs built this bed from scratch. An access hole was cut into the wood floor to keep the pumpkin from turning it into toothpicks.
Stitches in Indianapolis,...
Stitches in Indianapolis, Indiana, re-covered the MG seats in blue vinyl, and the rest of the interior is painted the same flat blue. Stewart-Warner gauges were used to keep tabs on the engine's vitals.
Next, 17-year-old Von Dust...
Next, 17-year-old Von Dust broke out his brushes to lay down the cream and red pinstriping and a few little lettering touches.
Who needs air conditioning...
Who needs air conditioning when you have a chopped Model T windshield that pops out? You might need some dental floss to remove the bugs from your teeth though.