The front end of the truck isn't all that crazy, but it is an attention-getter. The hood was punched multiple times for louvers, and a ton of man-hours were spent aligning all of the sheetmetal so that the gaps between the parts were perfect. Once the body was perfect, a dark green base was applied then candy green flames with pearl and gold pinstriping were sprayed. The green-on-green combo looks amazing in person and really ties in nicely with the interior of DeJuan's ride.
Twenty-six years worth of work went into this truck, and we'd venture to guess that much of the effort was spent refining the interior. Put simply, the inside of this truck is immaculate. The dash has been shaved, recontoured, and outfitted with VDO gauges. Bucket seats taken from a BMW 740i coupe replace the antiquated bench and offer power movement in more directions than we can count. A truly custom carpet kit was crafted with finished edges, which covers the floor from corner to corner. Custom-dyed leather covers everything that isn't nailed down, and the headliner and door panels are finely sculpted to give the green interior a rich, flowing feel. Gabe's Upholstery tackled the interior refinements, and then G&M Stereo in Ontario, California, finished the job with audio equipment from Pioneer and Xtant.
The road to satisfaction has been a long one for DeJuan. It's certainly had some ups and downs, but the payoff for his patience, time, and money was huge. When he debuted the truck at the prestigious Grand National Roadster Show, it pulled the Second Place trophy in its class. Not too shabby for a truck that cost 75 bucks.
THE 411
Owner/hometown:
DeJuan Taylor / Altadena, California
Year/make/model:
'58 Chevrolet Apache 1/2-ton
Engine/drivetrain:
500-inch big-block Chevy / Eagle crankshaft / 8-71 Hampton blower / Edelbrock carbs / MSD ignition / Doug's headers / Merlin heads / Barry Grant fuel pump / Chevy 12-bolt rear axle
By: Amos Satterlee Performance Engines, Brea, California
Rims:
Front: 18x8 Billet Specialties Legacy
Rear: 18x9.5 Billet Specialties Legacy
Tires:
Front: Yokohama 255/45ZR18
Rear: Yokohama 286/60R18
Suspension:
Front: '78 Pontiac Trans Am front clip / Ground Force 2-inch drop spindles and tubular control arms / QA1 shocks / Wilwood disc brakes
Rear: QA1 coilovers
Chassis: Boxed framerails, C-notch
By: Extreme Automotive and Williams Chassis, La Verne, California
Body Mods:
Louvered hood and tailgate / Corvette ZR-1 taillights / rear fenders and Stepside widened 4 inches / bed latches and chains shaved / rear bed corners rounded to match louvered tailgate
By: Hung Luu Autobody, Azusa, California
Custom Paint:
Glashite dark green, candy green, and pearl flames / gold pinstriping
By: Hung Luu Autobody
Interior:
BMW 740i bucket seats / custom center console / VDO gauges / custom door panels and headliner / smoothed dash / Vintage Air A/C system / smoothed dash / leather and suede / tilt column / Billet Specialties 14-inch Banjo full-wrap steering wheel
By: Gabe's Upholstery, Rialto, California
Audio/Video:
XM satellite radio-ready Pioneer head unit / Xtant amplifiers
By: G&M Stereo, Ontario, California
Club:
N/A
Special Thanks:
Larry Satterlee, who passed away shortly after this project was completed, and to Phil Leatherman of Extreme Automotive for giving the truck some much needed personality with his flames. He made it very popular with the news media at last year's Woodward Dream Cruise and the 50th Anniversary of the GM Tech Center.