When building a project these days, you will have to be pretty ingenious with your modifications for the truck to stand out from the crowd. Anyone with a computer and a bank account with more than a few bucks in it can have everything shipped right to their door. Don't get us wrong; that is a good thing, but what if you want something a little different? It's not like you can just order a '57 Chevy dash to stuff into your S-10 from the internet. Before you start writing that letter saying you can get a full dash from a certain place online, hear us out. Here, at Sport Truck, the brainstorming sessions about what we are going to do sometimes go off into the deep end, but it is usually squashed by the almighty dollar. Yes, we would love to go to the dealer, buy a complete powertrain from a new 'Vette, and stuff it in a Chevy LUV or something like that, but as cool as this job is, it doesn't pay that much. For that reason, we tend to find low-buck ways to make our own trucks cooler. We took some time and scoured two wrecking yards we know of, one filled to the brim with classics and one with all things mini-truck. We went just to see if there was anything left worth building, and what we found sparked so many ideas we just had to show you. It was a veritable gold mine of amazing sheetmetal just waiting for the right truck guy to pluck out of obscurity and massage into greatness in their home garage.
1. So, stop number one on...
1. So, stop number one on our tour d' junk is Turners Autowrecking, located in Fresno, California. This 70-plus acre yard is full of antique car and truck parts from 1928 to the present, with 10,000-plus vehicles in stock.
2. The first thing we walked...
2. The first thing we walked up to was this pile o' brakes, which brings us to our first point. When you go junkin', make sure to take a note pad with as many measurements as possible. There is nothing worse than thinking you have that one right part, only to go home and find out it doesn't fit.
3. Looking for a dual groove...
3. Looking for a dual groove pulley? There just might be one in here you need.
4. Yeah, we could have made...
4. Yeah, we could have made some sort of joke about this big pile of shafts, but we will keep it clean.
5. If you are into the '60-'66...
5. If you are into the '60-'66 trucks, then this might be the row for you, and there were plenty to choose from. These things make for some really clean customs. Don't believe us? Then, look up Chris Kudo's truck online and you tell us differently.
6. There were rows and rows...
6. There were rows and rows of trucks in just about every vintage at Turners, much like the lead shot of this story. This is just a sampling of the clean and ready-to-build '55-'59 Chevys. These trucks take a big-block as easy as a fat kid can blow through a box of Thin Mints.
7. The '67-'72 models had...
7. The '67-'72 models had a smaller presence at Turners because a lot of them have already been taken for projects. Still, there was enough there to find some of those parts you can't get from Early Classics or Brothers Truck parts. This one still had a clean core support and a steering column, plus the cluster was in good shape, even though it was on the roof.