Still Driven Daily
Richard Lapiezo of La Mesa, California, bought this '71 Chevy stepside in March of 1971 and began driving it daily. He continued driving it daily until 1997, when he and his son Aaron revamped the truck with custom paint, a new 350ci engine with appropriate speed parts, a Kenwood stereo, lowered suspension, and a custom oak bed floor built by Richard and Aaron. When they were finished, Aaron began driving the truck every day to high school. Richard recently got the keys back now that Aaron has graduated, and he has no plans of retiring the truck anytime soon. He says the truck's original yellow hue is incorporated into the front edge of the flames as a reminder of the old Chevy's years of faithful service.
Chevy Envy< br />Though he doesn't have a classic cruiser of his own, John Cox wrote to tell us about the '58 Chevy belonging to his friend Ken Clevenger. The Fleetside longbed had 59,000 miles on it when Ken and his son bought it from a retired farmer for $500. Since then, the father-and-son duo has repainted the truck in an original turquoise hue, re-upholstered the interior, added new oak bed wood, and swapped in a 350 and four-speed in place of the original six. All of this work was done on a budget, and gave the Clevengers a cool classic cruiser for a minimum of cash. It also gave John (and the rest of us) something to be jealous about!
Big Block Bruiser
We're going to ignore our 1972 cutoff year again and let you take a look at Jim Redeau's '74 Chevy shortbed Fleetside. This cool Chevy came from the factory with a Rosedale Red and woodgrain two-tone exterior, as well as a 454 powerplant. It now has 42,000 one-owner, no-rain miles and has been upgraded with Hooker headers, a Crane cam, Holley carb, Accel ignition, Cloyes gear drive, Posi rearend, and M/T tires on aluminum rims. Future plans call for even more engine mods, as well as a fresh coat of Rosedale Red paint. Sounds like a great plan to us, Jim!
Delightful Divco
We always like seeing unusual vehicles here at CLASSIC TRUCKS, and this '55 DIVCO (Detroit Industrial Vehicle Company) certainly qualifies. It belongs to Mark and Perry Walek of Rialto, California, and has survived tours of duty as a Santa Fe Railroad mechanic's truck and a Peppertree Foods delivery vehicle. Mark and Perry recently restored the beauty, which has a 235-inch Chevy six-cylinder, four-speed transmission and 5.61:1 rearend gears (Perry says it tops out at about 60 mph). With fresh paint and new glass and chrome, the only work this DIVCO does now is delivering smiles to car show spectators.