It's amazing how in the hot rod truck hobby many of the revived and modified old workhorses we see have a long history of being handed down from father to son. Sixteen-year-old Talbert Goldman's Stude is one such truck. It was first owned by his grandfather Charles, then handed down to his father Mike, who in turn saved it for his own son.
Tal was promised the truck any time he thought he was ready to do the restoration himself, and when the pleasure of building model cars and trucks began to recede (and Tal moved closer to that magical age of 16) his thoughts turned to the old Stude. His dad operates a thriving street rod shop and Tal had literally grown up surrounded by modified cars and trucks, so it was only natural that he'd follow in dad's footsteps. Using the techniques and processes he'd witnessed (and mastered) at his dad's shop throughout his youth (welding, fabricating, painting, etc.), Tal began his personal initiation into rodding by, just like his dad, starting at the bottom and working up.
The chassis received attention first. Tal started by boxing the original frame and installing a Fatman Fabrications Mustang II IFS crossmember kit. To this he added Mustang control arms, coil springs, strut rods and a manual rack. Out back he fitted the chassis with a 10-bolt GM rearend (pirated from a '69 Camaro) utilizing Mazda leaf springs which he mounted inboard of the framerails. Tal retained the stock GM drums in the rear, but opted for a set of Master Power front disc brakes and a MP remote master-cylinder assembly. Final chassis assembly consisted of re-plumbing and modifications to the engine and trans mounts in preparation for a new small-block Chevy powerplant. Then, with the addition of a quartet of chromed steel wheels and wide whites, the pickup's foundation was complete.
Tal chose a stock '85 Chevy 350 outfitted with an Edelbrock Performer intake, a 600-cfm Edelbrock carb, and a Pertronix HEI distributor. He backed the stout mouse with a TH350 automatic. And to achieve the traditional hot rod look he was going for, he dressed it in polished, finned aluminum accessories from Mooneyes, and a pair of iron exhaust manifolds. He then tied the engine/trans combo to the 10-bolt via a custom made driveshaft and proceeded to turn his attention the pickup's bodywork and paint.
Tal's plan of building a cool traditional hot rod was followed through by basically returning the body to good stock appearance on the outside, but adding a modified '59 Impala dash to the cab's interior for a bit of a custom touch. To accentuate the truck's hot rod demeanor dressing it in a smooth coating of suede was a no-brainer. Good old-fashioned hot rod black primer was an option, but Tal decided to take advantage of PPG's newer tintable primer and went red instead. To this he added a generous helping of Kal Smith-applied red, yellow, and orange flames which he knew would suit the Stude's lines perfectly. The pickup's interior was then outfitted with tan leather and tan wool carpeting by Bill Harrell.
Our hats are off to not only skillful young Talbert but to his mom and dad, as well. With the support, guidance, and training they offered their son, they've helped to construct not only one heck of a nice truck, but a focused and talented young man that's more than likely to pass his skills on to the next generation of Goldmans.