1971 Chevy Shortbed Truck - Reigniting the Flame

We here at the magazine know first hand what it's like to catch the car bug from our fathers at an early age and run with it. Hell, we even formed our illustrious careers out of it. Johnny Cook of Glendale, Arizona, influenced his son Mike so much that before he was able to drive, he was already searching the local papers for the perfect project. After some searching, they came across a decent '71 Chevy shortbed with a six-cylinder and three-speed on the column. They bought the truck, drove it home, and immediately began disassembling it.

Two years later, a lot had changed around the Cook residence. Mike was now in college and working full time. His credit cards were maxed due to the ten grand or so worth of new truck parts sitting on shelves. Johnny had built-up a soft spot for the old shortbed, even though in the beginning he and Mike were constantly butting heads over the style and stance to give the truck. (We think you can guess which was after the "resto" look and who wanted the 'bags and 20s.) After two years of attending shows (and noticing that the coolest ones were lowered), Johnny made a complete 180o switch with his ideas and offered up a deal with Mike. He was willing to purchase the truck and take over the business end of the build as long as the truck would still be a father-and-son project on the weekends. A deal was struck, and the project immediately took on a new life.

Dennis Shotwell, one of Johnny's best friends, was soon involved with the project, and the trio began by stripping the frame down to bare metal, welding up each and every unwanted hole, and welding a C-notch in the rear. The flawless frame and nearly all of the suspension components were powdercoated steel gray. Johnny and Dennis then reassembled the stock suspension with Early Classic drop spindles and a complete airbag package from Air Ride Technologies. As if that weren't enough proof of Johnny's acceptance of the contemporary, 20x8.5-inch Segsters from Intro were wrapped in 45-series Goodyear rubber and mounted up. When searching for the engine and trans combo, Johnny struck it rich and found a '95 Impala LT1 "Cop motor" and 4L60E trans with the factory shift kit. After painting or polishing all of the stock components and adding Corvette engine covers and chrome valve covers, the lucky find was installed with parts from K&N and Coolflex and mated up to a 3.42:1 Posi rearend with discs. Lancaster Body Shop handled the truck's shave and the spraying of the PPG Victory Red paint--but not before Johnny swapped the front clip for '67 sheetmetal and added a Gaylord's lid. Johnny's final endeavor was to seek out an upholstery shop that could build the contemporary custom interior he had been envisioning. After loading up the dash with components from ididit, Intro, No Limit, Auto Meter, and Alpine, Mendoza Auto Interiors laid tan Mercedes wool on the floor and bed, then stitched up an amazing interior in tan and red leather that follows the pattern of the Intro wheels. The two-tone pattern even found its way onto the overhead console and the underside of the Gaylord's lid.

Since the completion of the Cooks' contemporary cruiser, father, son, wife/mother Chris, and Dennis have hit every show within a 500-mile radius. Mike only has one complaint about selling the sweet '71 to his father: not nearly enough seat time!