Keeping it simple and dependable, I dropped in the plug-and-play Chevy 350 crate motor. Tim Deal massaged the Corvette 700-R4 that Carol just happened to find. A No Limit fuel tank was relocated in the back along with the Air Ride tank and compressor. The cab floor and firewall were covered in Dynamat, and an ACC rubber floor mat was installed. All the original gauges and knobs were left intact, while a 32-inch Lokar shifter was a given. As for the seat, well, for now a Mexican blanket suffices, but soon it will sport fresh tuck 'n' roll from my cousin George Collins' upholstery shop in Upland. All the rubber and glass is from Brothers; an American Autowire loom handled all the electrics; and Jack at Washington Muffler styled in the DynoMax cans running super-long straight pipes right out under the axle.
Something I'm questioned on quite frequently are the wheels-more precisely, the hubcaps. The rings are old Cal Custom items I'd seen in an ancient issue of Rod & Custom. For months on end, I scanned eBay and the swaps until a set finally popped up. Combined with the Mooneyes centers on a Wheel Vintiques steel wheel with BFGoodrich radial whitewalls, it really sets the tone of the truck, and you don't find that setup on many other vehicles these days.
The '57 brought me and my sister even closer, as the Pomona and Long Beach Swap Meets quickly became more of a family gathering than the holidays. Browsing for hours, we remembered stories from my youth-like when I was maybe 7 with Carol and her girlfriend in her black '63 split-window Vette. I was stuffed in the back, my face pinned against the rear window as Carol, hard on the gas blowing through the gears, raced some guy in a Roadrunner. My older brother Phil was much more forgiving-at least he would let me wear my minibike helmet when I'd get to ride along at the Friday night Irwindale Drags. Now it's time to make more memories in my '57.