After several years and many miles behind the wheel of
an award winning Deuce roadster, Raymond “Boney”
Roberson decided it was time to move indoors. The lure of a roof
overhead, A/C and heat were calling and his choice for his next hot rod had already been made, he wanted an early Chevy truck.
Luckily, these trucks are very popular and his search
ended in Crossville, Tennessee, when he purchased this truck
from David Leix. At the time of purchase the truck was red
with polished billet wheels and a gray interior. It was by all
accounts a nice truck, but Boney had other plans.
After cruising around for about a month it was time to
make the truck “his own,” and after bench racing with his
friend Raymond Nash, they decided to take the truck down to
the bare frame and make some changes.
The chassis and driveline were left intact, after all, a
Heidts front suspension with two-inch dropped spindles,
new Chevy crate motor, 700R4 transmission and a Ford 8.8
rear axle mounted with a Chassis Engineering kit, all add
up to a great driving truck. A little freshening up, and some good old-fashioned semi-fat black brought the chassis to
driver status.
The engine is your basic GM 350/290 HP and at the
time of purchase it was wearing polished aluminum valve
covers, intake and air breather. Boney had long since lost
all of his aluminum polish and buffng wheels; he wanted a
maintenance-free engine bay. To that end, the motor was
painted an “I don’t see no stinkin’ grease” black and the
Edelbrock valve covers and air breather were powdercoated
black with silver accents. The raw aluminum intake works
just fne and coated Hedman headers complete the package.
This took the engine bay from weekly polishing to semiannual
cleaning.
Meanwhile, Raymond Nash was busy doing bodywork
on the truck in preparation for the new semi-fat gray paint.
Boney didn’t want a gloss fnish, but he did want the truck
to be perfectly straight with good panel ft. A set of ’32 Ford
taillights were mounted on owner fabricated brackets, and
the bumpers were shortened 4 inches up front and 3 1/2 in the
rear. Then both bumpers were tucked into the body 3 inches.
Raymond Nash applied the Sherwin-Williams gray urethane
primer, mixed with clear to arrive at just the right fnish.
Inside the truck the stock seat remains in service, but of
course, the dash was painted to match the truck. Dolphin
gauges monitor the small-block motor while a Moon Tach
counts the revs. Vintage Air provides perfect creature comforts,
and carpet gave way to a simple rubber foor mat. Painless
Wiring handles the electrical needs and Juliano’s seatbelts
provide a degree of safety. A complete rubber kit from LMC
was used to install all new glass and to seal the doors.
All of this adds up to a great driver but the thing that makes a vintage truck stand out in a crowd is attitude. The gray finish is complemented by a set of Deluxe Steelies that measure 15x7 on
all corners. They are painted Farm-all red with spider caps. All new exterior trim including new door handles, hood emblems, peep mirrors, and headlight rings from LMC brightens the truck, but ultimately it is the brush-work of Kent Hansford of B & K Customs that brought the truck to life. The great pinstriping on the wheels and body panels along with the great door art added the perfect fnishing touch to the truck. Of course, the weather wood bed and old nail keg in the back of the truck help complete the package.