First off just wanted to say what a great magazine you guys put out each month. I was extremely happy to see the March edition come out with two early Chevy trucks on the cover. My father Ralph and I built a great '46 resto-rod from a truck my brother was going to do a build on before he passed away at age 30. We had a great time doing it (although we couldn't get ourselves to start it until about five years after his death) and were very happy with the end result. You have to see what we had to start with...it was awful and we would have been better off just buying a full truck, but it had sentimental value to us, so we used it. I personally love old-school hot rods and ended up having the truck with that look instead of our original intention of shiny maroon with gloss black fenders to look stock. We had a '69 Mercury Montego we used as a donor vehicle, so that became our drivetrain. The Ford 302/C-4 and 8-inch rear was a perfect match and it is a strong running truck. We also did the Pacer IFS swap and it is great. Since I had already committed Chevy lover sacrilege by going Ford drivetrain, I had decided to just paint it flat black as I would have liked an old-school rod to be.
Although my father and brother were mechanics and worked together for many years it was the first real custom project of this type any of us had ever done. I am an IT guy and it was really a good experience for my father to teach me more in-depth mechanical skills and I think he felt really good about it. We just did an AOD swap into his '66 F-100 and he is now looking for a '47-53 Chevy truck to customize as we did mine. If he saw his handiwork in your mag I am sure it would be one of the highlights of his life. He is already proud of the positive work we put together coming out of a tragic event.
Thanks again for taking the time to read this and giving us old truck guys something to look forward to each month.Charlie Stockwell
Finally, I fully feel I am getting my money's worth! OK, that's a little overboard. I just wanted to applaud you for running the article about Chris and Jenn Powell's C-10s. Here is a wonderful example of a husband and wife who simply love their trucks. This is a human interest story that I loved reading about. I found more pleasure in the pictures and article than if you were reporting on the SEMA show. I hope there are others who feel the same way. My wife and I have twin C-10s here in SoCal, so this story hit home. Keep up the awesome work, and great tech articles. We truly appreciate the direction you have brought the magazine, and support your continued success.
P.S.: We have used the '68 in films. I enclosed a few pictures on set. If you have 30 seconds, check out the Resistance Series on YouTube. The teaser trailer shows our '68 get shot up, window shot out...I know, but how often do you get to see your trucks in the movies?! Living in SoCal, eventually the movie bug gets you. My wife is an actress and was filming with this director, so I offered the '68 as a movie truck!Ray and Cindy Cox