My first "hot rod" :)

[glock35ipsc]

I've always had a couple pics of my first truck, but my son dug up a bunch more not long ago. This was my first hot rod, so to speak.

It was an 81 Cheyenne that I bought from Willox Wrecking for $50. It had a blown I-6 in it, with a car-type 3 speed. The body was remarkably straight and rust free though. I built a very mild 350 and put in it and drove it like that for a couple years. Then in 1991 I tore it down and painted it. It was a light blue, and I painted it a darker blue. I also stripped in the interior and painted the metal, then dyed the plastic and the steering wheel black. Added new carpet and a cheap seat cover. This was the first time I had ever picked up a paint gun!

The motor I put in shortly after that was a 355. I don't remember all the specs, but it had a Crower solid lifter cam, and a 2x4 tunnel ram I bought at a swap meet. I also put in a TH-350, cheap B&M shift kit, a 4500 rpm (!) converter, had 4.56's installed and welded up the spider gears.

It ran 13.0's at Bandimere (5800'+ altitude), so for a heavy truck with a not yet experienced engine builder (me) I was pretty happy. I still had "farm" plates on it, so I could always say I used it to haul a$$!

But this is the truck that got me started in all this go-fast and hot rodding jazz. Which is why I am soooo excited to be doing this swap with HuggerCST. I won't be building another go fast truck, but it eventually will have that stance I like, new paint and interior, and sooner or later a 5.3L/4L60E combo.

Enjoy. I sure did. The calendars in the pic that shows the hood and front fenders sanded down are 1991, 18 years ago! The color of the pin striping really dates this thing, doesn't it?