'51 Hodge Podge

[kvjb]

Hi all,
this story started July 1, 2015. Well, it actually started sometime in 1951 but I don't have the details or the desire to do the research. Suffice it to say, this truck was not a weekend special but someone smeared a lot of lipstick on to make it appear that way.
I've wanted a 47-54 Chevy since I saw an immaculate chopped, mint green pro-street build on the pages of Classic Truck magazine in 1995. I like to think my tastes have refined since then but the truth is they've probably slid a long way towards the other end of the spectrum. I took a shot at several AD's over the past few years and slowly came to the realization that you have to be lightning quick to pick up a reasonably priced example on Vancouver Island.

Anyway, a lot of other projects came and went, mostly of the two wheel variety, until I happened to see an ad for a running '51 just an hour South. Right, cancel plans, grab my AD cash stash and hit the road. Tell the missus? No time, she'll figure it out when she gets home. As luck would have it, everyone else was out celebrating our nations birthday and must have been too inebriated to drive because I was the first one to show. A quick inspection didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary for these trucks so I traded cash for a 30 yr. old title (it wasn't printed but hand written on some form I've never seen before) and went to load it on the trailer. Just then the owner suggests he drive it on, no brakes see. No problem, the truck is borrowed and the trailer's a rental, have at it.

The highlights of the build are a Supra IFS with coil-overs, 4.8 backed by an S-10 NV3500, truck arm rear suspension and an Explorer 8.8 with disc brakes. The rest is less important but I'll try to touch on it in future posts.