During the next 10 months, Sonny poured tons of hours into his truck, fabricating body panels and getting the bodywork done. These tasks included extensive metalwork on the cab, dash, firewall, hood, doors, tailgate, and bed. In case he might want to install a bed lid on his truck at a later date, Sunny chose a '54 bed for its flat bedrails. Also from a '54 came an optional rear bumper with a factory notch in the center for the license plate. Top-quality custom paint is what Sonny is all about-he used Dennis's shop to shoot his pickup in PPG basecoat-clearcoat '89 Chevy truck Burgundy. With the body cherry'd out, Sonny hauled his '51 home to his 36 x 80- foot shop building for reassembly. First things first, he laid in a Haywire wiring harness and routed 12-volt juice to a battery of hidden switches underneath the dashboard controlling AutoLoc power window motors, a RainGear two-speed wiper, and his Hot Rod Air A/C unit. Below the driver's seat hides a Kenwood head unit.
We hope no one took offense at us razzing firemen about rescuing a cat from a tree or a lady from her bathtub drain. On the serious side, Sonny finished his truck about one week before September 11. Shortly thereafter, he placed a 9/11 flag on his '51's front bumper. "Being a Houston fireman, I thought that it was appropriate."
 Thanks to technology developed...  Thanks to technology developed in the U.S., a Mar-K white oak bed floor and stainless stringers outshine the cheap tin as used in today's trucks. Note the flush-mount gas door. |  Billet Specialties 17-inch...  Billet Specialties 17-inch Vintecs fill the wheelwell up real well. Try saying that three times fast |  Randy at Texas Metalworks...  Randy at Texas Metalworks and Sonny combined to create this clean taillight treatment. |