The first area of attack was the '37's profile. The traditional street rod stance with wheels and tires matching the fender's radius was dumped in favor of tucking the wheels, a styling cue lifted from mini-truckers. The 16-inch Boyd Coddington Extremes at the front and the 17-inch Extremes on the rear were booted in favor of 17-inch Boyd Coddington Shadows in the front and 20-inch Shadows on the rear. Essential to getting Doug's '37 to lay harder and guaranteeing the wheels would tuck, the Mustang II frontend was bagged and the Aldan coilovers on the rear were tossed for bags.
Doug admitted that he enjoys hitting his remote-controlled switches to lay the truck out when he parks. He didn't mention whether or not he likes to rail on people. For those of you unfamiliar with the term "railing" or "dragging," it refers to dropping the truck as low as it will go and disappearing in a wake of sparks. We know it sounds dumb, but trust us, it's fun-albeit a little destructive.
Now for the people who thought borrowing styling cues from mini-truckers was bad, get ready, because it only gets worse; the next group is bikers. When it comes to a custom paint job on a Harley-Davidson, the number one criteria by which all jobs are judged is known as edge. No matter how nice the paint job might look, if you can run your hand over it and feel the graphics, it's crap.
The award winning PPG Wheatland Yellow paint job on Doug's '37 was done by Allan Summers in his shop not far from Jerry Beards. Allan and Jerry have teamed up to produce numerous showstoppers throughout their association. For the custom paint and graphics on Doug's truck, Allan laid down the graphics first and then the Wheatland Yellow base color. This method leaves the graphics as a low spot, leveled off with clear in the final coats of paint. The last stage is to color-block sand and finish off with a wheel (buffer). The end result is a show-winning paint job without any edge whatsoever.
With a long list of really great vehicles preceding his Downs '37 Ford pickup, Doug told us it's his favorite vehicle ever. Doug added that he cruises in the pickup every chance he gets. Considering what he went through to be the '37's current caretaker, we can understand why.
A billet steering wheel from...
A billet steering wheel from Boyd's old Monroe Street shop is mounted on a tilt-steering column bagged from a Chevy Van.
Power windows come standard...
Power windows come standard on all Downs '37 Ford pickups. The window's shape is timelessly beautiful.
Jerry Beard's fabricated steel...
Jerry Beard's fabricated steel airbox rests atop a '95 Corvette LT1 5.7L 350-inch small-block motor producing 330 hp at 5,000 rpm. A 4L60 four-speed automatic transmission handles shifting chores.
In the dark lurks a custom...
In the dark lurks a custom Downs '37 Ford grille smack in the middle of the '37 Ford's signature teardrop headlights.
The bedlid is standard Downs...
The bedlid is standard Downs issue. Jerry Beard started the trend of hanging a spoiler on top.
Jerry Beard frenched in a...
Jerry Beard frenched in a sextet of '99 Ford dualie rear-fender DOT markers for taillights.