Editor's Note: Getting your truck into Readers' Trucks is a snap, of the camera, that is. All it takes is a couple of good-quality photos of your ride that are in focus and well lit. Due to the volume of mail we receive, we regret that we cannot return photographs. Please shoot and send photos of your truck only (no people, pets, Polaroids, or printouts) to: CCT, Readers' Trucks, 774 S. Placentia Ave., Placentia, CA 92870. It is important that you include a detailed description of the modifications you have made to your truck, including any interesting stories behind it.
J
im Mulanax's '53 Dodge M43
Hailing from Mapleton, Oregon, Jim's idea of a custom classic truck was so sick he had to buy an ambulance. Jim dumped the Korean War-era Power Wagon's flathead six in favor of an International 304-inch V-8 with a five-speed crashbox. Future plans include boxing the frame, chopping the top 2 inches, and installing Ford running gear. Hey Jim, may we suggest finding a Dodge engine for your Dodge? This world is sick enough as it is.
Meaty, Beefy, Big & Bouncy
Around the turn of the 20th century, Jeff Null's '82 GMC left California with its original owner for Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Jeff bought the rust-free short-step, cherried the body and then repainted it in its original apple red color. Propulsion comes from a 400-horsepower, 350-inch small-block mated to a 700R4 hooked to a 4.11:1 rearend. The big rear meats are 31x18.50x15-inch Hoosiers.
Cletis Clark Of Havilland, Kansas
Cletis' wife Jeana sent us before and after shots of his '70 K5 Chevy Blazer. Cletis fully restored the Blazer in '84 and then ran the wheels off it as a farm truck until 2004. A farmer by trade and a hot-rodder at heart, Cletis rebuilt and repainted it in his state-of-the-art big metal barn. Judging by this photo, we'd say Cletis definitely put his Blazer out to greener pastures.
Grandpa's Rollin' DUBs
In between rebuilding a '55 Chevy and a '54 Dodge pickup, Bill Alpert and his wife celebrated retirement by restoring this '57 Chevy. Its original 235-inch six-cylinder stovebolt was hopped up using a Sig Erson cam with an Offenhauser dual-carb manifold with two pots. Bill made his bed floor from red oak bought from the Amish. Bill says the DuPont Specmaster Red paintjob "visualizes as orange." The 20-inch wheels are Sacchi.
Dick Hurtzer's '56 Chevy Panel
"It's as rare as rainforest mahogany," says Dick Hurtzer of the black diamond tuck interior in his '56 Chevy panel. Dick's truck features "drum brakes that won't stop and a real strong '65 Corvette 327 that goes like hell." A Rossi Powerglide with no reverse attempts to function as the transmission. His uncle Willie Hurtzer had the panel's upholstery done in Tijuana, Mexico, when he returned from 'Nam in '69. Welcome home, Willie.