When we were younger, my friends and I used to follow one simple credo thanks to the movie BASEketball, "First you get the khakis, then you get the job, then you get the girls." It was that simple...or at least that's what they made you think, because things didn't exactly work like the movie explained, mostly on the latter part of things. Anyway, in the world of building a custom truck for one's self, it appears there is a credo as well: first you get the business, then the business pays for the truck. Well, at least that's Craig and Cindy Speir's motto. You see, if one asked Craig or Cindy who paid for the '49 Chevy truck, their answer would be simple: their business, C&C Carpet Family Inc., paid for it; all they do is reap the benefits of the truck.
It all started a few years back when Craig decided it was time to build a classic truck, courtesy of C&C, of course, and the '49 Chevy came to mind. Once located and paid for, the Chevy was hauled back to the Speir's, where Craig tore down the truck and did as much as he could. Once he reached his boiling point, he knew it was time to call in the reinforcements. As it turned out, there was a guy in the area, Street Machines By Stedman of Craig's hometown, Hemet, California, who had a rap sheet of check marks pointing in his favor. Once Craig contacted Stedman, the next leg of the build was off and rolling.
Stedman's first move was to dial in the chassis. Craig and Cindy wanted a truck they could drive worry free, so the first order of business was to bring the outdated chassis back to life. Up front, he installed a Heidt's Superide frontend. What makes the Heidt's frontend is the fact that it's based off of Mustang II geometry, which means the truck was instantly outfitted with tubular control arms, Wilwood disc brakes, rack-and-pinion steering, and two-inch drop spindles. On top of that, the frontend is equipped with coilover shocks, so the front ride height can be set where desired.
In the rear, Stedman installed a four-link, but instead of using coilovers out back, he installed airbags for instant adjustment. Stedman also notched the frame to get the correct stance, and because Craig wanted to use a '54-model bed, where the rails lie flat instead of pointing up in the air, he also had Stedman install a new 9-inch rearend with Wilwood brakes and matching polished calipers. Powering the Chevy is a brand-new ZZ4 crate motor decked out with Corvette aluminum heads, an Edelbrock Endurashine manifold and carb, Hedman headers, and more billet bling than a rapper at a boxing match. Backing the 350 is a built 700-R4.