Whether it's fate or destiny, everything happens for a reason. no explanations, no reason or rhyme, it's just out of nowhere something happens and there's a click. Take for instance the first time Michael Jordan picked up a basketball or Joe Montana picked up a football; it was like they were made to be. Well for Donald Lee kennedy he had his click years back. It was just another day headed to a car show, only this one was based around trucks. Upon getting there things just fell into order and Donald was hooked on classic trucks.
From there Donald was headed home to build himself a custom classic truck, and just as luck would have it he found a rust bucket '48 Ford for the heavy setback of $500. It was a rust bucket, but with all the custom work he had planned, that was the least of his worries. He simply laid down a plan, kept things simple, smooth, and elegant, and rolled with it.
Donald started with the underpinnings of the Ford, with his formula in the forefront at all times. First he tore the hauler apart. From there he took the frame under his wing and boxed it in for some extra rigidity. The stock straight-axle setup was tossed for a Mustang II-style sus-pension, designed by Donald. Along with the new frontend, he also brought the nose down 3 inches with a set of Aldan coilovers. Being one to keep congruency, Donald also worked up a custom 4-link for the rear of the truck that keeps the 9-inch Ford rearend floating down the road with comfort, handling, and performance. next, a custom stainless gas tank was mounted between the framerails. Putting things in motion are the Billet Specialties 17-inch rollers wrapped in Bridgestone 245/45/17 and 275/40/17 rubber. Keeping things under the Blue Oval family tree is an '86 Mer-cury 5.0 motor with a Merc AOD tranny. The motor was kept mostly stock internally, but Donald did install a Mallory coil, Taylor wires, a Vintage Air A/C system, and a whole lot of polished detailed pieces.
With the chassis put together, Donald was ready to get to what drove him to the truck side: the custom work. Once again Donald wasn't out to drastically change the appearance of the Ford. He just wanted to clean things up to his taste and make it look smooth. Up front the custom work is pretty extensive. For starters, Donald built a custom front roll pan. Along with that, the entire opening of the grille shell has been opened up and reshaped to resemble more of an oval. The stock grille was tossed as well. In its place is a custom grille that Donald fabricated from scratch. He also installed a set of Speedway Tribar headlights to complement the reworked front end. Just above the newly worked grille, the hood, too, has been shaved clean of all trim and badges for a streamlined look. Heading back a little further the doors were shaved clean, and altering the vertical impression of the truck is the fact that the lid that has been lowered 2 1/2 inches. Moving towards the rear, the truck has been worked just as heavily as the front. Although not as visible as the front, if you look close you'll notice Donald has fabricated a custom tailgate that has been molded to the bed. Below that is a custom-built roll pan that houses '50 Pontiac taillights. Covering the truck is a classy Sikkens Orange and gold pearl paint job that also was laid down by none other than Donald.
For the interior Donald turned the truck over to Auto Interior Specialties in Sumter, South Carolina. There they whipped up a complete one-off custom interior for the '48. Once done, the cab was wrapped entirely in Beige leather and vinyl. even the dash, which has been smoothed by Donald, and the custom head fixture have been wrapped. If there's one thing that clicked, it's obvious it was Donald and his '48.