Before the '48 could be mated to the Fatman chassis, the crew at Vintage Specialties reworked the cab by recessing and shaving the firewall-and replaced the floorpan and rear wall. The cowl vent and gas filler were shaved as well, getting the major modifications out of the way. From the cab, the focus moved rearward to a pro's pick bed flanked with fiberglass fenders from Fairlane Company. Within the bedsides, the stock floor was redone in red oak with fully polished stainless steel runners and hidden latches, all from dennis Carpenter of Charlotte, north Carolina. getting the '48 ready for paint was a long journey, with no room for error. it was Vintage Specialties' master painter brian phillips who laid down a super-slick, streak-free Candy apple Red paintjob, which no doubt was a major factor in winning alvin's '48 the "F-1 of the year" at Knoxville in 2007.
With the exterior pretty much in hand, the next step was to move inside and take care of the interior. John Sterner at Statler's auto Upholstery in gettysburg stitched everything from the '97 Chrysler lhS seats to the door panels and headliner in optimal leather-and chamois accenting here and there with Skin-Tech ostrich. Working outward from the Dakota digital gauges housed in a billet cluster, a fully chromed ididit steering column is home to a billet Specialties steering wheel. For passenger safety, a Juliano's three-point shoulder harness was installed. behind the firewall and behind the dashboard, a Ron Francis wiring harness connects to wipers from new port engineering. There's also a '50 lincoln radio upgraded to aM/ FM and Mp3 by bob's Radio of oceano, California. no truck of this caliber is complete without air-conditioning. alvin's choice was a Sure-Fit kit from Vintage air. an interesting touch to the door panels was the use of a reproduction F-1 emblem from dennis Carpenter to create the feel of a factory custom.
When we spotted alvin's '48 at the 2007 F-100 Supernationals, he had just rolled in from picking the truck up at Vintage Specialties. he went on to say the completed '48 was the culmination of a 20-year dream and that thanks to his wife patricia and the crew (John and Susie Matthews, Will Matthews, Jamie Matthews, ed gonder, Roy Snyder, Curt plant, brian phillips) at Vintage Specialties it was fulfilled big-time.