No Resistance Here
Tom Ladd of West Des Moines, Iowa, has put his fair share of work into his '55 Chevy truck, dubbed "Resistor." For starters, Tom-with the help of Tim and Pat Schmidt at Clive Maaco (and yes, it is a true Maaco shop, it just has extracurricular activities)-installed a TCI Mustang II frontend complete with modern features such as disc brakes, rack-and-pinion, power steering, and drop spindles. He also dropped the rear down with a set of TCI rear springs. The engine is a 327 Chevy with 350 heads and other various speed products.
Tom also had Samson Design build him a one-off air breather. What makes the truck Tom's, is all the custom work he's done to it. Modifications include: the hood being pancaked 31/2 inches, turn signals smoothed and relocated, custom inner fender panels, smoothed firewall, rounded bed corners, and much more. Also, Tom built the bed cover and tailgate as one unit that lifts up in one piece via linear actuators. Under the cover is a custom wood bed made from "Padueq (Nigerian hardwood)" and ash wood. Setting everything off is the DuPont Long Beach Pearl Metallic Blue over Billet Silver and Cameo White. Not bad for a two-year project.
Editor's Note: Getting your truck into Readers' Trucks is a snap, of the camera, that is. All it takes is a stack 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. Send photos of your truck (no 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.