Building custom classic trucks can be a lonesome hobby. Start talking about golf or fishing or football and you'll be the center of attention with the guys at work or around the neighborhood. Start talking about the old truck you've been building up and you're going to see some blank stares and hear some crickets chirping. Hanging out with fellow custom and classic truck enthusiasts is no guarantee that they'll share your vision either.
Doug Boettcher knows all about that. He's gotten good at building hot rods and custom cars over the last 45 years, and pretty good at not listening to other people's skepticism. When he traded a '71 Yamaha dirt bike for an old farm truck that hadn't been licensed since '63, even his own family was skeptical. "My kids used to ask what I was going to do with the pile of rust in the garage," he remembers. "My older brother used to laugh at me because the fenders were so dented up." But Doug, encouraged by his wife, Doreen, saw something in that tired old workhorse which others couldn't--not at the time, anyway.
Doug's work began on the chassis. He added a narrowed '74 Nova subframe (including power steering, spindles and brakes) to the stock '39 frame, cutting half a coil from the Nova springs, subtracting altitude to add attitude to pavement-scraping, chomping-at-the-bit stance of the pickup. Custom crossmembers were added to accommodate a 355-horse, aluminum-headed Chevy ZZ4 engine, dressed up with a custom air cleaner and painted OE GM valve covers. The GM Performance aluminum intake is topped with an Edelbrock 650 AFB. Block hugger headers route exhaust to a pair of Flowmaster mufflers. The 200-4R automatic was built by Bendtsen's Transmissions in Ham Lake, Minnesota, and features a 4-second delay lock-up torque converter with a 2,000-rpm stall speed. The narrowed '67 Nova rear runs 3.55:1 gears with an Auburn posi. Rear brakes are also '67 Nova. Front and rear Monroe shocks and Chassis Engineering anti-sway bars help the Chevy handle and ride like a hot rod instead of an old farm truck.
Body modifications would turn out to be the most imaginative aspect of the truck, and are all Doug's handiwork. He'd always wanted a convertible top pickup and the removable custom top, owner built from black fabric, fulfills that particular wish. The top was chopped 3 inches and a center bevel was added to the windshield. All panels were shaved, bumpers removed and holes filled, and the running boards were narrowed 3 inches, resulting in cleaner, leaner, and smoother exterior lines. Doors were re-hinged from the rear, suicide-style. The hood was modified with the sides welded and the one piece top hinged to flip forward to a horizontal position above the engine compartment; that modification alone is enough to draw crowds at shows. The stock headlights were dropped a couple of inches, pulling them closer into the fenders which makes a big difference, especially with the truck's extra-low posture.
Moving back to the bed, Doug filled the stake pockets, and created custom taillights located between the homebuilt tailgate and the rear roll pan. The bed floor was built out of 12-gauge steel plate; the tilting tonneau cover was made from 14-gauge aluminum.
The wheelwells were filled with a well-chosen tire and wheel combo, with 275/60R15 BFGoodrich radials on 15x10 Billet Specialties kidney beans in back and 195/60R15 BFGs on 15x6 rims in front.
Doug shot the black and creme paint at home. It's his own design, with the black rising up the grille, across the hood, and over the windshield frame, and into the upper portion of the open cockpit. TEA's buckets, covered in tweed, face a smoothed dash filled with Auto Meter gauges. Doug used the same fabric to cover door panels from Rod Doors. Beneath the dash, a custom console houses the Kenwood audio system and the vents for the Southern Air heater. All controls are hidden.
The laughter that Doug endured at the beginning of the build-up faded as he finished the truck. Any remaining skepticism was replaced with awe when he won the Minnesota Street Rod Association's Street Rod of the Year award, followed by a personal invitation to Blackie Gejeian's exclusive Fresno Autorama. Since then, Doug has driven his convertible pickup all over the U.S., and has converted his hobby into his profession. As the owner of Doug's Rod Garage in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, he builds cars and trucks for other people now--and never laughs at anyone's ideas.