Some folks say there are as many reasons for building a custom classic truck as there are truck owners. In fact, there are two reasons why people like Henry Layden build trucks like this extraordinary '36 Ford pickup. One is the satisfaction that comes from taking a tired old truck and building it up into a cool, one-of-a-kind ride. The other is the fun that comes from driving a truck unlike any other on the road, something that is uniquely your own.
Henry, who still drives a '46 Chevy "knock-around" truck, had been thinking about another old hauler-a "comfortable, updated, old truck that would be different." His wife Nancy was out horseback riding when she spotted the red and rough '36. When Henry looked at it he could see potential, and after some horse trading (figuratively speaking) with the owner, a deal was struck. "When we purchased the truck, we did not think about how really uncomfortable an original '36 Ford truck would be to drive and try to enjoy," he admitted.
When Henry was ready to turn the rough old pickup into a cool-and comfortable-custom truck, he contacted Lee Castleberry at Castleberry Customs in Suffolk, Virginia. Lee had gone to school with Henry's son Bobby; his father had opened the shop in 1957. Henry insists that his first idea conversations with Lee were along the lines of a drivetrain update. Of course, it ended up a full-blown, frame-off custom job. "When a man gets some age on him, he gets some little kid in him too," he explained.
The drivetrain swap that started it all is a 350-horse fuel-injected GM Ram Jet 350 crate mill with Vortec heads and a Street & Performance air cleaner, and a pair of coated shorty headers and Smithy's mufflers at the exhaust end. A Lokar shifter stirs the gears in a 700-R4 built by Street Rod Transmissions of Hampton, Virginia with an Alto 3-4 clutch pack and a 2,200-stall, furnace brazed 11-inch converter.
Craig Batten, Lee's teenage nephew, tore the truck apart. The chassis was designed and built to allow 100 percent accessibility to the drivetrain from underneath-making future service and modifications as easy as possible. Upgrades started with a custom X-brace and triangulated suspension at the front and rear to strengthen the flimsy factory frame. The Mustang II frontend components from Southern Rods are suspended by coilovers with a single coil cut from each, plus a power steering rack from an '88 Thunderbird. The 3.70-geared 10-bolt locker rear is out of a '98 four-door Jimmy, sprung with leaf springs from Chassis Engineering. Monroe gas shocks and GM disc brakes were mounted at all corners.
Henry chose the right rolling stock in the form of 15x5 steelies from Wheel Vintiques, painted body color and accented with rings and '42 Ford dog dish centers. The radial wide whites are Diamond Back Classics-P235/70R15 and P185/70R15-plenty big to fill the fenders without looking out of proportion.
Of course, if a great ride and plenty of go-power was all Henry wanted, he could've spent his money at a local truck dealership instead of at a rod shop. And he would've fit in with the crowd on any highway or in any parking lot. But fitting in wasn't the plan, so he let Lee Castleberry, Joe Didio, Craig Batten, and Mike Warren go at the truck like lions on a crippled gazelle. The body was customized with '33 headlights on chopped stands and Model A taillights on '33 stands, and '33 door handles. Hood tops were replaced and the fold-out windshield was swapped for glue-in glass with electric wipers. Power windows replace the factory glass (with switches concealed in the hand cranks) and driprails were shaved to clean up the lines. The bed was boxed in the rear and treated to a wood floor and '37 tailgate. Mike Warren shot the Martin Senour Turquoise paint. Inside the cab, Rod Doors seats were covered in teal Ultra Leather and light oyster Ultrasuede with custom embroidery. A Juliano's banjo wheel turns a Flaming River tilt column. Joann Reynolds provided the custom shifter boot and Greg Rudy at Sundance Graphics added some custom brushwork. Dolphin gauges, Southern Auto Air A/C, and a Custom Autosound 10-disc CD changer with Fosgate speakers contribute to the now-comfortable cab.
Now that the '36 is finished, Henry jokes that "it's almost too nice for me now!" Not that that has stopped him from having fun driving it as often as he can.