Itch by ItchSteve and Chickey's '54 FordIt all started 31years ago when Steve Hernandez of Granada Hills, California, was 18 years old and had a friend with a '54 Ford F-100 in his backyard in Simi Valley, California. The friend wanted to restore the '54 someday, but time and money was an issue, so he asked Steve if he wanted to buy the truck for $500.
After hearing about the new truck in the family it didn't take Steve's dad more than a minute to fire up his trusty '38 Chevy pickup and the two were loading up the fenders, hood, and miscellaneous parts and towing the old Ford home in no time.
Steve knew he had a big job in front of him, so he began working on the truck right away and stripped it to the frame, did all the bodywork and painted the truck yellow himself. "I was proud of what I did, for a backyard grease monkey. I completed it in the late '70s.
"I drove it around for a few years, got married, and then my wife and I started going to car shows. We saw all the beautiful vehicles, and it made us think that if we wanted to show the truck at these car shows, we better start doing something about it and upgrade the truck we have.
"We took the truck to Larry Ready in Northridge, California, where he restored the truck for us. He took the 292-inch Y-block with a Ford automatic tranny out, and installed a frontend clip from an '85 Chevy Camaro, with a 305 engine, 700-R4 transmission, and the rearend is a 10-bolt. After the driveline was done, Larry painted it tangerine orange.
"Once we got it back from Larry, I started doing some more work on the dashboard, I filled all the holes and the ashtray and glovebox, I made it look nice and smooth, to give the dashboard a different look. I then I got an itch that the truck needed something else.
"I had my neighbor Mike Ambros do the upholstery for us, in tan leather. He fabricated the center console and installed the switches for the windows, radio, and air conditioning. Mike then installed the seats from a late- model Cadillac. He modified the seats by cutting down the tops, so they would fit just under the back window. He also installed an overhead console from a newer Chevy Suburban. Then we took the truck to Conejo Autobody in Thousand Oaks, California, and Vince painted pearlescent gold ghost flames on the outside of the truck.
"Then I got another itch to start working under the hood to chrome it up. Once that was done, I started on the bed wood and used a gallon of clear urethane over the oak. A little bit later we got another itch to spruce up the firewall with some flames to match the outside of the truck. We took it back to Conejo Autobody and Vince sprayed the firewall and inner fenders with gold ghost flames. When we got it home, we thought it still needed something else. So we got the itch again to really spruce up the firewall. We called Cosme Lojero of Cosme's Airbrushing in Palmdale, Calfifornia. Cosme brought the firewall and tailgate to life with his awesome airbrushing. He came to our house and airbrushed the firewall in 5 hours, and then his buddy Juan Zpeda cleared it. In 2009, my dad still has his '38 Chevy, and I'm never selling my '54 so, that's my story until we get another itch."
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.