It's not often one can relate Jake and Elwood Blues' Bluesmobile to trucks, but when it comes to Max Cross' '60 Chevy it's more or less a kissing cousin. Underneath all that classic GM sheetmetal lays a cop motor, cop brakes, and a cop tranny.
Growing up in his dad's salvage yard Max Cross grew to understand, respect, and know automobiles. But it wasn't until he got to help his older brother build a '56 Ford-when he was just a kid-did he grow to love automobiles, and especially trucks. His soft spot was always the '60 Chevy, and as soon as time and money permitted Max built himself a show-stopping '60 Chevy truck. However, the ride was short lived because he had to part ways with it. (And no he didn't trade it away for a microphone like Elwood did.) Needless to say, that day had always haunted him, and he vowed to get another one someday. So when a customer came into Cross Auto Body, Max's collision shop, and said he was short on cash but had a '60 Chevy truck he was willing to pawn off Max didn't hesitate. From that day on, Max set his sights on building the '60 to fill the void that had been left open for so many years.
Max started off by stripping the truck down to its bare hull. From there the stock torsion bar setup was yanked and the crossmember and suspension from an '87 Chevy was placed between the rails. To correct the factory stance a set of Early Classic Enterprises 2-inch drop spindles and Air Ride Technology airbags were thrown in the mix. For a powerplant the idea of a GM Tuned Port Injection motor burned in Max's head, but as the Rolling Stones said, "You can't always get what you want." However, what the Stones didn't mention is that sometimes what you end up with is better than what you wanted! Max's brother, Allen, turned him onto a totaled '94 Caprice police car equipped with an Impala SS LT1 motor. The idea of a TPI motor was long gone. Being that the LT1 was equipped with a Police Interceptor tune, it was plenty sufficient on horsepower, and found its way under the hood. To get things to gel Max did fabricate a custom air intake with a K&N air filter and added a Street and Performance ignition system. The motor exhales through a set of polished stainless steel MagnaFlow pipes and mufflers. Backing the motor is a cop 4L60E. Max also tossed the cop rearend into the '60, which not only equipped the truck with a stout posi-trac rearend but it also added disc brakes to the build. To complement the front suspension a set of ART airbags were installed in place of the coil springs on the trailing arms. Lastly, a No Limit Engineering gas tank was installed and Max plumbed the entire truck with braided stainless line.
Since the day Max had to sell his first '60 Chevy truck to make ends meet, he pined over the day he would be able to get the behind the wheel of another one he could call his own. Therefore, when it came time to build this '60 Chevy truck he was leaving the appearance of it stock. But if you ask Max if there was any custom work done he'll tell you plenty, because it took hours upon hours of work to get all that vintage sheetmetal straight again! Once everything was squared away Max rolled the Chevy into the paint booth at Cross Auto Body and laid down a decadent PPG Victory Red paintjob. In a few key areas Max decided to break up all that red with hints of PPG Tan. As for that bitchin' '60 Chevy trim it was sent off to Extreme Metal Custom Polishing for David Meeks to straighten and polish. The bed is a new Oak bed floor coated in urethane clear. Topping it all off is a set of American Racing Hopster 17-inch rims wrapped in Goodyear rubber, 225/50 up front and 255/55 out back.
For the most part Max was a lone ranger when it came to restoring the Chevy, but when it came time to finish off the interior some hired guns were in order. But first, Max equipped the cab with an '87 tilt-column and LeCarra steering wheel. Next, he installed a set of Dakota Digital gauges inside the '60 Chevy dash pod. In order to cruise in comfort an Old Air Products air-conditioning system was ordered and installed. Yet, something was still missing before final upholstery, a center console. Max and his wife, Brenda, built the custom center console that houses cup holders, a Sony radio and speakers, air vents, and the ever-so-important airbag switches and vital signs. At that point the truck could then be dropped off at Rick Fisher Custom Upholstery to get outfitted in tan leather. With the truck all done, the final thing to cross off the list was to christen the Chevy and hit the road. Max settled on "Changes," because although he has witnessed many changes, one thing has held steady, his love of '60 Chevy trucks. Even Jake would be glad to call this machine the new Bluesmobile.