Best Banana

Karen and Douglas Barnett's 1957 Bow Tie Pickup

By D. Brian Smith

Oil was discovered on Signal Hill in Long Beach, California, in 1921. This event triggered a major building boom in the city, with $1 million per month being spent in downtown construction. More than a decade later, in 1936, roughnecks struck oil again.

Though many vintage pickups were farm trucks, a large number of haulers worked in the oil fields of Texas and various locales in California, including Long Beach and Huntington Beach. Karen and Doug Barnett, of La Habra, California, purchased a '57 Chevy pickup for their 14-year-old son from the short-term second owner, who had bought it from a retired Signal Hill oil worker. The truck was in running condition, but mired in 40 years of grease and high-grade California crude.

Their son Josh spent his two pre-driving years cleaning up the pickup and restoring it to stock with his dad. The neophyte motorist soon learned that '50s vintage trucks don't go, stop, and steer like modern automobiles. So, he and his father made it street worthy by installing a '78 Camaro front clip, a Z23 motor, and power brakes. With all of these improvements came too many IOUs for Josh to payoff. Instead, he gave his dad the pink slip just before leaving bachelorhood to get hitched.

Doug decided a complete body-off hot rodding made the most sense for the pickup. The truck's undercarriage had some modern elements, though it needed to be 'bagged to give it the desired pavement-hovering ride height. PDC Motorsports, of Brea, California, and the owner replaced the stock front shocks with airbags and KYB absorbers in the front, and a four-link suspension and KYB shocks for the rear. Two-inch front drop spindles came from Fatman Fabrications. The spindles retained the '78 Camaro disc brakes. The newly installed four-link suspends a Ford 9-inch third member with Explorer rear discs.

American Racing Hopster rolling stock was installed at all four corners after being covered with BFGoodrich Radial TA rubber. P245/45R17s envelop the front 17x7-inchers, with P285/45R17s wrapping the 17x10-inch rear wheels. The owner plumbed the chassis with stainless steel braided brake lines and sourced a 24-gallon fuel tank from Rock Valley, a custom stainless steel unit, fitted behind the differential.

Taylor Engine, of Whittier, California, warmed up the '96 Z28 small-block by fitting a Comp Cams camshaft, Keith Black pistons, Speed Pro rings, and porting and polishing the cast-iron cylinder heads. The owner sourced a Weiand aluminum intake manifold and Holley four-barrel carburetor for instantaneous power-smooth fuel and air delivery. For trouble-free electrics, a MSD distributor and electronic ignition were installed. Spent gases were likewise dealt with effectively, as Doug Thorley exhaust headers were fastened to the small-block's sides.

The motor now makes an estimated 475 hp, so the TH 350 was beefed up to handle the extra power. Al Wilson, of Buena Park, California, installed a 2,500-stall converter, a B&M transmission cooler, and a B&M Hammer shifter. Having a good buddy, who is also an accomplished automotive body craftsman, is just what the well-used Tri-Five required. Doug's friend Brad radiused the corners of the doors and reworked every centimeter of the body panels. He smoothed the tailgate and frenched air conditioner vents into the dash for the Vintage Air HVAC system. Doug painted the perfect panels in PPG yellow.

Since Doug is a painting contractor, his prowess with a paint gun isn't limited to high-dollar homes. The factory front and rear bumpers were re-chromed and fastened back in place, as was the massive '57 re-chromed grille. Cherry wood with stainless steel stringers formed the new bed floor, with spar varnish protecting the timber.

Doug installed Tri Bar blue dot headlights and custom taillights, and wired the Auto Meter instruments in the dashboard with a Ron Francis wiring kit, before driving the pickup to Bill's Upholstery, in Brea, California, for the interior work. Bill's Upholstery custom-stitched the seats, door panels, and headliner in beige leather. A. S. Kustomz, in La Habra, California, installed the Pioneer head unit with CD and DVD, two sets of component speakers in the doors and kick panels, two 8-inch subwoofers in an A. S. Kustomz custom fiberglass enclosure, and two amps -- an 1,800 Precision Power and a 1,200 Precision Power.

After five years of painstaking construction, Karen and Doug's '57 Bow Tie made its debut at the annual Brothers Chevrolet & GMC Truck Show 'n' Shine this past July. You could say the duo struck oil, since they drove away from the event with Best of

Show and Best Audio -- not bad for a pickup that was once covered in California crude.