Don't Give Up On That Ol' Pickup

Keep telling someone they’re never going to do something, and they probably won’t—unless they do it out of pure anger and spite. On the other hand, constant encouragement might mean the difference between completing a long-term project or giving up and losing interest. Pawnee City, Nebraska, residents Sherri and Bob Smith know the value of family support and encouragement. Without it their ’49 Chevy pickup would still be in-progress.

Eight years might be considered a longish time to spend working on a custom truck, but a quick look at the number of modifications and the quality of the fit and finish, and you can easily see how it doesn’t seem long enough. Bob describes the extensive process: “We chopped the truck 4½ inches. Afterward we didn’t like the proportions; we decided to section the body 4 inches. Then the hood seemed high, so we pie-cut a wedge out of it and used a Buick tilt-forward hood hinge. We spent a month trying to suicide the door hinges, only to throw them away and start over. The bed was narrowed, sectioned, and shortened; its tailgate is smoothed and electrically operated. Doug Kuhl helped with the bodywork.”

Then a variety of little surgical touches were crafted to smooth the overall look. Little details like flush-fitting back glass, a molded ’54 grille, and rolled rear pan brought continuity to the overall design statement. Still, the truck wasn’t a driver. “We quit for good twice!” Bob says. “Finally, in 1997, we decided this was the year we were going to get it running. The first outing was in August 1998. The last few steps were made possible with the help of friends and family. Some added only encouragement, but everyone helped!”

Not only are the cab and bed highly modified, the wheelbase has also been shortened 6 inches. A Gibbon front crossmember adds Chrysler torsion-bar suspension from a ’75 Cordoba, with rack-and-pinion steering from a front-wheel-drive K-car. Herbie Klepper helped Bob with this operation. A ’70 Mustang rearend was connected to a ’91 Camaro fuel-injected V-8 via a 700-R4 tranny. One fact explains why things took as long as they did: “Everything but the wiring was done in our shop,” says Bob. Darwin Hoppe of Sabetha, Kansas, wired the truck with a Ron Francis kit.

To stay motivated on our current project, we’ve found intermediate deadlines or setting a date to debut your ride helps get the project completed. Even if you don’t make the deadline, the process seems to take on a greater sense of urgency. People tend to organize and prioritize the various tasks and speed the process. The worst thing to do (it will always extend the project and raise the costs) is change your mind about something. Sure, sometimes you can’t avoid changes, but try to keep them to a minimum. Last but not least, never give up ’til you see the envy in the eyes of the other guys still working on their trucks.