Vintage truck owner Randy Jackson of Brighton, Colorado, is a NASCAR fan. He owns this '39 Ford pickup with an oval grille that he regards as one of the less attractive designs from Ford Motor Company's design studios of the '30s. Nevertheless, he wanted something special to attend rod runs and other motor events in, and he selected the Golden, Colorado, shop Just Dream'N (owned by Russ Tilkes) to reconstruct a seriously modified vintage hauler from his homely 1/2-ton. The brief instructions to Russ were, "Make it fast and ugly!"
To make it fast, the crew added an Art Morrison full-tube chassis with Air Ride Technologies 'bags at the corners and a Ford SVO 400-plus-hp small-block with an AOD trans. The truck's design was ugly enough, but Russ felt that a few design changes, like Mini Cooper headlights, would create a somewhat homely bulldog look, but one that might have a little interesting character as well. CCT will show you how this difficult task was accomplished in the following photos.
The highly modified truck is in the paint shop as we're writing this. Painted Dreams has recently added the Lexus Absolute Red to the body panels. We can't wait to see this rascal truck in the Red topcoat and down on its wheels. We promise you'll get to see feature photos as soon as we can get them shot and in our production schedule. For now, check out how the face of this homely hauler was upgraded with modern headlights from the cute Mini Cooper.
The design rendering was a...
The design rendering was a joint venture. Some of the creative ideas were by Just Dream'N while other were from artist Steve Hagan of Victory Illustrations.
Here's the completed redesign...
Here's the completed redesign of the '39 Ford in primer with a new face. Note the addition of an under-fender air dam.
Before the crew at Just Dream'N...
Before the crew at Just Dream'N started working on the fenders to add the Mini Cooper headlights, the center of the Ford oval grille was surgically shortened 2 inches to improve aesthetics and provide a bit more room for the front air dam.
The crew started the project...
The crew started the project by cutting a hole in the original fender sheetmetal large enough to locate the large-diameter and 12-inch-long headlight assembly. They also made initial assessments to ensure the light beam would project onto the roadway.
With the hoodsides and fenders...
With the hoodsides and fenders in position, work began. In order to make some observations about where to add the large oval headlight to the large round fender, many measurements were made. It was decided to position the headlights slightly inboard of the tires for clearance.
A few reference marks were...
A few reference marks were made to ensure the headlight assembly would stay in the same place each time it was located in the fender.
If you look closely at the...
If you look closely at the inside of the large headlight assembly, you'll notice a crescent-shaped gap around the bright trim ring. This gap must be eliminated when the new fender pattern is created from metal.
The headlight was duct-taped...
The headlight was duct-taped securely in place. Then Russ used several pounds of modeling clay to build a new surface around the oval headlight assembly.
Looking forward from the rear...
Looking forward from the rear of the fender, it's possible to see how the modeling clay was sculpted to flow into the original hoodsides and the original fender shape. Remember, the Mini Cooper headlight assembly is 12 inches long under this new shape.
The modeling clay added to...
The modeling clay added to the fender creates a double peak-one from the center of the new headlight and one through the center of the original fender. Aesthetically, the crew was trying to achieve the look of a '37 Ford fender with an integrated headlight.
Looking from the rear, it's...
Looking from the rear, it's possible to see how the double peak was resolved into the original fender shape.
The modeling clay raised the...
The modeling clay raised the surface around the inside half of the headlight where the assembly will be mounted when the new sheetmetal patch is completed.
The clay was examined from...
The clay was examined from every angle until the crew was satisfied that the shape of the fender was as graceful as possible with the marriage of old and new.
Here's one more look at the...
Here's one more look at the modeling clay (from the side) before a plaster mold was created.
The clay was first wet, and...
The clay was first wet, and thin plastic was used to cover the clay and to serve as a mold release.