News: 19

My wife always wanted an old truck. I told her that we couldn't afford one. But then my son-in-law came across this rolling chassis from a 1926 Dodge Brothers pickup. He told me that I could have it and do anything I wanted with it. A friend saw it and told me his brother had a flathead V8 from a 1950 Ford F-1 truck and I should call him. His brother, also a friend of mine, gave me the engine. It had been in his dad's old truck. Once we knew the engine would run, I started the fabrication. This truck is built mostly from things I had laying around my house.

I’m submitting my El Camino to show you don’t have to start from scratch to have a cool project. I had a 2013 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE, and I traded it for this El Camino plus a good deal of cash. However, both the seller and I walked away feeling we got a good deal, which is what any good deal is all about, right? Anyway, the car/truck was almost fully restored and was driven for about 30,000 miles. However, the restoration wasn’t frame-off, there were still things left to do. That’s where my project comes in. I named her Ellie (for a couple of reasons, 1. it’s an El Camino and 2.

I’ve decided to rekindle an old flame… This 1969 Chevrolet C10, named The Orange Truck, became my first vehicle over twenty years ago. My folks and I found the blue-green Chevy in a barnyard while running backroads one afternoon. We pulled in the nearest driveway and lucked out to find an owner who was willing to sell. $1,200 and a week later, we had it on the trailer and headed home. We stripped it down and went through the truck from front to back. We had a buddy paint it 1971 Carousel Red and white. Who doesn’t love GTO Judge Orange?

I have been watching Stacy since I was in college, and when I turned 40 I decided to do a dream sleeper car. I always wanted to build a radical sleeper car with original patina, and I saw this one on Facebook marketplace with a solid chassis for $700 with a spun rod bearing and fell in love with it. Also, because as far as I can tell no one has ever stuffed a turbo V8 engine into a B12 Sentra.

My son worked all summer cutting grass to buy a 1964 Chevrolet Impala 4-door hardtop from his uncle in 1988. He drove it to high school until he graduated and two years after. He decided then that he wanted a new car, so he bought a new Camaro and the 64 was parked beside our house in the woods. Needless to say, he lost interest in it for a while, and it sat on that hill for almost 12 years. At that point he started bugging me to restore it. In 2013 we started building a shop with the plans that once the shop was finished, we would start the ‘64 build.

After a 40-year hiatus from custom car building, I took 3 years to build a Restomod 95 F150 that will be the Cover Truck for LMC’s 2nd quarter catalog.

While building this project, I was approached by a neighbor regarding an opportunity to replicate a Prowler Concept vehicle that was supposedly crushed by Chrysler.

This neighbor had a Prowler that was damaged in the rear that would be a great challenge to replicate the Concept Car.

Challenge accepted!

This is a 1949 Chevy pickup originally sold new at Penor's Chevrolet later became Penor's Texaco in Bison, SD. My great-great-grandfather Harry Penor sold the pickup to a gentleman; I believe his name or nickname was Red. At the time of the sale my great grandfather Dean Penor, Harry's son, mentioned to Red that if he were to sell it, he would like a chance to buy it back, and about 3 years later he did. Since that time, my grandmother Gloria and her sister Vera learned to drive in it, followed by Gloria's two sons Robby (my dad) and Roger.

I bought my 1965 Plymouth Belvedere II in 2001 as an all-original cruiser and am technically the second owner. I even have the original 1965 dealer frame on the rear license plate! I did a few minor upgrades like a four barrel and intake, cleaned it up a bit, replaced a few bent/twisted things, then I took it to Willow Springs on a whim. My only upgrades were an A-body front disc brake upgrade, a dual quad FAST EZ-EFI, and a set of Hellwig sway bars. On one lap, I found myself catching the tail end of a Porsche Carrera coming out of the fast sweeper (Turn 8).

I'm 71 years old and this Chevy C10 truck belonged to my grandfather. He died in 1980. My grandmother sold it in 1981. Eighteen years later I tracked it down and bought it back. I've taken it down to the frame and over the past 8 years, restored it with upgrades like a 350 V8, 700R4 trans, power everything, CPP suspension, disc brakes, etc. My granddaughter wants the truck, even though she has new automobiles. So, it will go to her mother (my daughter), then to her. Gearz helped me build this truck. I watched hours of episodes to learn to do so much of the restoration.

This is the life story of my dad/mom’s car, the 1966 SS396, that he ordered through the "GM Military Discount". Once he got his orders to come home, he grabbed the order sheet and proceeded to check 21 for his car. Dad said that the FIRST option he checked was Air Conditioning, because of having spent the last year in Vietnam under the most oppressive heat/humidity that he ever saw!

This project began with ideas I’d wanted to implement from years of magazine articles, many summers on a tractor, junk from around the farm, and a couple TikToks from a college buddy.

Being more budget friendly than conventional 4x4 platforms, along with the inherent uniqueness of this build, appeals to both me and my kids. The challenge of fabricating a 1200lb rig on 42” tires also appeals to the kid in me, harkening back to monster trucks of my childhood.

My 1st vehicle was a '52 Studebaker pickup when I was 19. Now I am retired and had a 1000 sq ft shop built in my backyard. I found a '52 Studebaker pickup in southern Washington that wasn't running and decided it would be my retirement hot rod. I am using a '94 Dodge Dakota chassis, a crate LS3 drivetrain with a 6L80E six speed trans, and a Ford 8.8 rear end. One night, a cordless lithium battery on a charger failed, and burned down my shop. The Studebaker was parked next to the shop and was charred down the driver's side.

One day, the idea popped into my head that I really wanted a Checker Marathon, and I wanted to build it into a true gasser (the first in the world to my knowledge). I’ve always been intrigued by the A11/A12 Checkers and loved the utilitarian look about them. They look like someone blended a ‘58 Chevy and a ‘58 Rambler together, except using all the worst parts. A few months after I had the idea, this basket case of a one-owner, non-taxi ‘73 dropped into my lap. After some haggling, I got the car for $900 and the TH400 that was in it, even got the original title from ‘73!