Chevy pick up 1955 - 1959 custom & mild custom

http://www.hotrod.com/cars/featured/1207cct-1955-chevrolet-truck/


If various aspects of this ’55 Chevy truck seem familiar, well, it’s no coincidence. Over the past few months there have been a handful of stories on the pages of CCT on building Star Kustom Shop’s newest project, “Stardust.” As mentioned through the stories, Stardust is a throwback to the golden era of customizing, mixed with fresh ideas and a blend of modern-day tastes. But before we get too in depth about the truck, let’s go back to the beginning and see how this custom came to fruition.


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It’s creeping up on two years since Justin Hartman, the owner of this ’55, first called the shop. After our initial conversation there were so many ideas floating around that an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians had more direction! Ten years before our encounter, Justin had an artist pen a rendering of the ’55 in what would best be described as a turn-of-the-millennium street truck. Not exactly my taste, and not what he was after anymore, either. But his initial rendering did have a few ideas that suited our likes: a molded tailgate, custom tonneau, frenched headlights, and everything shaved. From there I intertwined my thoughts with Justin’s styling cues and came up with a Star Kustom Shop original.
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The build started at the rear of the truck, and the idea of molding in the tailgate stuck. Expanding upon that concept is the fact the gate was laid down to match the rear angle of the fender. Taking things a step further, I felt the bed lip should cascade down into the gate. After some planning it was apparent the easiest way to accomplish the new look would be to hack off the rearend and construct a hand-made, 20-gauge sheetmetal rearend—which was demonstrated in the first CCT article (“Freedom of Expression,” Oct. 2011). The angles and contour of the new rearend follow the dimensions of the factory fenders, but the rest of the ideas are unique to the ’55. For starters, a flowing custom license plate overrider was inserted, and at the bottom of the rearend the bumper was tossed for a custom roll pan fashioned in the vein of dual ’53 Studebaker pans. Nestled in each corner of the roll pan is a hand-made taillight encompassing ’59 Cadillac lens and bezel with a custom bullet. Bucking the normal trends of Cad lights, the assembled taillight was laid horizontally inside a congruently shaped cavity. From there the bed received a bedrail made from 21⁄2-inch exhaust tubing, which flows from step plate to step plate uninterrupted. Then the rest of the bed components were molded in. Justin’s original idea was to enclose the bed in a custom sheetmetal tonneau, but upholstery seemed better suited. Therefore, a two-piece tonneau cover was fabbed to mount flush with the bed, and then later covered in pearl white Naugahyde.


Instead of customizing for the sake of change, a flowing profile from front to rear was mandatory. For that reason the dual Studebaker pans crept into the picture when the front bumper was ousted. Inside the opening of the roll pan a custom insert was fabricated from a piece of 3-inch exhaust tubing. Continuing with the ’59 Cadillac theme clear lenses and bezels—that now functions as turn signals—perch at each end of the insert. We both wanted frenched headlights, but again true to ’50s fashion. We landed on ’53 Mercury rings and bezels with reworked inner headlight hoods, which we showed in depth on the pages of CCT (“Head Strong,” Apr. 2012). The rest of the frontend was shaved and molded, and a scratch-built 1-inch tubular grille in the vein of a ’47 Oldsmobile was placed inside the grille opening.


In my eyes everything needs to be chopped, but being that Justin is 6 feet, 4 inches tall, he was reluctant. We settled on a unique chop to suit both of us. I cut 11⁄2 inches from the front of the A-pillars to bring the windshield’s top line even with the top edge of the side glass. From there 3⁄4 inch was sliced from the rear of the cap, and the windshield overhang was removed so it could be pulled down to create a smooth transition from glass to metal. When it was all said and done, an inch was shaved out of the rear, 31⁄2 inches from the front, the contour and glass lines of the roof now reside on an even keel, and the doors, B-pillars, and structure of the A-pillars were never touched!


Although the outside of the truck screams ’50s custom, what lies beneath is all 21st century. The freshly painted semigloss metallic gray chassis was outfitted with a Total Cost Involved Mustang II crossmember—complete with rack-and-pinion and disc brakes. The newly positioned GM 10-bolt, also equipped with disc brakes, received a Total Cost Involved four-link. Sway bars roost at both ends of the chassis, and a RideTech air ride system ensures the truck sits right for whatever duty calls. Power is supplied via a GM LT1 engine situated inside a one-off custom engine compartment fabricated from sheetmetal. Camouflaging the telltale signs of the LT1 is a custom engine cover, featuring a Mooneyes valve cover with a custom inlay. Power is channeled through a GM 4L60E.
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From the beginning Justin was set on blue, yet we couldn’t find a blue that either of us liked, which meant it was off to the laboratory. Eventually we landed on a custom-mixed House of Kolor Kandy Oriental Blue I concocted from hours of trial and error. In the end I wound up laying the blue over a white basecoat, and then sprinkling in some diamond dust in the clear—hence the name Stardust. Complementing the brilliant blue is a set of Coker whitewalls and ’57 Cadillac hubcaps. Advanced Plating in Nashville plated the rest of the chrome adornments.

Being that the majority of the style of the truck is all custom, it was only fitting the truck feature an interior cut from the same cloth. When Justin stumbled across the three-dimensional blue drum set wrap, we had our building block. Therefore, various interior components, including the dash, door panels, pedals, console, as well as other exterior features, received the wrap. Placed over the drum wrap is Plexiglas held in place via blue-jeweled CB radio screws that Justin found at a truck stop! A ’59 Impala steering wheel mounted atop an ididit column was installed next. At that point the truck was taken to Mulvane, Kansas, where Walt’s Upholstery covered the entire truck in pearl white Naugahyde. Walt’s kept a simple ratio of vertical to horizontal lines consistent with the upholstery. Along with that, a custom insert is present in all panels, including the tonneau cover, headliner, door panels, and more. Lastly, a custom center console—designed to mimic the engine cover—was installed between the seats. So, as they say in Hollywood, “That’s a wrap!” CCT

55 Chevrolet very custom pickup. southern California truck rust free. It looks like a real 50s time capsule like something that was done by rat fink or von dutch. Done classy rat rod or rockabilly style! It is a rust free truck new 350 and 350 tranny headers dual exhaust, b/m shifter, Chopped top, 1959 Impala batwing style bed rails and 59 Impala cat eye style taillights. It has a 51 style 3 piece wrap around rear window. Side windows are power. 1951 Cadillac steering wheel/ Door handles were shaved remote key fob door poppers. Has dual flame thrower exhaust that shoots wild flames, a custom hand made spider web tailgate with spider web rear body accents also hand made. Polished diamond plate in the bed, wheels metal flake painted to match paint. Gangster white wall bias ply tires. Headers, with dual exhaust, aluminum intake with 4bbl carb. Brake system redone, Custom whiteface gauges and dash. Gorgeous 1 off spider web seat upholstery and one off spider web headliner. Draws a huge crowd with lots of thumbs up going down the road. Custom candy paint with low rider paint patterns in metal flake. Maltese surfer cross rear view mirrors. Legendary Ron Hernandez hand pin striping inside and out truck.

Some vehicles seem like they have a bad aura. Not only can they be hiding a lot of complications that aren't readily apparent at point of purchase, but for some reason the entire build process seems like there's no light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes it's spending more way money t


han we anticipated, getting injured while working on it, or a combination of things that makes us wonder why we purchased said project in the first place. But in the end, we usually realize it was worth the effort.



Kevin Bleth didn't imagine 14 years would go by and that he'd break a toe on his cherry picker during the buildup when he first clapped eyes on this 1958 Chevrolet Apache. But hey, if you ask Kevin if it was worth it, he'd tell you the truck came out exactly the way he wanted. After being forced to leave behind a '46 F-1 when he moved to Washington, he started looking for a new project and found this one at a dealership in Lewiston, Idaho. Although the previous owner had riveted sheetmetal panels on to fix sections that were damaged, and the underlying body rot was substantial when he got into it, he never gave up on turning this thing around.


At first, the plan was a daily driver, but as the receipts kept adding up, he realized that spending this much money wasn't conducive to those initial intentions, so he decided to go with more of a show truck theme. For suspension underpinnings, Kevin's first thought was to do a flipped rear axle and monoleaf setup in front, but after going that route he realized the ride quality was far below par. He started over and used a TCI Mustang II unit in the front and switched to a Chevy 12-bolt with a TCI four-link in the rear. When it was all completed, Kevin was finally satisfied with the feel and performance.



Although the truck came with a 350/350 combo, Kevin ditched the engine for a '76 454 that he outfitted with a bigger Edelbrock Torker cam, Air Gap intake, and 750-cfm carb. A Pete Jackson gear drive, Moroso electric water pump, Accel ignition, Doug's headers, and Billet Specialties dress-up accessories round out the package. Kevin rebuilt the previous 350 trans and added a stall kit as well. A No Limit Engineering gas tank was also snapped up and put under the Brothers Trucks bed wood. Now there's no shortage of power to put to the pavement.



The body on this thing was pretty sad, so about the only things that could be saved were the cab, doors, and hood. Fiberglass front and rear fenders were added along with a Gaylord's tonneau cover, a custom Glory grille, Eckler's tailgate, and Lokar LED taillights. The cowl was smoothed, emblems and door handles were shaved, and one-piece side windows installed. The paint was a combo of PPG custom-mixed Ivory and White Crystal with Shimmering Shamrock for the scallops. Sitting on those shiny Wheel Vintiques smoothies makes for a nice early '60s custom look.

The interior was tricked out with Dakota Gauges and their remote entry kit along with Bear Claw latches on the doors, a '78 Camaro steering column, Billet Specialties wheel, and RetroSound stereo. A modified 2005 Buick LeSabre front seat was covered in white vinyl and looks right at home next to the B&M Pro Ratchet shifter and Watson's StreetWorks switches on the console. Kevin also adorned the cab with more scallops that he patterned out and it ends up getting lots of attention.


So after almost a decade and a half, and lots of money spent on trial and error (and a hospital bill), Kevin finally got the truck where he wanted it. Perseverance pays off, even when your new vehicle seems to throw every objection it can at the process along the way. Satisfaction is truly a priceless commodity.

Facts & Figures
1958 Chevy Apache
Kevin Bleth

Chassis
Frame: stock, modified
Rearend / Ratio: Chevy 12-bolt / 3.73:1
Rear suspension: TCI four-link
Rear brakes: 11-inch disc
Front suspension: TCI IFS
Front brakes: 11-inch disc
Wheels: Wheel Vintiques smoothies 17x8
Tires: Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500 245/45R17
Gas tank: 21-gallon No Limit Engineering

Drivetrain
Engine: 454
Heads: stock
Valve covers: Billet Specialties
Manifold / Induction: Edelbrock / Edelbrock 750
Exhaust / Mufflers: Doug's Headers / Cherry Bombs
Transmission: 350

Body
Style: stepside
Modifications: fiberglass fenders, Eckler's tailgate, smoothed cowl, shaved emblems and handles, Gaylords' tonneau cover
Bed: Brothers Trucks oak
Bodywork and paint by: Beau Grillo, Luke Thomas, Les Vale, owner
Paint type / Color: PPG / Ivory and White Crystal, Shimmering Shamrock
Headlights / Taillights: stock / Lokar LED
Rear bumper: stock
Grille: Glory Grills

Interior
Dashboard: Stock
Gauges: Dakota Digital
Stereo: RetroSound
Steering wheel: Billet Specialties Street Lite
Steering column: '78 Camaro
Shifter: B&M Pro Ratchet
Seats: 2005 Buick LeSabre and console
Upholstery by: Frank's Upholstery, Clarkston, WA
Material / Color: vinyl / white pearl
Carpet: gray

Custom 1959 Chevy truck.Chopped top,lowered, bucket seats,shaved door handles,french head lights, Continental kit, sun roof, power windows, 59 Cadillac tail lights, 350 engine.

1957 Chevy pickup full kustom
60's gm front clip with power disc brakes
350 engine & 700-r4 transmission
front&back airride setup
kustom fadeaway paint job with PPG & HOK products