The original look of the truck
Some behind-the-scenes photos from the shoot before the truck left for her extreme makeover.
My husband Chris and his buddy James
Just a "Simple Shoot" they tell me
Aaron getting his steps in
James doin' his thing
I'll always know what year this was, the year of masks
Yep, it leaked as old trucks do I suppose
Family photo
Personal driver
Was sad to see this go because it's pretty cool
Off to Montana she goes
On her way to Butte, Montana
During the drive the wind ripped the visor right off!
Body Work and paint
Here we go!
Last looks before the restoration
Little airplane was pretty cool
One of the unique aspects of this truck
Coming apart
More work than expected.
No turning back now.
Prep work
Yikes!
It's amazing what can be done!
Getting there
Grinding away
Keeping track of parts
Love the fenders on this truck
Taking shape
Headed to the booth
Tailgate primed.
Booth
Headlights primed.
Booth
Doors and hood primed
Hood
New chrome on the original grill.
New color goes on!
First parts to get color.
Tailgate.
Truck bed in paint shop.
Truck bed in paint shop.
Winter in Montana
Rear fenders and truck bed.
Truck bed and rear fenders.
Detail of tailgate
Cab painted.
Looks funny with the old wheel color.
Reassembly
Reassembly
Reassembly underway.
Doors back on.
Running boards back on.
New chrome on the original bumpers.
Wheels painted and new white walls.
Big thanks to Steve at Mining City Auto Restoration, she looks great!
Finally free!!
Looks great next to another 1946 Chevy.
Can't believe this plate was available
Next up, some mechanical updates
Yikes!
Previous owner, "I labeled it, we're good"
New wiring underway
Transmission and Gear box hath arrived
Fuel tank fabricated and moved to the rear
Fuel tank fabricated and moved to the rear
Exhaust re-routed from the side to the back
Basic Blueprint Small Block V8 (350?)
New Fuel Door Location
Ready to come home
Packed up and ready to come home
She's home!
She's home!
She's home!
Now the flower box
A lot of measuring
Measuring
Hope we measured correctly
Quick Mockup
Mockup to get a real world feel for sizing
Internal Frame
Internal Frame
Time to hire people smarter than us
Process begins
Dry fit
Start cutting a zillion holes
A zillion holes
Coming together
That's a LOT of holes
Stain
Box assembled
Finishing the details
Now the platform
Really nice
Locks added
Rubber to hold buckets securely while driving
Testing the fit of the buckets
So cool
Hidden cradle for Sandwich Sign
Simple but effective
Happened to fit the space perfectly
Sandwich Sign
Sandwich Sign Holder
Box installed in truck
Even better than we ever imagined
Love it
Storage access
Extra detail
Custom Paper Cutter
Custom Paper Cutter
Custom Paper Cutter
Custom Paper Cutter
Custom Paper Cutter
Custom Paper Cutter
Custom Paper Cutter
Canopy Build Out
Next up...the Canopy
Taking Shape
Arch to allow water runoff
Coming along
Testing the "wings"
Looks like they work
Stain goes on
Attaching to the truck
It fits!
Box back in
Test Drive
Test Drive