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Installing hidden tailgate latches on a 1956 Chevrolet Stepside
Few things are less rudimentary on stepside trucks than a chain-link latch pin (hook) setup. Obtrusive, clunky, and the “best” way to scratch up a nice paintjob—yet they were the norm for GM stepsides...
View ArticleProfessor Hammer’s Metalworking Tips
Changing the headlights on a truck is a fairly easy task, and it can give your ride a completely new look. This month’s column discusses a couple of easy ways to make this modification. Q. I have a...
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1949 Chevrolet 3100 – A Firewall-Mount Booster Option for 1947-1953 Chevy...
The days of transplanting huge old Camaro boosters onto a ’40s/’50s truck firewall are—for the most part—far behind us. Typically, behind that massive air canister is the same donor car’s pedal...
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How to Swap a 1962 Ford F-100 Straight Axle to IFS
There are two good reasons to customize a classic truck with lowering. The first reason, a classic truck isn’t a true custom until its stance has been dropped substantially to give it a cooler look;...
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1941 Chevrolet Pickup – Mobile Media Blasting Saves Money, Time, and Ensures...
Stripping a truck’s body down to the bare steel might sound like it’s a sexy process, but there’s more to it than meets the naked eye. Our slammed F-1 Ford driving friend Brian Shaw called and said...
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A Bedtime Story—Cutting a Longbed Chevrolet C10 Down to Size
Chris Alston first made a name for himself in the ’70s with his door-slammer chassis kits. While they were a big hit, Alston isn’t one to rest on his laurels—today Chris Alston’s Chassisworks offers...
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Building and testing a 427ci Big-Block
By virtue of some of the famed powerplants of the past, classic Chevrolets have maintained a mystique that has grown legendary. Looking back, perhaps no engine combination was more responsible for the...
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How to Affix a Forward-tilt Hood onto a 1967-1972 Ford F-100
One of the basic rules to customizing a classic truck is a modification doesn’t have to benefit the truck’s practical use if the modification will make the truck look cooler. And in some instances,...
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Make 1948-1952 Ford F-1 windshield wipers two-speed 12 V
In terms of what appeals to a Ford F-series owner who’s into customizing and how clean they want the firewall on their truck to appear, the 1948-1952 F-1 and 1953-1955 F-100 firewall has the 1956 Ford...
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Bed Time – A New Fleetside Box For a 1964 Chevrolet C10
In last month’s issue of CLASSIC TRUCKS we began the process of transforming Rudy Serna’s longbed 1964 Chevy pickup into a more svelte shortbed version. We began by documenting Chris Alston’s...
View ArticleProfessor Hammer’s Metalworking Tips
Removing the lettering from a tailgate can really clean up the look of a classic truck! Q. I’m doing a lot of custom modifications to my 1960 Chevrolet pickup truck, and I’m doing all I can to “smooth”...
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McPeak Painting & Pinstriping – Hand Painting Shop Logos on a Truck
Admittedly, yours truly is a sentimental sucker for family nostalgia, and well, I’m pretty much its preserver. As a lucky kid growing up in and around the auto dismantling business, acres of old cars...
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Testing 4-2-8…How Much Horsepower Does the Ford 428 Cobra Jet Really Make?
Ford really got it right with the 1968 428 Cobra Jet (CJ). Technically a midyear offering, the 1968 1/2 CJ combined 427 Low Riser heads, a cast iron copy of the aluminum 390 Police Interceptor intake...
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JBC 1947-53 Chevy Adjustable Transmission Crossmember
Say what you will about the old Stovebolts and straight axles, some Advance Design pickups simply weren’t destined for small-blocks and Mustang IIs. It’s really kind of refreshing to see a nicely done,...
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Updating a 1969 Ford F-100 Electrical System
Of all the tasks necessary to breathe new life into an old truck the one that many builders dread is wiring. Running all the conductors it takes to power up the assortment electron-gobbling devices...
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