Trucks

Would you advise me on the color paint I need? I think it’s the export blue.

This is my 1938 Chevy Truck. Always gets lots of attention when I take it out. When Christmas rolls around,, it turns into a life-size Little Red Truck.

1945 GMC Rat rod tri5 rear differential with 355 gear ratio 295 straight with dual Weber carbs 6 five speed standard custom frame drop straight axle

My dad bought this truck new. We restored it in 2014

The revival of a 1934 Chevrolet truck and how area businessmen contributed. The story begins in the late 1990’s with a neighbor asking if he could store an old truck in my shop that was in the process of being restored and for doing this I would receive half ownership. The chain of events that followed is how the restoration was completed. In the years that followed the neighbor passed away and I was left with a truck that was in very poor shape, to say it was in the process of restoration would be a stretch. Basically very little restoration had been completed. I made the decision to begin the process of restoring and rebuilding the truck from the ground up. The first item on the list was to rebuild the engine. After several attempts by a series of backyard mechanics, who were quite frankly were over their heads, I managed to find an engine rebuilder via a recommendation and that person was Clyde Wilson at Auto Value in Brainerd. In talking to Clyde I found that his specialty was rebuilding all types of high performance, vintage, and industrial engines. He agreed to rebuild the engine, and began the process. Of course locating parts was a challenge and between the two of us we accomplished the task at hand. I located a new cylinder head and assorted parts from Bob Marx Parts in eastern Wisconsin. Clyde also located a used engine which we purchased for a number of parts needed for the rebuild. Other parts needed were supplied by Auto Value in Brainerd, and Jim Carter Chevrolet, in Independence Missouri. I also purchased some parts from salvage yards. Once the engine was rebuilt, including a cylinder rebore, new pistons, new rings, new head including values, springs, etc., main bearings, and other parts, the next item was to locate a body shop to rebuild and paint the truck. I decided to go with Larry Karpen and his team at Hickory Lake Auto south of Aitkin. They took the truck completely apart and off the frame and began the rebuilding process from there. My wife picked out the colors for the truck and Larry found the Chevrolet specification paint colors for that year's vehicle. The project took Larry’s team over a year to complete. His team also did a complete rewire of the truck’s electric system. The next process was to build a box of some type. In doing my home work along with a close friend Dick Nubson, we managed to find a sales brochure and some specifications of a truck and stake box in the General Motors Heritage center web site. Dick then designed and blue printed the box and I set out to determine the lumber needs to complete the task. Once I had written the specifications for the lumber needs, the next project was to secure the lumber and someone to cut and mill the wood. I went to John Benson, a local logger and he sold me a number of white oak logs, size and length determined by Jeff Avelsgard, who then cut and milled the logs to the right size. Once the logs were cut, the lumber had to dry; this process took over a year.