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May 1, 2003. I DROVE the 40 pickup to it's first PSRA club meeting! Drove there AND BACK without having to work on it. I hope this is a sign of good things to come. I drove there running solo but several of the fellows followed me back to Smithfield from Portsmouth... a distance of 45 miles or so round trip. Pretty good run for first time out of Smithfield. Old "Bullet" did good!
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Another view of Bullet at the club meeting. Just installed bed floor a day or two earlier, with help from my lovely wife...I think we were BOTH surprised. "Shadow" Weil came over earlier on 5/1 to help with last minute review and steps to make more roadworthy for trip to club meeting.
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July 26, 2003. Just got ALL the fenders and NEW tires on Bullet. Ready to run, now! The wheels, caps, and trim rings were originally put together by a long time friend, Jim Bell for his truck, "Short Top." Jim has moved on to the big garage in the sky but I'm pleased to report that I had a hand in getting the truck back into his daughter Nancy's hands where the truck still resides. I DROVE the 40 pickup to it's first breakfast with the "Builder's Breakfast Bunch" at The Twins restaurant in Smithfield this morning. Later I drove it to Suffolk for some pool supplies while out on a test drive with no problems. Old "Bullet" continues to do good!
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Another view of Bullet after breakfast. Just bought and installed the new tires at that great tire place owned by Larry Jones. GEX Automotive is the place to get great tire service and help in Hampton, VA. Tell them I sent ya...he only ADDS ten percent because you know ME!
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This is my dog, Kitty, looking out the trick rear window of Bullet. The idea to make the top of the rear window removable for MUCH better air flow came from fellow PSRA member, Tom Jones. The window is actually plexiglas and the top half has been shaved on the ends and top such that it can be removed fairly easily. It works GREAT in the heat of the summer! The little "Try Me" sign dares all to mess with Kitty and the Bullet!
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Spencer ("Junior") McCarty owns this FINE 41 ford pickup that has a beautiful later model flathead and Columbia rear end. Many THANKS to Junior and his wife Betty for letting me use his pickup as a reference when I was trying to figure out how to put my 40 pickup together. Ford people helping Ford people.
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November 17, 2003. Here is an update on Bullet showing the addition of the front bumper. GOT to protect that EXPENSIVE grille! HA! HA!
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Another view of Bullet after tailgate was added. Unfortunately, a water pump started leaking in late December. In Feb 2004, I got a new one installed and also a new wiper from Fricken. Took Bullet to first Builder's Breakfast Bunch this year on 3/6/04. Bad news is that I messed up the engine on 4/20/04. Good news is that I FINALLY got a later flathead from a 53 Ford pickup running correctly in July, 2004. FIRST trip out of the garage with the new engine was to the Builder's Breakfast Bunch on 8/7/04.
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This is the red 40 pkp I bought in June 2006. 327, 3 twos, turbo 350. I changed the rear suspension and rear end to a full Chassis Engineering setup with 89 Granada rear in November 2006. Had some initial problems with electric fuel pumps but seem to be working OK now... KNOCK on WOOD!! New wheels and caps will feature my trademark YELLOW color. Later sold it to a pal in TN.
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January 2007. JUST bought this chopped 35 Ford pkp project from Louisiana. MAN! That was a whilrlwind trip! 2,350 miles round trip and only gone from my house 57 hours! Hauling butt and waiting to get to LA to rent the trailer for one-way travel was the key. I owe a BIG "Thank You" to George Warren for going with me. We met some great folks down there. Later passed the body and related parts to Oppy Powell who built the little truck on a S10 chassis.
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This is the black 40 pkp I bought March 13, 2007. Walter Fain restored the truck in Stuart, VA. He didn't START the truck until AFTER he turned 80!! He did a pretty good job. It has a later cab (gas tank in cab) and a 59AB engine (46-48). A few initial "opportunities" but no major problems. This pic was taken as the sun was setting on our way home from Winston-Salem, NC. Big THANK YOU to Shadow Weil for going with me to get the truck. We were only gone from the house 13 hrs on the 530 mile trip.
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March 22, 2007. JUST got the new radials from GEX in Hampton, VA. Old truck continues to do well. Nice to have ROUND tires versus the old ones that had set so long they rode like blocks. Later had a FEW(?!?) issues with coils and condensers (and BRAKES!) but I'm still driving it every chance I get. The truck left in January 2009 to a new home in MS with a great local vetinarian
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My granddaughter, Savannah, came over to help with debugging the initial "opportunities." Bennie Howard also came over and hung in there with me until the old truck was running. Big THANK YOU to Bennie, too. This was in 2007.
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Look at the glint in Savannah's eyes. Caption for this picture might be, "How did you say that clutch thing worked again, Dandy?" She was already ready to go riding. She got her first ride home from school on 3/22/07 and she helped with the shifting.
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Jerry Kohler, in SC, started with this old Ford pickup and has worked diligently on it for some time in hopes of coming up with a good stablemate to his beautiful 40 Ford flathead coupe. Seems he found some gun shells in his pickup, too; so he nicknamed his pickup, "Bullet 2," in "honor" of my efforts with my 40 pickup.
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11/19/03. This is how Jerry Kohler's "Bullet" looks today. WOW!. He just got it on the road with a flathead he rebuilt. Congratulations to Jerry for seeing his project through though there were a few "trials & tribulations" to overcome. ATTABOY! I probably should coax Jerry up to VA... maybe MY "Bullet" would be prettier! BEST thing is we are BOTH DRIVING and ENJOYING our trucks!
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This 40 pickup belongs to Mel Naramore of East Peoria, IL. Mel is crazy about pickups and has been driving THIS truck DAILY for the last eleven years! Mel is quite proud to have resurrected a pickup that is truly local to the area and WAS, in fact, used at the old motorcycle track.
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Here's a picture of my pkp at a PSRA club meeting. The "late model" 1951 pkp belongs to fellow PSRA member, Bob Cullipher. Note the period perfect lettering of "Bobby Built" on the doors of his truck. Another cool flathead powered fun mobile! Not sure what the boys were up to but I'm sure there was plenty of bull!
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This 37 cabover also belongs to Mel Naramore of East Peoria, IL. Mel built this Coke special that has an LT1 engine with 4L60 trans and Mustang 2 frontend with a Camaro rearend. Picture is from Aug. 2007.
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This neat 40 pkp is owned and built by Rick La Komy in Livermore, CA. Over the 25 years he's had the truck, he did all the body mods including taking 3 inches out of the front of the hood and taking 2.5 inches out of the front wheel wells. The truck has a narrowed Datsun bed with the stock "Ford" welded in the tailgate. He also chopped the top 3.5 inches. The pickup still runs 6 volts and he was changing from a tired 36 LB engine to a rebuilt 37 engine when I got this picture in 2007. He did the flames and drives the pickup as often as possible.
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This fine 41 pickup street rod belongs to Dan Stallman in OH. Dan used a new chassis from TCI as the basis for his pickup. Through a lot of work and more than a few "opportunities," Dan has managed to get built one good looking pickup. Way to go, Dan!
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This fine custom Chevy is owned and built by Mike Wiley in Roanoke Rapids, NC. Mike also built the FAT RAT and gave me custody of the car in 1986. I'm still VERY grateful to Mike for selling me such a neat car. Pic is from May 2007.
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This is a mockup of a project I began in October 2008. The plan is to put 36 CAR front clip on a 40 pickup cab.
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Here it is on 11/02/08. The cab and fenders are mounted on the new Fatman chassis and the hood and cowl have been modified to mate up correctly. My Hobart MIG welder and my Miller plasma cutter are getting a real workout!
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I decided to add a 36 car dash (with a few modifications!) to my project. I also added a rare waterfall just to keep onlookers wondering! The plan to put a 36 CAR front clip on a 40 pickup cab seems to be working.
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Here is the modified cowl on 12/21/08. It is beginning to look more "factory," as planned. My body working and block sanding skills are getting a real test!
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3/7/2009 New ididit steering column with column drop is initially mocked up.
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3/9/09 Relocated motor mount on passenger is welded in. This sets the engine back 2.5 inches from original location by Fatman Fabrications when they built the chassis. David Morgan does a GREAT job of welding. MUCH prettier than I can do!
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11/28/2009 Here it is with paint! Did I tell you that my granddaughter's favorite color is PURPLE?!.
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1/3/10 It started on FIRST try on 12/23/09 and I DROVE it out of the garage on 12/31/09. This pic shows trk with newly reinstalled frontend. Still need some work to get the new Griffin radiator at the right height to work with the hood but I will get it. Big THANKS to Alan DiUmberto at GRIFFIN for getting the radiator to me so quickly. I ordered on Wed, he said would ship Fri. I got it Monday, Dec 21st, just in time for Christmas!
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1/15/2010 Here I am dialing in the radiator mounting height. It is looking pretty close to me.
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1/15/10 Here's another angle on dialing in the radiator mounting height. Still some tweaking needed but we're getting close. I ordered the front wheels today... 15X5 with 2.75 inch backspacing.
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May 2010 Here is the completed (?) 36 Fordy parked next to the chopped pkp.
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May 2010 Here's another pic of the truck just before we went to York. Note that I switched back to the original headlights to better carry out the 1936 Ford "Super Deluxe" pickup theme. I also added taillight stands from a 1936 Ford 3 window coupe to further confuse observers.
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June 2010 The 36 Fordy parked at the host hotel in York. We encountered a few "opportunities" on the way up... one being slicing a hole in my gas tank! No problem; we switched to an outboard motor tank and hose from Wal Mart.
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June 2010 Here's the 1936 Ford "Super Deluxe" pickup on the York fairgrounds. It gathered a fair amount of interest. More than one walked away scratching his head. If I was asked, I told them that it was a VERY rare option in 1936.
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3/21/2009 Bought new chopped 40 Ford pkp with 302 FORD engine and C4 trans. DROVE it home from Lewisburg, WV! Big THANKS to George Warren and Shadow Weil for their help in getting the truck home.
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3/21/09 Note the difference in the size of the rear window. Top appears to be chopped FOUR inches. We made out OK after we realized that the gas filler hose was CRIMPED and would NOT take much gas. We used a funnel to overcome that "opportunity." No taillights on way home other than a 1994 Suburban! DID have ONE working brake light.
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5/9/2009 Here's the recently "painted" (with purple primer!) chopped 40 Ford pkp with running boards back aboard.
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5/9/09 Hopefully, this shot highlights the results of my work for MOST of this week to rework ALL of the cab mounts in order to raise the back of the cab by about 5/8 of an inch and better align the overall lines of the truck.
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5/9/2009 Another angle. I should explain that I had the purple epoxy primer custom mixed in honor of my granddaughter Savannah Leigh, who loves purple! I stopped by her house on the way home from the paint shop and the color was a big hit with her. Ah, the motivations and rewards of playing with old cars and trucks!
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5/9/09 Note the rear window is presently removed to promote "flow through" air conditioning. It REALLY works to keep the pkp comfortable on warm days. It's worth millions on a HOT day!
PS It worked great on trip to York in June 2009.
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*10/14/10*
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This fine 41 pickup belongs to Larry Cossar in NH. The interior is white rolled and pleated and has an old restored Sun tach on the steering column. The bed has an oak floor with stainless strips.
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This is the engine of Larry's pickup. It has a 3/4 race 276 cubic inch 59AB engine with a Columbia rearend. Bet this baby cruises!
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