1955 Chevrolet Pickup Truck

Shane McHenry and his brother Stuart from Lexington, Texas, had initial thoughts of transforming it into a rat rod. After spending six weeks just on the frame and suspension, they decided if they were going to put that much time and effort into a project, it was going to be a serious, custom showstopper. These people own and operate McHenry Custom Auto Body in Blue, Texas.
After removing the fenders, hood, grille, etc, it was then sent out and sandblasted, uncovering fresh steel. The framerails were then boxed using 1/4-inch thick steel plate. The rear section of the framerails were stepped nine inches, allowing increased negative travel of the four-linked rear suspension when the Ride Tech bellows were purged. The American Racing Torque Thrust II wheels and BFGoodrich 295/45R15 chubby tires tuck up inside the rear fenders every time the 'bags are delfated. The entire frame and suspension components were painted Valspar MW5501 two-stage '08 Corvette copper. A TCI Mustang II front clip with two-inch drop spindles and GM disc brakes were grafted onto the framerails just in front of the firewall. A pair of polished aluminum American Torque Thrust II 15x7-inch wheels were consumed in BFGoodrich 195/45R15 rubber and provide the front directional contact patch. Deflating the front Ride Tech pneumatic suspension allows the front bumper to kiss the asphalt.
Under the hood, a '99 Chevy 5.7L Vortec V-8 with frame-matching '08 Valpsar Corvette copper-painted block and highlighted aluminum finned valve covers and air cleaner shines brightly.
The 350 automatic transmission was polished, then a 1500-rpm True Blue torque converter and B&M shift kit were installed. A graceful swan neck Lokar 32-inch shifter was capped with a flaming dice knob that allows for smooth gear shifting selection. The guys at Austin Drive Train cut, polished, and balanced an aluminum driveshaft linking the trans to the narrowed '03 Chevy S-10 rearend that was stuffed with 3.55 gears.
The trim molding and emblems were removed and the bumper carriage bolts were shaved and smoothed. A pair of flush teardrop taillights were scribed into the rear fenders. A flat, flush-mounted tailgate was installed above the smoothed rear roll pan. To complete that smooth shaven look, Shane filled the bed's stake pockets. The oak bed floor was given a multicolored metal flake treatment before coats of clear were applied, enhancing its sparkle. A 13-gallon Mooneyes spun aluminum fuel tank that was up in the rafters at the shop was mounted in the bed. The rear framerails were stepped underneath the sheetmetal speed bump between the tubbed inner fenders. The entire truck was then given four coats of two-stage House of Kolor Gold Nugget Kandy. The gold basecoat was then buried in numerous coats of clear, then cut, buffed, and polished to a glistening gold nugget shine.
The factory interior dash climate controls were removed, shaved, and smoothed. A Southern Air A/C system and control panel was installed to dial in and maintain a comfortable cab temperature during those sizzling hot Texas summer days. The team at J & H Auto Trim in Austin, covered the Glide split-bench seat, armrest, and door panel inserts with soft beige leather. A layer of Dynamat was sandwiched between the floorboard and plush pile brown carpet creating a heat and sound barrier. The truck's original steering wheel was restored and given a very cool, old skool, two-tone, paint scheme. The original interior door and window crank handles were refurbished and reused. Extracted out from the floorboard is a LoKar whoa-and-go pedal assembly.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• 1955
• chevrolet
• pickup
• custom
• truck

[JunkyardJunkeez]

whoa! in our hillbilly dreams!

[knifipu]

@JunkyardJunkeez Agree, this truck.... just dream!

[MrEmohdee]

that kolor is sooo rich

[ClassicRecollections]

Nice truck!

[rwp16db]

wow really nice, doing a 59 myself has the twin headlights on each side, other than the very similar body style. really like the air bag suspension, we also went with a Mustang II front end but and a Votrec V8, but we mated it to a ford 9in rear. hope mine catches as much attention as yours does when i'm finished.

[hilltop530]

I had a 55 small back window myself. Regret selling it every single day.

[motocross19916]

anyone elses jaw dropped the whole video?

[scumpule]

wow..just a awesome eyecatcher...great work!!! Kind regards from germany

[LegitPlease]

Torque thrusts? ruined

[57chevy350]

Wow cool truck dude love it hope mine tunes out as good !!!!