1957 Powell Restoration project

Have you ever heard of a Powell pick up truck? Have you ever seen a Powell pick up truck? My guess is probably no. Not many people have seen them because they are exceedingly rare. Of the roughly 1200 of them made in the 1950's there are only about 120 of them left in existence and the vast majority of them are non running, rusting into the dirt, and not really worth a second glance.

Well, we had a man come to a yard sale we had a few months back and he mentioned that he had one of these trucks- a 1957 (of which only 4 remain) that he wanted to have restored. He has since purchased 2 more Powell Trucks (both 1956) for parts and dropped one off in our yard yesterday. They are quite the historic time piece and a sight to see! If you'd like to see some pictures of some restored or even unrestored, please visit Powell Truck Registry for some great information and pictures.

The Powell family were visionaries and some of the features they put in their trucks were truly inspired. For example, on some of the trucks, on the rear fender there was a cap that would pull out and attached to the cap was a long tube that was intended to be used for storing fishing poles! What a great idea!

Here's the 1956 currently in our yard and it still has the fishing pole holder! 

This one's for parts so there won't be much left of her when we're done but her parts will be used for a good purpose- to breathe life back into a 1957 that will be beautiful when we're done.

Feel free to come by and see this piece of American history in person!

Dodge 440 video

Here's a video of the Dodge 440 we've been working on and sharing pictures of. She roars like a beastie!

2000 Dodge Dakota- Update

Well folks, here she is with all 550 HP 440 glory. She runs and sounds amazing! Very beefy, throaty, sounds like she'll set the road on fire! Finishing up the wiring and clutch then we'll take her for a drive. This project has been a long time in the making but definitely worth it! Her owner's face lit up like a Christmas tree when we fired her for the first time last weekend. It was awesome!

85 Chevy short bed 4x4 project

We're working on a beautiful 1985 Chevrolet short bed that was brought to us being 2 wheel drive and the owner wants it 4 wheel drive so we purchased a donor vehicle and stripped it to the frame, cleaned and painted the frame and are now in the process of putting her truck on the new frame. It's been a fun project with the wife and kids helping with the cleaning and such- a real family effort.

Here's the truck when it first came to us- 2 wheel drive.

Here's the donor truck...what's left of it after my kids went after it with tools!

Donor truck frame.

Donor truck frame after much wire brushing and a coat of primer.

Donor truck frame after 4 coats of gloss black paint.

Engine compartment of project truck before we tore into her.

                                     

Front end off and getting ready to pull engine and transmission.

Cab off old frame, getting ready for undercoating.

shooting the underside of the cab with rubberized undercoating to protect it from rust and damage.

Engine compartment before clean up

                                      

Engine compartment after clean up.

Truck bed on it's new frame!!

                                               

Brand spanking new Toyo M/T's on freshly powder coated Rally Rims!

Putting cab and bed back together on new 4x4 frame!

Looking pretty sweet!

Freshening up the engine.

Shiny new parts!

                                      

Getting ready to put engine and trans back in!

Home sweet home :)

We're working on the wiring now and will soon have the front of the truck put back on. I'll update pictures as I take them.