almostfouryears
spentlookingfora
pairofrearwings
mentionedearlier,thechassiswasstarted
againfromscratch,andabeautifulpiece
offormandfunctionfabricationitnowis.
“He’sabloodysmartarse,butwe
don’ttellhimthat,”saysLukeofGary’s
impressiveskills,“especiallyconsidering
he’sachippybytrade.Andalthoughhe
sayshedoesn’tlikedoingbodywork,
Ithinkhecouldturnhishandtojust
aboutanything.”
Nuthin’fancy
Theethosallalongwastobuildanice
drivingtruck,sotherearenorosejoints
orfancyracecarparts–well,thereis
one,butwe’llcometothatinamoment.
Inshort,it’stheoriginalPlymouth
rails,boxedandfittedwithtubular
crossmembersandaproploop,nowwith
FatmanFabricationIFS,QA1shocks,rack
andpinionsteeringand11-inchvented
discsupfront.
AsecondhandnarrowedFord9-inch
backaxlewasnarrowedfurtherstillby
Garyandsuspendedbya4-link,diagonal
tracklocatorandProtechcoilovershocks.
Rearbrakesaredrums,wheelbaseisstock.
Mostofthepartsusedinthebuild
cameviathelateSteveLangandthe
onlymechanicalpartsofthetruckLuke
originallyboughtthatremainarethe 350
ChevyengineandTH 350 auto’gearbox.
Theywerebothfreshenedupbyfriend
andwellknowndragracer,Andy‘Fredthe
guru’Hone.Fredalsocamethroughwith
theanti-rollbarfromGrahamEllis’Pro
ModSuperbird,whichwasre-purposedby
Garyforthetruck.Suffolkbound
“Whodoyoufindtodothebody
onsomethinglikethis?”askedLuke
rhetoricallyinthecourseofour
conversation.Theanswercameinawell-
timed’phonecalltoGaryfromFrank
Carroll.Itwentsomethingalongthelines
ofTimHammondhasanopeningfora
smalljooobifyouknowofanything...“We
wereuppptherethenextday,”remembers
Luke.“Ididn’tknowTimatallbefore
this,buuutIdonowandhe’sjustsuchan
honest,lovelybloke.Andsoquickaswell.°Liketherestofthebodyywork,,theddaasshhhhaass
bbufffferswouldnotice bbeeeennkkeeppttllaarrggeellyyssttoocckk,anddonllythhereal
thegaugeholeshavebeenslightlyreducedtofitt
Woodwardseriesgauges,whichincorporate heNewVintage
TimHamm allthenecessarywarninglights,too.
ondmadetheadditionalswitchpanelthatsitsben
eath.Seatwasinthetruckwhenitcameoverand,
thankstosomecleverre-paddingworkbyChris
ViningatCustomCoachTrimmingandnewmounts
byGary,Lukesitsattheperfectheightandsays
it’sverycomfortable.Therearealsotwouseful
storagepanelsbehindit.Alltrim,includingthe
headlining,isinAutoluxtanleather.