1934 Ford Pickup - Teamwork

Spending untold hours every week working on customer vehicles in a hot rod and restoration shop doesn't leave one a lot of time or energy to tackle personal projects-there are just not enough hours in a day. But like the rest of us, the guys at Vintage Specialties over in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, figured they'd think of a way to get the job done if they really wanted a hot rod of their own-and they did so, with spectacular results, we might add.

Brothers Joe and Will Matthews (employees at Vintage) thought of the idea of doing a hot rod shop truck while at the '05 Fall Carlisle swap meet. Shortly after their decision, and as they wandered the meet, the pair spied the perfect subject just waiting for them in Barry Lobeck's space-a solid '34 Ford pickup. The project began after getting the OK from their parents, owners of Vintage Specialties. After starting the truck, another brother, Jamie, jumped on the bandwagon and got involved as well. Soon, Ed Gonder, Roy Snyder, and Curt Plant joined in on the project too, figuring pooling the group's free time and talents would be a perfect solution.

The truck has a one-off hand-fabricated frame, pinched and stretched by Will, and outfitted with a solid axle, hairpin radius rods, and a 9-inch Ford rear with 3:50 locker. Will fabricated shock mounts and headlight stands for Model A headlights with concealed wires. The cab was channeled 4 inches with hand-fabricated floors. It was also stretched 1 inch to flush-fit doors, and the doorjamb area was also reworked. It sports '40 Ford passenger car door latches with lowered '32 door handles. The roof was chopped 2 inches in front and 1 3/4 inches in the rear. The cowl was filled to make room for the underdash brake unit, which was modified. The guys then took a '38 Ford dash and cut it down to fit the truck, and used a modified Lokar shifter to work the Olds Jetaway transmission.

Joe fabbed all the rust-repair panels and the bed floor; the original bedsides were shortened 9 inches and fender lips were moved back. The aluminum gas tank and stainless battery box, fabricated by Will, are located in the bed. John Sterner at Statler's Upholstery in Gettysburg did the bed tarp and all upholstery. They chopped a '32 grille shell and used a chopped '32 grille insert, and Will reworked an original radiator cap as a pressure cap. The turn signals were installed in the headlights while Jamie performed the bodywork and paint-PPG Vivid Black basecoat/clearcoat. In the meantime, Will did the custom wiring harness with cloth-covered engine harness and Roy Snyder fabricated the brake and fuel lines. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based Feasers did the machine work on the J2 engine, and Ed Gonder assembled the Olds engine. Speaking of the Olds engine, the boys said it took their dad, John Matthews, and coworker Ed Gonder some heavy-duty persuasion to get 'em to put that J2 in the truck. The boys are strictly Ford fans, and putting that Olds engine in was against their better judgment.

The Olds J2 engine is equipped with an original Iskenderian solid lifter cam and chrome valve covers with extra rocker clearance for adjustable rocker arms, and is finished in the original paint and decals. Will also fabbed the custom headers with baffles, while a Flaming River roadster column was shortened and works a Vega steering box and custom steering rod to fit the pinched frame.

Believe it or not, this beautiful pickup came together in four months of nights and weekends-proving the gang's idea of pooling their time, talent, and effort was a good one. And now that it's complete and the guys are enjoying the fruits of those efforts, they're back to the task of building some equally cool hot rods and restos for their customers.