Inspired by the look of the ’34 Ford deck, Paul bent rectangular tubing into a frame, then took the fenders from the truck and sectioned them to create the rear quarters, creating the rest of the deck from 1/8-inch flat stock with 3/16-inch round stock for the lower radius. Swap meet hinges and latch finish the decklid. Old glass truck marker lights were frenched in as taillights. When the body was complete, Paul sprayed it with PPG low-gloss acrylic enamel.
The old cabover extends into the upper dash; and Paul filled the custom-built instrument panel with Stewart-Warner gauges, adding a Kenworth truck speedometer in the center and a Stewart-Warner tach atop the dash. The cabover’s steering column was modified to fit and topped with a swap meet wheel that might have once steered a Merc. Glenn Kramer of Glendale upholstered the custom bench seat in oxblood vinyl. Upholstery was originally planned for the door panels, but after seeing polished panels at a retro diner, Paul decided to replicate the look with some leftover aluminum panels from his teardrop trailer project.
This was by far the most fun project I have ever done, he told us. If something didn’t work, I just cut it out and tried again. Of course, it helps to have a shop full of metalworking machinery, like bead rollers, English wheels, and air-powered planishing hammersbut Paul doesn’t. I bent stuff around steel drums, sections of pipe, old wheels, even trees. I’ve got a good jigsaw and die grinders, a 3-foot brake, a small MIG welder, a torch set up, and lots of hand tools. I’d like to try some better pieces of equipment someday. For now, I’ll make do with what I have and love every minute of it.
Rotor covers for the front...
Rotor covers for the front GM discs were fabricated from some aluminum frying pans Paul picked up at the local Dollar Store. Rear brakes are Ford drums. The rolling stock consists of Wheel Vintiques 15-inch steelies with 5.60x15, 8.20x15 Firestone blackwall piecrusts.