The fun behind restoring an iconic piece of American engineering is hard to explain to someone who has never taken on the task. Yes, it’s a lot of work. Yes, you will probably spill some blood and sling some curse words now and again. But when it’s all said and done and you find yourself cruising down the interstate in a one-of-a-kind roller that everyone looks and points at, the addiction sets in and there is no escaping. 

The final product is obviously the ultimate goal, and the feeling of accomplishment is something that can’t be replicated—but a lot can be said about the process before the prize, and this particular project offered up some interesting opportunities all along the way.

First and foremost, the state you find your fix-up is almost as interesting as the project itself. Is it a ride that the original owner still enjoys? Did you find it in a field amongst other forgotten friends, or did you have an experience like us and simply drag your truck out of the backyard of some guy that just gave up on it?

The story behind the sheet metal is almost always an interesting one, and digging through the interior can often shed some light on its last days in service. In our case, a deep dive under the dash revealed quite a few interesting items including some classic Playboy magazines full of females that were covered in more dust than denim.

After a quick flip to the rags for “research”, we set them aside and focused on getting this fixer-upper fired up. Lucky for you we created videos of our entire experience so be sure to scan the QR code with your cell phone camera to watch what actually went down during this truck turnaround.