With a repertoire of parts Johnny Cash himself might be tempted to sing about, this truck is a unique specimen built to draw the eye.
Running on the chassis and drive train of a 2006 GMC Yukon, this custom truck features the cab of a 1955 Chevrolet 1300, the hood of a similar vintage GMC, and a box that's had so many paint jobs the patina looks like a prairie view in the fall.
This custom creation is the brainchild of Jason Dowdeswell, a local farmer from around Pennant, who had spotted the cab in his father-in-law's field years ago and took the chance to resurrect it when the opportunity came.
Jason Dowdeswell, creator of this fiendishly cool Frankenstein truck."I just got it running and driving this spring," said Dowdeswell. "I had asked him if he was going to do anything with it and been staring at it for years."
Being that the cab comes from a grain truck, it's a fair bit larger than a normal truck cab. However, it had just enough room to cram in the 6.0 Litre Vortec Engine, and the other internal components from the donor Yukon.
The 6.0 Litre Vortec is interesting, in that it powered quite a few vehicles. The Yukon had it pump out 352 horsepower at 5400 RPM, more than enough to enjoy in both recreation and working settings.
Under the Hood is surprisingly cramped, yet clean, as Dowdeswell has crammed some modern power under the old iron lid. This setup has been done before, with there even being an aftermarket kit to hook the frame up to this kind of 1950s bodywork. Dowdeswell however, being a veteran mechanic with decades of experience, decided to save the $3,500 the kit would have cost and built all his own custom mounts.
The shell of the Yukon is hoisted away to make room for the aesthetically superior '55 cab and panels. "I just took the Yukon off and put [the 55 cab] on it," said Dowdeswell. "I built the brackets and everything to mount it on."
From there he began the process of transferring everything from the automatic headlights, windshield wipers, and even the traction control to the new build. While this truck may look like it rolled out of Grampas lineup, it has all the modern amenities that a new vehicle has. Daytime running lights, exit lighting, steering wheel controls, and even cruise control are all transferred over.
Patience, a firm grasp of the science behind electrical wiring, and more patience were key to this part of the project. "It's pretty comfortable," said Dowdeswell. "But it's shaped like a brick, so it's not very good on gas."
So the mileage isn't exactly stellar, and the wind noise inside is a little extreme. However, Dowdeswell is more than happy to live with those minor setbacks as he enjoys the most important part of the truck.
It's cool.
The tailgate is also a donor, and just so happens to match the GMC hood in brand, if not paint colour."I had one guy almost crash driving through an intersection, trying to give me a thumbs up," laughed Dowdeswell. "Had to make sure I got the thumbs up I guess."
The process of building this unit rekindled his love of working on automotive projects. Previously, he had worked in commercial mechanics for most of his career. After coming to hate the day-in and day-out minutia of the job, he quit to become a farmer.
Getting this truck up and running has brought back his creative interest in vehicles.
When asked why he stuck with the patina, Dowdeswell reminded that paint is expensive, and the truck is already beautiful."I just wanted to get back to doing some of this stuff," said Dowdeswell.
When you see him this summer, be that on the highway or at the upcoming 'Cruising the 32' car show, which he organizes himself, feel free to tip your hat and give him a big thumbs up. He invites anyone who wants to ask him questions about the building of the truck, how he designed certain parts, or just about what it's like, to go ahead and flag him down.
Fri, Jul 26, 7:00 PM
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