My son, Sean, purchased the truck for $300 + $50 towing in 1999 from a friend of his uncle. Sean was 14 at the time and it was a reward for him becoming a Eagle Scout. He figured he could have a pretty cool set of wheels by the time he was 16 or 17. I was an old street rodder so I knew what we were getting into.

We spent the summer of 1999 stripping the truck to the frame. The original flathead (which turned freely, but hand not be run in about 10 years) and tranny were sold, as Sean had his heart set on a big block/4-speed.

After lots of measurements and research we decided on a late 60's GM Rear end (Chevelle/GTO) as it was the correct width and had the gearing capability we wanted. We looked at a narrowed Ford rear end, however the price to have it done was on the high side. We found a poor soul who was redoing a 69 El-Camino and had a rear-end done with 4:11 gears, blasted and painted. Unfortunately, it was out of a 69 "Judge" and the coil-over mounts we on the rear side and the Chevy mounts were on the front. Since we needed neither (we stuck with leafs), Sean ended up with a good deal on a completely rebuild rear-end. (Only a 10-bolt, but the webbing on the differential is thicker than most of the 12-bolts, I guess this was because the GTO "Judge" was built to allow racing models to be produced.)

The following spring we went to Carlilse so Sean (now 15) could see what was available and buy some parts. He had saved up about $1000 and I gave him another $250. He ended up with a set of "glass" running boards, door handles, lights and light parts, rear fender and other misc. small parts. (The day at Carlilse was almost not enough time for all they had.)