The Dirty Jewell

One of the things that my dad taught me was to always see potential in something. Well the day I trailered this weathered jewell home for my 12 year olds first vehicle, disappointment was an understatement. I explained that this was a solid truck to start with and that it would some day be an actual jewell. We started from scratch and basically took everything completely apart and built new from the ground up. Once it went in to paint we then started on the power plant. We took the old GM 350 crate motor that was in it and gave her some pep. We put a 383 rotating assembly in it and rebuilt fresh. Along with aluminum heads and top end kit we started the chain reaction of every other component. By the time the engine was built the truck was rolling out of paint. The day he saw it after paint you could tell that he was starting to come around. He was more and more engaged the further we got into the project and before you knew it, it started to look like a truck again. Lot of lessons and sweat and maybe even a busted knuckle or two later we were wrapping up. Once completed he looked at me and said “Dad this is fun” and that was when I knew he was hooked! Thanks to LMC for supplying several of the parts and thanks to my dad for teaching me how to appreciate something that I built and how to share that love and passion with my son.