The Grand National Roadster Show is held in January at Pomona, CA and for many folks, kicks off the car show season, especially with the awarding of the America's Most Beautiful Roadster (AMBR) award. But besides this coveted award, there are plenty of other trophies up for grabs. This 1956 Ford truck took two; winning in its class "Full Pickup" and the overall "Best Truck" award.
Then at the Goodguys’ Rod and Custom show in Del Mar, CA in April, 2014 the truck was named a finalist for "Late Model Truck of the Year." The winner will be announced in November at Goodguys’ last show of the season, the 17th Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, AZ.
How a 1956 Ford Truck, bought off of the Internet became an award winning truck may sound all too familiar to many classic car and truck owners.
Dave Jones of Paradise Valley, AZ found a 1956 Ford truck and knew it would need some work. He wanted it painted root beer brown to match a similar truck he had in his teenaged years. Originally he was just going to restore it to stock, but you can probably guess how that turned out! He first upgraded to a Roadster Shop chassis and then decided for a resto-mod look.
Eventually Charles Spencer, of Charly’s Garage in Mesa, AZ finished the project.
They added a Paxton supercharger to give some additional power to the Crate Ford engine. They also hand fabricated out of carbon fiber (hydro-dipped root beer brown) the engine covers and the brake calipers and rotors. The brakes can’t even be seen through the rims but that just shows you their attention to detail. And the root beer tint makes the pieces blend in with the balance of the painted truck parts.
Although they kept a Ford engine in the Ford, they did put 2012 Chevy Camaro seats in the cab. Spencer proudly noted that all eight members of his shop had a hand on this truck and all the work was done in house. It took about 18 months to complete with over 2,000 hours in the build to complete this award winning truck!