Peter Verboom Jr. has owned the truck you see here for more than 25 years, yet that's less then half the life of this Chevy 3100 pickup that came from the factory back in 1955. We ran into Peter on a recent trip to the Oceano Dunes in California and knew we had to snap some images and bring you the story about this cool rig. That is....once we chased him down while he was roosting sand from all four corners of this fine vintage Chevy. Peter bought this truck well over two decades ago and after seeing some desert race trucks, he knew he wanted to build one. He liked the uncommon idea of building what you might consider an "antique" truck. His friends thought he was just a little crazy building a '55, but Peter persisted with his plan and it's produced quite a head turner. The truck has seen a lot of use over the years as it was built to be run in the dirt. Peter originally built the truck in the '80s and the suspension consisted of Auto Fab-designed leaf springs damped with four Rancho shocks at each wheel. The truck saw plenty of trips prerunning races with friends, chasing in races, and just playing in the sand dunes in Glamis. However, the truck required a lot of maintenance to withstand the duty it was seeing. In 1997, Peter dropped the truck off with Chris Robinson, trophy truck builder and owner of CST Performance Suspension for a total rebuild and upgrade to more easily handle the rigors of off-road use, though it's always been kept street legal as well. Then in 2009, it was again refreshed to the condition you see on these pages, and now it moves faster and flies more than ever! Walk up to this truck and you quickly realize this is no 30-footer paint job. Once the rear fenders were reworked to make them 5 inches wider and 4.5 inches shorter at Vintage Hotrod, Hector Rimerez from Chico, California, laid on a silky smooth coating of '55 Ocean Green color followed by generous clear coat. Traction has been modernized with the use of 285/70R17 BFG Mud Terrains slipped onto 17x9 Robbie Gordon beadlock wheels.Walk up to this truck and you quickly realize this is no 30-footer paint job. Once the rea You won't find open door cores here stuffed with spare bottles of oil and rags. The interior is fully finished, complete with full painted door jambs, black floor carpeting, and cloth door panels. The doors all fit true and close smoothly.You won't find open door cores here stuffed with spare bottles of oil and rags. The interi Mastercraft high-back suspension seats replace whatever old bench surely came in this truck. Crow five-point harnesses are fabricated into the interior cage and keep driver and passenger well planted when putting this truck through some good dirt antics. Between the seats sits an Art Carr gate shifter allowing Peter to quickly put the auto tranny right in the gear he wants to stay in the powerband or drop into cruising mode.Mastercraft high-back suspension seats replace whatever old bench surely came in this truc The steel dash was stripped down and sprayed with the same factory green color that envelopes the rest of the body. The stock speedometer cluster is still in place and Peter has buried the aged needle past the 100 mph mark on a number of occasions. An Auto Meter Phantom series tach sits above the dash and a modern version Chevy steering wheel sits atop a tilt column taken from a '66 Caprice. A Kenwood race radio helps stay in touch with racers or race team when out prerunning or chasing.The steel dash was stripped down and sprayed with the same factory green color that envelo Power from the Mogi-built TH400 auto transmission with 3,000 rpm stall converter is split to the axles using a stout NP205 transfer case. To the left you can see the Saginaw power steering box that is mounted to the driver side frame rail up under the cab. Lee Power Steering built the reverse geared box that is fed by a Howe pump. The steering column shaft is routed to a D&M steering quickener mounted in about the stock location for a steering box. From there, the quickener output goes backward to this steering box. Then, from here the pitman arm moves a relay rod running to the front axle fore and aft.Power from the Mogi-built TH400 auto transmission with 3,000 rpm stall converter is split Many times when you look at the roof interior on one of these old trucks you find just bare steel. This truck has a completely upholstered interior and the details show on the interior 'cage and headliner as well.Many times when you look at the roof interior on one of these old trucks you find just bar Not easily visible in this high-fendered body is a 506 Chevy Rat Stroker motor assembled by Pro Machine in Chico, CA. We're not sure on the motor output numbers, but trust us when we say this thing scoots. You can also glimpse the cage bracing for the front coilovers and the reservoir cans mounted on the crossover brace. Engine cooling chores are done using a Rod's aluminum radiator. All the body work on this truck shows great attention to detail, even in little seen areas such as under the hood.Not easily visible in this high-fendered body is a 506 Chevy Rat Stroker motor assembled b Peek below the front prerunner bumper and you'll see the built and trussed Dana 60. Dynatrac axle shafts and Dedenbear knuckles beef up the stock assembly. Inside, 4.10 gears spin on a Power-Lok that's been loosened up a bit so the truck turns easier at high speeds.Peek below the front prerunner bumper and you'll see the built and trussed Dana 60. Dynatr A lower wishbone link setup positions the front axle and controls its movement with the help of vintage Kuster 3 x 16-inch coilovers. King nitrogen bump cans help slow and cease the final four inches of up-travel and a Speedway sway bar keeps front lean minimized.A lower wishbone link setup positions the front axle and controls its movement with the he 1 | 2 | » | View Full Article By Jay Kopycinski Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
