Projects Anyone know who this belongs to?

Notice nobody is parked within 20 feet of it, or were they and photo shopped out! Fitment & paint doesn't get much better than that..........................................

 

Chaos choo choo it is then.

It wouldn't be the truck it is today and neither would it be the cover truck it was back then. So it's not that as a fault finder you have achieved perfection or at minimimum a better example of a custom treatment and making an attempt to pull others up to that level- it's that you'd rather see it cloned into an original example. That action would obliterate the historical essence of which the Hamb is dedicated.

I get it, I like dogs and I like cats, but I wouldn't try to stand up for the attributes of a cat at a dog show. Nor would I protest for equal rights for dogs and demand entry at the cat show. Such actions is just an attempt to stir chaos, So let's not forget where we are, the Hamb and what it's supposed to be.

 

forgot some fkn skulls

 

Pat Ganahl wrote about it in his book Lost Hot Rods II.

 

Oh, OK. I'm not familer with the truck, can't see those things in the op's pic. As well done as the truck appears I think if I was doing it and wanted to keep the historic value I'd done it all the way it was. Looks like all they really kept was the headlights, why did they do that only? Why not keep the Plymouth bumpers? The scallops. the exhaust pipes?
I will admit the new version looks better IMHO.

 

That's wierd, my response to Hnstray's post got stuck in his quote.

 

Not that it matters one way or another, but on first glance at that truck, 'street rod' really never even crossed my mind. Tastefully, re-done 'custom rod' maybe...damn I love that paint.
OTOH, I can (kinda) see Ray's point. There is a certain 'perfect-ness' to it that raises a brow. It is what it is, as they say. (& damn I love that paint!)

 

The original builder Nick Lepesh made a changes to the truck after it appeared in Hot Rod, like the nerfs, taillights and so on. Some of those changes are reflected in the "resto", some aren't.

 

I still like it. I may even steal some ideas (roll pan) for the 36 Build. If the present owner isn't a traditonal guy, he may have not known the historical significance. Looks like he made a few concessions to make it, what some would say "more driveable."

 

Reminds me of Pete Paulsen's 1940 Ford Truck.


Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

For those that didn't catch the link.

If you know much, if anything, about the Nicholas Lepesh 41 Ford pickup, you may know its one constant the fact that there was no constant when it came to the trucks signature exterior look. With that said, what many people recall the truck looking like is completely different than what others may remember. From its initial conception under Nicks tutelage til the day it was relinquished post-mortem to current caretaker Dave Pozzi, the 41 has gone through many a cosmetic makeover, each as notable as the next. Thus, when the time came to give what Car Craft dubbed Honey Of A Half-Ton back in 1964 yet another redo in 2010, the decisions on exactly which version should be used as the basis for restoration were not the easiest for the owner and its builder, Bill Ganahl, at South City Rod & Custom, to agree upon.

When Dave received the Ford back in 1983, its exterior guise was in stark contrast to all of its previous ones: faded metalflake gold complemented by magnesium five-spokes shod in bias blackwalls. Leading up to that version the truck was best known for its candy maroonish hues and chrome reverses, wrapped in either wide or narrow whitewalls. Even so, Daves first instincts were to have it redone in black, right down to the interior. Ganahl stepped in and made his feelings known: Dave originally envisioned a black-on-black with American five-spokes, but I strongly encouraged an exact restoration to the original version; compromise was somewhere between! Though I suggested going with an original-type maroon [original to Nicks], he picked candy red. His wife, Camille, convinced a very skeptical Dave to go with a white interior; I insisted on original chrome reverse wheels with painted centers and bias-ply whitewalls be retained. Finally, Dave wanted to keep the roll pan with Impala taillights in tribute to the trucks second version, Ganahl recalls.

While Dave was having the body and accompanying sheetmetal blasted, a custom tube chassis (to replace the rusted and fatigued original one) was being built at Roy Brizio Street Rods in South San Francisco. Once complete and in the hands of Ganahl et al at South City, it was outfitted with a Heidts IFS, which had its control arms narrowed in anticipation of the forthcoming reversed-center wheels, and a Chassis Engineering parallel leaf rear with a Currie 9-inch. Disc brakes, power rack-and-pinion, and so on, all followed suit. In place of the once predominant dual-quad-fed Olds mill, Dave instead chose to go with a small-block Chevy 350 donated for the cause by his brother-in-law, which South Citys Joe Compani assembled. Behind that now lies a 700-R4 automatic in lieu of the old Ford three-speed manual.

When it came time to finally enact the decisions made regarding body mods and whatnot, both unanimously agreed upon keeping the dual-quad headlights intactfor if nothing more than the simple fact they were still there and looked mighty good at that. And as mentioned, so too were the latter version taillights (63 Impala) retained in their roll pan environment. Further, as some of you may recall from issues past, Ganahl painstakingly re-made the unique dogbone-shaped running boards, not to mention fabbed up a set of stylish front nerf bars. Bodywork and paint ensued (by Joe Compani), chrome accents fresh from the vats of Sherms Custom Plating attached, and those mandatory OG chrome reverse wheels fitted with US Royal wide whites were finally mounted, all resulting in the modern-day external version of the Lepesh 41. But the redo wasnt over quite yet.

Last stop on the restoration train brought the pickup to Chris Plante (Plante Interiors) in nearby Santa Rosa. As Ganahl reflects, The existing white and gold upholstery was so ugly I couldnt recommend it. I had the idea of doing all 1-inch pleats and showed Dave pictures of examples from the early 60s. He finally agreed, and Plante implemented the ideas perfectly into the actual design. That design, as you can see from the images here, resulted in the utmost period- and vehicle-correct white tuck n roll with black piping/loop carpet and custom headliner fashioned with vertical insert, paying homage to the original, according to Ganahl. Finishing touches to the retained 40 DeLuxe dash include an ididit column (mounting the trucks notable 58 Impala wheel) and plenty of chrome accents.

Before we wrap up, lets revisit the pickups particular means of motivationor more to the point, why it was chosen. Well, Daves always intended on putting serious miles on the 41, something he simply couldnt do during the first 25-plus years he owned it. The trio of the early Olds V-8, antiquated Top Loader, and closed-drive banjo rearend may appeal to some, but for Dave, it only dictated shorter trips that he truly desired taking behind the wheel. So, on top of the fact the SBC was a gift, in combination with the overdrive trans and modern 9-inch rear, that gift really spelled out reliability aka, endless time in the driver seat, at least in Daves mind, and thats all that matters to us. Besides, wed have done exactly the same!

Dave Pozzi
South San Francisco, California
1941 Ford Pickup

 

welcome to the new improved cat show... Viva la conformity...

 

The street rod coup d'etat is so total on here now, its to the point where personally, I would rather people didn't even post period photos or talk about period hot rods on the open forum anymore, then at least, it doesn't give THEM the platform for this kind of crap.
Lately, EVERY SINGLE TIME someone posts a thread on here about how things were done, or posts a photo of a old hot rod, someone launches an attack like this.

 

I got no dog in this cat fight, carry on.

 

No to hijack the thread, but what do you suppose this tag surround started out it's life as? Is it the old Chevy surround?

 

I love the trucks current look! I too like the era when hot rods had custom styling incorporated, but Ive always thought there was something a little off about canted quads. Seeing this trucks recent redo and the pictures of it in its original Hot Rod incarnation made me realize I dont like the busy look of the canted headlights with scallops and other paint tricks. I personally think the canted quads look much better with a gorgeous single color paint job. the deep maroon paint and the perfect fit and finish make the truck timeless no matter what is underneath for running gear and suspension.

 

I don't know how folks keep from chipping paint etc upon assy. I try and inevitably mine require touch ups at the end. That thing looks perfect, at least from here.

 

Lots of tape and lots of hands.

 

Logarithm decay curve

Extra hands, plastic dipped tools and tape, lots and lots of tape

 

Looks to me like the time honored '49 Chevy front plate surround with some 'slimming' done. It 'could' be something else, but if so, can't say I recognize it.

Ray

 

When is Chucky Krikorian's 1960 AMBR 'Emporer' going to be slathered across the formerly sacred pages of the HAMB?
It's got the custom/rod touches...Custom sardonic smile, canted quads...chrome frame, engine, trans, front and rear...
Well? Why not? Is it the 'ugh factor'?

 

Imho, I'll take a 40-41 Ford pickup in any way, shape, or form and think I've died and gone to hotrod heaven ....

 

.

 

I like the canted headlights better than this version

 

Beautiful truck then and now. Not my choice on the canted headlights, not a big fan of them on anything, but it's not mine and I didn't pay anybody to have it done. The owner liked them, so that's good enough for me.

 

I don't get the part about Bill Ganahl "saving" it from becoming a streetrod. I too get confused occasionally with the rhetoric on here. Guess I'm just a confused Deuce roadster driver. Been to the West coast three times in it and I'm STILL "cornfused", fluidity or not.

 

It would be completely complete if it had 3" out of the top with slightly angled A pillars, like Frank Zuehl does them in Texas.

 

Slathered ? Holy sheet !