Marc Lizer's 1940 3/4-Ton Chevy Stakebed -- An old hollywood truck restored

Howdy ‘Bolters! Let me tell you a bit about how I came to this truck, and maybe where it is going.

I was perfectly happy with my old passenger car (a 1946 Plymouth Special Deluxe to be specific). Well, long story short, I got myself mixed up in a construction project. A big enough one where "The City" wants there to be an onsite office or trailer. Not wanting to waste money on renting, I hunted for and ended up getting a sweetheart deal on a 1957 Airstream (a 26-foot Overlander). I’m gonna keep it and fix it up after the project is done.

Now to the truck part: I could tow it with my modern truck but my Plymouth, with its stock 206 engine and about 3100 lbs of car, will be hard pressed to bull the 3170 lbs of (unladen) Airstream Trailer. So I sold my Plymouth to trade up to a truck.

I’m in LA. To be specific, North Hollywood. You could throw a rock and hit a business that is studio-related. Well, around the block from me are not one, but two companies that rent picture cars. In a lot (that they rented the land form the owner) I always had my eye on a quirky truck, parked next to assorted ice cream trucks and late '70’s passenger cars. The landowner was selling the land to another neighbor (news travels fast in our little burg), so I figured that the studio car company might be open to unloading some dead weight -- seeing how he would need to find a new place to move all the cars to.

So I scored this puppy for a reasonable price (at least I think so). Right place, right time.

It’s been in tons of movies and even more television commercials. Mostly sitting in the background on a farm or street. Like in a Smucker's (jelly) commercial or Phenomenon (the movie).

Here’s what I do know about her so far. She runs and drives and has the original 216 under the hood on 6-volt positive ground. She has the 123 ľ wheelbase, making it a ľ-ton. And then there is something interesting. She has 14 inch drums on the rear (KE) and 11 inch drums on the front (KD). The rims appear to be original (and match each other), but the front has Centennial 650 16 IT’s and the rear has Remington Brute Wide LT 215 85 R16’s. That’s just odd.

I haven’t the VIN yet but I will assume this truck began life as a regular pickup (the running boards stop abruptly). The telltale giveaway is the “Ford” script stamped into the stakebed metal. Either that, or the original got damaged and they swapped in this donor bed.

Since I want to tow with it, I do need to do the engine swap. I have a 261 engine that I am going to get a rebuild on -- and add a little juice to, as well as dual intake and split headers and an HEI. While I’m at it, new wires. I’ve got to take care of the tire issue.

I really like the state of age she has, but I do want to de-rust her, and put fresh rubber. But it’s so hard to freshly paint a truck and have it look old and aged. Oh the quandaries of life (and trucks).