1955 Second Series Napco 4 x 4 Suburban Carryall

	Owned by George and Joyce VanOrden "Napco Man" Bolter # 14272 Fulks Run, Virginia

From George :

Here is my truck, a 1955 Second Series Napco 4x4 Suburban Carryall.

The truck was originally a Colorado Forestry Service vehicle and was purchased by my wife and I on eBay. [ Before pix ]

After getting the truck shipped from Colorado to Virginia, a complete "frame off" restoration was completed over a three year period.

I worked out a deal with a local restoration shop allowing me to work as much on the vehicle as I wanted in their shop without charge. They only billed me for work that I requested them to do: ie. sheetmetal, body, paint, upholstery, etc.

I disassembed the truck and assisted with the chemical strippping of the paint, mechanicals, sandblasting, hitting the junkyards for parts etc. I am a retired Marine, so I had plenty of time to help out.

The interior [ pix ] is like the rest of the truck... bone stock with no upgrades or accessories that were not original. All three rows of seats were re-padded and upholstered in the original black and beige vinyl.

After sandblasting the underside of the truck, the plywood floor looked like new, so we didn't replace it.

The truck has all the original fenders, doors and hood. Only small patches were used to replace rusted sheetmetal. Sheetmetal replacement for this truck only took one and a half days.

The engine [ pix ] is the original 235 c.i. 6 cylinder which was completely rebuilt. Hardened valve seats were used to allow it to run on today's gas. The engine block has the RPO# for the Heavy Duty 11 inch clutch stamped in it. The transmission is a granny 4-speed.

The color is Ocean Green (paint code 234N), and was the original color of the truck. Even though the truck had been painted light blue, the original Ocean Green was clearly visible on the firewall and other areas. When I removed the rearview mirror on the drivers side of the truck, the paint looked like it had never seen the sun.

My wife did the hardest part... she wrote the checks!!!

The first show we attended was the 2008 Tri-State Truck Show in Winchester, Virginia. Even though the show had no judging, it seemed to be a hit with the Stovebolt crowd and I had a great time meeting and hanging out with the crew.

The next show was the AACA 2008 National Meet at Hershey, Pennsylvania where the truck won a First Place in the Commercial Vehicle, 1 ton and under class.

We plan to show the truck a couple more years at the National and Grand National level, then start driving her around to local shows. Some of the 4 x 4 parts for this truck are too scarce to be putting a lot of miles on.

We plan on showing the truck at the AACA National meets at Charlotte and Gettysburg in the Spring of 2009. If you see us at a show, stop by and say howdy.

George and Joyce VanOrden

What a transformation!! And in only three years. Great going (I don't think we've even looked at our '49 for three years ... she's patiently waiting ... ~ Editor

And in January 2009, George added a 1954 Chevy 6400 2-Ton to the Gallery. Ah, an Advance Design Big Bolt Napco ... what a great combo! ~ Editor

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