Eddie Cochran's 1941 Chevy Pickup Truck

08 August 2007
# 2015

From Eddie :

           I've owned my 1941 Chevy pickup truck for almost 11 years. I always wanted an old car and had a 1950 Plymouth for a while. I saw this truck here in Sarasota and, surprisingly, my wife was all for it.

           At the time we found it, it was red and rusty and had a wooden bed. It was originally used to haul caskets for a funeral home in Kentucky. It came to me with a 1970 truck 350 engine in it, with a 350 tranny and a Chevy two rear end.

           I slowly did all the work I could without tearing it down -- like shocks, disc brakes, etc. I loved to drive it so much I didn't want to take it off the road. Here's a front-on shot.

           Six years ago I finally tore it down to where there was was only the cab on the frame. Every inch was stripped of paint. The frame was rust free so I just cleaned and painted it.

           A friend and I did all the work except the windshield, headliner and door skins. We're definitely not body and paint people but it looks good -- not perfect but good. The heat is bad in Florida so I added air conditioning!

           I recently changed out the tired old engine to a 1980 Corvette 350. Much stronger!!

           I love all the pictures of trucks that have been kept original, but I love to drive mine out of town. If mine was original when I got it, I would have kept it that way.

Eddie Cochran
Sarasota, Florida