(Here’s another of our favorite features that we dug up from previous coverage of the Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion. This truck is one of our all-time “wish list” trucks.) –  Being the resident old truck lover here at BangShift, I nearly drove our golf cart into a ditch when I laid eyes on Brad Starks’s absolutely bitchin’ 1957 two ton truck at the Holley NHRA National Hot Rod Reunion this summer. It was sitting in the show car area, attracting a bunch of attention and I excitedly crawled all over it, talked to Brad (who is a noted hot rod builder…more on that later) and got the thumbs up to blast a bunch of photos for the feature you are now reading. This truck is everything good about hot rodding and the car hobby. It was created from pieces of at least three different vehicles, raw sheet metal, and it is a work in progress. This isn’t the “finished” product, the damned thing is so neat, we wanted to share it with the world.

What you are looking at is the cab of a 1957 Chevy 2-ton truck on a 1970s GM panel style truck frame. The bed was hand made by Brad, the rear dually fenders were widened by 10″ (also by Brad), and the whole thing is powered by the Cummins engine and four speed Allison transmission from a Bluebird bus! The stance is not the result of airbags. The truck was lowered the old fashioned way, with lowering springs in the front, modified rear spring hangers and springs along with a 7″ Z in the frame just behind the cab. We think that the static drop aspect of this truck is cool. As modern, nice, and well performing as air bags are, there is something about going all in, committing to a stance, and living with it that earns our respect. No laying it out at a show and pumping it up for a trip down the road here, this big guy’s chin is always a few whiskers above the pavement, of grass as it may be in our photos!

Brad bought the truck with the cab on the frame and a flatbed in the rear. It had a 350ci Chevy gas engine and Starks told us that he saw a lot of potential in the truck but in the state he scored it, the thing was, “way too farm truck” for his tastes. His plan was to build a working shop truck that also held up to the style of cars and trucks that his Kentucky shop, Brad Starks Customs puts out. Some of Starks creations have won big time awards like the 2009 Goodguys Custom Rod of the Year, among others. The long term plan for the truck is to finish it to the point where it is capable of pulling trailers and taking long road trips. The current gearing is not too highway friendly and the addition of a Gear Vendors unit will soon help that greatly. As proof of this need for functionality, Starks used some common sense measurements when designing the bed. I built the bed so that a 4×8 sheet of steel would fit right in there,” Starks said. “It is 9’2″ long and 52″ wide.” The engine has been tweaked as well, so the whole towing situation is going to be no sweat when the time comes for this guy to pull something down the road…like a house.

Rather than ramble on about the truck, we’ll tell you the rest of the story in photos and captions. This thing RULES!

There’s no ignoring this big guy. From the nice patina on the paint of the old cab to the ground scraping stance, to the mile wide rear track, this truck totally rules.

Believe it or not, this stance is not achieved by air bags. It was done the old fashioned way with springs, modified rear shackles, and a big honking 7″ Z in the frame behind the cab.

These smaller diameter Alcoa wheels are just what the Dr ordered for the old ’57. Big wheels would really ruin the vibe and feel of this truck.

The ancient lettering and pin striping is still on the cab from its days of service in a local fire department. Brad believes that the cab was probably part of a water truck.

The custom built bed was made to handle sheets of steel with ease. As a hot rod builder, Starks makes his living working metal, so this bed will get a work out. We dig the gray synthetic wood decking as at a quick glance it looks like weathered boards.

Starks widened the rear fenders 10″ to close in all the rear tires. We dig the hell out of the exposed seam. Starks is trying desperately not to “over do” this truck so this seam is staying exposed.

Name this tail light! we know it….do you?

One of the reasons that this truck looks “right” is because the cab is a medium duty model. The medium duty trucks have wider front fenders so the widened rears look right as rain.

We’re kind of wishing the crusty old 6500 logos were on here but the faint impression is pretty cool as well.

The engine is a Cummins six cylinder turbo diesel with upgraded injectors and worked up pump, a Holset turbo, and the intercooler that came from the donor Bluebird bus, cut down to fit the Chevy. So freaking cool.

The diesel is right at home in the truck and it sounds awesome as well when Starks leans on the pedal. People were really trying to figure the truck out as it idled through the pits at Bowling Green.

You know what’s cooler than this original Chevy door plate?

This totally sublime original Detroit Locker plate!

As we said above, the truck is a work in progress. The interior is part of that progress.

Remember the Queen song, “Fat Bottomed Girls”? Why is it stuck in our head?

Having the filler out of the cab is a good move in our book. Starks plugged it into the rear fender and added the racy cap.

Some guys drool over Ferraris and Lambos…us? We’re lubricating our keyboard with spit over this view right here.

Isn’t it bitchin’ how the truck looks to be moving forward when sitting still? Starks did a great job with the bed and the rake on this low 1957 Chevy.

We were sad to see Starks leaving when we were done shooting photos for the day! Hit the link below for a full gallery!