10-4 Magazine October 2020

10-4 Magazine / October 2020 77 to work with. This let him know exactly what parts she had when she was new. When the restoration was completed, he left the printed build sheet, with all his notes, in the truck. They don’t sell most of these parts anymore, so you have to dig to find them in junk yards or have a good fabricator make that obsolete part you need, so this restoration project was no easy job for the team. It took Kory and his team, which included Mike Murphy (air conditioning, electrical and engine), Dean Diaz (cab rebuild, sheet metal, paint and assembly), Rick Webb (hood, sheet metal work, paint, and assembly), Vincent Piazza (frame and suspension), and Thomas Shubert (fabrication and exhaust), a year of blood, sweat, tears, and love to bring this truck back to being beautiful. When the guys in the body shop started chipping away at the rust on the chassis, the tools began making holes in the frame, so new rails had to be ordered. The air conditioning roof mount system had to be all put together from scratch. The engine in her was a Big Cam 400 Cummins, and she was running perfect, so there was no need for a new engine. All new electrical and air lines had to be run and a reman 13-speed transmission was installed, along with new rears. One thing that they were able to keep was the original horn pull chain. Kory spent over six months trying to find an AM/FM 8-track player like the one that came in the 359. After finding a few that didn’t work, he was lucky enough to find a brand-new Audiovox, still in the box, that had never been installed in anything. He asked Shane what kind of music his dad liked, and he said old country. Kory found several 8-track tapes that actually worked. A funny note: when they unveiled the truck and John and Joanna were sitting in it, Kory told them about the music and how they could play it. At that point, Joanna told him that John didn’t listen to music when he drove because he would rather listen to the engine! The team rebuilt the original hood with a couple new top panels and new fenders (they still make fenders for a 359). Then, they painted her the original blue and gray with gold trim, in the same scheme. Mike’s Sheet Metal in Sparks, NV made the cab panels, battery and tool boxes. Interior Classic Restoration in Verdi, NV took most of the old interior