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Kevin Murphy took a route less traveled when he decided to customize a 1957 Dodge pickup given to him by his father. The extremely low custom truck is an eye-grabber in green-and-black suede paint.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Kevin Murphy is proud of his first custom effort, and rightfully so.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

A set of 15-inch Uniroyal Tiger Paws whitewalls mounted on steel wheels, accented by vintage Dodge full-wheel caps roll at all four corners.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Murphy chose heavy yellow pine for the bed floor in his truck. The inner wheel wells are actually trailer fenders modified to cover the back tires. A vintage red trunk carries road/show necessities.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

An almost forgotten custom touch for trucks in the late '50s and early '60s: padded running boards.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Murphy nicknamed his Dodge pickup "Big Iron" and hand-painted this heavyweight warship on the dash to illustrate the point.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

What appears to be a full-on custom theme, with pancaked hood and a roll pan, is actually very close to stock. Murphy removed the front bumper, filled the seams between the headlights and fenders and used paint to accent the the original lines of his Dodge.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Power is supplied by a 383 V-8 and matching automatic transmission transplanted from a '66 Chrysler by Murphy's father, who drove the truck for 20 years before handing it over to his son.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

With the bed of the truck riding so low, Murphy decided there was no need to keep the tail gate functional, so he welded it in and smoothed it out, along with the bed rails.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

How low can you go? Pretty darned low when you mount the rear axle on the other side of the springs.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

You have to look closely to see the subtle 3-1/2-inch top chop on the truck. Murphy did that part of the project while attending Wyo Tech. The hardest part was getting a new windshield made to fit the smaller opening.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

After lowering and channeling the '57 Dodge, Murphy found the top of the steering wheel interfered with his line of sight. So he chopped a section out of it and added knobs to the open ends, creating this aircraft-yoke style of wheel.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Kevin Murphy

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Originally powered by a 6-cylinder engine, Kevin Murphy's 1957 Dodge pickup is believed to have begun its life as a produce truck in Scott City, where its current owner grew up.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle