Starting with the cab of a 11/2-ton 1936 Ford truck, Jason Jewett and a gaggle of buddies transformed the old hauler into this distinct old-school street rod, engine in front, radiator in back, in only seven months' time.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
No, it's not an air-cooled big block Chevy. Coolant flows from the engine outlet through this down-pipe, back through the custom-built frame rails all the way to the bed-mounted horizontal radiator.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The vintage-looking door sign recognizes both Jewett's Red House Custom Paint shop and Kevin Kaiser's American Muffler shop, where most of the work on the truck was done.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Looking a little like a cooling tower setup on top of a commercial building, the flat-mounted radiator shares space in the bed of the truck with an 11-gallon spun aluminum fuel tank. Electric fans help keep the coolant cool.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Interior accommodations are spare, but adequate to get the job done. An aluminum 3-spoke dirt track steering wheel and a TCI Street Fighter shifter atop the Turbo 400 automatic are the main driver controls. Note the aircraft-type switch panel and the set of mini-gauges, which make up all the instrumentation for now.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A set of swap meet '40 Chevy headlamps were carved off their fenders and mounted to the front end of the pickup frame. The undersides were fitted with contoured sheet metal to keep them weather-tight.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A set of Speedway headers built from a kit collect exhaust gases and route them rearward; Kevin Kaiser created a set of exhaust pipes that tie into the headers and tuck up tight against the low-slung truck's belly, rumbling through flat Flowmaster-style mufflers and dumping out back.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Looking like modified '30s-era steel wheels, the rolling stock actually consists of brand new Cragar Deluxe 69-series wheels painted satin black. They mount vintage-style Firestone wide whitewall bias ply tires. These are the 6.70x15s up front.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A little additional stopping power is provided up front by a set of GM disc brakes sourced from Speedway Motors. The unmolested Model A straight axle was donated by fellow traditional rodder Jack Marinelli.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Thanks to a virtually perfect 50/50 weight bias, the 2,485-pound '36 pickup hooks up strong on the tall, skinny Firestone whitewalls. The pickup box, which will be finished to match the patina of the body, came from Last Refuge in Colorado and was built to the length specified by Jewett. Note the '37 Ford taillights.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A pair of old fiberglass drag racing seats provide room for the driver and one passenger. Planned upgrades include some formed aluminum door panels.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Talk about handy access to your wiring block: For now, the missing glove box door makes it easy to replace a fuse. Jewett plans to fabricate an aluminum panel to finish out the dash.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
"Everybody had a hot rod but me. I always wanted one," says Jason Jewett, a talented painter and pinstriper in the custom bike and car world. With the help of his buddies, he now has the open-wheeled hot rod that was only a dream this time last year.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
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