Lawrence wanted his little Dodge to reflect his K-State heritage, so it was sprayed with metallic purple, a PT Cruiser color. `It'll go to Manhattan a time or two,' he said.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Terry Lawrence, left, enlisted friend and coworker Dale Enderud to turn his 1927 Dodge pickup from battered shell into this Hemi-powered purple hauler. The project lasted 6 years and involved amazing amounts of fabrication.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Baby moon hubcaps and ribbed trim rings dress up the front wheels, which carry 205x75x15 BFG rubber.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Enderud fabricated the dashboard from scratch. and filled it with VDO Heritage Gold Tone instruments.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A Firebird tilt steering column, with 4 inches cut out of its length, provides the mounting spot for a Grant 3-spoke steering wheel with cut-out padding. The 727 Chrysler automatic transmission is controlled by a Lokar shifter.
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A pair of Mustang bucket seats fit snugly in the close quarters of the cab. Richard Smith of Arkansas City upholstered the seats and rear cab wall, while Enderud handled the rest of the interior appointments.
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With the reconfigured cab providing limited seating room, Enderud opted to convert the doors to suicide-style pieces, opening `backwards' for slightly easier entry.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The cab was treated to a 3-inch top chop and a pair of billet aftermarket rear view mirrors. Note how the belt line is complimented by the cowl molding that curves smoothly into it.
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Enderud dug through a parts house's stock of air filters until he found the right tri-oval shape, then created the metal top and bottom to fit. Note the complex hood hinges he crafted, complete with hydraulic rams, to keep the hood open without a prop rod.
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Color-keyed Wheel Vintiques steel wheels mount 295x50x15 BF Goodrich tires tucked up inside the flowing rear fenders.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The truck's cargo area measures barely 4 feet long and is finished with wood, polished metal and color-coordinated metal. The pop-open fuel door covers a one-of-a-kind aluminum fuel tank.
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The running boards were missing when the project was started, so Enderud built new ones to fit between the front and rear fenders, finishing them with these solid stainless steel spears.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The pickup bed was custom built from existing pieces and fresh sheet metal, with an all-new tailgate mounted above the roll pan. The fenders are widened trailer pieces fitted with '52 DeSoto tail lights found in the trunk of another collector car.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The original grille shell was modified to accept customized headlight bars on either side and filled with stainless steel mesh borrowed from a flour mill's sieve. The headlights were updated with integral semi truck LED turn signals.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
With the changes in the engine bay, the hood had to be extended several inches. Enderud built a whole new hood out of steel, incorporating the character lines from the cowl and door tops into the new piece.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
One of Lawrence's requirements for his street rod was that it be powered by a Hemi. Enderud somehow figured out how to squeeze this 392 cubic inch monster between the stock frame rails of the diminuitive pickup.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Enderud says the configuration of the rear frame rails convinced him that this pickup actually began life as a 1927 Dodge 2-door sedan. He had to craft new frame rails to bring the cut-down bed into alignment with the cab.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
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