Jerry Alcorn's cars couldn't be much different: His '34 Ford pickup rides on a stretched homebuilt chassis, with a handmade aluminum cargo box, all covered in satin black. His '49 Hudson appears to be a fully restored original car, but has a Dodge Aspen subframe, 318 Dodge V-8 and an automatic transmission.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The '34 Ford pickup presents a unique profile, with its unchopped top, stretched hood and lowdown stance. The satin black finish contrasts with the bright yellow wire wheels.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Finished in brilliant maroon and cream, Alcorn's over-the-road car is a 1949 Hudson Super Six Brougham two-door sedan, one of 2,156 produced that year.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Alcorn heats up the tires on his '34 Ford pickup at last weekend's big Herington 125th Anniversary Celebration, which featured a fly-in, cruise-in and drag races. The little truck surprised some of the competition with its quick dashes down the airport runway.
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It's a snug fit for the 350 Chevy crate motor under the truck's custom-built Hagan hood. Finished in all black, the engine employes Weiand valve covers, an Edelbrock 4-barrel carb and intake and a set of stainless steel block-hugger headers.
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The all-aluminum pickup bed was hand-fabricated, as was the bead-rolled steel bed cover, which is electrically operated.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Alcorn switched to True Spoke wire wheels to give his truck more of an authentic vintage look. Rear tires are tall 255x70x15 Uniroyal Tiger Paws, while the fronts are skinny Nexen 165x80x15's.
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Speedway Motors provided the bucket cream-colored seats for the cozy pickup cab, with a matching dash contrasting nicely with the satin black sheet metal.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
A Lokar tall shifter selects gears in the Chevy 350 Turbo Hydramatic transmission; the foam aftermarket steering wheel will most likely be replaced by a wood-rimmed wheel.
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A trio of Dolphin gauges fill the oval dash panel, which is set off by
Ron Meyer pinstriping; two more accessory gauges are tucked under the left side of the dash.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Alcorn points out that his '34 all-steel original cab can be identified by the third beltline band above the body moldings that flow around the cab. He said there are no patch panels in the truck's body.
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Speedway street rod headlight buckets are used, along with a Speedway 4-inch dropped front axle and disc brakes. Ron Meyer of Tulsa applied the subtle pinstriping around the turn signals, as well as an the truck bed.
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The Hudson two-door sedan is a near-fastback design, but ironically, the coupe body was preferred by NASCAR racers who dominated the competition in the early days of stock car racing.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The Hudson's old flathead 6-cylinder engine is long gone, replaced by a 318 Dodge V-8 that rides in an Aspen subframe, complete with torsion bar suspension. The car also benefits from power steering and brakes.
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A set of Diamondback wide whitewall radials mounted on factory wheels with button hubcaps and trim rings give the Hudson impeccable road manners and the right look for the period.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The Hudson features a glove box on either side of the dashboard, with the gauges centered in the panel. The chrome tissue holder actually holds the control head for a modern sound system. That knob above the rear view mirror is used to fold down the roof-mounted radio antenna.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The Glass and Upholstery Center in El Dorado recreated the plush upholstery in the Hudson's super-comfortable interior. The seats have to be experienced to be believed.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
More beautifully button-tufted upholstery graces the rear seat of the big Hudson sedan.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
Jerry Alcorn swept up at the old Texaco gas station as a kid. He now owns it and uses it to house his '34 Ford and '49 Hudson, and to host occasional meetings of the Herington Throttle Jockeys car club.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
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