1948 Panel Truck - Purple People Pleaser

The scene is easy to picture, like a clip from "Leave it to Beaver" or "Father Knows Best": A delivery truck ambles up an idyllic 1950s suburban street carrying cargo to happy customers. Maybe it's flowers to celebrate an anniversary, lumber for a home improvement project, or ice cream for the kids. Regardless, the vessel dispenses scores of smiles along with its much-anticipated packages.

Okay, so maybe it's an overly nostalgic sentiment, but we just can't help but think of old delivery trucks as "happy" vehicles. Even Brent Wagner's '48 Chevy panel, which was used at Norfolk Navel Base in Virginia, undoubtedly brightened soldiers' faces as it delivered goods from the civilian world. The only person who probably wasn't smiling was the driver, who had to endure the washboard ride and tin can acoustics of the utilitarian beast!

Decades later the old truck put a smile on Brent's face because, after years of searching, he'd finally found a suitable candidate for the project he'd been envisioning. Brent not only wanted a cool rod, but also a promotional tool for his Pikeville, Kentucky, tire business. What better vehicle than a panel truck? Now all he had to do was give it some visual appeal and bring the comfort level up to modern SUV standards--no easy task!

The chore became easier when Brent met Tom Hurd and Don James at Last Chance Garage & Body Shop in Germantown, Ohio. These guys had the know-how to make Brent's dream a reality, and dove right in by crafting a comfortable chassis using a highly modified stock frame, Jim Meyer independent front suspension, and '79 Trans Am rearend on custom leaf springs. A well-dressed ZZ4 crate engine and Turbo 350 automatic also found their way into the mix. Naturally, rolling stock is an important factor for Brent, so a lot of thought went into selecting the 17- and 18-inch Colorado Custom "Slater" rims and BFGoodrich rubber.

Impressive as it is, the custom chassis merely sets the stage for the gorgeous body. There's obviously a ton of real estate on a panel body like this, and the Last Chance Garage crew got to know every inch of it while working their magic. The mods are many, but mostly fairly subtle, like trimmed and molded drip rails, a shaved and filled hood, and smooth bumpers tucked close to the body. Frenched headlights, flush-fit taillights and fuel filler, and a V-butt windshield smooth out the lines even further. Every single piece of bright trim was either shaved or painted, which meant that every body panel had to be block sanded to perfection before the deep, custom-mixed DuPont purple paint was applied.

This panel may have hauled a lot of people and cargo over the years, but never with as much style and comfort as it does now. Billy Scott gets credit for much of that since he's the one who covered the Dodge Caravan seats, custom door panels, and sculptured rear panels with yards of supple leather. The elegance doesn't stop there, as there's also a smooth dash with custom aluminum inserts and Auto Meter gauges, not to mention creature comforts like power windows, Vintage Air, and Kenwood tunes.

Of course, all this custom craftsmanship comes with a price --money and time. "What I envisioned as a six- to eight-month project evolved into a three-and-a-half year adventure," Brent says. "But it seemed that the anticipation, headaches, frustration, and nights of wondering if this deal would ever come together, all faded away so quickly the moment the guy punched my entry card at our first event [Goodguys Columbus 2001]."

Heck, Brent and the guys from Last Chance Garage were still finishing up last-minute details when Jim Rizzo walked up and gave them a CLASSIC TRUCKS Top Five Award at that show. Since then the truck has continued to paste smiles on faces wherever it goes, so we feel it's only fitting to call it the Purple People Pleaser.