Marc's '56 Chevy Pickup
One of our favorite parts of our relationship with the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association is our ongoing sponsorship of the Speedway Motors Homebuilt Heaven awards. At every Goodguys show, a pair of winners are selected that represent the “build it in your home garage and build it to drive” mentality. It’s even better when we’re on hand to pick the award winners ourselves.
Such was the case with Marc and Kelly Boisvert’s ’56 Chevy truck and the Goodguys Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale last November. Walking up and down the rows of extremely nice cars in the specialty parking area, we kept coming back to one very clean tangerine Chevy truck. At a glance, it’s hard to soak in all the details of this slick street rod, but the more we looked, the more we realized that this was a very neat truck that was very deserving of a Homebuilt Heaven pick.
The story of Marc and Kelly’s truck actually started long before they entered the picture. It spent much of its life working on a walnut farm near Lincoln, California, ultimately winding up in the garage of an enthusiast who set out to build it into an updated driver. He dropped it onto a TCI chassis, added the LS1 from a ’99 ‘Vette, 4L60E transmission, and had it painted that cool candy tangerine color. Unfortunately, he passed away before he was able to finish the project. It languished in the garage for a couple years before being listed for sale by his widow.
Here's where Marc comes in. He purchased the truck as an unfinished project and travelled from his home in Albuquerque to pick it up. It became clear that the rig would need some serious work when Marc had to struggle to keep it running long enough to just get it on the trailer.
Upon arrival home, Marc began the tedious process of re-doing just about everything to turn the truck into the reliable driver that he had been picturing. This included new wiring, a new fuel system, and new Wilwood discs on all four corners. The truck had been fitted with a third row seat from an SUV, but Marc didn’t like seeing the seatback and headrests through the big back window. A replacement Glide seat was fitted and the battery, which had been located behind the seat, was moved under the truck using a droput battery box from Speedway Motors. Marc also added heating and AC from Vintage Air, cleverly running the hoses through bulkheads in the inner fender to keep the engine bay and that smooth firewall free from clutter. The controls fit cleanly in the dash, which Marc elected not to cut up for a radio. Classic Instruments gauges are viewed through the cool restored original steering wheel.
Outside, Marc wasn’t happy with the way the reproduction trim parts fit, so he shaved all the chrome and stainless, leaving behind 48 holes in the cab that he MIG’d up with help from friend James Rebarchik. Remember, that metallic paint was already on the truck, so Marc found a local shop that was willing to match the paint and respray the cab. They did a fantastic job, leaving behind no trace that the beautiful finish wasn’t applied in one shot. The previous owner had fitted a roll pan to the rear of the truck, and Marc cleverly retained it when he added the rear bumper. This combo, combined with the distinctive Speedway Motors cat-eye taillights, makes for a unique look at the rear of the truck. American Racing Torq-Thrust wheels look great on just about anything, and Marc selected a polished set of 17 x 8’s for his ’56. If you look closely, you’ll see that a custom offset was ordered for the rears to get just the right look.
The Scottsdale Goodguys show was Marc’s first real event with the truck. It’s been done for about a year, but the Southwest Nationals was Marc’s first chance to really show off all his hard work. When asked about future plans, he says he intends to drive the wheels off of it. He built it to drive, and that includes big plans to hit future shows and maybe even Power Tour.
Congratulations Marc and Kelly. It was an honor to present the Homebuilt Heaven award and we can’t wait to see you out on the road!
