American Hot Rods’ Custom Parts Runner

When you’ve run a prestigious hot rod shop for many years, it’s tough to treat yourself to a nice custom vehicle, because of course, customer rides and shows always take precedent. Still, every shop needs a parts runner, including American Hot Rods owned by Duane Mayer in Anaheim, California. He picked up a fairly clean ‘75 GMC truck for some low bucks to run around town, but he couldn’t bear to behold its sad stock state for long. Duane, mimicking the speed shops of yesteryear, decided that he’d make it look cool and advertise his hot rod shop, too.

The guys at American Hot Rods started with the stance by notching the frame and installing a flip kit out back. For a hot rod style rake, the front saw a set of 2-inch lowered springs and Western Chassis 2-inch drop spindles for a timeless 4/6 drop. A set of 20-inch Boyd Possessed wheels was powder coated satin black and wrapped in Capital Sport Plus 245/45 and 275/45 tires to finish things off.

The satin black finish continued onto the rest of the truck, but first a few custom touches were added. After all, it’s a parts runner for an innovative hot rod shop. A Sir Michaels roll pan cleans up the back end, and a custom-made grille insert and blacked out grille provide a menacing look up front. The inside of the bed was hit with a spray-in bed liner to keep engine and body parts from scratching the sheet metal while on parts runs. The hood is the centerpiece, featuring a series of louvers that mimic old salt flat vehicles that needed extra air intake. The motor was kept factory, with a Magnaflow exhaust providing added power and a low rumble. The truck was blocked smooth and painted urethane satin black before Dennis Ricklefs laid down some lines and the American Hot Rods door logo to complete the shop truck look with hot rod flair.

On the inside, it’s pure comfort with interior work by Ron Mangus. The seat was reshaped and wrapped in black perforated vinyl. The headliner, panels and dash were rewrapped as well before Advantage Audio installed a mild Rockford Fosgate and Kenwood sound system. The end result of a few months of work is a clean, hot rod-inspired shop truck that pulls triple duty as work truck, advertising vehicle and custom truck. ST

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DUANE MEYER
1975 GMC C1500
ANAHEIM, CA
AMERICAN HOT RODS

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