CVNW December 2012

At 15 years old Nathan Savage knew when he saw this 1953 Chevrolet Pickup at one of his father‟s customer‟s houses next to the barn that was the truck he wanted. Months later, after looking at many trucks of all kinds, his father finally worked out a deal to buy the truck for $1000. They towed the root beer brown truck home, knowing that all it needed at that time was "brakes and wheel bearings". After months in the garage working on the truck it was finally a driver. The „53 was his high school daily ride.

Years later, after several other newer trucks had come and gone, it was time to realize his dreams: the restoration project began.

The work started with installing a Fatman Mustang II independent front suspension. They received a small block Chevy 283 via “transplant” from a 1962 Chevrolet pickup, rebuilt it .030 over, milled the cams and topped off with an Edelbrock 600cfm carb. A Turbo 350 automatic transmission and 10-bolt Posi-trac rear end from a Firebird completed the power train package.

All the mechanical and wiring was done by Nathan himself. His father, Bert, took on the task of completing the body work and painting the „53 (NOTE: this was his very first complete paint job!) Nathan, being a Mercedes-Benz technician, chose Mercedes Black Opal for the color and American Torque-Thrust II's for the tires so that the LoFat53 can glide across the pavement.

After 3 years in the making, the interior was finished just in time for its first cruise, the “Rod Run to the End of the World” in Longbeach, WA. Many cruise-ins and Sunday drives later they entered the truck in the 2006 Portland Roadster Show. And as all stories have a happy ending, Nathan won best in class; icing on the cake for a 16 year journey with this special truck.