John Mata Jr. January 16, 2023 All Feature Vehicles
Whatever brought Jimmy Smith, a West Coast native, all the way out to Arkansas is a mystery to us. We didn’t ask him when we had the chance, but one thing is for certain—he brought a big piece of his hometown along with him. Growing up in Modesto, California, must have a lot in common with where Jimmy currently resides in Jacksonville. Both have that quiet, small town vibe that suburbs usually offer, but there was something special back home that shaped Jimmy’s outlook on life and the things that make it that much sweeter for him.
Some things just get better with age, and this is the perfect case to prove just that. We’d be willing to wager that Jimmy will be sticking with this truck for a long time to come.
“Back when I was a kid living in California, the weekends were filled with hot rods and cruising,” Jimmy remembers. “High school was an exciting time, especially since I had a ’55 Chevy big glass pickup to drive around. After I graduated, however, I sold it. Years later, I still missed having that truck around—I thought about it often and all the great times I had with it.”
There’s just something about the first COOL car you own. Yeah, mom’s hand-me-down gets you to where you need to go, but nothing beats a vehicle that is a true extension of yourself. Jimmy is 56 now and is still in love with the feeling he got from cruising around in his old Chevy pickup when he was younger. He decided that he was going to do something to chase that feeling and capture it once again.
To complete the truck’s performance capabilities, Jimmy recruited local motor guru Leonard Lamia from The Speed Shop to beef up a brand new Chevy 350ci to drop under the hood. Obviously, speed was the name of the game here, and the guys threw an impressive assortment of go-fast products at the crate engine to turn it into a verifiable beast. A Don Hampton blower and all the proper trimmings have evolved the 350 into a 383 displacement—undeniably solid gains for a truck that was shaping up to become exponentially better than the truck putted around town in during his glory days. Nothing trumps the nostalgic value of his previous Chevy pickup, of course, but high school Jimmy would definitely blow his top if he could’ve somehow seen what he’d be driving in the future.
For a guy who has grown up with a passion of sitting behind the wheel of a truly custom ride, there would be no other substitute than this ’58.
As far as styling goes, Jimmy was gunning to keep the truck clean and simple inside and out. Brett and Rick Schmeski of Mountain Home Street Rods took on the body and paintwork. Most of the factory body panels were in good enough shape to be straightened out and prepped to be painted. Jimmy didn’t want to go with some loud paint color with any crazy graphics—a simple single-stage black glossy finish would do the trick just fine. Moving to the interior, Terry Holt of Holt Restoration was given free reign to do as he desired inside of the cab.
“I trusted his work enough to pretty much let him do what he thought was right for the truck, and in the end I couldn’t be happier with the results,” Jimmy says.
With just one look at the execution of the cab’s styling, there’s no question why Jimmy had full faith in Terry Holt’s abilities. From the peppering of billet accessories down to the very last stitch, the Chevy’s cockpit now sports timeless street rod elegance.
This truck vastly overshadows the one Jimmy had back in the day, but he considers his most recent efforts his way of making up for a lot of lost time. A good amount of years have flown by since his high school cruising days, but the quality of cruising couldn’t have gotten any better. For a guy who has grown up with a passion of sitting behind the wheel of a truly custom ride, there would be no other substitute than this ’58. Some things just get better with age, and this is the perfect case to prove just that. We’d be willing to wager that Jimmy will be sticking with this truck for a long time to come. He knows what it’s like to be without a trusty truck by his side, and that feeling isn’t an experience he’d be too quick to revisit anytime soon.
OWNER
Jimmy Smith
1958 Chevy Pickup
Jacksonville, AR
ENGINE
CHASSIS & SUSPENSION
WHEELS & TIRES
BODY & PAINT
INTERIOR & PAINT
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