Words: Todd Wylie Photos: Aaron Mai
Mumma always said life was like a box of chocolates… yep, that famous movie line is true, of which Palmerston North based couple Andrew and Lisa Brown are all too well aware. That awareness isn’t just due to them buying a type of truck they were never initially looking at, but also from their experiences in the 17 years since they took ownership.
Back as a young couple in their early 20s, they both agreed that they needed a truck in their lives. They liked the look of the late ‘40s/early ‘50s Ford Jailbars, so that’s what they started searching for. Although it was the iconic thin slatted grille of the Jailbar that Andrew was seeking, somehow he ended up checking out a ‘46 Chev instead. The big face mask-esque chrome grille of the Chevs is much more imposing than the comparatively subdued Jailbar front, but Andrew thought he could make it work.
Helping in that department was that the link to the online Chev auction had been sent to them by Lisa’s cousin and fellow car modifier Chris Harrison — the current day proprietor of Bad Penny with wife Natalie. Chris is not only a Chev man but he saw the potential in the ‘46, as did Lisa and Andrew. What Lisa didn’t realize though was that the truck was in pieces. When she saw the rolling chassis and boxes of parts, she was soon asking where the truck was…
With Andrew as an engineer, and with Lisa also coming from a hot rodding family, they both knew they had what it would take to make it into something like what they had envisaged. Of course, at this stage of life, plenty of hurdles pop up — like buying houses, doing up houses and helping out mates with various other projects. Being involved with all this, time ticked on much faster than anyone could keep track of, but Andrew did make some progress and fabricated various parts, such as the custom side steps and custom visor. Thinking ahead he knew the fuel tank under the seat would never stay, so changed that area to incorporate storage. He always had a vision for the truck, which included a side tilting hard lid over the tray and a slammed out stance.
Local panel beater Tony Axcell helped with this, and the pair used an English wheel to create the lid that you see on it today. Andrew crafted the custom well side deck, before handing the finishing work on the cab itself over to Tony. While normally in this instance it’s the body that reveals unwanted and unexpected issues, at this time, it was Andrew’s body that threw up the unexpected. Although only in his late 30s, he was diagnosed with colon cancer, an aggressive form of cancer that would take the focus well and truly off the truck while he underwent operations and chemo.
With a rough road ahead, the decision was made to send the truck up to Chris at Bad Penny so that there would be something to look forward to, and something to take the couple’s mind off the battle closer to home.
In mid-January 2022, Brian Puddick, a good friend and Andrew’s old boss helped transport the truck up the line. Although that experience was also met with a few laughs when the ‘46 was longer than the tail lift on the truck they were using. Andrew commented he thought the tail lift was longer and Brian commented he thought the truck was smaller, but they came up with a plan and soon it was onboard, bound for the Tron.
Plenty of good discussions about the direction of the build were had with the Bad Penny crew, and with it being a bit of a jigsaw, parts were itemized and a shopping list formed. The rest was up to the Bad Penny team to execute, add their flair, and finish. Throughout the build, Chris and his wife Natalie kept Andrew and Lisa in the loop with photos, videos, and updates, and Andrew made the trip up to work on it himself when he could. Lisa states, “We can’t thank all the Bad Penny team enough, they were so encouraging and supportive.”
Adding to the family affair, even Lisa’s Uncle Grant got involved, supplying the hydraulic rams for the pickup lid while her late dad’s vintage horns were added too. Chris’s brother, and fellow NZV8 feature car owner Kenny Harrison, whose side hustle is working as Striper for Hire, added his artistic flair pinstriping on the glovebox, with more to come elsewhere on the car. As if that’s not enough family involved in helping the dream to become reality, more cousins and an aunt also helped along the way, much to the appreciation of both Andrew and Lisa.
The big parts though were all handled in-house at Bad Penny, such as adding Slam Specialties airbags to the Jaguar front end and RideTech ShockWaves to the Jag rear end. With an Air Lift Performance controller and the right amount of fab work, the set-up sees the running boards drop to the floor. The OO5H number plate is fitting, as the oosh sound is something that comes out of the mouth of most bystanders when they see the truck hit the deck.
The look is complemented by a custom paint job applied by John Sims at J.S Customs. The colour was created off the detailed description Andrew provided and chosen from a handful of sample sprayouts. That colour works perfectly with the custom rosewood and stainless finish of the bed floor, all of which was assembled at Bad Penny. In fact, the truck was actually completed at the shop and delivered back down to Andrew and Lisa as a surprise, as they didn’t know just how fast the team had been working on it, with the added assistance of Scott Rowson towards the end of the build and Chris working deep into the night to ensure its speedy finish.
It was by no means incomplete though when the surprise unveiling took place, as Lisa had been busy thinking on and choosing the right interior trim design for Ronnie Thomas of Essential Auto Trim & Upholstery to stitch up. She’d also chosen the 17×7-inch Ridler 645 wheels wrapped in 205/50R17 and 225/45R17 tyres. Andrew wasn’t sure about her choice when he saw them off the truck, but once fitted, he was reminded that wives are always right, as they looked perfect.
Much earlier in the build, the original engine was ditched and a crate 350 small block purchased. Running a mild cam and 465cfm Holley carb, it makes a perfect amount of power for a cruiser, and backed with a TH350 trans, it ticks all the right boxes. While the sound from the twin 2¼-inch exhausts is great, plenty of attention from Chris has also gone into the car’s audio system, which includes an underseat sub and amp combo. Likewise, a Vintage Air air conditioning set-up helps to make the cab as inviting as possible, not that it needed more appeal.
Towards the end of May this year, a special group of people came together to surprise Lisa and Andrew with the delivery of the finished product — and as you can imagine after 17 years and all the unexpected hurdles, there were many happy tears shed. For so long it had been a dream to see it on the road, and now it is, allowing Andrew and Lisa to get out and make memories, and be reminded of how blessed they’ve been to have great family and friends when it counted. The last few years have been a wild ride, but the completion of the truck has been something to look forward to throughout it. Just like a box of chocolates, they never knew what they were going to get, but the result is something better than they ever could have imagined.
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This article originally appeared in NZV8 issue 217
SPEC LIST
Vehicle: 1946 Chevrolet Pick-up
Engine: 350ci small block Chev, mild cam, 465cfm Holley carb, custom twin fuel tanks, electric ignition, Procomp HEI distributor, Hedman headers, twin 2 ¼-inch exhausts, Coby mufflers, Champion 3-row radiator
Drivetrain: TH350 transmission, Jag Series 3 rear end
Suspension: Jaguar front end, Jaguar rear end, Airlift Performance 3H air management, Slam Specialties RE-6 front bags, RideTech ShockWave rear bags, 2x Viair 444c air compressors, Jag front sway bar
Brakes: Mitsubishi Legnum brake pedal and booster, Jag XJ6 discs and calipers
Wheels/tyres: 17×7-inch Ridler 645 wheels, 205/50R17 and 225/45R17 tyres
Exterior: Custom deck lid, custom running boards, custom visor, smoothed hood sides, Rosewood deck, custom PPG paint
Interior: Custom bench seat, Grant Steering Wheel, B&M shifter, smoothed dash, Vintage Air air conditioning, smoothed door window surrounds, Pioneer head unit, Kicker underseat sub, Alpine speakers
Driver: Andrew and Lisa Brown
Car club: Palmerston North Hot Rod Club
Age: 42 and 44
Occupation: Engineer/Early Childhood Teacher
Previously owned cars: Nothing interesting
Dream car: This one with all the love, blood, sweat, and tears that’s gone into building it
Why the Chev?: Right time, right place
Build time: 11 years
Length of ownership: 17 years
Andrew and Lisa thank: Chris and Natalie Harrison at Bad Penny for going above and beyond; Brian Puddick for transport of the truck and all you have done; Aaron Smith for helping with the engine; Woolstons for the Hamilton accommodation; Scott Rowson, Grant, Ken, Debs and family, Aunty Margaret; Metalfold Industries; Motor Machinists Palmerston North; Ronnie Thomas at Essential Auto Trim and Upholstery; John Sims at J.S. Customs; Tony Axcell; R&J batteries; and all friends, family, businesses, everyone who has helped and journeyed along with us in any way, we appreciate you all