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Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend brings in hot rodders from all over the world. It is completely understandable, who doesn’t love an extended weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada filled with hot rods, rockabillies and pin-ups?
It’s stock but it’s not. – Trevor Williams
Trevor Williams and his company, Gasboy Customs, hail from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. His truck, named BreaElla (as a homage to his daughters), started life as a stock 1955 truck that he and his Dad picked up as a joint project. The two differed on their idea plans and ultimately, Trevor purchased his Dad’s portion so he could run with it.
Trevor’s father helped him build his relationship with hot rods, having owned several through the years, and Trevor grew up in the life and culture. Over the course of 9 years, Williams turned the truck in to what it is today, a clean – and almost stock looking – custom with his own personal design cues.
Trevor's truck has many minor details that come together and really set this truck apart from the rest.
The concept Williams used when building the truck was simple: Build a truck that has clean lines and looks like it is stock but when you get to know the details you’ll start to notice the lines are a bit different than a truck that rolled off the assembly line in 1955. His favorite part is “making it look like it’s stock but it’s not.” Says Williams. “So when people look at this front end and they don’t notice it [is different], then I know I did my job right.”
Skilled and knowledgeable hot rodders will notice the headlights are from a 1954 Chevy truck, the front bumper is a 1955 Chevy car unit that has been stretched 4-inches, and the grille bar comes from a 1957 Chevy that was narrowed by 3-inches. The turn signals, headlight bezels and emblems were all shaved as well. The body mods don’t stop there.
Early 1963 Chevy Impala taillights were grafted in to a 1958-1959 Chevy truck fleetside box and the rear bumper was flipped to create a natural looking exhaust tip cut out. The exterior was squirted with PPG Base coat 9300 Black and De Beers clear coat. The taillight bullets on the bed were shot with a Cadillac pearl white for a stark contrast. The black paint is something that Williams would change if he had the chance to build this truck again. It is definitely beautiful but can be time intensive to maintain.
The interior of the truck was left largely stock with a couple exceptions. A bench seat out of a 1990 Chevy full size truck was reupholstered to mold to the theme and style of its new home. The gauge cluster is a stock unit that has been subtly modified. A plexiglass piece replaced the original lens and the backside of the plexiglass was engraved with backwards numbers which were then painted black. A white backdrop was placed in to make the letters pop. Such a minor change that many probably do not notice but adds an extra layer of depth and refinement. Air bag control switches are mounted on the roof and a Kenwood stereo was hidden away for tunes.
Under the hood resides a 1965 Chevy 409 cubic inch V8. The big-block was bored 0.040-inches over and roller rockers were added. An Offenhauser Dual Quad intake manifold and dual Edelbrock 500 carburetors deliver the air and fuel mixture.
The exhaust is pumped out through stock manifolds that feed a Flowmaster exhaust setup. Spark is provided by a High Energy Ignition (HEI) system. Power from the engine gets transferred down through a Turbo 400 automatic that is shifted via a column shifter.
Underneath BreaElla is a host of even more modifications. A 1981 Firebird front clip was used to update the suspension components. Williams opted for air bags for easy height adjustment. The Firebird front clip includes disc brakes to greatly improve the stopping power of the 60 year old truck.
Out back, a corporate 10 bolt differential is positioned by a custom trailing arm system. A C-notch in the frame allows the airbags to dump out and still leave clearance between frame and differential housing. An Air Ride Technologies compressor and tank system keep the bags full of air, when Williams wants them to be. The whole rig rolls on 15-inch Chevy steel rims. The fronts have been wrapped with a pair of 215/70R15 BF Goodrich Wide Whites and the back wheel well is filled with 235/70R15 BF Goodrich Wide Whites.
Williams had always wanted to build a hot rod truck and had two goals when building it. First, to enhance it without losing the stock feel. Second, he wanted to do as much of the build himself. The majority of the work was done by him at Gasboy Customs with the exception of only a few key portions. When the truck was completed in 2014, he had originally built it using the stock step side bed. He always envisioned a fleetside and after finding the right box, he traded it for a case of beer. Williams built custom wood inserts for the fleetside and it became the truck he really wanted. Hours upon hours were spent in bodywork and paint time to bring the whole truck together. His hard work and dedication certainly paid off.
Enjoy these photos of BreaElla (click to enlarge):
