When you think of boisterous American muscle, chances are your first instinct doesn’t lead to images of vintage farm trucks, that is, unless you’re Craig Morrison of Art Morrison Enterprises [1]. That’s because what some would regard as an everyday farm truck has gotten a new lease on performance life thanks to Morrison and his superb engineering skills. Not only does this truck have a custom chassis, it also boasts a GM powerhouse fitting of any glorified muscle car. Check it out in the latest episode of Big Muscle [2] above.
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A simple look at Morrison’s 1950 Chevy 3100 pickup truck wouldn’t give you any idea that it is far from your standard vintage Chevy. In fact, this truck still maintains its original paint and interior, paying tribute to the good ‘ole days that brought these iconic single-cab pickups to the forefront. But what’s under the hood and undercarriage of this truck is anything but original.
Looking to create a one-of-a-kind pickup, Morrison swept this utility worker up shortly after spotting it on his way to work. What resulted is the custom pro-touring/resto-mod pickup you see here, built atop the new Art Morrison bolt-on chassis for 1947 to 1953 Chevy trucks.
Under the hood you’ll find a new GM Performance Parts Turn-Key HO 350 crate motor equipped with MSD’s Atomic EFI system and Vintage Air serpentine system. This is backed by a Hughes Performance 4L60e-overdrive transmission.
[4] Fitting of the Morrisons’ engineering innovations and industry leading company, the truck also features a GT Sport bolt-on chassis unit with custom coil-over suspension and a Strange Engineering third-member/Ford 9-inch rearend with 3.51 gears to boot. This bolt-on unit features everything from the axles to the disc brakes, creating a rolling chassis minus the wheels and tires. Not surprisingly, this package makes even a vintage Chevy pickup perform and handle like a modern American sports car.
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There's nothing quite like a vintage Chevy truck equipped with a custom Art Morrison chassis and a beefy GM Performance Parts 350ci crate engine.
As Morrison’s daily driver, this truck gets a lot of use, whether it’s bright and sunny or overcast and rainy outside. That’s what makes this “muscle truck” so great – you can use it anytime you please. How’s that for a glorified muscle truck?
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