LOOKIN' FOR LUV
In all the Right Places
THE INTERNET IS A WEIRD PLACE. With all the “entertainment” websites out there, a guy can get sucked into the computer screen for hours without even noticing what time it is. Well, same goes for avid classic vehicle hunters. Searching classified ads for that perfect project truck or hard-to-find parts can become an addiction that must be fed multiple times on a daily basis. Sometimes the hours of scrolling and trolling don’t amount to much, but then there are days when you strike pure gold.
These are the moments that keep guys like Jeff Baum (better known to his pals as Jeffro) clicking through endless pages of listings. Although it may seem like a waste of time, there are some of us who consider keyboard shopping the virtual equivalent of walking the rows at the local parts swap. Yo OK, maybe there should’ve been a clarification in the previous paragraph. Ol’ Jeffro keeps his nose clean while he’s online looking for truck stuff and doesn’t (usually) frequent any of those “other” types of websites (as far as we know). Dear Mrs. Baum, there is absolutely nothing to worry about (especially if you guys have some sort of agreement about such matters). In any event, Jeff likes to kid around about how he discovered his latest truck, even though the joke may have lost its charm to his wife. “I like to tell people that I was looking for LUV on the Internet. She might not think it’s all that funny anymore, but it’s true.” We all type in a handful of the same keywords when narrowing down a parts search. It helps filter out all the other nonsense we aren’t looking for. “I have always searched ‘LUV’ on Craigslist and ebay just to see what was out there, and I just happened to luck out with this truck that was only 10 miles away from my couch.”
Jeff doesn’t really have much of a story of why he had been in hot pursuit of a LUV other than the fact that he likes the look of them when they’re slammed to the ground. “I’ve liked the lines of the LUV and I just wanted something that was a little different from most of the other trucks out there.” The ’81 that he discovered is definitely different from most, and does hold its own against all the other Chevys in any given show field. This particular model just happens to be the last of the LUVS to be sold in the States before GM introduced the S-10 back in 1982. Isuzu picked up where Chevy left off with it and continued to produce the model as the P’up (short for “pickup”). Jeff’s truck is somewhat of a token that symbolizes the transitional period before the S series dynasty began its multi-decade reign over the American compact truck market.
But all geeky truck facts aside, Jeff snagged the truck for $1,500 bucks—a very affordable figure for anyone looking to pull the trigger on a project vehicle. “I saw the truck listed on a Thursday while I was at work,” Jeff recalls. “The body and paint looked decent, and the interior was clean and all there. I called the owner and he said someone else was supposed to buy it that night. The potential buyer must’ve flaked or something, because I got a call back the following morning and went to take a look at the truck on Friday night—it was just what I had been looking for.”
The original owner had purchased the LUV from a dealership back in
1981 with plans to tow it behind his motor home when he retired. The original owner bought it in Kansas, brought to Oklahoma and now it sits in Jeff’s garage in Texas. “It was great to learn that the truck had stayed with the same family this whole time. It wasn’t kept up very well, though, and had been stored for a good amount of years. It looked and drove OK when I first went out to look at it. I knew it wasn’t going to be in perfect order, and after a quick carb adjustment and valve cover gasket replacement, the LUV was ready to take home. I gave it some more attention and got it running a little more smoothly.”
After Jeff’s search had come to a close, and with the LUV now more reliable on the road, he did what most self-respecting mini-truck owners would do: He lowered it. The drop wasn’t anything too extreme, but it did come down a solid few inches. The truck stayed like that as Jeff drove it around and figured out what the hell else he wanted to do with it. “I figured a new set of wheels would be the natural next step, which is usually a pretty simple process. Well, not for me. I found a set that I wanted and placed an order, only for them to arrive nearly a month late and the complete opposite of what I told them I wanted. The backspacing was wrong, the finish was incorrect, and the center caps were mounted in a way that would’ve damaged the wheels if removed.” After months of calling to get his order made right, Jeff ended up filing a dispute with his credit card company for a full refund. “I never had to do something like that, but it just got to that point, unfortunately. When the charges finally reversed I just bit the bullet and ordered a set of Intro wheels instead.”
Jeff figured it was time to keep what little momentum he had rolling at this juncture by handing the keys to Rocky Fox of Chaotic Rods and Customs. Jeff ultimately wanted to see his LUV low, and the static drop kit was only meant to be a temporary fix until a full air system was devised and implemented. That’s the look that had kept him hunting for one of these trucks to begin with, and the time to turn his daydream into a driving, switch-hitting slice of reality finally presented itself. “I probably should’ve given Rocky a longer timeline to get the job done, but with Lone Star Throwdown coming up quick, I put the pressure on him and he was able to deliver.” In two week’s time, Rocky drew up a simple, yet effective setup to slam the LUV on the steamy Texas pavement. A bulletproof rear 2-link with pan hard bar and modified control arms are essentially what help adjust the little ol’ Chevy’s altitude. The execution was spot-on, and Jeff has yet to experience one hiccup with the system.
The LUV was buttoned up just in time for Jeff to sneak it into LST. “I got the truck from Rocky at 7 p.m. the Friday of the show, washed it and was able to arrange a VIP escort thanks to a sheriff friend of mine.” The LUV may not have made too huge of an impression on the guys rolling into the show with big baller builds, but that really wasn’t too much of a concern for Jeff. He knows there’s a small percentage of guys out there who get a kick out of old mini-truck projects, especially one as subdued as his. There’s nothing over the top about his LUV, but that’s just how he envisioned it. There are a few upgrades on the horizon, but nothing that would dramatically change the low-key aesthetic the truck has going for it now. “I’ll probably cover up the rear notch by raising the bed, and the engine bay will be cleaned up too. In fact, I may swap in a new engine at some point, but that’s later down the road. Right now I’m enjoying the truck by driving it any chance I get, and that works for me.”