Retro Vision
Some Assembly Required
Maybe fate or destiny was at play that year at SEMA, because James just happened to run into
Jon Kosmoski, founder of House of Kolor (HOK), while he was browsing the company’s booth. “I introduced myself to Jon, and we chatted for a bit, and I mentioned the truck and that we would like to work with HOK on paint ideas. Surprisingly, he took a big interest in the build right away. Maybe he had one of these trucks in the past or maybe he saw such a blank canvas with the truck being in so much need of pretty much everything, but he jumped right in to help any way that he could.” House of Kolor just celebrated 60 years in business, which is a phenomenal feat in its own right. The brand has not only survived some troubling years in the automotive aftermarket, it’s thriving. For Jon to offer up so much of his time and resources to the project says a lot about his passion for a challenge.
But before the truck was even remotely ready for paint, the Retromanufacturing crew dragged the Chevy back home from the show and revisited the drawing board to assemble a refreshed plan of action. Back when the whole ordeal of the truck not being completed for SEMA was unfolding, both Steve and James were pretty much baffled by the incompetence they had witnessed, but the truck’s ultimate outcome was getting brighter by the day once the guys met with James “JJ” Pitts, shop manager at Findlay Customs in Henderson, Nevada. “After shopping around a bit to find a new shop to help with the second attempt to build the truck, we landed at Findlay, which is just down the street from our office,” James says. “It was great. They allowed me to go over and snap photos of the progress they were making, as they handled almost every aspect of the project from the suspension and engine work to the paint and body.” The change in partnerships presented a complete 180-degree transition, and the Retromanufacturing crew was finally starting to see real results in a timely manner by qualified craftsmen. Never has the concept of a blessing in disguise struck so close to home for an old, humbled Chevy pickup.
The truck attracted quite a bit of support while it was being pieced together, including Sirius XM, one of the major sponsors. Throughout the years, it’s been assembled completely from new parts and panels, received a custom chassis and all of the components needed to build an old-looking vehicle from brandnew parts. (If we hadn’t told you, you might not have believed it, right?) Dynacorn provided