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1951 Chevrolet 3100 - Bow Tie Barnstormer Buildup

It’s Not Finished ’Til The Fat Man Sings

Alex Kruk fondly remembers watching his father manhandle the family's two '61 AMC Ramblers out in the driveway when he was a young impressionable kid. "My dad was pretty mechanically inclined, and if you know anything about these cars, you know your hands were always dirty just trying to keep them running." It was about that same time, when he was just turning double digits in age, when he realized just like his dad, he too was hooked on cars. Before he knew it, his hands were just as dirty helping his dad keep the head gaskets intact on the feisty flathead AMC's.

To add fuel to the already smoldering fire, the family across the street from Alex had five motorhead boys, all of them growing up during the muscle car wars of the late '60s. The wildest son Ronnie had a ton of hot rods and fast rides, and that left an indelible impression on the younger neighbor Alex. A '55 Chevy gasser, a '64 tri-power GTO, and a '57 tri-power Bonneville all spent time in the driveway across the street, and pushed Alex into getting a muscular ride to call his own.

When Alex turned 18, he purchased his first cool car to flog around town, a bone stock '69 327 Camaro, which he wishes he never got rid of (join the club). From there, it was no turning back, he went on to grab a sweet '71 Gran Prix. A few years later, Alex married his high school sweetheart Mary. Together they bought a 440 Charger, which Mary consistently terrorized the local streets of Westbury, Long Island, with. She just loved having all that power on hand, and craved the Mopar's aggressive looks and coke bottle styling as well.

Fast forward a few more years, Alex and Mary started a family, and developed a business. For the time being, the hot rods were set aside while he tended to the everyday chores of keeping a family on its feet and keeping the business running strong. However, once he got a little bit ahead in this game called life, he bought himself a toy a '72 454 Vette, a car he still proudly owns today. But it didn't stop there for Alex; no way. Back when he was 13 or 14 years old, his good friend Bob's older brother had a pale yellow '57 Nomad, which he took an interest in. This was a ride that Alex just had to have. It took a while to find one he could rebuild, but after an exhaustive search, one was located out in Illinois. It was a real project, but Alex quickly turned it into a bona fied head turner.







At that point, Alex insisted that Richie finish off the project, even though Richie had never wired up a complete ride before. So he hit the books, tackled the job, and ran all the wire that would get this truck runnin'. First off, he passed all the wires through the frame so they wouldnt be seen neat trick. And in the engine bay similar trickery can be found. Richie cut and fit stainless steel tubing, which he ran the engine harness through. This hid any wires from view underhood—a custom trick, which really cleans up the engine bay. Once again a nice touch which really sets this truck apart from the guy parked next to him at the car show.


Nowadays, Alex's sweet '51 can be seen traveling the roads Long Island, collecting stares and glances wherever the pickup takes him. The silver Chevy has made the rounds at the local shows, grabbing awards wherever it's parked, and making its owner proud. Last, but not least, Alex would like to send out a special thanks to Ron at Don's East Coast Restoration and Joe Herman for their help with the project.

As for the future, who knows? Right now Alex enjoys running the 400 horses on the Southern State Parkway, pushing the '51 and opening up those triple deuces. This Bow Tie is no ordinary truck, and Alex just loves making the ZZ4 and the Fat Man chassis sing in horsepower harmony. CCT