Growing up we all had chores to do (nothing has really changed, even as adults), and for a teenage boy it's usually yard work, taking out the trash, and keeping the bedroom clean. Rebuilding a Ford Flathead and welding a frame would not make the top of most kids' to-do lists, but for Roy Flake, these were just a few of the items he had on the list of things that needed his attention when he wasn't in school. These "jobs" were made more enjoyable thanks to having his dad, Rick, around to supervise and teach.
I'm sure there's more than a few of you reading this who have taken a look at these photos and already jumped to the conclusion that this was another hot rod farmed out to professional shops that we're calling homebuilt because the owner bolted on the headlights. You couldn't be farther from the truth. About the only things the Flakes didn't do themselves were the engine machining, some of the upholstery, and the pinstriping. The rest was done in an admittedly well set-up personal shop, but the talent was homegrown.
When Rick bought his first car at 14 years old he was fortunate enough to have a father who was also into hot rods and had a nice assortment of tools he was willing to share along with his knowledge. Several years later, Rick was working on a bare steel pickup based on many of the elements of Jimmy Shine's well-known truck. His son, Roy, was entering his teenage years and Rick figured it was time to pass the torch and started looking for a father/son project Roy could sink his teeth into. They lucked out and found a basket case '34 Ford pickup basically consisting of a cherry cab and some other pieces resting in a barn in nearby Clovis.
During his first summer vacation with the pickup, Roy acquired a Ford Flathead and, after getting the block and internals machined, brought the fresh pieces home, and with some help from his dad, assembled the engine and had it running on a test stand. The project then went on hiatus for almost a year until Roy's next summer vacation. During this time Rick and Roy had some time to formulate a plan for the build. Dad wanted fenders, shiny paint, and blackwalls; son wanted it low without fenders, coated in suede black, and rolling on whitewalls.After some give and take they were ready to start on the truck's foundation. A new set of American Stamping 'rails were cut and kicked in the back, pinched at the firewall, and kicked out a little at the grille. The framehorns were lopped off and some custom crossmembers were added. Roy learned to weld (both MIG and TIG) while building the chassis. An assortment of new traditional-style suspension pieces were assembled and mixed with a few custom and updated parts.The cab didn't need a whole lot of work and was kept pretty stock with the exception of losing 4 inches out of the roof. The bed was another story. After taking a good look at the bed that came with the pickup, Rick determined it would be easier to build one from scratch. He ordered a tailgate and some stake pockets from Mac's Products and cut them down to fit the custom bedsides he and Roy bent and bead-rolled to perfection. The rolled top of the bed came from a mid-'50s Dodge bed they cut apart. The finishing touch was the mahogany bed floor Roy sanded, stained, and cleared like he'd been doing it for years. Rick squirted the PPG Black himself once the duo had the sheetmetal in shape.
Rick and Roy carried the simple-but-well-executed theme into the interior. The stock dash was retained but dressed up with some custom aluminum milled inserts Rick whipped up and then filled with Stewart Warner Winged gauges. He also built the bench seat and then finally had to turn part of the build over to his friend Richard Baskin to get the red Naugahyde stitched. Rick kept his hand in part of the upholstery chores and did the headliner and trimmed the carpet. Teenage boys like their music so they installed a JVC head unit in a custom overhead console and hid a quartet of 4-inch speakers in the tight cab. The end result of the experience was not only a tighter bond between father and son, but also one heck of a nice truck. Beyond the great style and build quality, the thing we liked best was how different the truck could look with just a couple of five-minute changes. Pull the Moon discs and the hood and a completely different pickup will emerge. If the Flakes are any indication of what's going on in garages across the country as fathers pass their skills onto their kids, the hobby is in good shape.