Eddie Crock’s KW Pickup

After Eddie Crock of Caldwell, Ohio worked his 1979 Kenworth truck hard for 11 years he decided to sell it. The problem was no one was interested in buying it, so he decided to do something he’d wanted to do for years – turn it into a custom pickup. Eddie lowered the front end by removing some springs, then added shocks and air bags, giving the truck a smooth ride. Then, he cut the frame in two, figured out what spacing looked best, and then welded it back together. Eventually, he shortened the frame a bit and added roughly 30” to an 8’ Chevy dually bed. With the bed sized up, he put the drivetrain back together and then put 2,500 pounds of cast iron in a box over the rear end to stabilize the truck when accelerating and braking. Next, he raised the fuel tanks up for both aesthetic and clearance reasons – the driver’s side tank now serves as a battery box. After finishing all of the mechanical work, Eddie then installed new lights, bumpers, custom running boards and new trim around the grille. The body work came next. The welds between the bed and the addition took a lot of time to hide the joints and make the sides of the bed seamless, but once the seams were hidden, all that remained was to paint the truck. The only work this toy truck does now is go out on the road to truck shows, parades and an occasional evening out on the town – a far cry from the truck’s early days on the job!