One look at Rod McAfee’s ’64 Chevy pickup, and you immediately realize he has good reason to be proud of his home-built hero. “I built this in my shop at my house near Waco, TX,” he states. “It took more than four years to build, as I worked alone most of the time. It wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve done.”

Rod told me he started with a “southern” truck and treated it to a rotisserie rebuild. The red and ivory exterior looks great with the similar interior. “The red and ivory two-tone combination is applied to the body in keeping with the factory spec,” Rod says. “The cargo-bed wood is white oak and the metal strips are polished stainless. The rear wheels are chrome, 17-inch American Torque Thrusts with 235/60-15 tires and the fronts are 16 inchers with 215/70 tires, giving the truck a big and little hot-rod vibe.”

Definitely an upgrade over the factory offerings.

Inside, Rod repaired and powder coated the seat frame and covered it with new seat foam and skins to match the colors of the truck. Red carpeting covers the floors with a custom Bow-Tie emblem sewn in.  A custom steering wheel with a chrome horn ring sits atop a chrome tilt steering column.  The chrome-trimmed instrument cluster has all-new gauges that have been upgraded to electrical senders. There is also a tachometer, and ‘a 60s-era muscle car clock arranged in the stock configuration. Air-conditioning controls and vents are included on the dash, as is chrome/paint Chevrolet-embossed trim below the glove box.  A stock-appearing but upgraded push-button radio is mounted in the factory radio location.

Under that large Chevy pickup hood, we find the truck has been repowered with a 385-horsepower small-block from BluePrint Engines with a roller cam and Vortec heads.  “The Chevy Orange engine surfaces and chrome-aluminum finned valve covers, together with the Moon Eyes custom finned aluminum low-restriction air cleaner make for an impressive presentation,” Rod is happy to report.

Rod ended his email by saying, “I’m a retired US Navy Master Chief. After 22 years of active duty, I am finally able to do what I love best, and that is playing with old cars and trucks.”

Stance is everything, and Rod nailed it.

Do you want to read about more Home-Built Heroes? All you need to do is click here. I want to see those reader’s rides. If you would like to share yours, I want to hear about it. Since I started this series, I have received more than a few candidates. But I still want to see more — I can never get enough. If you want to see more cars built by you the readers, send a few pictures of your car showing the engine, interior, and exterior, along with all of the pertinent information, and I’ll make you internet famous. You can send your submissions to [email protected].