John Harrison's 1952 Chevy 3100

When John Harrison’s father-in-law sold him his 1952 Chevrolet 3100 five-window cab six years ago, he was skeptical with the idea of updating his classic truck. The truck first belonged to his wife’s grandfather, and it was still original when John bought it. Still, he had a few things he wanted to change to improve the safety and reliability of the truck.  

When he first bought the truck, John said it was struggling to get up to 50-60 mph. He’s done a lot of work on the truck, including replacing the entire front end with a Fatman Mustang 2 for independent suspension, replacing the rear suspension with TCI leaf springs, and beefing up the transmission. But when he bought an engine that didn’t work out, his next step was research. That’s when he turned to PACE Performance. 

“I had to do a whole lot of research,” John said. “For some reason, BluePrint engines get a bad rep. But if you talk to actual owners, it’s a different story. So, I went to PACE Performance, and they do turn-key builds and dynos. It made everything easy with the engine, and I installed it myself.” 

After buying the BluePrint 355 engine from PACE Performance and installing it, it was time to test it out. He said it was a very rewarding feeling to start it up the first time. But it was even more amazing to drive it, as the difference in the new engine was even bigger than he imagined. After submitting a photo of the engine into the contest, he was announced the winner.  

For six years, John, who lives in Maplesville, Alabama, has been methodically making improvements to the truck, and it’s nearing the finish line. While his father-in-law originally didn’t want any changes made, John looks forward to showing him the finished product when it’s out of the paint shop and sporting its new Viper Red coating.

“It’s going to be exciting for me when it’s completely finished,” John said. “My father-in-law wanted me to keep it original because it was his dad’s truck. But ever since I started working on it, he always asks me about it. And now he can’t wait to see it done. That’s what I’m looking forward to most.”