BY THE AUTHOR ROB FORTIER
Alex Rosales’ “Since-New” ’53 Chevy Family Heirloom
“It had always been a dream of mine to one day restore my great-grandfather’s truck and be able to have my family ride in it and maybe one day have my kids drive it,” Alex says. “I wanted to keep the truck’s body and interior as close to original as possible and leave the natural patina but went with a modernized chassis and drivetrain so it would run like a late-model, high-performance car (or better).
The truck sat 22 years in the driveway until I decided to start rebuilding it a few years ago. I debated on keeping it original or going the high-performance route. Ultimately, I chose the high-performance direction so I could travel greater distances with the truck and have some fun with the truck on the track one day.
“In 2017 I began disassembling the truck and purchased a Roadster Shop rolling chassis and a GM LT4 Gen V crate motor. I was able to get the body transferred over to the new chassis with the motor and a Gearstar Stage IV 4L80 transmission and realized I needed more space and some extra help to complete the build. In 2019 the truck went to Gary’s Rods & Restorations where they did amazing work and got it almost complete. It came back to my garage where I did the wiring for the truck and had the honor of doing the first startup at home. After doing the shakedown on the truck and getting all the bugs fixed, Top Notch Upholstery put the final touches on the interior and it was ready to go!”
Alex’s “Reliquia Familiar,” aka family relic, pickup is truly just that—not a recreation but rather a properly updated rolling treasure. Above and beyond what he mentioned, here are some more details of his naturally patina’d keepsake: The Roadster Shop Revo chassis features the company’s proprietary IFS and Strange Engineering 9-inch with a triangulated four-link rear, Afco adjustable coilovers, and Baer disc brakes capped with Billet Specialties’ 20-inch Daggers wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sports. The supercharged LT4 was updated with an All American Billet serpentine and now breathes through a stainless exhaust with MagnaFlow mufflers. While Gary’s sealed in that natural-aged exterior with a fresh coat of clear, the inside was given a more modern treatment that includes Dakota Digital RTX gauges, Vintage Air, and Custom Autosound stereo (all wired by Alex with a Painless Performance Products harness) topped off by a full leather trim job by Top Notch Upholstery that’s complemented by a Flaming River Roadster column and a Sparc Industries 3100 steering wheel.
