
Issue
December 2022
Owner
John Rabe Sr
Ride
The 51
(1951 chevy 3100)
(1951 chevy 3100)
Meaning Behind the Name
John "Senior" Rabe and the truck are both 70 Years old
Photographer
Amanda Rabe
Ride Details
Build Cost
125000
What was the inspiration?
Well. Before this night it was only blood and sweat. But now I can say blood, sweat and tears finally. Keeping this surprise from one of the closest people to me was much more difficult than I had expected. But it all paid off tonight. My dad thought it was for a customer and we just rolled with it. 6 months start to finish and from what I can figure over 2,000 man hours went into this build. It’s our first classic vehicle build. The team here at Sky High Car Audio willed this truck into existence. It fought us every single moment of those 2,000+ hours. Any chance it got it fought, kind of like my dad. From the hard life to retiring at 45. This truck is much the same. Not the best beginnings for either, insert a metric ton of hard work and it will get a beautiful life moving forward. It’s been probably the most rewarding thing I’ve personally been involved in. There’s absolutely nothing more fulfilling in my opinion than repaying a lifetime of perpetual mentorship with the “gift of a lifetime.” This was built almost completely by us at Sky High Car Audio as a surprise 70th birthday present for my dad. Since my parents selflessly help me with anything and everything I could possibly need without expectation of anything in return I feel that I owed them something special. I could call them in the middle of the night and ask them to fly to Antarctica to drop off a shipment to a customer and I truly believe they would. From the time I was a child my dad coached me to be a successful person mentally, will myself to my goals, work harder than anyone, be good human being, a good parent and a productive member of society. I am what I am today because of my parents. I’ve built a very successful business on my own but I would NEVER have been able to do this without all the years of advice and counseling I have gotten and continue to get daily. I can’t think of a better way to say “thank you” than building my dad his dream truck. He’s been talking about this truck for as long as I can remember. We would always go to car shows together when I was a kid; somehow 20 years later I remember all the stories, dreams, wants and needs. Here’s my interpretation of all those memories: It’s a 1951 Chevy 5 window. He loves this body style and especially the 5 window. I found this 1951 which is perfect and exactly what I wanted because he was born in 51. It seemed like the perfect platform.
How long did it take you to build?
4 months, 4 people, 12 hours a day
How long have you been building?
10 years or so
Your future plans?
drive the wheels off it
Vehicle history
Literally found in a barn in rural Nevada.
Thanks to
Jeffery Bardos
Johnny Schultz
Berto Pastelin
Previous Rides
2009 GTR feature
Engine Details
Make
corvette ls1
Cylinders
8
Displacement
5.7
Engine Mods
large aluminum radiator, stainless headers, full custom exhaust with x pipe, March billet pulleys/accessories, custom painted covers, 243 heads, big truck cam, all the goodies. It’s ran by a Holley Terminator X system.
Chrome or polish
chrome
Driveline Details
Torque Converter
randys transmissions
Axle
ford 8.8
Builder Shop
sky high car audio
Chassis Details
Chassis
stock-is frame. full boxed, back halved, custom notch, a arm conversion, power steering conversion, 4 link, exhaust pass throughs with integrated driveline loop.
Mods to Frame
We decided to do a coilover IFS set up in front. It’s all tig welded with Moog problem solver joints. Power steering and Willwood hydro boost. It’s got 13.8” Wilwoods up front with billet hubs. The rear is 4 link with coil overs and a pan hard bar. Small step notch to fit under a 2 raised flat bed floor. Everything was made in house and it works amazingly.
Frame Builder
sky high car audio
Drop or lift inches
drop idk how many inches....until the tires cleared
Front Shocks
qa1
Rear Shocks
qa1
Spindles
mustang
Springs
qa1
Four Link
custom
Chrome, Paint, or Polish
paint and powder
Wheels Details
Front Wheel Type
Detroit Steel
Rear Wheel Type
Detroit Steel
Front Wheel Size
20x9
Rear Wheel Size
20x11
Front Tire Size
275
Rear Tire Size
305
Paint Details
Color
It’s a Lamborghini orange over a white base; it has green and gold pearl to get the shift. Plus 3 thick of clear
Graphics Description
Every nut. Every bolt. Every part excluding nothing has been touched, modified, loved, beat, and messed with to make this truck what it is. It’s a driver. It will get scratches. It won’t live locked up in a trailer and/or garage. This is what’s special about this truck in detail: The first car he ever built was a ‘56 Nomad. It was Chevy Racing Red so we went with this orangish red to match(ish) the color of his first car.
Painted By
jonathan rabe
Graphics By
Body Details
Hood
center rib delete
Grille
chrome oem
Bumpers
chromed OEM front, roll pan rear
Body Mods
As far as the body work we did all of it in house. From scratch fire wall, toe board, floor board, front end rear lower cab corners, shaving of the louvers and upper cowl intake. Added Kin Dig It handles and bear claw latches to get that modern feel but classic look. We did a single piece hood on billet hinges and struts. We modified the bed extensively as you can see. It has an actuated bed floor to access the paint matched jack and fuel filler for the rear mounted 19 gallon aluminum tank. It has a pressure switch that turns on the lights for under the Wyoming barn paneled bed floor
Interior Details
Dashboard
oem
Gauges
summit
Steering Wheel
TMI
Head Unit
retro sounds
Amps
audio control
Speakers
sky high car audio
Shifter
summit
Seats
TMI
Tint Percent
infused glass 20%
Upholstery Description
Inside we did a TMI seat in distressed leather, matching steering wheel, headliner, sun visors, and door panels. Power windows and door locks are ran by a proximity sensor ignition system (no key like a modern vehicle). Steve Meade made us some amazing covers for the keyless entry (and the custom laser battery cover). It has AC and heat. Audio Control amps and digital sound processor, B2 subwoofer, custom Gately Audio 3 way speaker kick panels holding Sky High carbon neo 3 way sets. All sky high wiring for the entire vehicle and audio system. Every system is individually fused and relayed. An essentially stock looking dash brings the modern resto mod feel home inside. In addition it has a column shifter...which if you know about these trucks doesn’t exist. It’s these small touches of “impossible” problems solved here that makes it so special.
Upholstery By
TMI
Over The Hill

Owned by: John “Senior” Rabe
Photos by: Amanda Rabe