SquareBody Syndicate Series 02 - 1976 Indy 500 Track Truck Tribute

Yeah, it was built to drive, that was of the utmost importance during the build, that was the first thing that Joe wanted out of the truck is that it was going to be reliable and functional. I'm Joey with SquareBody Syndicate out here at LS Fest West 2019 showing off SS02, our latest build. It's a tribute truck based off of the 1975 Indy 500 official track trucks, we had one of the three that were in this paint scheme with the strobe pattern, that truck was too significant to cut up so we decided to do this tribute build and base it off of that truck. 

A lot of the sheet metal work was done by a local shop in Phoenix called Phoenix Hot Rod Company, the paint is from BASF, it's a single stage RM paint. Underneath the single stage is a black primer base coat so that as the truck ages and patinas it will still mimic a factory look because he plans on being out in the sun all the time with it, driving it you know, as it gets road wear and chips and stuff it'll chip just like the truck would have in 75'. Anything chrome has been redone, you know the stainless trim from RK, it's crazy just how laser straight that came out, even a lot of the, we have a billet front grill there that GSI cut for us, a one-piece billet grill. They also did a billet steering wheel, a lot of little hidden traits in there that just kind of help make it more comfortable, easier to drive, and give it just a sharper look but you know, subtle.

The mechanical was done in house at our shop by myself, Joe, Rob, and Dave and it's just a labor of love that we spent a few months knocking out. So that's an LS3 platform, it was a new crate that we retrofit to make look like the iconic Keith Black motor that graced the cover of Hot Rod Magazine, I believe October of 79'. Joe came up with the concept of the mechanical look, no paint, rounded all the edges, sandblasted the aluminum to give it that rough, rugged look. He did the gold syndicate valve covers out of GSI, kind of mimic the old covers. Anodized a couple of pulleys red, did some AN fittings, just everything that the original motor that he loved had we replicated on this one even down to the white jet hot headers, the hooker headers. Yeah, that's a tricky thing to do because you obviously want people to know that it's an LS but at the same time, nostalgic late 70's look was so important that we ended up coming out with a look that stumps a lot of people for sure. 

Yeah, the turbine is based off of Mike Curtis from Curtis Speed cut those for us They're another one of Joe's designs, he spent months and months researching different turbines, you know the westerns, all the different options out there to come up with the exact spoke count, the right transition, the point at the end of the spoke, and worked real close with Mike Curtis to come out with it and then even down to the wrinkle paint from Pacific Coast Powder Coating.

Got a lot of Holley, it's got the Dragon Claw Clutch, the Holley oil pan, the whole fuel system, QuickTime Bell Housing, the Frostbite Radiator.

The plan is, as of right now, is to end up at the Indy 500 this year, they asked us to bring it out there and show it off and put it in the museum so it'll go there and after that, we'll have it out at LS Fest East. For sure couldn't ask for a better show, this is definitely the best show to come to of the year other than obviously LS Fest East so we'll see you then.