And Babe had blue paint? Yeah, that’s right, this particular 1957 3100 pickup named Babe, The Blue Ox sports a coat of Apache Blue pigment to help it stand out in the forest near its home town of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Ted and Cindy Murray own this 40-year old resurrected relic, but even though Babe has reached maturity in truck years, this truck is still ready and willing to spend a weekend out playing in the mud and trees and generally just getting dirty.
Ted and his younger brother Terry dreamed of turning this Chevy into a 4×4 show truck. Then, due to Terry’s untimely death at age 24, the truck’s conversion was taken over by brother, Ted, who decided to complete their dream vehicle in his brother’s memory.
Originally bought in 1985 for $1,000, the ’57 now runs around on a younger ’75 shortbed Chevy frame that Ted altered to match the original configuration of the ’57 frame. The 12-bolt 1/2-ton rearend was also pirated from the donor pickup and beefed up with the addition of 4.56:1 gears, a Moroso Super Brute limited-slip and modified wheel studs. Homemade traction bars help to keep the rear axle from wrapping up or twisting out of plumb during rough treatment. Eight Rancho shocks work together to keep the rearend under control while an add-a-leaf kit gives the fenders a little more clearance. Mickey Thompson 39x15x15 Baja Belted knobbies wrap around polished 15×10-inch American Racing allows. Disc brakes are run up front with drum brakes on the real axle.
Up front, Rancho supplied a 4-inch lift along with the shows. Ted also used the tilt-steering wheel column from the donor ’75 to make the interior a little more comfortable. A Grant GT steering wheel was also added.
It should come as no surprise that the 400-cid V8 and driveline were also transplanted from the base ’75 Chevy. The engine was worked over by the C+P machine shop in Fort Wayne and features a .040 overbore along with a custom crankshaft and rods. Cam Dynamics produced the cam and valve springs. Edelbrock valve covers are topped by Moroso breathers.
Induction mixture is atomized with a Holley 850-cfm dual-feed 4-barrel sitting atop an Edelbrock Performer intake manifold. Alumicoat headers with 3-inch diameter collectors run the exhaust through Turbo mufflers to give this blue brush whumper plenty of breather room.
Getting the power to the ground called for some modifications to the Turbo Hydro 400 automatic transmission. Fort Wayne transmissions installed a valve-body kit and a fresh converter with a 2,000-rpm stall speed.
With the running gear in order, Ted got to work on the original ’57 Chevy bodywork. No donar parts from the ’75 were used here. After taping and forming the original steel back to factory perfection, Ted sprayed on the Apache Blue acrylic enamel followed by a few extra coats of clear to ward off the minor scrapes and scratches you get while playing in the rough.
Taillights are genuine Chevrolet issue, but again, they came from the donor truck. But when it came to additional lighting, KC had the bright idea. Four of its big units are bolted to the 2×4-inch rectangular tube roll bar that rides behind the cab in the Stepside’s bed. A chrome-plated 90-amp alternator provides the juice.
Inside the cab, Ted finished off the interior with custom fiberglass seats upholstered in black, set off with gray and black carpeting. Remember those Turbo mufflers? It seems that Ted is plenty happy with those twin pipes and powerful music they play—so he opted to forget about installing a sound system!
Legend has it that Paul Bunyan roamed the countryside alone with his blue ox named ‘Blue,’ but Ted and Cindy share their travels with their two children, Christina and Monica. They can also drag along their friends Dwayne Carboni, Andy Miller and Rick Harding, those same friends that helped bring this truck to reality. A fitting tribute to a brother’s dream.