’59 Chevy 3800 named HERSCHEL

Every Scar Tells a Story

At 29 years old, young Herschel Wong was on the hunt for a new work truck for his business, H. Wong Co. Refrigeration. He had been in business for a couple of years now and was in need of something that could handle all the parts and supplies for the mobile repair and installation service. From the clues gathered, it seems as though Herschel likely bought his ’59 Chevy in the town of Ukiah, California, and had a utility box installed.

1959 Chevy 3800 named HERSCHEL Custom 1959 Chevy As the years went on and the truck did its duty, it was eventually taken out of service and stored away. It wasn’t until 2016 that it would surface for sale, which is when Chris Driscoll of Wexford, Pennsylvania, came across it on eBay and knew he had to have it.

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The truck was still in Ukiah after all those years, and after negotiating a deal with the flipper who had it (Mr. Wong passed away in 1997, and the flipper purchased the truck from his family), Chris arranged to have the Zaccardi boys (Brian and Buster) of ZaccardiBuilt scoop the truck up for him and bring it back to Arizona for its transformation. With a game plan set, the wheels were put into motion and the build was on its way.

Preserve, Restore, Modify

When Chris bought the truck, its history was still a mystery. The Chevy had obviously gone through dozens of washes over the decades, so the signage had been severely worn away and was all but gone. After a bunch of sleuth work and some help from Jeremy from Lucky Stripe Designs, Chris was able to figure out more of the truck’s past. Now that its history had been revealed a bit more, Chris was determined to preserve and restore as much as the truck’s lineage as possible, while still making it his own.

Now that its history had been revealed a bit more, Chris was determined to preserve and restore as much as the truck’s lineage as possible, while still making it his own.

Porterbuilt air-ride chassis And by “making it his own,” we mean that Chris wanted a slammed, big wheel-tuckin’ behemoth with plenty of power, and Herschel’s big ol’ utility box was perfect for hiding a 4-pack of Lowbow Motorsports’ 24-inch Alcoa wheels out back to match the pair up front. Of course, Herschel didn’t come from the factory prepared to tuck almost a foot of aluminum at each corner, which is why ZaccardiBuilt incorporated a custom Porterbuilt air-ride chassis into the mix. Now the Chevy was able to lay frame, then air up when it’s time to hit the road.

24-inch Alcoa wheels The ol’ truck also got a big bump in power thanks to a tuned 6.0L LY6 mated to a 6L90, putting out around 400-horsepower. The engine is surrounded by custom-made fenderwells whipped up by Craftwerks Fabrication, with color matching done by Jeremy at Lucky Stripe. While the truck’s underpinnings were getting tended to, Lucky Stripe Designs moved on to restoring the lettering, while Old Skool Detail brought the original Golden Yellow paint back to life.

under hershel’s hood is a 2009 GM 6.0L LY6 V-8 that was tuned by cordes racing.

The truck was finished off with a custom upholstery job by Dominic Dominguez at Custom Interior Fabrication before Chris was able to pick Hershel up from ZaccardiBuilt. Since then, he has taken the truck to tons of shows and cruises, where it always draws a crowd. According to Chris, the only thing left to do is add some boost for even more excitement. We think Hershel is perfect just the way he is, but we have no doubt that Chris will continue to do Mr. Wong proud!