Article- When you were growing up, didn’t you want a big-ass Chevy truck on some giant Swampers? Yeah, we all did, but not all of us went through with it like Matt Harmon did. Matt’s no stranger to big mudder trucks, as his ride was a 73 Chevy on 44’s as well, and once you go big, you cant go back.
So what does a kid just a year or two out of high school do with some dreams and a little free time between work, school, and parties? Why, spend it with family of course! And so what if it’s a coincidence that grandpa knows how to weld and machine metal? We’re sure Matt’d still be making time for family anyway. But as long as grandpa had a torch and was willing to lend a hand.. maybe a little project could be punched out during the bonding time. You know, something that Matt, his grandpa and his friends could all be proud of, something that they built themselves, and something that was homegrown right in the beautiful farmland near Santa Crux, California.
What matt, Grandpa and Friends put together was more that just a big red Chevy on ginormous rubber that anyone could have paid for. They constructed the truck entirely by themselves, with no off the shelf axle or steering kits, no professional who had done this 20 times before, and no bottomless budget that would afford race-truck four-links or $10,000 motors. No, the truck they built was as much coller that all that, because they built it themselves. And as much as we love the high zoot stuff put out by the pros, its just never quite as impressive as a couple of friends with an idea, a welder, and a backyard to build a homegrown truck in.
Matt got a lot of help from his friends when building this truck, but when it was time to rip off the front IFS, he went to see his grandpa who knew a little about sculpting metal. They torched the stock front end , and hung super duty front hangers with the 8-inch front softride springs. The crossover steering was also custom built using DOM tubing and 1 ton Chevy tie-rod ends. Even the custom steering arm and block on the passenger knuckle was built and machined by them. Sure anyone can have these parts if you go buy’em right? But the spent learning to machine with grandpa is worth so much more. We’re sure one of the first things you’ll be quick to critique is the light duty 44 front axle with 44-inch tires. But lets remember who owns the truck: a normal guy, just like you. Matt doesn’t work in the off road industry, and doesn’t have a ching to immediately throw on a front axle worth more that some trucks. He retorts, “Anyone who wants can buy me the front Dana 60 if they have the extra dough to throw around. “ We like matts style, and we pose the question to you: How many of you actually have Dana 60’s started out with a 44 in its place? The 44 inch swamers on 12 inch rockcrawler wheels are nothing but standard for the Santa Cruz Chevy Militia. And what Chevy Militia member could be content without an almost necessary stereo packed into their mudder? 3 Audiobahn subs and amps make sure that everyone knows the Chevy Militia is coming before matt and his buddies even arrive.
