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Editor's note: This is part of a series at KSL.com featuring some of Utah's coolest cars. If you own a customized vehicle — from sports cars to semitrucks — email fjolley@ksl.com with a photo of the vehicle and a brief description for consideration.LINDON — Scott and Randy Hardman first purchased their 1988 full-size Chevy 1500 pickup in 2002 with one goal in mind — to transform their new purchase into a street-legal race truck.
Over the next 10 years, the father and son worked on the truck to build it into a street legal vehicle that would pass safety and emissions tests in Utah. The other major goal on their list was to have the truck be a mirror image of the NASCAR Craftsman race truck at the time.
The Hardmans purchased the truck in stock form, in regular work truck trim. But over the next 10 years, it would only retain the stock front half of the frame and the factory cab. Every other part on the truck would be custom-made by the Hardmans or replaced with aftermarket performance parts that were available.
A 355-cubic-inch conventional small-block Chevy V-8 engine was modified and used as a platform for the power plant under the hood. With the factory pistons being swapped out, as well as the cylinder heads and connecting rod hardware, the engine produces an estimated 425 horsepower and has a compression ratio of 10.5 to 1 to keep the truck completely street-able, and at the same time, producing a sufficient amount of power.
Scrapping the stock drivetrain, the Hardmans used a Borg Warner T-5 transmission that is connected to a Ford 9-inch rear end that has been fitted with a 3.50 gear ratio and a positraction limited-slip differential to help put all that power to the ground.
Once the power plant and drivetrain were completed, the suspension was also swapped out for a more suitable race-style spring and Afco shock combination, and the body and chassis were also heavily modified to match the look and perfomance the Hardmans wanted.
On top of shortening the overall wheel-base to 112 inches, a full roll cage was welded into the truck. The frame and steering were also heavily modified to work better with the added power the truck was producing.
Factory seats were swapped for a lightweight set of racing seats that matched the new five-point harnesses that replaced the factory seat belts. A custom-made aluminum dash with aftermarket gauges helped bring the feel of the race truck all together on the interior.
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It probably started when Jeff Sermon was serving an LDS mission in Germany. He loved the German people, visited car factories and met with the workers. He bought a lug nut at the Porsche factory, figuring that was the most Porsche he’d ever be able to afford.A front end from a newer 1998 Chevy pickup was installed, and the entire frame and roll cage were powder coated bright orange. The body was then painted blue and a custom set of decals were also put on to match the Craftsman race truck they were trying to mirror image.
After all their hard work, the truck was finished just hours before the Utah Valley University car show in 2012, and they were able to make it to the show with the truck just in time.
The truck can be seen at car shows and drives all around Utah, and the Hardmans have obtain sponsorship from NAPA Auto Parts and LKC Auto and Towing.
