This 1956 C-600 belongs to Mike Bishop (av8fordvolcano.net).

Several months ago I had some questions about a '56 C600 a pal was putting back on the road. Well, it's already finished and I thought it might be enjoyed by big and little truck guys alike.

The owner is Frank Mauro, proprietor of Stockton Wheel Service--favorite wheelsmith of the hot-rodding community in the West and gaining fans in other parts of the country as well. I doubt that there is anyone in the biz who knows as much about vintage wheels as Frank does, and he's not too shabby with the modern stuff. Frank is also responsible for putting together the Kingdon Drag Strip Reunion at the old airport near Lodi, California.

He bought this C600 about six months ago from its original owner, a farmer in the San Joaquin Valley who used it mostly at harvest time to transport produce/grain/? to the packing sheds/port/railhead. It had about 60K on the odo. A 390 with 4bbl and headers was swapped in, mated to the original five-speed and driving through the equally original two-speed rear axle.

I got to see it when Frank first drove it home and other than a couple of inconsequential golf-ball size dents the tinwork was perfect. The optional original plated grille and front bumper were near perfect and haven't been given much more attention than a good cleaning and a polish. Of course the wheels had to be made shiny to match. I'm not certain about the specs on the new paint--possibly Porsche Guards Red--but it's one that Frank has used on all his shop trucks and trailers ever since I've known him.

Frank replaced the original flatbed platform with a new one better suited to transport wheel shipments to and from the port. That's right, it's a work truck!

Hope you enjoy it.