It Was All a Dream

HE 1990S WERE

TA TIME FILLED WITH STOPS AT BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO, BEING PLUGGED INTO SONY DISCMANS, WATCHING THE “FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR” ON THE TV, AND LET’S BE HONEST ... MUCH better music. The hip hop alone is discussable for days—from Wutang to Nas, Warren G to Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy to Big L, the music just hit different. Simpler times to say the least, and with that, simpler vehicles.

G I V I N G T H A N K S F O R ‘ M O T H E R T E R E S A’

‘ MOT HER T ER ESA’ w i l l be at a nu mber of show s—includ ing some a rou nd Ten nessee as wel l as some Goodg uy s events, Min i-Nats, Battle in Ba ma, a nd Dino’s Get Dow n—in the com ing yea r or so.

Barefoot also wanted to give a few quick thank you notes to some indispensable people: the Joh nson fa m i ly, A R P Bolts, Mi ke A lex a nder from F lo A i r -r ide, Jacob at StoneFab, Jason a nd Ch r istine Roach, Ch r is at Snowden Seats, Mi ke Howe, Shaw n K at Tra ffic Ja ms, h is No Reg rets fa m i ly, Mi ke Losh from Slosh Tubs, Saw yers Speed Shop, a nd last but most i mpor ta nt, h is mom for a lw ay s being in h is hea r t a nd m ind a nd d r iv ing h i m tow a rd h is goa ls.

show your individual footprint and taste as an enthusiast no-matter what your background.

While many of the truck builders still in the scene today started their first builds back in their youth and developed their tastes into other things as time went by, others, like Jonathon Barefoot, were not able to pursue their love for this era and the trends from back then. They’re now taking full advantage of getting older and the freedom that comes with it.

MOM W OU LD BE P ROU D

Barefoot did not have the means in high school to build the truck he envisioned having, so years of hard work later, he made sure to do so for himself and his mother Teresa. Jonathon’s mom unfortunately passed away far too soon

ABOVE. ONE OF JONATHON’S FAVORITE TOUCHES ON THE TRUCK IS THE HANDBUILT CUSTOM CANTILEVER REAREND HE CREATED.

T R U C K S P E C S

OWNER Jonathon Barefoot ❚ Truck Specs: 1990 Chevrolet 1500 ❚ Hometown: Gadsden, Alabama ❚ Occupation: Fabricator at

Johnson’s Hot Rod Shop ❚ Truck Name: Mother Teresa ❚ Club: No Regrets ❚ Cost: Who Knows?? REASON FOR BUILDING “My mom’s wish for me in high school was for me to have a truck like this, and also it has been a dream of mine to have an OBS since I was young.” CHASSIS § ¾ Custom Frame firewall back § Wheelbase 1/2” shorter than stock to close up the bed gap § Stone Fab control arms, narrowed track width § Hand built chassis; cantilever rear was hand made § Custom built fuel tank w/ factory fuel pump Front Suspension: § Firestone bags § Ride-tech shocks Rear Suspension: § Firestone bags § Ride-tech shocks Shop: Jonathon Barefoot & Eric Powers ENGINE § Stock small block V8 § Simple emission compliant

Holley bolt ons § Custom made headers Exhaust: 2.5” Borla bed exit exhaust TRANSMISSION § Stock § Custom 2 piece driveshaft by

The Driveshaft Shop § Stock 12 bolt rear end, narrowed by 6” § Motor and Transmission lowered to allow for “true stock floor” body drop & stock hood. WHEELS § American Racing Burnouts § Front:22 x 8.5” Nitto 255-30-22 § Rear: 22 x 10.5” Nitto 295-30-22 BODY § Smoked headlights § Front fender tubs from Slosh

Tubs § Custom rear fender tubs § Removed stake pockets from bed § Removed third brake light § Removed fuel door PAINT § Axalta Hyper Blue Metallic § Shop: The Johnson Family in

Gadsden, AL INTERIOR § Snowden seat in black distressed leather § Billet specialties Snyper steering wheel § Shop: Snowden & Jonathon

Barefoot STEREO § Memphis and Digital Designs

Stereo § Two down-fire 6.5” subwoofers behind the seat § Shop: Traffic Jams of Gadsden,

AL

from a battle with breast cancer; a tough thing for anyone to deal with, but especially a 5-year-old boy. While he may not have 30 years of memories with her to look back on, one thing was very clear even in the few years he had—his mom wanted the world for her son.

Having spent the last 15 years working with some of the biggest names among hot rod builders in the nation, including Detroit Speed, Roadster Shop, and now Alan Johnson, Barefoot has had this 1990 Chevrolet 1500 in progress for a while. He has been a part of the original build on the CK for its previous owner, so he knew

BEING A VEHICLE BUILDER AND FABRICATOR, MOST OF US CAN EASILY IMAGINE HOW QUICKLY HE CHANGES THINGS, OR ADDS BITS HERE AND THERE AS NEW IDEAS SPARK.

he needed to make it his when it came up for sale.

He fully blew the truck apart and took it through quite a bit after acquiring it, and he still changes it often today. Being a vehicle builder and fabricator, most of us can easily imagine how quickly he changes things, or adds bits here and there as new ideas spark. One of Jonathon’s favorite touches he did on the truck has to be the hand-built custom cantilever rear end he created.

“In my eyes, this truck is perfect!” Barefoot says. “It can pull the muscle truck type look, it can look RAD, and it beat the street while helping me stay true to my mini-trucker roots!”