Lance Latham of Lusby, Maryland

This light yellow and cream 1946 Chevrolet 1/2 ton truck with its natural wooden bed was a real show stopper at Cruisin' OC. Lance Latham's prize winning pick-up has been awarded several trophies for 'most original'. "I like original cars and I kept this as original as I could," said Lance. "All this wood bed on the back was original when I got it. So I just replaced the boards in it." A produce farmer in Tennessee bought the original truck. "He purchased the truck for $800 without the bed and he had a blacksmith custom build these metal straps. He purchased the wood and bolted it to it. He had a canvas over it and he'd put his produce in it and take it to the market." The farmer eventually gave the truck to his aunt who just happened to live at the end of the road where Lance lives in Lusby, Maryland. After passing by it many times, he recognized the potential in this old truck and finally made an offer to purchase it. "I love trucks, I've always owned trucks on the farm."

Lance carefully restored his Chevrolet with the help of his good friend Stan and his 5 year old grandson who learned to hand him the proper tools. "Basically what saved this truck if you look, all this is undercoated," Lance stated. "When the guy purchased it, he had it undercoated, so when I got it, it was no rust in it. This truck would have probably been in the junkyard or crushed." The striking grill is original and Lance sent it to California to be re-chromed. "It cost like $600, but you can get the best chrome work in California in the world because of the atmosphere." Lance even has the original owner's manual which is in mint condition. "I have all the original pictures and as I tore it down I took pictures of it."

Lance was joined by his friends, Stan and Bill (the Commissioner of Babe Ruth baseball), who were having a great time at the Cruisin' OC show. "We've had a blast!" he said. But most of all, Lance is proud when others appreciate his superb '46 Chevrolet pick-up. "Today you'll see people who like trucks and they'll stop by and tell me how pretty it is."