To fulfill Jay's quest for quickness, a call was placed to good friend Dave Rebello at Rebello Racing in Brentwood, California, where the plan to build a nasty small-block for the '63 was put into motion. A four-bolt main 350ci Chevy small-block was located and torn down to receive a fresh rebuild and a host of go-fast internal and external components. Once on an engine stand at Rebello Racing, Dave filled the cylinders with 10:1 compression JE Forged Pistons and installed a Comp Cams roller bumpstick for the mandatory low idle rumble. The stock cast-iron heads that came on the motor were set aside to make way for a pair of GM ZZ4 aluminum heads mated to the deck surfaces for maximum throttle-stomping power. A set of Hedman Elite Jet-Hot-coated headers were put to work in the exhaust department with Flowmaster mufflers keeping everything street-legal, but still getting the spent gases out with authority. Once the engine was assembled and ready to shake and rumble between the framerails of Jay's box-style cruiser, a fresh 700-R4 transmission was prepped by Bow-Tie Overdrives in Hesperia, California, to put the 380 horses and 400 lb-ft of torque to the pavement.
After the engine compartment was stuffed with a fresh workhorse, it was time to address the body and throw some custom style down on the 41-year-old metal landscape. Back in Jay's garage, sparks flew as he proceeded to shave the door handles, trim pieces, and weld up all the seams, while also adding a Cadillac fuel door to provide a passage way to the 24-gallon Suburban fuel tank mounted under the bed floor. The truck was then delivered to Custom Mikes Auto Body in San Leandro, California, where the tailgate was smoothed with a custom skin, the stock taillights deleted, and a custom roll pan added with LED taillights. Once the body was fit with a wide array of custom body modifications and the metal was smooth as glass, Custom Mikes laid down a blanket of House of Kolor Bittersweet Pearl Orange over the refined exterior and color-sanded and polished the bright paintwork to a mirror shine. A freshly rechromed front bumper and factory grille maintain some OEM heritage to go along with the wild custom paint and body alterations. Lending an extra custom touch to the exterior is a custom graphic and pinstriping applied by Eric Reyes of Eric Reyes Designs in Hayward, California. The unique design and '50s-style hot-rod pinstriping helps break up all the orange and adds even more old-school charm to the hot rod-styled package.
Now that the truck was dropped to the ground, stuffed with a potent powerplant, and sporting a fresh facelift, Jay rolled it over to friend Steve Louisotti for a mild audio upgrade before the custom upholstery work was performed. Steve wired up a Rockford Fosgate head unit, a Rockford Fosgate 900-watt punch amplifier, and six mids and separates located in the kick panels and under the seats to bring some cruising sounds to the cabin. After the rocking sounds were in position, Kustom Kovers of Hayward, California, installed a 60/40 split bench seat from a late-model Chevy and covered it in sand and tan vinyl. The dashboard was shaved of several factory features and coated in House of Kolor Bittersweet Pearl with graphic artwork by Eric Reyes Designs to match the truck's exterior hue. The floorboards were covered with tan carpet, and the headliner and door panels were covered in matching sand and tan vinyl. Keeping things cool inside the cab is a Hot Rod Air HVAC system, while a 13-inch Corvette steering wheel allows Jay to control the '63 in style. Auto Meter gauges were wired up by Steve Louisotti and flush-mounted into a custom ABS plastic dashpod built by Jay.
Since its completion, Double Take has been tearing up the show season, pulling trophies and snagging looks at every event it attends. If you spot this ride at a show, it is guaranteed to have a crowd around it, and if you can weed through the rest of the spectators dying to get a glance at it, we promise it's worth a long look.