Ron Segal has owned more than a hundred of the wildest custom street rods and trucks on the planet. Many have appeared on covers and have been featured in major custom magazines, including Truckin'. Two of Ron's previous custom trucks, a '56 and a '59 Chevy pickup, were both featured on the same cover of Truckin'. Ron has been a custom car and truck enthusiast for the past 40 years. He has been a member of the Over the Hill Gang in San Bernardino, California, since 1987.
Ron is a successful general contractor and custom homebuilder in the Palm Springs area. He has built more than 300 custom homes during his career. Ron is a true-blue spur-spinnin' cowboy, who owns a ranch outside of Desert Hot Springs. Ron and his lovely wife Sue have been horse lovers long before they hitched up. Both of them rode rodeo, as Ron rode bulls 'n broncs and Sue was a barrel racer. Even though Ron hung his spurs up a couple of years ago, he continues to ride hay burners for leisure. Sue still rides with a cowgirl's rodeo flag team, and trail rides all over the country. Now, Ron has the time to focus on more horsepower, street rods, and early model custom trucks. He also has an affinity for cowboy art, artifacts, Gilmore Racing, and Howdy Doody collectables.
A three-spoke leather-covered steering wheel caps the ididit tilt steering column. Notice the TEA's bench seat, which matches the door panel with a tuck 'n' roll insert and a custom armrest.
Ron's latest wild ride is this '36 Ford Roadster pickup. The roadster was originally owned by John Slyter of Davenport, Iowa. John hooked up with two well-known custom builders, Dave Lane and Tim Strange of Strange Motion, who are located in Cambridge, Illinois. The pair was responsible for the majority of the original buildup. John explained his vision of what he was looking for in style, performance, and function. By using a '36 Ford pickup cab, the roof was removed, the windshield A-pillars were chopped 2 inches, then laid back a couple of degrees, and then the rear portion of the cab and doors were stretched 10 inches. A custom lift-off soft-top was fabricated, then covered with tan canvas.
Underneath the body, the factory framerails were boxed and lengthened 10 inches to accommodate the stretched cab. A '33 hood and grille were major factors in the custom body-mod equation. To make the front fenders align with the hood properly, the inner portions of the '33 passenger fenders were fused to the outer portion of the '36 pickup fenders. Then, a pair of Ford commercial headlights were adapted to the front fenders. Next, 2 inches were added to the middle of the rear fenders to allow width clearance for the chubby rear tires. To create another cool custom touch, the cab doors were hung in the suicide position. A one-off custom bed with straight sideboards, a radiused roll pan, and a hinged tailgate were capped with a custom steel tonneau, which was covered with a roof-matching tan canvas.
The internal Allante cream upholstery and TEA's bench seat with a center armrest were covered and stitched by Autos By Scott in Joplin, Missouri. The engine's rpm, vital signs, and speed are now read by Dakota Digital gauges. A complete Ron Francis wiring kit was used to link every electrical component. When the Quality Components air conditioning is not being used, the Ball's Rod & Kustom remote electric windows, locks, and latches allow for fresh, cool air and security.
A simple Chevy 350ci small-block was dropped between the framerails. A polished 150-amp Powermaster alternator and Quality Components A/C compressor, along with Zoops billet-aluminum valve covers and air cleaner, added some bling to the engine compartment. The air-fuel mixture is delivered from an Edelbrock 600cfm carburetor and an Edelbrock Victor Junior intake manifold. A Delco-Remy coil zaps the HEI distributor, which sends electrical pulses through the Taylor 8mm ignition wires to the spark plugs. | 
A waterfall-style center console houses the Air Ride Technologies switch panel and air-pressure gauge. Notice the custom cup holder and cool, silver cowboy Conchos. |
The original '36 Ford cab and framerails were stretched 10 inches. Its top was removed and a custom Carson-style soft-top was built, then it was covered in paint-matching maroon material. The windshield posts were chopped 2 inches, then leaned back a couple of degrees. | |