Courtesy of Engine Builder, By Evan Laux

Resto-mods are some of the coolest builds out there, and there’s no shortage of guys that will skip a beat in completely decking out an old model car or truck. Whether it be for pure nostalgia or aesthetic, they often turn out beautifully and transform the original into something unbelievable. Such is the case of David Pilgrim’s 1954 Chevrolet 3100 that we got to check out at PRI last year.

Pilgrim’s father first bought the truck new the year it entered production as a work and drove it for around 20 years before passing it on to his son. It then saw use hauling for the Harley-Davidson dealership Pilgrim started and aided in his work in the Texas oil fields. By the late 80s the Chevy entered storage for a few decades while Pilgrim began to focus on other aspects of life. Racing had always been a family passion though, and he knew he’d be saving it for later.

Later, David and his wife Debbie began looking into drag racing after attending an NHRA event; that eventually led to the pair entering the Bonneville Salt Flats scene. Following a few turbocharged motorcycles builds and a C5 Corvette that hit a best record of 246.148 mph, he got the idea for the 3100.