Old School Custom Works with Style on a 1957 Dodge Pickup
There are many modified vintage trucks running around these days, but few that are significantly customized in the old-school vein like this 1957 Dodge owned by Dennis Schroeder. This custom goes well beyond a few shaved emblems and custom paint. It’s been treated to a thorough restyling and scores of metal mods by Eggleston Kustoms.
The extensive modifications might be the result of how long Dennis had to think about building the truck. He bought it from a charity auction in Kansas City 35 years ago, and it sat along a fence row on his farm for decades. Dennis looked at it every time he passed by in the field, which provided plenty of time for creative ideas to percolate.
We’d need a book to discuss every alteration, but here are some highlights. The top has been chopped about 4-inches, with a ’55 Pontiac windshield fitted into place (this prevented the need to cut a stock windshield). The cab is sectioned, the hood pancaked, and the front end is cleaned up with frenched headlights, a rolled pan, one-off bumperettes, and a custom grille opening with a floating ’57 Chevy pickup grille bar.
Things get wilder around back for this 1957 Dodge, where Sweptside-style bed sides have been created using ’55 Plymouth quarter panels. Custom lenses fill the taillight openings, while one-off split bumpers protect the custom rear pan. Radiused rear wheel openings match the fronts and show off the 18- and 20-inch American Racing wheels. All the custom metalwork has been bathed in in a medium green metallic finish.
As you might expect, the underside of the Dodge is just as custom as the top. The boxed frame has a Fatman independent front suspension with rack-and-pinion steering, and a four-link rear suspension with coil-overs supporting a 9-inch rearend. The painted and detailed chassis supports a modern 6.0-liter GM LS3 engine breathing through a custom exhaust system with Flowmaster mufflers. It’s backed by a 4L60E automatic transmission.
There’s more custom metalwork inside, where a ’57 Chevy passenger car dash has been integrated into the cab, and a custom waterfall-style console fabricated to separate the late-model Chrysler bucket seats. Eddie Potestio at Eddie’s Rods & Customs in Pueblo, Colorado was called on to stitch the tan leather and cloth upholstery, complete with custom door and kick panels. Dakota Digital gauges, a tilt column, and a downsized Impala-style wheel finish things off.
Add it all up and you have scores of custom modifications in one dynamic 1957 Dodge truck. Of course, the real question is, do they work? Goodguys thought so, as the combination of style, quality, and impact earned this distinctive Dodge the LMC Truck of the Year Early finalist nod during their Colorado Nationals event in 2024.
Photos: Todd Ryden