Refined Advance Design – Ryan LeBlanc’s Streamlined ’50 Chevy 3100
It should be no surprise to anyone that trucks of all ages are hot right now. Walk any car show or cruise night and you’ll find examples from Model A pickups through ’70s- and ’80s-era squarebodies and beyond.
Ryan LeBlanc’s 1950 Chevy 3100 five-window pickup is a prime example of the design and workmanship being invested in these former work trucks. Front to back, top to bottom, inside and out, the detail work on this truck is precise, thanks to the talented crew at Streamline Custom Designs in Tooele, Utah.
The Streamline team anchored an all-new steel cab from Premier Street Rods on a TCI chassis fitted with an independent front suspension featuring RideTech coil-overs and rack-and-pinion steering. A four-link rear suspension controls a 9-inch rearend housing 3.73 gears. Wilwood discs are mounted on all four corners behind Schott 18- and 19-inch wheels, which in turn are wrapped in Nitto yellow-line tires from Diamondback Classic.
Modern power comes from a Chevrolet Performance LS3 producing 525 horsepower, thanks in part to the Magnuson supercharger. Vintage-style Olds valve covers are courtesy of Delmo’s Speed. Speed Engineering headers feed through a 2.5-inch stainless exhaust system and Flowmaster mufflers. A Drive Junky system spins the accessories.
The exterior work by Streamline is both obvious and subtle, depending on where you look. For example, the front and rear bumpers are from a ’68 Camaro but are modified to look right at home. Sheet metal tweaks include a custom roll pan and front valance, one-piece hood, modified inner fenders, radiused bed corners, molded taillights, and a custom tailgate. The custom wood bed is smoothed and includes the relocated gas filler. Kindig door handles and deleted vent windows enhance the smooth theme. The tasty custom-mixed color was blended using PPG Envirobase materials and is appropriately name Streamline Cafe Au Lait.
The interior work is not what the Chevy designers could have fantasized about more than 70 years ago. Dakota Digital gauges fit in a leather-wrapped stock dash and an American Retro wheel is mounted on an ididit tilt column. The Procar seats, as well as the rest of the interior, were covered in Relicate ebony slate leather by the talented stitchers at Interior Revolution in Middleton, Idaho. JL Audio, Restomod Air, Lokar and Clayton Machine Works handles/pedals, and American Autowire wiring complete the interior details.
The end result is a much more refined version of what Chevrolet debuted 75 years ago with the Advance Design pickup body style. If those original designers were here today to see this custom example, we doubt they would be disappointed.
Photos by John Jackson
