1963 Peterbilt 351 “Jerrybilt”
Finding parts for older trucks is getting harder every day, so when Jerry Salinas of Santa Clarita, California set out to rebuild his classic needle-nose Peterbilt, he ended up making most of the parts himself – so much so, that we joked about how his truck is more of a “Jerrybilt” than a Peterbilt! Looking to keep busy in his retirement from the heavy duty brake business, Jerry rebuilt this neat old Peterbilt from the ground up – and he did just about everything himself.
When Jerry bought the old needle-nose in 2000, it had been sitting for six months, but the rig’s 335 Cummins engine fired right up and he was able to drive it home. Painted light gray with a black stripe, this truck pulled a set of pneumatic trailers, hauling bulk cement for Tobi Transport, for most of its life. Besides cleaning it all up, Jerry did not have to do anything to the truck’s drivetrain, which includes the original two-stick transmission with a 4-speed main and 4-speed auxiliary setup. When Jerry started stripping the truck down, he found about fifteen coats of paint on it, but once it was all torn apart and stripped to the bare metal, the rebuild could begin.
To update the truck’s single exhaust with a set of dual five-inch pipes, Jerry had to install an air cleaner on the driver’s side. To accommodate the new intake, Jerry had to modify the truck’s butterfly hood, and then he hand-built his own intake tubes. He also moved the truck’s single fuel tank (on the passenger side) back behind the cab and then installed a battery box under the passenger door. Jerry then mounted a second 50-gallon fuel tank on the driver’s side to make both sides the same. To smooth out the bumps, Jerry added an air-ride system to the suspension. Rewiring everything, Jerry moved the batteries to the passenger-side box so they would be closer to the starter. The original steel fenders were pretty banged-up, so Jerry replaced them with a better set that he found on another 1963 Pete. Once all of the “dirty work” was finally done, Jerry shifted his focus to the paint and chrome.
Moving to the cab’s interior, after gutting it all out, Jerry installed a better dash from another 1963 Peterbilt, cleaned up all of the old gauges, replaced the driver’s seat (the passenger seat is still the original), and had the door panels and headliner reupholstered with new black leather. Jerry then added a new steering wheel, covered the steering column with chrome tubing, and made custom chrome kick panels for under the dash. The interior is nothing too fancy, but it looks great and is very functional.
Wanting to install a lot of lights, Jerry made his own light bars/brackets for the air cleaners, mirrors, battery boxes, stacks, deck plate, frame, tank covers, front bumper, rear light bar, bottom of grill, under the cab, and probably a few other places we missed. The truck has over 200 small, old-style incandescent marker lights (no LEDs), but they have been mounted so nicely and evenly, you can hardly tell – except at night, of course!
With all of the chassis work now complete, Jerry brought in his friend Cesar, who had never painted a truck before, to spray the Garnet Red paint right there in his shop. Once the truck was painted, Jerry installed all of the accessories and lights. Finding it difficult to find all of the parts he wanted, he ended up making a bunch of stuff on his own, including the exhaust brackets, the rear light bar and mud-flap brackets, covers for his leaf-springs and hanger brackets, the deck plate, the visor for the rear window, the air-line connection box and more. Using chrome-plated aluminum for almost everything, Jerry also made custom tank covers, complete with billet-style fuel filler caps built right into the covers!
Keeping busy with his truck and side-jobs here and there, Jerry is enjoying his retirement from the truck brake business – but here is an ironic fact – his Peterbilt has no front brakes! Back in the old days, they were not required, so a lot of companies just removed them. Jerry plans to add front brakes to his truck, but for now, his “Jerrybilt” original has none. To that, we say, “Come on Jerry, give it a brake!”
