Overdrive

CUSTOM RIGS 46 | Overdrive | March 2018 T he number seven played a major part in a recent custom truck build by Fitzgerald Glider Kits and Fitzgerald Collision and Repair. One aspect was the seven days required to tear down and rebuild the 2017 Peterbilt 389 glider. The Gas Monkey Garage shop, featured on the Discovery Channel's "Fast N' Loud" series, needed a new truck built for Gas Monkey Energy's team that races in the National Hot Rod Association, whose season kicked off last month. However, the rebuild had to be done during seven days in January because the Gas Monkey crew wanted to take it to the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, in mid-January. Richard Rawlings, owner of Gas Monkey Ga- rage and star of "Fast N' Loud," said his shop builds cars and knew nothing about building trucks. After doing some research on who could build a custom- ized truck, he settled on Fitzgerald. "We have been doing NHRA for a few years now, and it was time for us to do a rig," Rawlings said. The custom grille with the Gas Monkey Energy logo was fabricated by 12 Gauge Customs. Fast and proud This rebuilt Peterbilt 389 glider was scheduled to make its TV debut on Discovery Channel's "Mega Motor Week" Feb. 26 through March 5. Segments of the truck's rebuild were expected to appear in a couple episodes, along with the big reveal of the truck to the Gas Monkey Garage team, the stars of Discovery's "Fast N' Loud." In that show, Richard Rawlings and Aaron Kaufmann search for derelict classic cars to buy and restore at their Gas Monkey Garage in Dallas. Fast and proud Fast and proud Fitzgerald embraces seven-day challenge to rebuild Pete glider for TV's 'Fast N' Loud' shop. BY MATT COLE Photos by Brian Bourke

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