1936 Chevy Master Sedan Now Goes by “Brutally Sexy,” the Dream Custom Dually Pickup

For all you dreamers who were prevented from following your dreams by whatever obstacle, here’s a story that could serve as motivation. Chad Martin had dreamed of his perfect pickup for years when he started building it in 2016. To this day, people are still talking about it.

When you see it, you will understand why. Chad’s dream pickup isn’t your run-of-the-mill truck, but the most eye-catching, hand-fabricated, custom pickup possible, a literal dream come to life in steel and chrome. He calls it “Brutally Sexy” because it’s curvy yet powerful (and slightly dangerous), just like his wife. A cliché, but one that she doesn’t mind. Chad Martin runs his own custom shop, Chad’s Custom Dreams, in Saluda, South Carolina, so he knows a lot about turning other people’s dreams into reality. He tells Barcroft Cars in a new interview (see it in full at the bottom of the page) that he had already drawn his own dream pickup on paper in 1999, back when he still had no idea how to go about fabricating it. It would be another while before he actually started work on it, in 2016. And it would be another two long years, during which time he even warned the wife she might want to divorce him because he wouldn’t be at home too much, before he saw it to completion. In 2018, Chad and his team brought “Brutally Sexy” to SEMA, where it drew all eyes and became one of the most memorable customs on display. Today, after more than three years, it’s still able to attract plenty of attention, worthy of the sassy name it bears.

Chad started off with a 1936 Chevrolet Master Sedan, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at the finished project. The only things left original on it are the glove box and the bucket headlamps, as everything has been custom-made according to Chad’s original design. To turn the woeful-looking ‘36 Chevy into the green-and-white, crew cab dually barge it is today, Chad chopped it half and widened it by a foot (30.5 cm). The front and rear ends were elongated and scooped to hide the wheels and get that “curvy” look Chad loves so much. The front fenders are from a 1940 International 1-ton truck, remolded to cover 24-inch rims and American Force tires. Everything on the truck is custom, and Chad takes great pride in the fact that everything is steel and he didn’t use any fiberglass. The interior is full-leather, in brown and off-white, to color-coordinate with the custom bright green with off-white on the outside. Chad calls this particular shade of green he created himself the Green Dream, and it looks different depending on light and angle of viewing. The gear-shifter is adorned with a custom knob, which is actually the shop’s logo and which was, in turn, based on Chad’s equally “brutally sexy” wife. Suspension is AccuAir e-Level air-ride with 3/8-inch lines in the front and RideTech 4-link in the rear. The bed is a stunning work of art in itself, in satin-finish black walnut boards with stainless steel strips running on top. Chad had plenty of time to dedicate to every little detail during the two-year runtime of the project, and you can tell: the engine bay is painted in Devil’s Gold and Black, and makes for a startling contrast to the bright green exterior. All doors are suicide-style doors.
Speaking of the engine, this truck doesn’t impress just with its hulking physical presence and oversize curves. Power comes from a 1999 Dodge 5.9-liter 24-valve Cummins diesel developing 750 hp and mated to a five-speed NV 4500 2WD transmission. The thing “rides like a Cadillac,” Chad says. It can also be a mean party machine, if you’re feeling like it. Inside, there’s a state-of-the-art audio system with Diamond Audio 8-inch subs, 6.5-inch component sets in each door, and a 1,100-Watt Diamond Audio amp, and Bluetooth connectivity. The most recent video of this one-off truck comes with an estimated price tag of $500,000, which seems fairly accurate if you take into account the many working hours spent on it, and not consider the sponsorships that made it possible – Chad details those in the second video below. To Chad, though, “Brutally Sexy” is probably invaluable, because it represents a dream come true.
As for the motivation you could get from this, Chad says it best. “What makes this car so special is I got to dream it up, design it, build it, paint it and see it all the way through. You can’t get much better than that, to build your dream.” Indeed.