Page 8 - Issue 35

ou come across a lot of scary things in the
deserts of New Mexico. The fi rst time I
saw Daniel Vela’s 1935 International….
silver bullets came to mind. If this thing bites me am
I going to turn into one? This machine is practically
dripping with style. Set up on a 1978 Chevy C10 chassis
the 1935 International cab sits proper. Chopped and
bagged all around and sporting a 4.8 LS motor with a
GT 45 Turbo, Pavement must be absolutely terrifi ed of
this thing.
Daniel was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico
and attended WyoTech for paint, auto body and upholstery.
He continued professionally for 10 years afterwards. The
lifelong friends and knowledge he picked up changed his
outlook on cars. From the “yeah I’ll fi x it” mentality to the
“I’m going to build this even if it kills me” mentality. His skills
as a mechanic and fabricator show highly in every curve and
detail. A mind that knows what it wants.
Daniel started working on a 1978 square body C10,
after taking a walk in his local magazine newsstand he
noticed almost every cover had a bagged square body
C10. The idea of the stereotypical truck changed his
outlook on this build. Starting from his own rough
sketch, he found the 1935 International cab in
a friend’s fi eld, bought it for scrap prices and
hauled it home. From there he started the usual
battle of the rat rods - fi tment, function and
every headache involved.
“I pretty much lost interest in the truck
all together and started building my fi rst
Camaro, I jumped around between
projects but it all led back to this truck. I I
quickly lost interest in the Camaro after a a

8 RAT ROD MAGAZINE ISSUE THIRTY-FIVE

6x11SouthwestBeast.indd 8 12/21/15 12:32 PM