Dan Woods' Ice Truck

When Dan Woods set out to build the Ice truck, he was working for Ed Roth on The Druid Pricess. Having a strong association with artist and designer Ed Newton, he contracted Newton to translate his ideas into concept art. The resultant color rendering of a wild, low-slung C Cab with evident race car influence appeared on the cover of Rod & Custom August 1970. Although the designs had been completed in 1967 and work began on construction, Vietnam intervened, and Woods had to put the project on hold until his Tour Of Duty was finished.

Lest anyone should think Newton’s sensational artworks were just fantasy, Rod and Custom magazine included a two-page feature showing The Ice Truck at an advanced stage of construction. It is interesting to note that while the photos show the independent front suspension being spring by monoleaf, it would soon be replaced by the dual inboard horizontal coils that would become one of Wood's trademark features. Photo courtesy of Rod & Custom Magazine.

Aware of the original Rod and Custom article, but assuming that the car never got completed, Dave Shuten set out to create a replica of the Ice Truck. By chance, an associate knew not only that the car did get completed but knew of its current whereabouts. Shuten made a deal with the owner of Blood Alley, and what began as a recreation soon became a restoration project. The radical rod was restored to its original Ice Truck guise with paint by Fritz Schenck. This photo shows Fritz as he is painting the truck underneath. Photo courtesy of Fritz Schenck.

The restored iterartion of the Ice Truck on display at the Detroit Autorama. Photo courtesy of Fritz Schenck.

Finally, three decades overdue, The Ice Truck got its follow-up article and cover-feature as a finished car in Rod & Custom May 2009.

The Ice Truck displayed next to two other freshly restored Dan Woods C Cabs, The Pizza Wagon and The Milk Truck, at the Galpin Autosports Collection.

The Ice Truck is a show rod built by Dan Woods. While The Ice Truck appeared only briefly on the show scene in the early 1970s and never featured in a magazine in finished form until its recent restoration by Dave Shuten, it became among the most influential hot rods of all time. Spawning many imitations, the show rod became the precursor to the direction of hot rodding in the 1980s.

Following the success of The Milk Truck, a radically styled C Cab rod, creator Dan Woods wanted to follow up with a rod on the same theme but taking the engineering aspect to the next level. Woods had become fascinated by the technology of the latest Indy race cars and wanted to build something that combined this cutting-edge performance with a stylized pre-war body style similar to The Milk Truck but sleeker. At this time, Woods was working for Ed Roth on The Druid Princess, and he had a strong association with artist and designer Ed Newton. So he contracted Newton to translate his ideas into concept art.

The resultant color rendering of a wild, low-slung C Cab with evident race car influence appeared on the cover of Rod & Custom August 1970. Although the designs had been completed in 1967 and work began on construction, Vietnam intervened and Woods had to put the project on hold until his Tour Of Duty was finished. Lest anyone should think Newton’s sensational artworks were just fantasy, Rod and Custom magazine included a two-page feature showing The Ice Truck at an advanced stage of construction. It is interesting to note that while the photos show the independent front suspension being spring by monoleaf, it would soon be replaced by the dual inboard horizontal coils that would become one of Wood's trademark features.

The Ice Truck made its debut at the 1970 Oakland Roadster Show, alongside other radical offerings from the Early Times car club, including Danny Eichstadt's Leg Show T and ||Jim Babbs's It-T-Bits]]. Reactions were polarized. Some saw The Ice truck as just another wacky-themed show car. Others saw the use of race car technology as the future direction of hot rodding. To prove detractors wrong about the car being just a show vehicle, Woods would drive the C-Cab out of the show hall and lay rubber in the parking lot. In a now-famous line from a magazine interview, Woods claimed "You've got to understand; I built the Ice Truck to drive the #@*$ out of--I wanted to go out and raise hell with it. I'd take it out to parking lots after a car show and smash my foot down and turn the steering wheel. It's like the world's biggest go-kart--you couldn't turn it over if you tried. It's less than 47 inches tall, 100 inches wide with a 106-inch wheelbase--you do the math."

The engine was an all-aluminum 215 CI Buick V8 that initially resided in a Mickey Thompson dragster. The engine was massively bored and stroked, up to 325 CI, being, according to restorer Dave Shuten, "Scary fast."

After a brief showing, and with no magazine coverage of the completed car, Woods parked the rod in his workshop intending to do some detail work on the engine and a few minor upgrades, but business was booming at Woods's Classic Carriage Works business and the Ice Truck sat neglected. It did, however, catch the attention of one of Dan's young employees by the name of Boyd Coddington, who saw great potential in the concept of putting a stylized pre-war body atop a race-car inspired chassis and suspension, spawning the high tech "Billet Rod" trend of the 1980s and the 1990s.

In the meantime, while The Ice Truck itself was largely forgotten, the Ed Newton concept art had gone on to influence hundreds of rod builders, not just in the US but across the world from the UK through to Australia.

What happened to The Ice Truck?

Woods sold the now-forgotten rod, and it reappeared with some minor changes under the name "Blood Alley" in the late 1970s, in which guise it was depicted in Hot Rod Show Car World Annual and a short article in Truckin' Magazine. Few people made the connection, as neither Woods nor The Ice Truck were mentioned in the literature. Then The Ice Truck, now Blood Alley, disappeared again.

Fast forward to the first decade of the 21st century, and famous show car restorer Dave Shuten, aware of the original Rod and Custom article but assuming that the car never got completed, set out to create a replica. By chance, an associate knew not only that the car did get completed but knew of its current whereabouts. Shuten did a deal with the owner of Blood Alley, and what began as a recreation soon became a restoration project. The radical rod was restored to its original Ice Truck guise with paint by Fritz Schenck. Finally, three decades overdue, The Ice Truck got its follow-up article and cover-feature as a finished car in Rod and Custom before becoming an exhibit alongside two other freshly restored Dan Woods C Cabs, The Pizza Wagon and The Milk Truck, at the Galpin Autosports Collection.

Magazine Features and Appearances

• Rod & Custom August 1970
• Rod & Custom May 2009