The Unicorn Crew Cab

The 1951 Chevrolet Custom Crew Cab that Never Existed

- Jon Hansen

Have you ever seen a unicorn? Webster’s Dictionary defines a unicorn as a mythical animal typically represented as a horse, or something that is highly desirable but difficult to find or obtain. While this 1951 Chevrolet pickup is not a horse-like creature, it definitely fits the highly desirable and difficult to find category—and perhaps in the difficult to create category, too.

When Joseph and Jennifer Thomas of Manito, Illinois, started this 1951 Chevy build, it was headed down a slightly different path. That is until the Thomas’s found out they had twins on the way. Multiple kids mean multiple rows of seats... and that is how the crew cab officially began.

At the beginning there was no crew cab, just a front stub. At that point, Joseph began to start the work to stretch the frame to fit what would one day be the crew cab. We thought about explaining all of that, piece by piece; but for the sake of keeping it short and sweet, we will simply tell you it is a ton of work. Luckily, Joseph and the crew at Pekin Alignment & Autobody Inc. have plenty of experience in pretty much every area of metal and body working the world can throw at them.