Talbert Goldman's '48 Studebaker Pickup Hot Rod Prodigy

By Rick Amado Photography: Michael Goldman, Rick Amado

Talbert Goldman literally grew up around cars. His father, Mike, has been building cars in their backyard shop for most of Talbert's 15-year-old life. When he was around nine, Talbert showed interest in an old '48 Stude that had been sitting out back. The truck had been in the family for years, having belonged to Talbert's maternal grandfather, Charles Talbert. Mike had talked Charles, his future father-in-law, out of the truck more than 20 years ago and used it for several years after making it roadworthy. Mike parked the truck prior to marrying Sherry, and there it sat until a 9-year-old Talbert became interested in it. Mike told Talbert that the truck would be his as soon as he was able to tackle the task of rebuilding it himself. At 14, Talbert made a false start on the project, quickly realizing just how difficult it would be. He spent the following year planning and drawing his dream truck and finally, in February 2001, at age 15, he was ready to see the project through to completion. Sure, his father helped him with some of the larger tasks—like setting up the suspension—but Talbert did all of the actual work himself, from cutting and welding the boxing plates into the frame rails, to narrowing and installing the '59 Chevy dash, to painting everything on the truck himself.