One of the vehicles that really lit my fire at this year’s Draggins Rod & Custom car show in Saskatoon, was Rod Deschner’s ’67 Chevy short box pickup.        The result of an eight-year build, the flamed, slammed and chopped-top (four inches) Chevy reeks cool and leaves little doubt what its owner believes makes a true hot rod truck.  He calls the truck the 7 Year Itch (he planned to have it done last year - so the name stuck) because it’s the result of a vision that had been growing in his mind, but never realized until its debut at the Draggins show this April. The initial vision didn’t include such a finely constructed truck.  “I had a vision, but it started out as wanting a simple shop truck, nothing fancy,” says Deschner, a classic and new car broker. “I guess things got carried away, but bottom line I built the truck around everything I like, not what the general public thinks it should look like.”  It’s obvious flames are a part of that look - they not only lick up the hood, fenders, doors and pickup bed, but adorn the inner wheel wells, firewall, door panels, dash, and even aircleaner cover and valve covers. “Everything I own has flames,” says Deschner. “Including the washer and dryer and a huge tattoo.”  While the flames give the truck attitude, it’s the stance that really does the job and the attitude can change with the touch of remote control.  Thanks to a C-notched frame and a complete Air Ride Technologies system the truck can lift - or drop - it’s tail or nose - whenever the mood strikes. Tubular A-arms endure the bounce. Four wheel disc brakes make it stop as good as it looks and the custom “old skool” steel wheels - from Kelvins in Saskatoon - are 15x6 up front and 15x8 out back. The B.F. Goodrich wide whites are 215/70/15 front and 255/70/15 out back.  The truck’s stout 350ci - built by ABS in Regina - pulls 402 hp on the dyno and gets the power back to a 12-bolt posi (4:11 Richmond gears, Strange Axles) through a 700R4 with a shift kid and a 2,800 stall converter. The tranny was built by All-O-Matic of Saskatoon.  Much of the work obviously went into the truck’s exterior. Body mods include the aforementioned 4-inch haircut, rolled drip rails, smoothed door handles and tailgate, Frenched antenna and stake pockets, one piece side glass, hidden fuel filler, electric dumpout exhuast and a ultra smooth firewall.  Corky at Bridge City Collision in Saskatoon gets credit for the emaculate paint and body work.  That (the smooth firewall) was probably the biggest challenge,” says Deschner. “I wanted to try and hide all the wires and hoses to give it an ultra smooth look. I wanted people to wonder how it even ran.” The smoothed firewall meant the master cylinder and booster found new homes attached to the truck’s chassis. The interior is totally custom, from the No Limit dash bezel, Autometer carbon fibre gauges and ultra long Lokar skull shifter to the custom sculpted seat and door panels. A custom ashtray cover hides the power window/electric dumpout switches. Buck’s Place in Saskatoon gets credit for the interior. The dash top, door panels, seats and headliner are all covered inred faux-leather.  While Deschner has rebuilt cars and Harley bikes before, he’s never built anything to this level.  With this truck, he may just have scratched his seven-year itch.