Mafia Secrets – February 2021
I met Casey Conrey in August 2020, although he had been a satisfied customer for quite some time prior to our first face-to-face meeting.
As we were in Owensville, Ind., at Davis Bros Designs filming some segments for the Guilty By Association Truck Show 2020 livestream broadcast, Conrey stopped by to visit that evening as we sat around telling tall tales and cutting up about all the stuff us truckers love to talk about. We hit it off great, as we both have the same vision of what a cool long-hooded Peterbilt deserves to look like.
Naas and Sons’ latest build is the perfectly accessorized 2020 Peterbilt 389 you see featured here.
With a 272-inch wheelbase, and with the addition of a 48-inch hideout sleeper from Chrome Shop Mafia, they nailed the vintage iron theme. The makeover was completed with a skinny bowtie sun visor, retro stacks with heat shields, painted air cleaners, seven grille bars and seven cab lights, and it was adorned with the classic swan hood ornament.
Not one to stop short of perfection, Casey installed Hogebuilt full-radius low rider rear fenders, installed with Naas’ specialty hidden fender brackets, and trimmed out with a one-off rear tail light panel built by the CSM crew.
Of course, to fit the Naas fleet, it had to have the old-school white stripe that the company’s equipment had become famous for.
This 389 was purchased through The Larson Group, powered by a X15 Cummins with a 13-speed transmission, and rides on full factory steer axle air suspension and low air leaf on the rear axles.
Shortly after Casey and his gang installed the fenders, visor and more, they teamed up with Owensville’s notorious Davis Bros Designs to coordinate the paint, spec out and install the 48-inch custom Mercury-styled sleeper, and coordinate many of the meticulous custom touches that adorn this trucker’s truck.
Casey, his wife, Amanda, and their three children are lifers at Naas as Amanda’s father, Larry Naas, is the owner of the company.
Since Larry has a reputation for being conservative on his spending and liberal on his work ethic, the truck was aptly and respectfully named “Shoestring,” to commemorate Larry’s “workin’ on a shoestring” perspective that he frequently reminds his family about.
Naas and Sons has been in business since 1946, and always located in Haubstat, Ind. They offer flatbed trucking, heavy haul, dump truck, lowboy as well as all aspects of excavation and construction. Today, there are 40 trucks in the fleet, and they primarily stay in the surrounding four or five states.
When asked what advice he may give to a start-up owner-operator, Conrey says, “Don’t step out there with huge debt and no cash reserve, as that is a recipe for failure more times than not. Next, research and make sure you feel good about the company you are going to work for, as they are largely controlling your destiny. Do your homework, make sure they are solid, fair and reputable.”
Here at 4 State Trucks, we appreciate nearly all styles of custom trucks – modern-themed exotics, long wheelbase low-riders, rat rods, cabovers, antiques, and more. But nothing gets the ol’ blood flowing like a well thought out, 1970s-lookin’ traditional, classic-themed ride like Shoestring. Well done, gents. Very well done. LL
Catch up on more Mafia Secrets here.