1964 Chevrolet C10 Pickup - Lean and Trim

When I began looking for a Chevy pickup to build, I put the word out that I was looking for a mid-'60s truck. I must have looked at over 150. I was constantly disappointed as most sellers would tell me that their truck was just what I was looking for. But when I went and looked, I only found that it was a wreck or a rust bucket. Then I saw a photo ad for this '64. I called and found out it was about 75 miles from me. It was a Saturday, and I decided to take a run and inspect it in person. So I left and on the way up there, I said to myself that I must be nuts driving all this way to be disappointed again. But when I turned the corner, I saw the truck in the street in front of the house and I knew this wasn't a waste of time.

The drivetrain had already been updated with a fresh 350/350 combo. To top it off, it was a Custom Cab big-window with all the stainless molding that came with it back in 1964--and it was all there. I wasted no time and made the deal.

All I had to do now was finish-off some things and make it my own. The only thing in the drivetrain that hadn't been dealt with was the rearend. It still had the original rearend equipped with 3.23:1 gears. I took the rearend over to Ryan at Colima Transmissions and had him install new 3.08:1 gears and new axles. After that I decided to take the truck apart and repaint it. Tim from Tim's Buff & Shine did the minor bodywork and the repaint. We shaved the tailgate brackets and installed latches on the inside of the tailgate. The truck was primed, block-sanded, painted maroon red, and then color-sanded, rubbed, and buffed.

Now that the truck was painted, I had to reassemble it with some help from my friend Ray Clesceri. From the start, I wanted the truck to retain all the stock exterior styling but with some attitude from a lowered suspension. To make sure the exterior looked as good as possible, I replaced everything from the wood bed floor with stainless rails to the stainless molding, door handles, lights, and mirrors with all new pieces. One thing I did to set the truck apart was that I had the stainless moldings chromed. With the body in shape and looking better than new, I started on the lowered stance. An air ride system from Ground Control along with disc brakes and dropped spindles up front was installed by Denny at Cannons Muffler from La Habra, California.

The truck was then at the make it or break it point of choosing the right rolling stock. I contacted BOZE Rims in Fountain Valley, California, and had a custom-made set of 17-inch rims built (17x8s and 17x9 1/2) to finish-off the new attitude of the truck. It was then ready to make the move to the inside and get it comfortable for cruising. I dropped it off at Roddies Upholstery in La Habra, California, where the stock beach was exchanged for a bench seat from a '72 Chevy pickup covered in solid tan leather with an embossed Chevy emblem in the center of the seat. Custom door panels covered in maroon and tan leather and maroon carpet tie it all together. The whole process took 15 months of time well spent from start to finish.

It's been on the road since September of 2003 and has won a few trophies, but more importantly, has been a blast to drive.