Whoever said "father knows best" had it right. Trey Stephens struck a deal with his dad, Keith, that if he kept up his grades in college Keith would build a truck for him. Guess who got the grades? After a long Craigslist surf session, Keith found the truck in Arizona and, after playing phone tag all night with the seller, the deal was made and the truck was bought sight unseen. Lucky for them the C10 was in great condition and was exactly what they were looking for. With only a few dents to be hammered out of the body it was in great condition. Although a lot of reworking of the undercarriage was done in order for the truck to sit as low as it does, the truck still retains the stock exterior appearance.
The pickup was not repainted to look patina; the way it looks now is pretty much how they bought it, which is what they had in mind. For Trey and his dad it was about finding the diamond-in-the-rough stock truck with perfect patina and minimal rust. Seeing the truck with my own eyes, I would say mission accomplished. The character of this truck comes from the years it has been battling the elements. The only thing Keith said he labored on the body was a deep cleaning and deep polishing job. That's right polishing. I did a double take when I walked by it at the Kansas Speedway Goodguys show last September and, when inspected closely, the paint has a deep gloss finish. Because of this glossy finish I asked how the paintjob was done? Keith said he was not sure, some guy at GM did it along time ago.
The suspension had to be reworked to fit the huge 22-inch Coy's C5 wheels out back and 20-inch Coy's C5 in front. To wrap the giant wheels, Yokohama Parada Spec-X tires 255/40R20 are in front and 265/40R22 in the rear. Keith installed the rear suspension with help from Roger Lynskey at RPL Customs of Royse City, Texas. Nathan Porter at Porterbuilt Street Rods in Apache Junction, Arizona, made the rear tubular trailing arms, crossmember, and Stage II C-notch kit. Trey and Keith used airbags from Slam Specialties to go from ride height to dragging the frame. For the front suspension DJM 3-inch drop spindles from a '73-87 Chevy kit were adapted to Porterbuilt's tubular upper and lower control arms, followed by KYB shocks all the way around for the heavy hitting and sometimes unsuspected potholes.
Keith says, "It was a fun build to do with my son, Trey, and great incentive for him to get good grades in school. The truck was not a high-dollar build, but rather a twist on a stock truck. It's a Stepside in a world full of Fleetside C10s, and it stands out in a crowd. We named the truck "Stella Mae" after a few choice beverages were accidently kicked and rolled under the truck. It was fitting since the color of the bottle's logo was very similar in color." Well, Trey, keep up the good grades in school, and Keith, keep up the good work on Stella Mae. We can't wait to see what you guys do with the other '67 Chevy Fleetside