To begin with, Travis first reached out to Tim at GAP Industries in search of a foundation in which to start the project, which ultimately led to the acquisition of a Roadster Shop SPEC chassis. He’d already had “access to” a very rare drivetrain—the centerpiece that will set his forthcoming C10 apart from most all the rest—he just needed to locate a truck to base everything off and properly house that non-GM powerplant: a 426 Hemi, aka the Hellephant.

Well, that was located in Florida shortly after acquiring the Roadster Shop chassis—ironically, just 30 miles away. However, the original dark blue concerned him as “I wanted a more traditional color, like greens or light blues” Travis recalls … “I didn’t think the dark blue would look good, but as Brian at Vastine’s Paint Garage pointed out [to me], I was very wrong!”

When all the various pieces of the puzzle had finally been gathered, it was just a matter of getting them put in the right places with the help of the right friends. “One of my best friends, Miles Parker, is an engineer, and anything that was above my head he stepped in and helped with—from designing motor and trans mounts for the 426/8HP90 to drawing up some random access panels for the wiring. Martin Socold helped when it came to wiring the American Autowire Highway 22 kit and showed me some cool parts he’s come across while building customer’s vehicles. Brian and the two Jasons at Vastine’s did a killer job replacing all the rotten metal from the windshield down to the back wall; they then sprayed the matte clear on the whole truck and reassembled all the exterior metal along with fitting the Fiber Forged front inner fender panels. Phil Cato [Cato’s Custom Upholstery] built an awesome seat and wrapped the door panels and dash in brown leather, while Justin with Circle J did the carpet and Chris Pate at MTI finished it out with a custom sub box, kick panels, and the entire sound system. Tim and his guys at GAP Industries went in and built a custom rollbar and an air intake for the Hellephant that doesn’t look like an afterthought. Jesse and Shawn at Level 7 provided a bunch of cool parts for the build: cooling package, hardware, and most of the miscellaneous odds and ends. Russel at Walker Pro Motorsports fabbed up the full stainless exhaust.”

That was definitely a lot to cover—but there’s still plenty more to be mentioned! That SPEC chassis came outfitted with FOX coilovers and Little Shop 16-inch/six-piston discs on all four corners, each capped with a 20-inch Forgeline open-lug GX3 and Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Body-wise, the 1969 was also treated to a Hart Fab smooth firewall and widened rear inner fenders, Ringbrothers hood hinges, and new trim and glass from Mar-K. Finally, inside the revamped yet perfectly patina’d cab, you’ll find creature comforts such as Vintage Air A/C, Dakota Digital HTX instrumentation, Ididit tilt with a Sabelt race wheel, and a discrete yet functional rollbar by GAP Industries.

From its humble Bishop Chevrolet beginnings in West Point, Mississippi, to its modern, race-inspired, Hemi-powered second life in Taylor, Texas, Travis Alford’s Chevy is anything but your average C10.