No Regrets

Feature

InTheGarageMedia.com

Ken Tilton’s ’70 C10

BY Rob FortierPhotography BY Tim Sutton

A

bove and beyond being a tribute to Mom, as it were, Ken Tilton’s C10 has even more family ties associated with it, as his wife, Sonia, was beyond instrumental in seeing that her husband persist in the completion, especially during the times he simply wanted to throw in the towel.

When I was 15, my brother and I spent a summer with my aunt and uncle in Idaho. My uncle had a ’70 C10 that I fell in love with. That trip was a special time for us due to my mother’s [death] the summer before. So, having this C10 is a true remembrance of the summer.
—Ken Tilton

When I was 15, my brother and I spent a summer with my aunt and uncle in Idaho. My uncle had a ’70 C10 that I fell in love with. That trip was a special time for us due to my mother’s [death] the summer before. So, having this C10 is a true remembrance of the summer.
—Ken Tilton

3/4ths view of the '70 Chevy C10 bed with the a section of the raised bed floor lifted to display the rear suspension components

close view of an airlift component on the raised bed floor

full view of the '70 Chevy C10 raised truck bed

“[Sonia] has been behind me since I got the truck back in 2006. There were multiple times when I wanted to sell it due to business and personal reasons … but she would not let me. Her words were: ‘You will regret it! If you are going to build this truck, build it right … and no short cuts!’” Ken told us. One couldn’t ask for a more supportive wife!

And though Ken initially purchased the truck (off eBay) well over 15 years ago, it wasn’t until 2018, with encouragement from his friend Kevin Pittman (aka Chassis Brad), that it went from a relic resting alongside his house in Glendale, Arizona, to becoming a full-on project. “Once we rolled that truck into my garage, the build was on!”

Over the following four years, Ken not only relied on Chassis Brad’s key player role in the build but enlisted the following to ensure that, as his wife insisted, there were no short cuts: Cory Bones (Broken Bones Garage: firewall/front wheeltub fabrication and mechanicals), Anthony Arteaga (Supreme Garage: body, paint, and final assembly, engine build and tune, and Bedwood & Parts install/finishing), Travis McGuire (roughed in the custom framework for the sliding rear window), Alfredo Carranza (Mizark’s Mobile Detailing: fabricated center console), and Edwin (The Chrome Guy: mass parts acquisition and referral to Supreme Garage!).

driver's side interior view of the '70 Chevy C10 cab featuring tan leather seating and lining

close view of a stereo speakers on the side of the driver footwell

wide view of the drivers dashboard including the steering, gauges, pedals, radio and center console

Ken’s stunning C10 now rests on a Chopping Block foundation complete with its own front and rear airslammit-assisted suspensions (all properly color-dressed by Glendale Powder Coating), CPP Big Brakes (capped with 22-inch American Legend Apaches), and power rack-and-pinion steering. The aforementioned engine build by Supreme Garage revolved around a Texas Speed 383 long-block with Precision Race Components aluminum heads, TSP-fabricated manifold with Holley Terminator X EFI/ECU, and custom-fabbed exhaust. After he’d finished with the underlying (flawless) bodywork, Arteaga sprayed the C10 in Toyota Calvary Blue with Ebony Black rockers before Ken added the requisite full-chrome and stainless trimmings. Lastly, following the installation of Dakota Digital RTX gauges and wiring the entire truck using an American Autowire Highway 22 harness, Tilton enlisted Bell Auto Upholstery in Phoenix to handle the cab’s classic saddle-colored leather interior.

Originally, Ken had purchased the truck to build and ultimately finish with his father—but unfortunately his dad died before the C10 was completed. “Back when we started to work on the truck, I would always watch American Hot Rod and the other cable TV shows that were on at the time and tell my dad that the truck could be done in six months … and every time I would see or talk to him he would always tell me, ‘Man, that’s a long six months!’” So, this one is indeed a true tribute to Mom AND Dad!

3/4ths driver's side front view of the '70 Chevy C10

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