Feature
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Johnny O’Neil/OC Product Photosack in the early ’00s, when the venerable 1956 Ford F-100 was still the crux of the classic truck world, I happened upon a 1975 Chevy Cheyenne posted up for sale at a local automotive repair joint. At the time, I was the editor of the now-defunct Classic Trucks magazine, and despite some initial resistance from certain powers that be (as far as potential content material was concerned with a “newer” truck), I went ahead and purchased the POS in wolf’s clothing, even without a testdrive (which I’d discover was not allowed due to the fact the engine had a flat cam, among other things, as I attempted to drive the mile and a half home!).
Suffice it to say, “Goldie” had nice curb appeal—and to this day there’s still plenty of regret in making that decision to let her go. So, when I first laid eyes on this 1978 C10 after Steven Wilk had just finished it for Tsukasa “Cholo” Takikawa, well, let’s just say those regrettable emotions came a floodin’ back! Ironically enough, while we come from two distinct automotive backgrounds (he’s a mini-trucker, I am not!), we happen to have a number of mutual acquaintances (oddly enough, through that non-mini-trucker relation!) and actually live rather close to one another. And though the two trucks may appear very similar from the exterior, underneath they’re two completely different animals.
“Cholo told me he wanted hydraulics without the cylinders sticking through the bed, and body drop with the [rocker] pinch seam removed. So, I found a truck and built a chassis and all the suspension, including a cantilever rear and accumulators for ride quality, as well as a No Limit Wide Ride IFS. My brother and I designed a board to run an e-Level on hydraulics. We got the C10 running; Cholo flew out and we cruised it around and hit a truck show with it and then picked out paint colors. After the show I put a few thousand miles on it to shake down the build and then we sent it off to Matt Hutcheson Designs for paint. After that, we pulled the chassis out and powdercoated the frame, put in a fresh 700-R4 and new crate 350 from Chevrolet Performance, installed new trim and lots of other parts from Brothers Trucks, got the interior done by James Mendoza and sound system done by Adam Radovich, installed Vintage Air and Dakota Digital gauges, and put a fresh set of Cragar Eliminator five-spokes on it. Cholo flew out again and we debuted the truck at the Forbidden Fantasy Show N Shine in Laughlin, Nevada. After the show, we wrapped up a few loose ends and shipped it off to Japan where it gets driven every weekend!”
