ost of us gearheads are blessed (or afflicted) with the gift to see what isn’t there. We see hopped-up engines in engine compartments that contain no more than a racoon family. We see a sleek and slammed cruiser where an abandoned and forlorn truck sits in the weeds. Such was the case for us when we first spotted what was left of a 1968 C10 parked in a snowdrift next to a barn in the middle of nowhere. There was no engine, no box, no interior to speak of, and one of the rear wheels was so packed full of snow that it wouldn’t even roll onto the trailer. But we could see it. Under that yellow spray bomb paint, rust, and moss was a smoothed-over classic truck that would gobble up highway miles and look cool doing it. So, with visions of future road trips dancing in our heads, we loaded up the heap and headed back to our Lincoln, Nebraska, shop to begin the transformation.

If you’ve been following along here, you’ve seen the story unfold. Once we liberated our treasure from the snowdrift, we got it taken apart and dove right in on the chassis. A trip to the blaster revealed a clean and straight frame, so we hit it with a coat of black urethane and started reassembly with a Speedway Motors G-Comp Coilover Rear Suspension, 9-inch housing, and a 3.50-geared third member. The front suspension was brought down to earth with a complete front suspension kit that included dropped springs, dropped spindles, and disc brakes.

With our freshly rebuilt chassis rolling around the shop, we turned our attention to the engine. In keeping with our budget-friendly driver theme, we plucked a 5.3 LS from a 2004 GMC pickup at the local junkyard. A quick inspection revealed a bottom end that was in great shape, but a valvetrain that had some worn pushrods and rocker arms. We took that as an invitation to upgrade the cam to a BTR “Truck Norris” cam and some fresh lifters, trays, pushrods, and rocker arms with new trunnions from the Speedway Motors catalog. Then, we bolted it to the dyno at Speedway Motors Racing Engines and made 430 hp. The engine was mated to a TH350 using a dished flexplate and torque converter sleeve, then dropped into our rolling chassis using a Speedway Motors C10 LS Motor Mount and Transmission Crossmember Kit.

Our freshly LS-swapped rolling chassis made the 2022 SEMA show in the Speedway Motors booth and we vowed to be back the following year with a complete truck. But we knew that what lay ahead would be a long and difficult battle with the rust monster. When it came back from the blaster, our cab was found to have rust in all the typical places and was going to require some major surgery. Fortunately for us we had a couple aces up our sleeve. One was the huge selection of C10 sheetmetal on the shelf at Speedway Motors. The other was our friend Ben Vaneperen and the talented crew at No Coast Custom and Rod Shop across town here in Lincoln. Vaneperen helped us replace the entire floor, rockers, cab corners, and lower doorsills and posts. Then a fresh bed floor, front panel, tailgate, and a pair of bedsides was pulled from the Speedway shelves and assembled to give our old C10 a box for the first time in who knows how long. The dented and rusted front sheetmetal and hood were also replaced with new parts.

After taking a minute to mock up our truck to get a preview of the finished product and some high-fives to celebrate our progress, it was back to No Coast to get everything straightened out and ready for paint. The gaps were dialed, stake pockets filled, and panels massaged to something way better than the GM factory ever dreamed of. Our old truck was shaping up to be a knockout, but there wasn’t much time for us to pat ourselves on the back. The SEMA 2023 deadline was coming up fast. By the time Ben sprayed the custom-mixed dark gray, satin clear, and gloss white top, we were only a few weeks away from the show.

What followed was a whirlwind of late nights and early mornings as things really started to come together. In these final days, the custom Highlander-inspired Procar by Scat buckets, NVU gauges, and fresh carpet were installed inside the cab. Outside, reproduction trim and brightwork was bolted up along with a fresh set of 18×8 front and 20×9.5 US Mags Roadster Wheels. Assembly came right down to the day the truck needed to be in the trailer, but we made it. You can see what this all looked like on the Speedway Motors YouTube channel.

Now that we’ve caught up on our sleep from the SEMA thrash, we’re plotting what’s next for our C10 project. Cars in the Speedway Motors stable don’t lead quiet lives. Instead, we’re constantly upgrading and changing things on our project cars to test new products and try new things. We’re already contemplating a manual transmission swap and maybe a turbo for the 5.3. Additionally, we’re planning to finally live out those road trip dreams that we had when we first spotted the old truck next to that barn, so you can also look for us out on the road!