Table of contents for Spring 2024 in C10 Builder's Guide

MAN. AGAIN. ALREADY?!? It feels like the illustrious SEMA SHOW seems to pop up sooner and sooner each and every year. Seriously. It’s pure madness. But all jokes aside, I absolutely love the SEMA Show and even the chaos (yes, I thrive in Chaos) leading up to the weeklong trade-only automotive aftermarket event. What’s even more crazy than the love/hate relationship I have for the SEMA Show is the fact that this will be my 24th (almost the big 25!) year in attendance. I still remember my very first SEMA back in 1999 and it was MASSIVE! To a high-school grad who eat, sleeps, and breathes all things custom truck—that was a huge highlight and turning point in my life (and career lol). I was like a kid in a…

WELCOME TO C10ville U.S.A., as they say! C10s in the Park was held this year Sept. 16, 2023, with more than 1,200 GM Classic trucks invading beautiful Waxahachie, Texas, at Getzendaner Park. This humble event started off when a small group of friends got together just to hang out and, like many “C10 gatherings of friends,” has now grown into one of the premier classic truck events in the country. A true family-friendly event, C10’s in the Park is taglined: “Family, Friends, and Trucks,” and it is truly fitting to the atmosphere and the event. Now in its 8th annual gathering, C10s in the Park 2023 welcomed back Brothers as the title sponsor for the event. From the morning cruise-in to some of the finest food vendors, live DJ, family-fun…

IT TAKES A LOT OF work to get the exact truck that you want. Whether you are putting in the work on your own or relying on talented shops to help reach the desired level of results, building a full custom show truck requires sizeable investments of both time and money. Whichever path is taken to get the finish line, one variable commonality regarding timeline is present across the board. These kinds of trucks just to appear overnight though—especially during the 2020 era for reasons we are all too familiar with. Delays in receiving parts have created a bottleneck the last few years, and we are finally starting to see great deal of completed rides making their way out of that bottle and into the light of day where they…

ARE YOU LOOKING TO MAKE YOUR C10 stand out from the crowd? A way you can truly make your build one of a kind is with a custom bed floor that fits your project and your own unique style. With such a large canvas, you can really let your artistic side come out on full display. The steps below are just one of the many ways to get started and your creativity flowing! For custom sheetmetal work like we’ve shown here, you have quite a few ways to go about it. Most are just personal preference, meaning that beyond the basics, there’s no real “right” or “wrong” way to some of what’s shown. There are a ton of amazing fabricators out there who use many different techniques, so don’t be…

THE C10 FALL REVIVAL IS A CLASSIC truck lover’s take on something sort of like a church revival. Beauty, tranquility, good people gathered in one place, and of course—TRUCKS. The word about this new type of custom “revival” has spread fast across the country, so fast that in just a few years this event has grown from 200 trucks to almost 2,000 classics all gathered in one place to help raise money for a good cause! Held annually at the Denton FarmPark, this location is as good as it gets for a truck-revival! It’s a family-owned historical park and campground with plenty to do for the whole family! There’s a general store on-site, a grist mill, church, plantation house, blacksmith shop, log cabins, and more. A full-size steam train encompasses…

California Car Cover Custom-Fit Superweave Truck Covers SUPERWEAVE PROVIDES PREMIUM outdoor, all-weather storage protection. It is California Car Cover’s most UV, water, and weather resistant car and truck cover. The versatile Superweave material features unsurpassed moisture, dust, and pollutant protection. The encapsulation technology goes inside the fabric and around the fibers, resulting in a silky-smooth finish that glides over fine paint finishes. The Superweave car cover fabric is also dust-proof, so it will keep your vehicle clean whether it is stored indoors or out. It remains exceptionally breathable, allowing moisture, condensation, and heat to easily escape from under the car cover. Its unique lightweight design also enables it to fold up to one-third the size of your typical outdoor car and truck cover but does not take away from its…

THE CLIMATE of custom classic trucks is one that ebbs and flows with current trends and fads. This environment slowly changes and evolves as time goes by, but whatever style is the most popular at the time does tend to saturate the show scene after a while. This is what makes drastically standing out from the norm so important in terms of leaving a lasting impression among those who are paying attention. Building to stay relevant within the given times does have its place; don’t get us wrong. Without mainstay stylings, there would be no discernible sense of automotive fashion of any given era, but there is always a welcomed space saved for the renegades who dare to go against the grain. Doug DeBerti and his son Brad are just…

THE GNRS IS NOW IN ITS 73RD YEAR, was once known as the Oakland roadster show, and is now the longest running indoor car show in the world! It is produced by Rod Shows and held annually at the Fairplex in Pomona, California, now for the 19th consecutive year. Over 500 show vehicles compete for some of the custom automotive industry’s most prestigious awards inside the Fairplex buildings. Another 400-800 vehicles join the event each day for the 18th annual Granddaddy Drive-in, when vehicles are welcomed in and parked between buildings as part of the show. More than 600 individual awards are presented during the Grand National Roadster Show (also known to many simply as GNRS), which has earned its reputation as “The Grand Daddy of Them All” by showcasing…

I’VE OFTEN MADE THE JOKE THAT stepladders are like real ladders, they just love you half as much. Stepfathers are in fact sometimes much better than real fathers in that they give their all to love and guide their stepchildren. Michael Hardwick of Manito, Illinois, can vouch for that statement as his stepfather Dave Ward was his role model as he grew up. Dave had been in the United States Navy for 20 years and brought a wealth of knowledge and experience in every realm of his day-to-day life. One of the many things Dave loved was his classic truck. “He bought the ’66 back in the early 70’s,” Michael tells the 10 Builder’s Guide. “It was his living and his passion.” Originally the ’66 was a service station truck…

FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, I’VE had the privilege of writing the “Final Word” for the C10 Builders Guide, and it has been a great experience. This platform has allowed me to express my thoughts on our amazing truck scene and the journey we’ve shared watching this community continue to grow and flourish. The C10 Nation has grown so much in the last decade, evolving from a truck forum into a truck family. The remarkable power of social media, particularly platforms like Instagram and Facebook, have brought us together in ways that were almost unimaginable even just a decade ago. C10 Talk has played its part, as well. Through the podcast, we’ve given the community a chance to delve into the stories behind the builds, to understand why people hold…

WHEN YOU’VE GOT IT, you’ve got it. And when the world around you doesn’t know you’ve got it, you show them you’ve got it. That’s a quick summary of Howard “Howie” Kendrick’s life, and to say that the man has had some pretty interesting adventures would be an understatement. Howie is a known classic watch collector, as well as an established photographer, but what many don’t know is that he’s also an avid car enthusiast and has worked on many of his own projects over the years. Oh yeah, he also played a bit of baseball and helped get the Washington Nationals to a World Series championship in 2019. Raised by his grandmother Ruth, Howie has always made it clear that he owes his life and career to her, and…

THE STREET TRUCKS magazine team proudly presents Sergeant Square in its final form, ready to make a significant impact in the fight against veteran suicide. With precision, passion, and purpose, our team worked tirelessly to ensure every detail met the highest standards, all for a noble cause: Mission 22. After careful assembly and fitment of our new American Chassis frame and LMC Truck body panels, Sergeant Square is really taking shape. The project reached a pivotal moment as it was left to the skilled hands of Shane Murphy and Dack at Street Dreams Paint and Body Shop. There, the truck underwent a final disassembly, preparing it for the transformative stages of paint and graphics. The first item to tackle is the bed cover and vehicle graphics. The truck’s exterior boasted…

IN THE TOWN OF Ashland City, Tennessee, lives Ty Morris - a young enthusiast with a knack for turning forgotten relics into a good time. One of his latest obsessions over the past couple of years has been this 1972 C-10 longbed, and it has quickly become one of the favorites in his stable of rowdy machines. When he first got the C-10, which his father kindly passed on to him, he saw an opportunity – a chance to infuse life into its tired, weathered soul and create something that resonated with his love for hooning and generally having a good time. With a sense of determination to get’er done, Ty got to work and tore the truck apart to prepare it for its new life of tomfoolery. The old…

THERE’S A NEW CONTENDER moving up the ranks in this thrilling world of C10 restorations: Project Rocky, a 1979 Chevy C10, poised to redefine what it means to be a classic. For those who might have missed a beat in our journey, welcome back to the show. We are refocused on this project after a long hiatus while Rocky was at the paint and body shop, as well as our dedication to Sergeant Square, our military charity build for Mission 22. But now, the spotlight is back on Rocky, and we’re excited to bring you up to speed. Picture this: a truck stripped down to its very core. Every nut, every bolt, every inch will be transformed. The old body panels are making way for new ones from Auto Metal…