BULLSEYE

Some builders make it look too easy. A feature truck story can be deceiving because all you are seeing is the highlight reel of a finished product. What you aren’t being shown, on the other hand, is the number of long, grueling hours of work and countless amount of dollars spent to reach the point of completion. This is the period when proverbial blood, sweat, and tears are shed. One thing we tend to hear from truck owners who reach the point of being featured is to calculate how much a project is going to cost to complete, then double it. Same goes with an estimated timeframe. It’s an uphill battle if you are lacking in either department, but just like the old saying goes, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Micah Williams has wanted a custom squarebody Chevy truck since he was a kid. “I remember when I was 16 and drove to a car show in Lubbock, Texas and saw ‘Unicorn’, that green and white C10 that Hill’s Hot Rods built back then”, he reminisces. “From that day I have been on a mission to have one of my own. After years of looking for the right truck, I finally found an ’85 C10 for sale in Tennessee. Excited to make my way out there from Midland, Texas, I borrowed a trailer and left that same evening. I drove through the night and slept in my truck, but I had that ’85 loaded 14 hours after I left home.”

The teardown process happened almost immediately once Micah was back at home with his squarebody project. When he wasn’t at work or spending time with the family, he was in the garage spinning wrenches. He was able to make his way all the way down to the frame, but it soon dawned on him, what would the next step be? “Between work and moving, I figured out quickly that time was not on my side”, he admits. “After talking to Jason and Colby from Hill’s Hot Rods at numerous truck shows, it was finally at C10s in the Park when Jason asked when I was going to break down and take the truck to them. That was my sign. I always wanted a Hills Hot Rod built squarebody, and that was my chance. As soon as we got back from that show, my wife Dana and I loaded up all the parts and pieces and trailered it all to their shop.”

The game had been changed. Micah’s C10 was now in the hands of the HHR Crue, where the sky is the limit, even though they planned on keeping it close to the ground. To do that, they installed drop spindles and springs from McGaughys up front, as well as a rear flip kit, factory springs, and C-notch. Ridetech HQ shocks were utilized at each corner to keep the ride extra cushy. The updated chassis was then outfitted with Wilwood brake upgrades and 20-inch Raceline wheels with fresh Nitto rubber. Next, the Crue hit up Total Engine Machine, also in Lubbock, for a new source of power under the hood. It was soon paired with a capable trans from Monster Transmission and blessed with Speed Engineering headers and a custom exhaust system from A&B Muffler.

Even though the ’85 was in decent enough shape when Micah found it, it still required a full round of necessary bodywork to prep every panel for paintwork. Aside from the routine chore of correcting every ding and dent, The Crue also jumped into the process of shaving the drip rails, cab seems, and stake pockets. These custom subtleties, along with flush-mounted front and rear glass from Fesler, create the sleek, streamlined look that appeal to Micah’s aesthetic. After the metalwork was complete, Jason Hill then loaded up his paint gun and applied the combination of PPG Sterling and black colors to create a timeless two-tone paint scheme. He then applied red pinstriping to provide a welcomed contrast to the cool hues. From there, a batch of OEM replacement pieces from the bumpers to the grille, were assembled and affixed to the body.

Playing off that splash of red used on the exterior, the entire inside of the cab was dedicated to the color. The factory bench seat was thoroughly refurbished before being wrapped in a fresh leather cover from Roadwire. JD Glassworks, another Lubbock legend, stepped in to add a custom finish to the dash and door panels, as well as the one-off speaker enclosure behind the seat that features the truck’s ‘Bullseye’ branding. The interior was further jam-packed with Classic Instruments gauges, a full Vintage Air climate system, and comprehensive audio setup to provide Micah with plenty of thump.

After dreaming of owning a custom squarebody for nearly half of his life, it only took a solid 4 years of work and waiting for Micah to finally find one sitting in his driveway. “Taking this truck to Hill’s Hot Rods was the best decision I ever made”, he states. “Since it has been finished, we drove it on the Hill’s Dash to Nash road tour to the Triple Crown of Rodding show in Tennessee. We visited many awesome shops and people along the way, including KC’s Paint Shop, Twin States Rod Shop, Goolsby Customs, Johnson’s Hot Rods, No Limits Engineering, Scott’s Hotrods, pretty much every source of inspiration for me. Thank you to everyone who was involved in the build, including my awesome wife who helped remove the cab from the frame during a weekend when all my friends were gone.”