The story behind Dustin Scottâs 1987 Chevy truck build is probably one of the most relatable tales youâll ever hear regarding a magazine-featured vehicle. He didnât have a whole lot of money to throw at the truck all at once, so he drove it around in various phases of unfinished levels until he was mostly happy with how everything finally came together. According to Dustin, he built the truck sort of backwards and out of the common order of how show worthy trucks are usually done, but he was able to make it all happen in approximately 5 years, which isnât all too bad actually. Â
âI learned a lot from my dad and his friends pulling late nights in the shop to have a truck ready for competition the following weekendâ, Dustin recalls. âMy dad always taught me to take pride in my vehicles, and to keep them clean, well maintained and if I was planning to make modifications to take my time to do them right.âÂ
Dustinâs dad played a big role in his approach to custom car culture, as did his cousin who happened to be an active minitrucker back in the day. âHe was involved in the car and truck clubs in the late 90âs and early 2000sâ, Dustin says. âWhen I would go to his house, Iâd always hang out with my cousin and his friends while they worked on their trucks. I remember looking at the custom paint, stereos, billet and tweed and thinking how cool it all was.âÂ
With the heavily influence Dustinâs family played on how he viewed building customized vehicles, as well as having the subscriptions to all his favorite truck magazines to fall back on, he was constantly shaping ideas on what types of trucks heâd like for himself one day, and just what kinds of mods heâd like to see done to them.Â
As Dustin familiarized himself with vehicles, and being able to turn his own wrenches, he began buying and selling cars and trucks to help finance his own projects he had going. âIâve met a lot of people in the custom scene doing this who have helped me a lot along the wayâ, he states. âA Facebook friend of mine posted a picture of his new project truck, and I knew instantly that I wanted it. Since he never seemed to get too attached to his new purchases, I figured I could buy it from him if I came to him with the right amount of cash.âÂ
The truck in question is the â87 Chevy R10 seen here. That isnât a typo – the R10 designation is one that was used in 1987 only to distinguish this fuel injected pickup from previous carbureted models. Within the first year of owning the truck, he started collecting parts for an engine swap, but after getting laid off from his job at the time, he was forced to sell the truck he admired so much. âAt the time, it was tough to hand the keys over to someone else, but three years later, I was lucky enough to buy it back, Dustin exclaims. âAs soon as I got my hands on the truck again, I jumped right into restoring and modifying it.âÂ
While Dustin had plans to touch on every aspect of his old Chevy pickup to make it worthy to show, he began the modification process by first having bodywork done in the way of a shaved cargo lamp, stake pockets, and tailgate handle before the truck went in for fresh paint. While the two tone, factory light blue and dark gray paintjob sprayed by Kevin Lee at Southern Shine Body Shop in Athens, Alabama, turned out great, Dustin soon realized that maybe be shouldâve saved the paint phase for later on down the road. âThe truck looked awesome from the outside but it just made the stock interior and engine bay look noticeably worn and datedâ, he admits.Â
Trying his best to make up for his jumbled timeline of modifications, Dustin quickly addressed the interior. Vinyl-covered OBS low back bucket seats covered by Burkâs Upholstery in Murfreesboro, TN were brought in, as was an original factory dash and gauges, fresh carpet by ACC, a Flashpower half wrap billet steering wheel, as well as a full lineup of Kicker audio components. While the cab is actually updated quite nicely, the color and material selections give the cab space a familiar, period correct vibe.Â
Next, Dustin focused his attention on lowering the truck with Western Chassis static drop components, as well as Street Performance shocks from Belltech to assist in providing the smoothest ride possible. Little Shop MFGâs rear disc brake conversion was utilized to promote better stopping power, which was a big concern for Dustinâs since he had already placed an order for a much-larger-than-stock set of 22-inch Intro Retro XLR wheels and Lexani LX-Twenty tires. Active progress was being made to the truck, even though it wasnât in the most traditional of timelines.Â
The factory 350 SBC was then treated to a complete rebuild and upgrade session by Travis Quillen and Jonathan Day of Athens, Alabama, that left it equipped with a ton of impressive, top-shelf performance products. A powdercoated Edelbrock Performer manifold and Holley Sniper fuel injection were utilized to update the engine, and a replacement OEM alternator and water pump, as well as a stock GM radiator with a Jackson Fab shroud, help the 350 recharge and run efficiently, and damn check out how clean it looks under the hood!
âI definitely learned a lot from this buildâ, Dustin says. âIf I were to go back and start on it again, Iâd for sure begin with a custom air ride chassis and build the rest of the truck around it, but as for now, here we are. Donât get me wrong, I love how my truck came out.âÂ
Molded by a family of car and truck enthusiasts, and spending a great deal of time studying the art of what goes into building a feature worthy pickup, Dustin can now relax and worry about keeping his â87 Chevy nice and clean. Heck, he might even start planning his next build, which we would definitely be interested in seeing.
DUSTIN SCOTT â87 R10
- 1987 Chevy SBC 350ci engine
- Comp Cams XR276HR camshaftÂ
- GM Vortec cylinder headsÂ
- Crower valvesÂ
- Dual Derale fansÂ
- Jackson Fab shroudÂ
- Edelbrock Performer intake powdercoatedÂ
- Holley Sniper fuel injection, HyperSpark ignitionÂ
- Taylor wiresÂ
- 1 5/8-inch stainless long tube headersÂ
- 2 1/2-inch Dual H-pipe exhaustÂ
- Magnaflow mufflerÂ
- 1987 GM 700R4 transmissionÂ
- PTC torque converterÂ
- TransGo HD2 reprogramming kitÂ
- Raybestos clutchesÂ
- Tru-Cool transmission coolerÂ
- Factory GM chassisÂ
- Western Chassis drop spindles and springsÂ
- Belltech Street Performance shocksÂ
- Little Shop MFG rear disc conversion
- GM 8.5 10-bolt rearend narrowed 2 inches per sideÂ
- Yukon Dura Grip limited slipÂ
- 22x8.5 and 22x10.5 Intro Retro XLR full polish wheelsÂ
- 255/30R22 and 305/30R22 Lexani LX-Twenty tiresÂ
- Shaved cargo lamp, stake pockets, tailgate handle relocator, K5 Blazer tailgate band
- PPG GM light blue and dark gray paintÂ
- Stock style LED headlight and taillight conversionÂ
- Small stock mirrorsÂ
- OBS low back bucket seats w/ blue vinyl upholsteryÂ
- ACC carpetÂ
- K5 Blazer consoleÂ
- Flashpower billet half wrap steering wheelÂ
- USA 1 replacement dash insertsÂ
- Stock gauges w/ tach conversionÂ
- Pioneer head unit, Kicker speakers, amps and subwoofer