HEIRLOOM

There are some trucks that will just never leave the family, and this ‘76 Chevy C-10 is one of ‘em. Purchased brand new in November of 1975 by Jim Wallace, the truck was a steady and reliable workhorse for Jim until he retired it from service in 1999. At that point, he did a complete rebuild on it, showing it alongside his son Justin’s ‘94 Chevy truck at local shows.

Now, Justin grew up around his dad’s C-10, and from the very beginning was obsessed with it. Even before he could drive, Justin would hint at wanting to get the keys to the truck when he one day got his license, but as far as Jim was concerned the truck wouldn’t be up for grabs for a very long time. However, Justin did get to learn how to drive in the C-10, and he put in a lot of seat time as a passenger but would eventually end up with a first gen ‘88 S-10 (which we guess is kind of like a mini C-10, and it does have a squarish body, so that’s still a win in our book) once he got his license.

Building the S-10 with his dad is something that Justin will always cherish, and he still loves his ‘94 full-size, but he always had a special place in his heart for Jim’s C-10. Unfortunately, Jim would eventually get very sick, but before he passed, he did give the truck to Justin. A bittersweet moment to be sure, but Justin knew that the C-10 would be something that would forever connect him to his father. But, being a custom truck guy, Justin knew that he wouldn’t be able to leave the truck completely alone.

With the truck already in great condition due to Jim’s previous rebuild, Justin decided that he simply wanted to update some things and adjust the altitude a bit. He decided early on that the body and paint would be left alone. That meant that, even though Justin wanted to bag the truck, he wouldn’t cut into the body – including the typical bed floor mods we’ve all come to expect from bagged trucks.

So, a small Western Chassis notch was welded into the frame over the stock rear axle, and a custom rear air ride setup with pan hard bar and Firestone air springs was installed. The front was treated similarly, with Slosh Tubz’s Mild Tubz covering the wheels and bolt-on air suspension. The rest of the air ride components are also hidden from view, including the switches, to keep with the “stock yet custom” look. Now, bagging a truck without a set of killer wheels to tuck would be a waste, so Justin ordered up a set of Billet Specialties Vintecs in 20×8.5 and 20×10 sizes with Nitto NT555s all around.

Besides the suspension, the biggest change came when Justin updated the interior. His dad had redone the interior back in ‘99, but it was outdated by today’s standards. To achieve a more timeless look, Justin chose to reupholster the factory bench with black leather and suede along with a matte black Billet Specialties steering wheel. The rest of the interior was restored to stock, as needed, and with that Justin was finished!

Now that Justin has completed the second redo of the truck, he continues to remember all the great times he had with his dad in the truck, from riding to school, to heading out to baseball games. We think Jim would definitely be proud of what Justin has done to the truck since taking the wheel!

Justin would like to thank his wife Jessica, Jack Martin, and Ryan Albers for their help.