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Kevin Clark, of Saugus, California, has had a very meaningful lifelong dream. Call it a “bucket list” item if you will, but he has always had the desire to restore a classic pickup. Growing up around custom cars and trucks, Kevin has spent the last 40 years immersed in the automotive lifestyle, and now that he’s living the retired life, he figured now was the perfect opportunity to put his next big accomplishment into motion.
Kevin spent over a year searching high and low for the perfect project truck before he locked in on a pretty clean ’66 C10 located in San Diego – just under 200 miles south of his front door. The truck was in overall good shape and only had rust at the usual areas – cab corners, rockers, etc., nothing that couldn’t be overcome. “Based on a good feeling I initially had about the truck and its owner, I made the trip down to take a closer look”, Kevin says. “The owner had given the truck a lot of attention over the years, which would make for a good starting point for me.”
As some more time spent talking, Kevin came to find out that the owner of the C10 had recently fallen on bad medical times, and was no longer able to perform the work required to take the truck to the next level. Given the full disclosure of the situation, Kevin agreed to purchase the truck while promising the gentleman selling the truck that he would make something great out of the old Chevy. “It was a journey that just felt good to start on, and would hopefully work out well for both of us.”
While this all sounds like the perfect beginning to a meaningful project, do keep in mind that in working with these kinds of projects, given their age and everything – it’s still best to expect the unexpected. “After driving the entirety of the trip back home in the truck, I finally made it to the freeway off ramp I take to get home”, Kevin recalls. “It was a relief to have made it all the way back home, but that feeling soon went out the window when I tried to come to a stop at the bottom – no brakes! I ended up in cross traffic with my eyes popped out of my head. The remaining four miles it took to get to my house was an experience I’ll never forget.”
While that bit of hijinks was a rough way to start out Kevin’s exciting endeavor with his ’66, there’s still a bit more to report in the “minor setback” category. “As soon as I got started on making repairs to the truck, I learned quickly of my own medical issues that were going to keep me from being as hands-on with my dream truck as I had been looking forward to”, Kevin admits. “Knowing that this build project meant the world to me, my amazing and beautiful wife, Veronica, suggested that I seek out the appropriate help to still be able to keep the progress on track.”
With a renewed beginning with the truck, Kevin began planning on where to pick back up where he left. Since he had owned a number of lowered rides in the past, he was determined to do the same with this C10. Since the factory frame was solid enough to build on, a set of CPP upper control arms and 3-inch drop spindles were good enough to get the front end down with static components, while a rear C-notch and Firestone ‘bags all around were used to bring the entire truck down even lower. To keep the truck looking classic and classy, Kevin selected a set of Detroit Steel Smoothie wheels with Nitto rubber to go along with them.
Allowing the truck to make an even stronger first impression, Kevin reached out to Chimera Motors in Huntington Beach to handle the remaining bodywork, as well as cook up a unique paint color that’s not often seen on trucks. “While I’m not ready to share our exact paint combination just yet”, he mentions, “I do think that the color is perfect for a classic truck but I’m just not ready to see it used anywhere else at the moment.” Kevin’s reservations about giving too much info out right away just has to be respected. The Chimera crew did go on to make some more additions to the exterior in the way of LMC Truck bumpers, door handles, new glass, as well as a hickory plank bed floor kit from BedWood. “The truck was really starting to look like the rendering I had done before any work had even started.” That sensation fueled the fire to keep going strong onto the next phases of the build.
Kevin was still in need of a good engine transplant, and he was able to get his hands on a solid 2013 Chevy L96 thanks to Jerry @Ituckrim in Salinas, California. LS3 heads were added to the mill, and a healthy number of performance parts were ordered up to extract as much power from it as possible. The final tally of ponies is right about the 400 mark, which was more than enough to put a big grin on Kevin’s face. The engine bay was also smoothed out and painted to match the exterior for a cleanly enough look to complement the rest of the truck perfectly.
Next, Jose Sanchez at Deluxe Interiors in El Monte was hired to clean up the interior while utilizing the factory dash and bench seat. What he cooked up was just what Kevin had in mind. Keeping up with the ultra clean and classic appearance that had worked so well for the truck so far, the seat was rebuilt and restructured before being stitching together using plush leather hide with Rambler upholstery inserts. To take the OG bench a step further, Jose added USB charging ports and fold down cup holders to meet with modern conveniences. Since Kevin is quite fond of good music, a full audio system was also wired up courtesy of Custom Dimensions, also located in El Monte.
Even though Kevin had plans to be more hands-on with the build up of his classic Chevy, he couldn’t be happier with the end results. “Watching the truck progress into my design concept was pretty cool but seeing my family’s reaction the first time they saw the completed truck made it all worthwhile.” It would be an understatement to say that this truck is a keeper for Kevin. He’s been dreaming of someday designing and creating a classic yet updated hauler, and he fully appreciates that the time is finally upon him. “I think I hit all my own marks with this project, and I plan to enjoy this Chevy with my family for years to come. I really couldn’t be happier with it.”
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Kevin Clark • ‘66 C10
- 2013 Chevy L96 6.0L (400 HP) built by Jerry @Ituckrim, Salinas, CA
- LS3 heads
- Dual electric fans
- Mattson aluminum radiator
- Retro Chevy valve covers
- Spectre air intake
- Doug Thorley long tube headers
- Custom 3-inch exhaust system
- Bowtie Overdrives 4L7OE transmission
- Twenty-gallon gas tank positioned at rear of truck
- Factory 10-bolt rear end
- Detroit Trutrac limited-slip diff
- Original chassis w/ C-notch in rear
- CPP tubular upper arms & factory lowers
- Three-inch drop spindles
- Air Lift compressors
- AccuAir 3-gallon tank
- Firestone ‘bags all around
- CPP pedal assembly
- 20×8 and 20×9 Detroit Steel Smoothie wheels
- 245/40R20 and 275/35R20 Nitto NT555 G2 tires with custom white walls
- Custom bodywork, PPG paint by Cash @ Chimera Motors, Huntington Beach, CA
- Exterior gas cap and radio antenna hole filled in
- LMC Truck front and rear bumpers, door handles and glass (tinted green)
- BedWood hickory bed floor kit
- Ididit steering column
- Factory dash and inserts
- Dakota Digital RTX gauges
- Original seats w/ custom touches, bolstering, arm rests, USB ports and cup holders
- Leather (taupe) & cloth (1965 Rambler gray) upholstery by Jose Sanchez @ Deluxe Interiors, El Monte, CA
- Brothers retro Bluetooth head unit
- Alpine 4-channel amp, 6.5-inch front speakers, 6×9-inch rear speakers, 10-inch sub installed by Jesse @ Custom Dimensions, El Monte, CA
- Old Air Products A/C system and control panel