SIX SHOOTER

It’s been almost five years since he bought the truck, but Michael Small will never quite be done working on his ‘65 Chevy C-10. And before you hit our DMs trying to correct us, this truck did indeed start out as a run-of-the-mill longbed C-10, not a C-30! And if you’re a little slack-jawed staring at this thing, you’re not alone. As Michael tells us, “It was sitting on the strip at Rod Run in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. My cousin was actually the one who spotted it and told me about it. I saw the truck, fell in love with it, and had a vision to make it better! The rest is history!” 

Michael enjoyed it as it was for a while, but over the years he has made some improvements and changes that have elevated the Chevy to the next level. For example, he wasn’t quite happy with the way the rear stepside fenders had been modified to fit the fleetside bed, so he cut them apart and started from scratch to get them just right. He also converted the truck to a big back window, which ended up requiring the purchase of a second window since the first one broke during the install. Hey, it happens.

Since all of this work required digging into the existing paint and bodywork, it was a great time for Michael to consider changing the color altogether. In the end, he decided that he liked the color it was, but he would love it if it was a couple of shades lighter. With that in mind, he dropped the truck off with Chris Sizemore for some custom-mixed PPG paint magic. Perfect!

The best part about this truck, though, in our opinion, is the abundance of brightwork throughout. In an era of painted or murdered-out everything, it’s nice to see lots of polished aluminum and chrome on an old school truck. Even the core support is chromed out, and honestly we can’t get enough of it! That brightness continues to the BluePrint Engines 383ci stroker crate engine, which sports lots of polished accessories, including the Holley Sniper EFI setup and dual-snorkel air intake. Mounted right under the cab is a 700R4 automatic transmission, which is a perfect solution for a truck that was built to cruise.  

We’re sure you’ve been wondering how it is that this truck is a C-10 and not a C-30. After all, aren’t all duallies one-ton trucks? Well, the truck still rides on a half-ton C-10 longbed frame and even retains the factory trailing arms out back, but C-30 components were used front and rear to convert the truck to a dually, including the front suspension, steering, and rear axle. That allowed the use of a set of milled-down 22-inch Alcoa flat faced wheels, which have been mounted in Continental rubber. 

The ride height is also adjustable thanks to Air Lift Performance airbags at each corner, giving Michael’s truck an unforgettable stance. So, although the truck is rolling on six wheels, the fact that the truck still has its lighter duty frame and original trailing arms (instead of a monster pair of leaf springs) very much keep it in half-ton C-10 territory. 

And if you thought the exterior was wild, just check out what’s going on inside of Michael’s Chevy! The front of the vinyl and suede bench seat (and door panels) goes hard with Doc Martens-esque stitched accents, while behind the seat is all Doc Holliday with a rifle and six-shooter Western theme. But just because the theme is based on the 19th century, that doesn’t mean Michael didn’t want his C-10 to have some modern creature comforts. To that end, a Vintage Air A/C setup was the best thing Michael could have done to survive those hot West Virginia summers. 

Word on the street is that Michael’s truck is undergoing yet another round of modifications, and we can’t wait to see the result!