STELLA

When it comes to love at first sight, the general rule of thumb is that you’ll recognize the feeling instantly. Whether it comes as a physical punch to the gut or the seizing of the heart’s beat, the sensation definitely has the power to stop you in your tracks. Chevis Boozer, a happily married gent out of Greenville, South Carolina (hi, Rhonda!), can personally attest to the experience of being struck dumb after witnessing the beauty of a certain 1968 Chevy C10 while out at local car show. Now, he has seen his fair share of flawlessly built vehicles in his time, but there was just something about this particular truck that made such a lasting first impression on him. 

“I first saw this ’68 at the Run To The Sun event in Myrtle Beach, and I have been obsessed with it ever since”, Chevis admits. “Chris O’Quinn, the owner of Tobacco Road Customs originally built this C10 to debut at the show. I don’t really know how long I had initially stopped to look at the truck, but I did notice there was a ‘for sale’ sign about the size of a postage stamp on the dash. I happened to catch Chris by the truck, and we chatted for what seemed to be at least an hour or two about all the work he put into it. He answered a lot of my questions, and it was good to get some deeper insight as to what all went into the build. Unfortunately, the next day when I went to check out the truck again the ‘for sale’ sign was gone. I was planning to inquire about purchasing it, but figured I didn’t have a reason to at that point.” 

Not wanting to press the issue much, Chevis enjoyed the rest of the day at the event but didn’t leave with a solid sense of closure as to why the sign was gone. Did the truck sell to someone else? Did Chris trade it away for another vehicle or something? All Chevis knew for sure was that he was heading back home without answers about the truck that made such a big impact on him. Little did he know Chris simply backed out of selling the truck so soon. The amount of positive feedback and attention at the show must’ve been enough to slow his roll and sway him into hanging on to his latest and greatest build for just a bit longer. 

So, what did Chevis see in the C10 that Chris meticulously fabricated, anyway? From the highly polished and modified LS1 engine that features a Magnuson supercharger and all the fixins under the hood to the expertly massaged exterior and super clean paint work, there wasn’t one thing about the truck that Chevis could say was done incorrectly. The truck’s low-slung air ride system featuring top shelf components from CPP and AccuAir along with premium Wilwood brake upgrades and a staggered set of 20- and 22-inch Intro billet wheels further spoke to his personal taste in customized classic pickups. The interior additions in the form of Smith Customs’ upholstery treatments, Classic Instruments gauges, cold-blowing Vintage Air A/C system, and a whole lot of attention to detail were enough to solidify a near perfect Chevy truck build in Chevis’ book. In fact, this thing ranks high among other enthusiasts’ scorekeeping as well, and for very good reason – it’s immaculate! 

Two weeks after the Run to the Sun show, Chevis received a very interesting phone call. It was Chris on the other end, and he told him all about his reasons for stalling out on a potential sale at the event, but a lot of things had changed in the short amount of time since they last spoke in person. “Chris informed me that he decided on a plan to build a new shop and that the ’68 was now officially available for sale again and that I was first on the list”, Chevis reports gleefully. “Of course, I was ready to move along with the purchase. It was a great surprise to be presented with the opportunity to buy the truck that I thought I had lost out on.” 

While there was nothing about the C10 that Chevis would’ve wanted to see done differently, he did have a few things in mind to add to it to truly make it his own. He envisioned a wood bed floor to be added, but in a darker stain that would complement the black paint used on the truck’s exterior. A few more additions here and there were also added but for the most part, the Chevy still stands as the same truck Chevis fell so hard for during that fateful meeting at the car show. 

“I really wish I had known Chris earlier”, Chevis says. “I genuinely love everything about the truck he built here, but if it wasn’t this one, I can imagine us collaborating on some other project together. Maybe in the future that may happen, but I don’t plan on being without this ’68 anytime soon.” While showing the truck does give him much satisfaction, Chevis gets the most out of his C10 by driving it as much as possible – most notably through the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is a scenic cruiser’s paradise. The 469-mile stretch connects Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. As majestic as that sounds, we couldn’t think of a better way to enjoy such a dapper pickup truck.