SWAMPY

Catching up with Johnathan Stigall’s ‘67 C10 has been like a very un-funny game of Whac-A-Mole. When we first saw his truck, it was in the assembly shop at Arizona High Test where Jason Berland and his crew were putting on the finishing touches. They weren’t quite finished with it and getting it out of their shop for a photo shoot while we were on our short trip to Phoenix was out of the question. That all took place early in 2021. The High Testers wrapped up their masterful work and the truck was shipped out to Johnathan’s home in Cresson, Texas.

We’ve seen the truck at several events over the past couple years, but for one reason or another, the timing simply didn’t work out for a photo shoot. Sometimes it’s hard to align planets, and we are certainly no strangers to that simple fact. But we kept swinging that big ol’ hammer at the elusive mole until we got him. Everything finally coincided at Lone Star Throwdown earlier this year when I ran into Detroit Steel Wheel’s Creative Director, Emma Sauve. She mentioned that she had Johnathan’s truck on her schedule to get some photos of his truck’s Smoothie wheels. I told her about my game of hide-and-seek and we both decided that it was time to put this chase to rest. Magnificent images were captured and the rest, as they say, is history.

Enough about the blah, blah, blah, and on with the juicy fruit. Johnathan gave us the low-down down-low on how he came upon this charismatic ‘67. “The truck came from Louisiana off a Craigslist ad. I bought it from the original owner who purchased it new in Monroe, Louisiana. He drove it until 1979, when he said it used up too much oil, and he parked it under a shed roof, where it sat until I purchased it in 2018. It literally sat in the same spot until the wheels were nearly rusted off.” A true labor of love. “We drove from Texas to pick up the truck, and while driving through Louisiana, we started talking about how bad the marshy environment may affect the truck. That’s where the nickname “Swampy” came from. Luckily, the truck only had the typical rusty areas as any old truck would.” 

Johnathan continued, “We loaded up and hauled it home. Eventually, we gathered up all the parts we had been stockpiling and hauled it all to Arizona, where we left it with Jason Berland at Arizona High Test to get this build started.”

As with any build, the process can be trying, but is often full of wonderful memories when you look back. The story of Swampy is no exception. “Several moments stand out in my mind. The day we picked it up in Arizona and brought it back to Texas finished brought on an overwhelming feeling of completion.  Of course I’ll never forget winning a Top Pick at Goodguys, but getting picked for artwork at the upcoming 2023 C10’s in the Park was the icing on the cake. To be honest, it is really hard to pick one moment because they keep happening.”

We’ll say it again – it’s about the memories and the experiences these trucks create. If you’re working on a build project, spend an extra hour on it tonight. Make it happen so you can get on the road and enjoy it with us!