THE CHASE

Over the years I have talked to dozens, maybe more than a hundred enthusiasts who have set out to “just get it on the road” or perform a “simple mechanical freshen up”. Perhaps because of everything that is involved with even a mild mechanical restoration, that almost NEVER ends up happening. People in our hobby, people that are passionate about trucks, don’t really have it in them to concede to half measures. Talk to Brooks Hastings for more than 2 minutes and you will quickly realize his passion for this C10 runs deep and there was never anything in this trucks’ future but the beautiful result you see pictured here. 

The 1967 C10 you see today sat in Brooks’ back 40 as a “someday” project for going on 15 years. At one point, it was even missing a door. There it sat, a real deal factory big back window, short bed truck. Forlorn. All but abandoned. Before the project really got underway he considered throwing $10k at the mechanicals and would commit to just driving it ugly. He wanted to. He tried, but he just couldn’t get there. The truck deserved MORE. 

One day, Brooks’ wife basically told him it was time to build it or get rid of it. They knew what they were getting into and in a last attempt to sort of get the whole thing signed off on Brooks asked, “Should we really do this?” Luckily His wife Melissa was into the build., “Let’s do it!” ‘Nuff said! The rest is history. 

For every single person reading this mag, what embodies the perfect C10 is certainly a clear picture we all have in our minds. Brooks mentioned several times that he loved the lines and design of this era C10, so radical body mods were off the table. As a starting point, the lines of the ‘67-68 truck are just so pure. When it comes to parameters of the build some want a super original survivor, others long for a tire roasting, flame spitting beast. For Brooks, and heck, even for me, ideal C10 is somewhere in between and what Brooks has created here is an ideal compromise between something so perfect you are afraid to drive it and a truck that can be driven to shows within a 500 mile radius and back home again with no fuss or muss and that is exactly what Brooks and Melissa plan to do. Use it! 

“We drive all our vehicles, it has to be able to do miles”, states a resolute Brooks. He continues, “Once we decided to build it, it was a do it right and do it once situation. We wanted a truck that would handle Strip, Road Trip or Autocross all with ease.” “We are planning to drive it and enjoy it.” Like most builds, let’s face it, like ALL builds, things did snowball a bit. He admits none of this would have been possible without close friend Jamie Braden who, “totally stepped up and made our dream a reality”. 

Brooks and his wife Melissa call their C10 “Babyblue,” and it looks absolutely resplendent in GM 507 light blue over GM 526 Ivory. It left the factory in these single stage colors and was resprayed to perfection, again in single stage by Patriot Auto Works. Babyblue was treated to a no expense spared frame off, nut and bolt restoration. Every single item was either powder coated, painted, chrome plated or polished. The true beauty lies in that what looks like simplicity is actually expertly exacted fabrication executed to the absolute highest degree. Beautiful 20” Detroit Steel wheels obscure mega stopping power from 6 piston front and 4 piston rear Wilwood calipers floating over 14” pie plate sized rotors front and rear. Ridetech suspension keeps things low and under control, again keeping to the Hastings’ desire to not only drive this truck but even flog it at the track should they so desire. Speaking of the track, whether it’s the strip or an autocross, Babyblue is more than up to the task having a LS 6.0L with an LSA supercharger huffing and puffing this thing up the road with a fury no C10 owner could have believed when this truck was new. The 6L80E transmission is more than up to coping with the power and is enhanced with a CTS-V torque converter. 

Just look at this thing. Man, it’s rolling perfection. Many casual viewers would take for granted the absolutely arrow straight shut lines, trim line consistency, panel gaps, and polish. Every single bit of it is C10 perfected. Under the hood, in the cabin, below the floor. Babyblue is down right glorious. In pouring over this truck, one thing I was taken by was just how smooth the body work reflections were. That doesn’t just happen. While yes, projects like this have a tendency to have a negative impact on one’s bank balance, you simply cannot put a price on the smiles this thing will generate now and for years to come. It’s worth it. 

Over the course of my life I have come to recognize “the pursuit” as the most Nobel of efforts. The pursuit in this case was taking a dream and forging it into reality. What we inevitably learn is that in the pursuit, half measures rarely lead to victory, rare see us realizing our dreams. Half measures can end the pursuit all together. The pursuit deserves perfection and in the pursuit, many times we find ourselves closer to it than we ever thought possible. 

So if you find yourself rolling to a show in the Arizona area over the next few years and you see this blue C10 headed in your direction, slow down and take a good look because Babyblue might just be the perfect C10.