VENOMOUS

This shiny, bright red stunner of a C10 might look amazing now, but it hasn’t always looked this good, and its owner James Adams can attest to this. He’s known this truck since his high school days in the 90’s and has actually owned it 23 years now. He has seen its progression firsthand, and probably wouldn’t even believe this is the same truck he started with if he didn’t watch it come back to life right before his eyes. 

“In 1997, my high school friend’s father gave him this old ’67 Chevy farm truck”, James says about the C10’s humble beginnings. “It was beat up and not running as it should. My friend wasn’t ready to give it up right away, but I was finally able to purchase it in 1999 for the sum of $300. My wife, Danielle, wasn’t thrilled when she saw it parked in the driveway that fateful day, but she warmed up to it rather quickly.” 

Before James knew it, they were both out in the driveway sanding the truck so it could be sprayed with primer. James figured it would look less ugly if it was a single color, and his wife couldn’t agree more. To get the ’67 driving better, James proceeded to yank the engine and transmission from a ’73 pickup he already owned but didn’t drive too often anyway. The swap was a quick fix, and the ‘67 stayed that way until James met Harold Gravelette, who built the Chevy Vortec power plant for the truck that is still currently underneath the hood. 

 “Just after Harold began work on the engine, the World Trade Center was attacked. Being in the military, I had to go to Iraq, and everything in my life was put on hold until I got back home in 2005”, James says about this unsettling time. “I didn’t know if I would be back, and when I tried to jump right back on my truck build, it ended up going nowhere for another 7 years until 2012 when Harold was able to finish where he left off.” 

With the C10 now firing up like James had never experienced before, he felt his excitement level about the project renew – finally! To continue on the path to further progress, James began searching for a shop that would then begin work on the body, paint and interior. Luckily, he was able to find such a place locally that actually excelled in all of these categories. “A neighbor of mine with a beautiful ’72 Chevy truck introduced me to Jason Mode, owner of New Creations paint and body shop. When I walked into his building, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing – a place so close to home doing the exact type of work I wanted for my C10.” 

James and Jason started talking about the project and came to an agreement that worked for both of them. The only downside was that James had to get in line since Jason already had a solid amount of work booked ahead of him. “In the meantime, Jason and I had become pretty good friends”, James says. “We started going to shows together, and after I began seeing the level of the trucks at these events, I knew we would have to change my goal of building a nice daily driver to now aiming higher for a full-fledged show truck.” 

When the time finally came for James’ C10 to go under the knife at New Creations, Jason began by lowering the truck with quality static drop components utilizing the factory ’67 frame. The original chassis was C-notched at the rear, and the crossmembers were changed out with units designed specifically for a lowered truck application. Forged billet Schott wheels (including 15-inch-wide rear beasts) were then added to the truck’s growing arsenal of highlights. 

Once the chassis phase of the build was completed, Jason then moved onto prepping the C10’s surface for paint. After some trick metal work and a whole lot of massaging, the ’67 was finally ready to receive the real game changer of the process – the 2005 Corvette Red Jewel paintjob. Boy, was this a drastic improvement from the many days of starting at it in primer? To offset all that gleaming red, the engine bay and underside of the hood were painted in a soothing tan color that would soon make another appearance elsewhere on the C10. 

The cab space was the next to receive full renovation, and that familiar color was wisely utilized when recovering the bench seat, door panels and dash. Modern amenities in the way of Dakota Digital gauges, a full audio system and Vintage Air A/C were lined up, as well as a heap of timeless billet accessories to properly dress up the interior. 

In a matter of 18 months, the truck had taken the fast lane to completion considering how long it unintentionally sat around for in the past. While James was away bravely serving our country and getting back on track with his personal affairs, his C10 waited patiently for this time, which is cause for grand celebration.