C10 Builder's Guide Fall 2023

‘TIS (although by the time THE SEASON! No, not Christmas trees and presents under the tree quite yet this hits mailboxes it will be just around the corner!). Car show season is here and in full swing! It’s our favorite time of the year, showing off new parts and mods sourced over the winter months, hanging with our buddies, cruising to shows near and far, and all around good times with friends and family. We absolutely LOVE car show season and all the things that come with it—minus the breakdowns on the side of random highways—although, that in itself becomes part of the best memories and stories added to the memory bank! We pack our trucks with the goods and roll both near and far to some of our favorite gatherings…

Retro Rubber Floor Mat Set PROTECT YOUR TRUCK’S carpet with these retro rubber floor mats from Dojamat. Patterned after the very popular floor mats available in the ’70s and ’80s, they’re the perfect final touch to your truck’s interior. They are made from 100% premium-grade durable black rubber, top and bottom. Retro rubber floor mats feature several gripping areas for non-slip fit. Each set comes with two floor mats. They measure 19-3/4 inches wide x 27-1/2 inches tall. Varieties include Truckin’, 4x4, C10 Nation, and more. Dojamat www.dojamat.com LMC 60-inch Custom Split Back Bench Seat FROM LMC TRUCK COMES THESE FULLY ASSEMBLED BENCH SEATS. Seat slider tracks and seat reclining mechanism are included. The seats are universal and require mounting brackets for installation. Mounting brackets are sold separately. The all…

GROWING UP IN JEFFERSON City, Missouri, Chris Bedsworth wasn’t your typical millennial. He didn’t spend hours after school playing video games or listening to new-age pop music. Most of his free time was devoted to working at a local car wash and mowing lawns. He was determined to save that hard-earned income to purchase his dream ride: a classic GM truck. When he turned 15, his dad, Larry, helped the young man find the freedom of transportation. Chris found a bright orange 1972 Cheyenne and fell in love. It was a well-maintained longbed rolling on wide rally wheels. Under the hood, a small block had been built with more power than he probably needed but certainly wanted. The vintage hauler was used for transportation to school, hunting and fishing trips,…

ORANGE Beach Invasion is one of the most chill and laid-back shows on our event calendar, despite being held at “the beach” during Spring Break. You see, Orange Beach, Alabama, is still a bit of a secret little spot. We lucked out for sure this year, too, because we enjoyed beautiful weather despite the forecast threatening rain all weekend long. The Wharf at Orange Beach is just an awesome venue that has it all in one location. You can even stay on the grounds, which has restaurants, bars, and shopping for the family. Even though there is limited space, the show really does a great job at filtering show vehicles to ensure that there is plenty to look at all weekend. And the variety is top notch from both lifted…

DEFIANCE IS often looked upon with disdain from those who don’t quite fully understand that it’s just how some people work—no offense intended. Rules are merely suggestions for those who just can’t fall in line, and the conventions of the mainstream are to be avoided at all costs. We think the social media crowd calls this “disrupting,” depending on the context, of course. When it comes to building trucks that are out of the norm, Defiant Motorsports seems to fit every variation of this description. Shop owner Graham Adams and his mighty crew can build anything under the sun from mild to wild, but it’s the latter that really gets their excitement going, almost as much as the weekly paycheck! You have to have the thirst, the drive, and the…

IF YOU’RE LIKE ME, YOU LOVE original-paint classic trucks. There’s something about looking over the original paintjob and getting a glimpse at how the truck was treated—or abused—in the past. My OG paint ’67 C10 has a lot of character and most of it came from work on a farm. Now that this original-paint beauty earned its stripes and now resides indoors, it’s time to protect that original paint that has been neglected for 56 years. There are a couple of different ways you can protect and preserve your original paint. 1. Clearcoat the Original: You can go with a more permanent solution by applying a clearcoat over the original paint. I have never been a fan of this method. If the clearcoat were to ever fail, it is highly…