Final Assembly and SEMA Debut | 1968 C10 Build Episode 9

It’s hard to put into words exactly how it feels to finally be done with our ’68 C10 Build. If you’ve ever finished a big car project like this, you will surely know the feeling. Wrapping up something that has been such a big part of your life comes with a complicated set of emotions. Euphorically happy, a little sad that this chapter is ending, triumphant, and ready for the next challenge. Yeah, that’s how we’re feeling right now. Check out the video below to see how it all went down...

In case you’re just joining us, here’s a quick recap of how we got here:

In 1968 C10 Build Episode 1 we literal dragged our new project truck out of a South Dakota snowdrift. The truck belonged to Museum of American Speed curator Tim Matthews and his dad Jeff. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was a real ’68 shortbed. Our excitement made it easy to look past the obvious fact that this poor thing was barely worth saving. We’ve all been there.

In 1968 C10 Build Episode 2, we got busy ripping it all apart. We were pleased to find that under all the rust, gunk, and yellow spray paint there was a clean shortbox chassis. The crudely hacked rear crossmember went away when we installed the G-Comp truck arm rear suspension and a trip to the sandblaster and some fresh paint made everything look way better. We assembled a C10 9” housing with disc brakes and a 3.50-geared 3rd member with cut-to-fit axles to ready our truck for some horsepower.

In 1968 C10 Build Episode 3 we assembled our C10 front suspension and disc brake kit and upgraded to a C10 power steering box. This allowed us to put it on the ground for the first time to get a little preview of the lowered stance. A rolling chassis is always a big moment, but we knew we still had a long way to go.

1968 C10 Build Episode 4 was a fun one. We rescued a 5.3 from a junked ’04 GMC Sierra and stabbed in a BTR “Truck Norris” cam, then took it to the dyno and made a surprising 430 horsepower and 430 ft. lbs. Okay, so it wasn’t quite as easy as all that. We did have to do some work on the valvetrain to get everything up to snuff, but we didn’t do any work on the bottom end of the engine. LS engines really are amazing.

Next up in 1968 C10 Build Episode 5 we adapted our LS engine to an old TH350, then dropped the engine and transmission into the chassis and hit the 2022 SEMA show in Las Vegas. We were surprised at the attention that our humble little daily driver rolling chassis setup got in a sea of over the top creations. Our goal was to be back to SEMA in 2023 with a completed truck, and at the time it seemed like we had all the time in the world…

Remember that rusty, yellow spray-bombed cab? Well, try as we might, we couldn’t forget about it. Now that we had a pristine chassis, we couldn’t ignore it anymore, so in 1968 C10 Build Episode 6 we hit up our friends and No Coast Custom and Rod Shop for some professional help. These guys do this all day every day and were gracious enough to help us out and share their expertise. We ended up replacing the entire floor, as well as the rockers and cab corners and a few other little patches. After much cutting, welding, and grinding we ended up with a clean, rust-free cab.

Our truck came with mangled front fenders and without a box altogether, so in 1968 C10 Build Episode 7 we hit the Speedway Motors shelves hard to source all the missing C10 sheet metal. Once the box was together, we were able to put everything together for a test-fit and a sneak peak at what the finished truck was going to look like. This provided us with the motivation that we needed to head back over to No Coast for bodywork. We can’t say enough about the fantastic work that Ben and his team did to get our truck straight and sprayed with the cool satin gray paint. Things were really starting to come together, but our SEMA ’23 deadline was approaching fast.

By 1968 C10 Build Episode 8, SEMA was right around the corner. With the paint and bodywork done, we were very motivated to drive it into the show. We had never driven this truck, and were dying to get it running. So, the thrash was on to make it run in a very short period of time. Lots of wires were pulled and loose ends tied up to get it fired for the first time.

And here we are. If you’ve watched the video above, you know that we made it. But boy was it close. Our C10 project drove for the first time on the afternoon it went into the trailer for SEMA. But at that moment, all the lost sleep and hard work melted away. We didn’t drive it far, but we drove it. Mission accomplished. And then taking it to Vegas and parking it on the hallowed floor of the SEMA show along with some of the best and most famous cars in the world was just icing on the cake.

For a deeper look at the parts we used to get our truck on the road, check out our 1968 C10 Build List and the 1968 C10 build page.

Of course, the old cliché applies here. They’re never really done, and we already have plans to improve our truck and get it ready for the road trips and other events that we have planned for it. But for now, that’s a wrap on version 1.0 of our C10. Stay tuned for updates!