LS Swapped 1968 Chevy C-10 50th Anniversary Edition

The eighteen-year search has ended

 For the past eighteen years, Andre Gagnon has been searching for a 1968 Chevy C-10. Why you may ask? The answer is simple, it’s the 50th anniversary edition and color combination of gold and white that Chevy and GMC released for that special year. “I’ve been searching for a good quality ’68 since 1999,” Andre tells us, “Living in Canada, these trucks are much harder to find because of the weather and condition.” When Andre found the classic truck for sale online it became quite a mission to get it home. Originally purchased in Kansas, Andre had it shipped to Buffalo and his father George had to cross the border with a trailer to finally get it home.

Once the truck arrived at Andre’s home, he realized the truck didn’t match the condition of the advertisement. “I was quite disappointed when it arrived,” Andre adds, it needed rockers, cab corners and floor repairs but it was what I had always wanted.” It still was the 50th Anniversary Edition and included a dealer installed A/C and factory buddy bucket seats, which was pretty unique in itself. The very first thing Andre did was tear open the interior and gutted the stock cabin. The old carpeting was power washed and got a whole cleaning. With his father George, Andre flew out to California to meet with Del Uschenko of Delmo’s Speed Shop to get ideas and soak up some C10 SoCal style knowledge from a fellow Canadian.

 Many people don’t get quite the blueprint that he has but  he knows that
with the hard work it took to build  the three-year project, he’s fortunate the initial setup was so easy.  

With newfound motivation, Andre contacted Jeff Harrington before he even got off the plane for advice on how to direct his build. Jeff is the key builder for HarringtonBuilt Hot Rods and Restoration and was eager to build this truck for Andre. Originally planning on a patina look, Andre changed midway through opting on the classic gold and white look. The entire Chevy was torn down and the Porterbuilt kit was installed with full airride as planned. New control arms, steering rack and lowered spindles were installed as well as the rear kit with a bolt in notch with trailing arms and bag mount crossmember. Under the hood, Andre was able to purchase an LS3 removed from a 2012 Camaro SS. The 6l80 transmission was kept intact, so it made quite a bit more work for the team to complete. A custom transmission tunnel was built and a custom-made aluminum driveshaft was built to make it work properly. Andre had SPI Tuning in Dundas, Ontario for the final tuning on the dyno.

The next step was the bed as Jeff and his team raised the floor and then sent the C-10 to the bodyshop where Doug Mallett from Rogue Works got busy. The firewall was shaved, the floor was patched and cab corners and rockers were added. Once that section was completed, the Chevy came back to Jeff where the reassembly began. The exhaust was made from scratch with supplies from CFF Specialty Stainless and all the rewiring began. Dakota Digital gauges replaced the stock non-working ones. The seats and door panels were brought to John Miller at John Miller’s Upholstery for all the leather work. A new carpeting was designed and laid down inside the cab and the seats were installed finishing out the interior work.

The search for the perfect truck took Andre a total of eighteen years to actually find the one he wanted. With the guidance of Delmo and the leadership of Jeff Harrington, Andre was able to reach his dreams with ease. Many people don’t get quite the blueprint that he has but he knows that with the hard work it took to build the three-year project, he’s fortunate the initial setup was so easy. With loving support from his longtime girlfriend Paula, Andre can enjoy summers in the great white North in one of the finest golden Chevy C-10’s in the country.

BUILD SPECS

OWNER

Andre Gagnon
1968 Chevy C-10 (50th Anniversary Edition)
Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Chassis

• Front Suspension:
• Porterbuilt dropmember level 3 kit
• Air Lift Dominator 2600 ‘bags
• Rear Suspension:
• Porterbuilt Dropmember level 3 kit
• Firestone F9000 air bags
• trailing arms with outboard mounted
• Accuair Exo 2 mounting kit
• dual Viair 444 compressors
• dual 3-gallon air tanks
• e-Level air management system

Drivetrain

Engine:

• LS3
• Drive Junky pulley kit
• Holley intake and fuel rails
• Harrington built throttle body adapter
• coil relocation brackets
• Lingenfelter cam
• Wilwood brakes
• Transmission: 6l80
• Rearend: 3:73 gears

Body/Paint

• Rogue Works ’68 Anniversary Gold original paint done by Doug Mallett
• fuel filler shaved and relocated to bed floor
• Crafty B fuel cap
• bed floor raised
• Mar-K side moldings and trim

Interior  

• white and gold leather from Italy
• custom made original loop style carpet by John Miller
• Dakota Digital gauges
• leather door panels
• under dash A/C vents
• fiberglassed and restored air duct
• Vintage A/C unit
• original seat belts restored

Stereo:

• Retro Sound system
• JL Audio components
• JL Audio amplifiers

Wheels & Tires: 

• Wheels: 22×8.5 and 22×10 Billet Specialties Heritage
• Tires: 255/30R22 and 285/30R22 Nitto Invo

Special Thanks: 

Jeff Harrington at HarringtonBuilt Hot Rods and Restoration, my mom Donna and dad George, Paula Fatia, John Miller’s Upholstery, Doug Mallett at Rogue Works, Shawn Patterson, Travis at AZ Pro Performance, Del Uschenko at Delmo’s, Al Vanzeben, CFF Specialty Stainless, Porterbuilt, and everyone that pitched in to help see this trough!