BURLEY WOODS | ’63 Chevy C10

Originally passed down from his father, this ’63 Chevy C10 was parked while Joe Slade and his wife, Misty, saved their money for years hoping to bring the truck back to life one day. Eventually, the savings account was ready to be drained and Joe was ready to drive.

The first thing he did was drop the truck off to be chemically dipped and re-coated to remove any hidden rust. With an empty canvas ready for styling, Joe delivered his C10 to a hot rod shop with dreams and aspirations the like of most truck owners in our industry. And, like many others, Joe and Misty threw thousands of dollars at the shop in hopes of having their dream become a reality, only to be disappointed. After seeing the truck sit untouched for a year and a half with next to no progress, they simply had enough and started to hunt for someone else to take on their project.

While strolling through the show field at Battle in Bama, Joe and his wife came across a well-known truck by the name of SilverFox. This was a project built for SEMA 2016, which was also featured on the cover of the C10 Builder’s Guide. Needless to say, they wanted the same level of attention to detail and design style for their truck. So, a meeting was set with Joe and Chris Stafford with Stafford’s Garage and a deal was struck. The plan was to build Joe and Misty’s truck in an 18-month period, and a promise to debut it at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas was a guarantee that Chris was willing to stand behind.

As if that weren’t enough of a challenge, the new custom truck tag team decided to make a real statement in the scene. They decided this wouldn’t be just a standard build for SEMA. They made a pact to drive the truck from Louisiana all the way to Las Vegas on the Shakedown Tour. After all was said and done, not only was the truck built in the timeframe allotted, but it also made the trek successfully and was selected to be in a premium feature spot indoors at SEMA. Now let’s get to the technical specs of this amazing accomplishment.

Starting with the original chassis, Chris Stafford C-notched and modified the rails to accept full air ride front and back using 2,600-pound Firestone airbags and QA1 adjustable shocks. New Classic Performance Products upper and lower control arms, trailing arms and crossmembers were also bolted up before airline plumbing was run and an Airlift Air Management system was wired up. Power steering from an ’87 Chevy C10 was retrofitted for dramatically better control on the road, and an Ididit steering column was installed as well. With complete directional control, the new staggered fit 20-inch Billet Specialties wheels have no chance of uneven wear.

Powering this pickup is a 5.7L LS Engine out of a 2000 Chevy Corvette, built by Jeremy Hebert at Rusty J’s Speed Shop. New motor and transmission mounts from CPP were utilized along with a Painless Wiring harness. To move the air out of the engine bay, Hooker high-flow manifolds and custom-built stainless exhaust had to be built by the crew at Popeye’s Rod Shop. Big power requires big brakes, so a set of CPP 13-inch Modular disc brakes were added along with a CPP dual master cylinder and booster.

Finalizing the build called for paint and interior, so Chris called the pros at Snowden Custom Seats for a saddle brown leather seat to replace the factory bench. The original gas tank was removed from the cab as well and a Boyd’s welding fuel cell was mounted to the rear of the truck. A Dakota Digital gauge panel gave this truck a modern touch, and a Retrosound audio system completed the package. Finally, a coat of GM light green and Summit white paint from R-M Diamont covered the body panels thanks to Jeremy Pounds and Danny Phelps of Mo’s Paint and Body. To top it all off, Joe Vincent of Vincent Dezigns added the killer door shop logos which gives the truck a personality.

Joe and his wife would like to thank:

Bert and Ruth Woods, Chris Stafford, Jeremy Pounds, Danny Phelps, Corey Bradley, Shane Craft, James Rachel, Jody Peterson, Anthony Marange, Morgan Cowan, Matt Pounders, Shaun Stewart, Jamie Thomas, Michael Joe Kellar, Jeremy Hebert, Stephen Corkern, Alex Holder, Blaine Goitia, Billy Chaisson, Josh Pittman, Jonathan Esters, Chad Calcote, Rob Beard, Cody Stoute, Rory Griffith, Joe Vincent, Mike Alexander, Derek Churchyard, Sam Miller, Kody Barber, James Barber and all of their sponsors.

[divider]Build Specs[/divider]

OWNERS

Joe and Misty Slade
1963 Chevy C10
Brandon, Mississippi

Chassis & Suspension

• 2,600-pound Firestone airbags and QA1 adjustable shocks
• CPP upper and lower control arms, trailing arms and crossmembers
• Boyd’s Welding fuel cell
• CPP 13-inch Disc Brakes
• GM 12-bolt rear axle
• Ididit steering column
• CPP Dual Master Cylinder and Brake Booster

Wheel & Tires

• 20×8.5 and 20×10 Billet Specialties
• 245/40/20 General Tires

Engine & Performance

• 5.7L LS Engine out of a 2000 Chevy Corvette
• Classic Performance Products motor and transmission mounts
• Painless Wiring harness
• Hooker high-flow manifolds
• Optima battery
• Stainless exhaust by Popeye’s Rod Shop

Exterior & Paint

• R-M Diamont GM light green and Summit white
• NOS original GM grille
• BlueSteel Customs taillights
• Front and rear wheel tubs

Interior & Sound

• Dakota Digital RTX gauges
• Ididit steering column
• Retrosound radio
• CON2R steering wheel
• Snowden seats