DEADPOOL | A 1966 Chevy C10 with ALL the Tricks

There’s a decision we must all make when starting a new truck project. Keep it as original and unmolested as possible, restore it, or modify the hell out of it. Most of us end up somewhere in the middle, creating what is known as a “restomod,” which is basically a melding of old and new school aesthetics.

he wanted to join the more exclusive Pro Touring club, where the wheels are wider and the suspension is tighter.
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Steve Jones wanted to build an awesome truck but stopping at the “restomod” level wasn’t enough for him. No, he wanted to join the more exclusive Pro Touring club, where the wheels are wider and the suspension is tighter. The first step, though, was to find the truck.

“This was an old farm truck from West Texas that had seen better days,” Steve says. “I have always loved the late ’60s era C10s. The hood and cab body lines are so cool to me.

“The idea of driving on the Southern California freeways in an old truck helped me decide that this truck needed to be a Pro Touring build,” Steve continues. “The Pro Touring build would give this truck all the modern performance it needed while keeping as much of the classic look.”

Shop Search

With this prime candidate now delivered to SoCal, Steve began the search for a shop to bring his ideas to life. He knew that he didn’t want the truck to lose its soul, but he also wanted to improve it in every way possible.

“The challenge with a Pro Touring build is not going overboard and losing the original truck feel and staying true to the truck’s history,” Steve says.

He soon found Funkhouser Racecars, a San Diego-based fabrication shop that builds everything from drag cars to, well, Pro Touring trucks. Liking what he saw while visiting the shop, he commissioned Funkhouser to take the lead on the build. Before long, Steve’s C10 was sporting a new ‘bagged suspension with Air Lift Dominator air springs and Ridetech/Fox shocks, controlled by an AccuAir eLevel system and Viair 444C compressors. Hot Rods by Boyd came through with a custom set of HR-99 billet wheels in 20×8.5 and 20×12 sizes, which were fitted to Pirelli P-Zero 245/40R20 and 335/30R20 sticky meats. Peeking out from behind the wheel spokes are brakes from Wilwood.

Of course, all that rear tire tread would be a total waste without the right stuff under the hood, which is why Funkhouser Racecars prepped a potent 5.3L LS with a Summit Racing intake manifold, fabricated air intake tubing, Hedman headers, and a custom stainless Magnaflow exhaust leading out to the rear of the truck. A Holley Sniper EFI system was then installed to bring the engine to life, and a 4L60E from Ramona Transmissions was bolted on to wrap up the drivetrain.

Polishing the C10

Once the C10 was operating under its own power, attention was turned to finishing up the cosmetics. The truck received widened rear tubs, tucked bumpers, and even a custom roll pan behind the rear bumper before the rest of the sheetmetal was prepped for paint. Nick Battaglia at Loose Cannon Customs then took over for a bit, spraying the truck with red and black paint from BASF Glasurit materials.

The final piece of the puzzle was getting the interior dialed in, which was done over at Old Town Upholstery. The Glide Engineering bench was covered with black leather, and custom kick panels were built to house JL Audio speakers. Steve wanted a little extra “bump” in his ride, so a custom subwoofer enclosure was also built and installed behind the seat. An Alpine iLX-W650 was then installed, along with a Nardi mahogany wheel and Dakota Digital VHX gauges.

To say that this is just a truck to Steve is nowhere near accurate, as he grew up around the ’60-’66 body style.

“As a kid we had a ’66 C10 for a shop truck, and I always loved it,” he says.

Now that his truck is complete (except for the possibility of adding a Magnuson supercharger), Steve and his wife Nikki are enjoying behind-the-wheel time as much as possible, which is pretty much 365 days a year in sunny California!