PRECIOUS | Dave Herrera’s ’72 Chevy C-10

Finally Done, Finally Home

Some builds seem to happen in the blink of an eye, especially with all of the high-profile TV and SEMA vehicles that seemingly come together in the span of mere weeks. Unlimited budgets and folks willing to work unimaginable hours do tend to get things done in an amazing amount of time, but they are still few and far in between, no matter what the Internet would have you believe.

A SUBTLE MOD THAT MANY MIGHT NOT NOTICE IS THAT THE ORIGINAL
DOOR HANDLES WERE REPLACED WITH BILLET ALUMINUM UNITS FROM GSI MACHINE & FABRICATION.

Take Dave Herrera’s ’72 Chevy C-10, for example. It was seemingly cursed as far as he could tell, with setback after setback delaying things at about every turn. In the end, it would take almost a dozen years for Dave’s truck to finally get done but, as you can see, the wait was well worth it!

“It’s been a long journey, but now that  Dave finally gets to park his ’72 in his own garage,  we’re betting that he’s going to squeeze every last drop of fun out of it, one tank at a time!”

After getting jerked around at different shops and losing both time and money from unfinished work and work that needed to be redone to Dave’s standards, he finally hooked up with some reputable businesses that were able to finally put his project back on track.

And although paint is often the last thing on the list when building a custom truck, it was actually one of the first things to get completed on Dave’s ’72 since the build had been all over the place for so long. Joey Stockdale got the body panels glass straight, widened the rear wheel wells 6 inches, shaved the drip rails and smoothed the firewall. He then showed off his skills even more by laying down a ton of single-stage PPG black paint. The result is a flawless finish that is as deep in person as it appears on paper!

DAVE’S DUBS ARE DEFINITELY DEEP! WE THINK HE NAILED IT WITH THESE BILLET SPECIALTIES STILETTO WHEELS, WHICH FRAME THE 14-INCH WILWOOD BRAKES PERFECTLY.

When it came time to address the rest of the exterior and chassis, Dave called on Richard Deans and John Oliveira of American Customs & Classics in Hollister, California, to do things right, without compromise. The frame was stripped down and c-notched, with a full RideTech air suspension installed behind the monstrous 14-inch Wilwood brakes at each corner. Once every detail had been attended to, the whole chassis was powder-coated in metallic silver for contrast against the glossy black body.

“It would take almost a dozen years for Dave’s truck to finally get done but, as you can see, the wait was well  worth it! ”

Dave’s wheel of choice is all class—20×8.5 and 20×12 Billet Specialties Stilettos, stuffed inside Pirelli rubber all around, including 325/30ZR20s out back. And believe us, this truck needs every bit of traction it can get with its ’68 Chevy 396, which was rebuilt and assembled by Clark’s Machine in Cupertino, California, with a few performance mods for good measure that bring its numbers up to 505-horsepower and 505 ft-lbs of torque!

As you can imagine, this truck wants to keep on going once it gets started, so a six-speed transmission out of a 2010 SRT-10 pickup was modified to work with the Chevy big block, and transfers power to the narrowed, Eaton/Richmond equipped 12-bolt rear end.

Once the drivetrain was buttoned up at American Customs & Classics, John and Richard moved on to more details, such as installing a Vintage Air Gen 4 Magnum A/C system, power windows, one-piece side glass, and a CTP Concepts ashtray mount for the AccuAir touchpad air ride controller. An ididit steering column with Billet Specialties Stiletto wheel was then bolted on directly below the Dakota Digital VHX gauge cluster, and the rest of the wiring was then sorted out before handing the truck off to Byron from Finish Line Interiors.

Byron wrapped up the insides with custom red leather on a TEA’s Design custom split bench, with matching panels throughout the cab, including a suede headliner. Square weave carpet was laid down on the floor, and a custom speaker enclosure was installed behind the seat just in case someday, somehow, Dave gets tired of hearing the 396 frightening small children from a distance.

It’s been a long journey, but now that Dave finally gets to park his ’72 in his own garage, we’re betting that he’s going to squeeze every last drop of fun out of it, one tank at a time!

ADMITTEDLY, NOT MUCH GETS HAULED IN THE BED OF DAVE’S TRUCK THESE DAYS, NOR SHOULD IT! STOCKDALE’S HOT ROD PAINT DID AN AMAZING JOB OF WIDENING THE FENDER WELLS, MOLDING IN THE RIDETECH COOLCAP, AND APPLYING THE SUPER GLOSSY PPG BLACK PAINT.

[divider]Build Specs[/divider]

OWNER
Dave Herrera
Gilroy, CA
1972 Chevy C-10

Engine & Drivetrain
Work performed by Clark’s Machine and American Customs & Classics
1968 Chevy 396, bored 0.030 over
Speed Pro Hypereutectic pistons
Comp Cams hydraulic cam, .525 lift, .234 duration @ .050 lift
Edelbrock Performer RPM cylinder heads
One-off billet valve covers with ’58 Apache “Chevrolet” emblems
Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold
Holley Ultra Street Avenger carburetor, 770-cfm
Billet Specialties air cleaner
Sanderson ceramic coated headers
Magnaflow-based 3-inch stainless exhaust system with Quick Time cutouts, V-clamps throughout
MSD ignition system
Billet Specialties pulley drive system
Be Cool aluminum radiator
Cool-Flex radiator hoses
Derale two-stage electric fan
2010 Dodge Ram SRT-10 6-speed transmission
Wilwood clutch master cylinder
McLeod Street Pro clutch
McLeod steel flywheel
Custom 3-inch aluminum driveshaft by South Bay Driveline
Axle housing narrowed 3 inches by Rear End Specialties
4.10 Richmond ring & pinion
Eaton positraction center section
Abbot Enterprises magnetic speedo driveshaft conversion

Chassis & Suspension
Work performed by American Customs & Classics
Frame notched for axle clearance
RideTech StrongArm control arms
RideTech Cool Ride air ride kit
Custom length RideTech shocks
AccuAir E-Level air ride management system
Narrowed axle housing
Wilwood billet drop spindles
Wilwood 6-piston front, 4-piston rear 14-inch Superlite brakes
CPP hydroboost setup with Wilwood master cylinder
CPP aluminum fuel tank

Wheels & Tires
20×8.5 and 20×12 Billet Specialties Stiletto wheels
245/35ZR20 and 325/30ZR20 Pirelli P-Zero tires

Body & Paint
Work performed by Stockdale’s Hot Rod Paint and American Customs & Classics
Rear wheel wells widened six inches
Shaved drip rails
Smoothed firewall and fender wells
Shaved fuel filler
RideTech CoolCap mounted in bed floor
Painted PPG black
Delta HID converted headlights with turn signals
Marquez Design billet LED taillights
Brothers smooth chrome front bumper
Rechromed OEM rear bumper
OEM grille shell polished by Best Chrome
GSI Machine & Fabrication billet door handles

Interior & Stereo
Work performed by Finish Line Interiors and American Customs & Classics
TEA’s Design split bench seat covered with red leather
Custom door panels with Clayton Machine door handles
Square weave red carpet
Suede headliner
Dakota Digital VHX gauges ididit steering column
Billet Specialties Stiletto steering wheel
Hurst shifter with custom stick
Vintage Air Gen 4 Magnum air conditioning setup
Marquez Design A/C control panel
Hidden door and window buttons
CTP Concepts ashtray mount for AccuAir controller
LED interior lights
Alpine CDE-HD149BT head unit
Alpine V-Power amplifiers
Diamond Audio component set
JL Audio subwoofers
Custom sub/head unit enclosure