Yellowstone | ’73 Cheyenne Super 3+3 C20

Tripping Out in All The Right Ways

IN CASE YOU DIDN’T ALREADY KNOW, RONNIE WETCH IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL IN THE C10 COMMUNITY. As host of the C10 Talk podcast and head cheese at C10 Nation, Ronnie has been bringing together classic Chevy truck aficionados and showcasing the movers and shakers in the community since 2014. Beyond that, he is also a firefighter by trade, so folks really don’t get any cooler than Ronnie.

When Ronnie went looking for his latest project, he was open to just about anything, but it had to have good bones. After finding a clean Ochre Yellow and white ’73 Cheyenne Super 3+3 C20 just west of him in Arizona, he just couldn’t turn it away and ended up bringing it home. Being both a crew cab and a long bed, this thing was already gargantuan, but then he went and found a vintage camper unit for it, which made it even longer and taller. The funny thing is, 10 to 15 years ago it would have been just plain weird to add a giant camper to a truck to make it cooler, but here we are in 2019, and it’s just plain awesome. We couldn’t love it more.

As its name implies, YelLOWstone was built to hit the road in style, so having a fresh, perfect paint job wasn’t on the agenda for Ronnie. Choosing instead to maintain the Cheyenne Super C20’s original, if weathered, finish, Ronnie has kept the truck as stock as possible for maximum retro appeal, with the exception of the slammed stance and some personalized touches.

RONNIE WANTED HIS FAMILY TO ENJOY THE C20 AS MUCH AS HE DID, SO IT HAD TO BE AS COMFORTABLE AS IT WAS AWESOME LOOKING.

Ronnie had originally dropped the truck with a 7/9 static lowering kit with helper bags from Switch Suspension, but eventually took things a step further by having the guys at Switch add Slam Specialties airbags to the front, with an AccuAir E-Level setup for even more low and towing capacity. When aired out, most of the Toyo Open Country 225/75R16 tires get swallowed up underneath the fenders. As a convenient side effect, it’s also a lot easier to get into the camper unit. The flip side of this, though, is that the rare “granny step” underneath the front passenger door isn’t really necessary anymore. But, being as awesome as it is, Ronnie decided to leave it on as a neat conversation piece.

One of the coolest things about the truck is that it’s still powered by its original 454 engine, although it has been rebuilt and upgraded by Johny G’s Garage with some fresh items like an Edelbrock cam, Holley Dominator intake manifold, Holley Terminator EFI kit, AC Delco HEI setup and a Magnaflow exhaust system.

The biggest update to the drivetrain, however, was the addition of a rebuilt 4L80E transmission, which replaced the original Turbo 400 tranny to give the truck much better fuel economy and drivability on long trips. This swap required that the driveline be shortened, however, so Arizona Driveshaft came to the rescue and set things up perfectly. A GC Cooling setup keeps the temps nice and manageable.

Ronnie wanted his family to enjoy the C20 as much as he did, so it had to be as comfortable as it was awesome looking. To accomplish this, Empire Custom Upholstery stepped in to restore the interior with NOS textiles, while a complete Kicker sound system was also installed. The camper’s interior is original, and just oozes ’70s in all the right ways!

YelLOWstone has been seeing plenty of miles, hitting up shows such as Eastbound & Down, Lone Star Throwdown, LS Fest West, Dino’s Git Down and the Brothers Show & Shine, but it’s been known to pop up at a random campground or two along the way as well.