PRECIOUS
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.
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!
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
“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!”
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!
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.
Dave’s wheel of choice is all class—20x8.5 and 20x12 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!
“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! ”
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!