News: 19

I'm 71 years old and this Chevy C10 truck belonged to my grandfather. He died in 1980. My grandmother sold it in 1981. Eighteen years later I tracked it down and bought it back. I've taken it down to the frame and over the past 8 years, restored it with upgrades like a 350 V8, 700R4 trans, power everything, CPP suspension, disc brakes, etc. My granddaughter wants the truck, even though she has new automobiles. So, it will go to her mother (my daughter), then to her. Gearz helped me build this truck. I watched hours of episodes to learn to do so much of the restoration.

This is the life story of my dad/mom’s car, the 1966 SS396, that he ordered through the "GM Military Discount". Once he got his orders to come home, he grabbed the order sheet and proceeded to check 21 for his car. Dad said that the FIRST option he checked was Air Conditioning, because of having spent the last year in Vietnam under the most oppressive heat/humidity that he ever saw!

This project began with ideas I’d wanted to implement from years of magazine articles, many summers on a tractor, junk from around the farm, and a couple TikToks from a college buddy.

Being more budget friendly than conventional 4x4 platforms, along with the inherent uniqueness of this build, appeals to both me and my kids. The challenge of fabricating a 1200lb rig on 42” tires also appeals to the kid in me, harkening back to monster trucks of my childhood.

My 1st vehicle was a '52 Studebaker pickup when I was 19. Now I am retired and had a 1000 sq ft shop built in my backyard. I found a '52 Studebaker pickup in southern Washington that wasn't running and decided it would be my retirement hot rod. I am using a '94 Dodge Dakota chassis, a crate LS3 drivetrain with a 6L80E six speed trans, and a Ford 8.8 rear end. One night, a cordless lithium battery on a charger failed, and burned down my shop. The Studebaker was parked next to the shop and was charred down the driver's side.

One day, the idea popped into my head that I really wanted a Checker Marathon, and I wanted to build it into a true gasser (the first in the world to my knowledge). I’ve always been intrigued by the A11/A12 Checkers and loved the utilitarian look about them. They look like someone blended a ‘58 Chevy and a ‘58 Rambler together, except using all the worst parts. A few months after I had the idea, this basket case of a one-owner, non-taxi ‘73 dropped into my lap. After some haggling, I got the car for $900 and the TH400 that was in it, even got the original title from ‘73!