The '73-87 Chevy C-10 pickup has skyrocketed to the top of the "mostly built" charts in the past few years and for good reason. Having been in production for 14 years, there are thousands upon thousands available, and they look awesome planted on the ground, stuffing big wheels, and coated with color. It's hard to beat the chiseled lines and squared off stature of these old trucks. When Chevrolet and GMC built these vehicles it was at a time when most trucks were built to look and drive like, well, trucks. Nowadays pickup trucks are more cars than anything else with comfort, a smooth ride and more knobs and buttons on the dash than a commercial jet airplane. Like most older trucks the square body C-10s capture the simpler times of truck offerings. Steel lower dash panels, a simple and flat dash pad, oversized gauges, easily operated climate controls, and a springy bench seat characterize the inner workings of the typical C-10. There is something so cool about cruising in one of these trucks because they still emit some of the creaks and rattles that trucks made back then before the plastic and leather era. No airbags means you can easily install a custom steering wheel, and with large factory wheel wells in the rear you can plant a big wheel and tire combo out back without too much massaging. I think one of the things that make these old trucks so appealing to build is that they don't need a lot to look cool. Chevrolet nailed the dash and door panels design from the factory, so unless you want a full street-rod-style dash, the stock unit lends itself well to some billet inserts. On the outside, if you do want to go crazy with metal work, a simple trim and emblem shave, billet inserts or a clip swap, and a roll pan and smooth tailgate will do the trick. With companies like LMC Truck offering everything under the sun to put one of these trucks back together the right way, they have become the truck of choice for many project seekers. Prices have begun to climb a bit on these box-style beauties, but they're still within reach as they have not even come close to what a good, solid '67-72 Chevy short bed is going for these days.

I'm sure you are dying to know how many C-10s ended up flooding the Texas Showdown event. After a thorough stroll around the grounds, I counted 34 of these trucks in all different categories of show condition. Watch for more of these trucks within the pages of StreetTrucks. I don't see any signs of them dropping off the map anytime soon.

Until next month keep dragging the frame rails, cranking the hair metal, and cruising until the fuel needle hits empty. TN