We Thought it Would Never Get Done

Plans have a way of changing, and they often end up getting completely derailed. Josef Murph has loved custom trucks for as long as he can remember, and constantly daydreamed about what kind of truck he would build some day. After saving up some cash, he finally decided to build a ’95 Chevy. Well, as you can probably tell, this ain’t no ’95 Chevy. 

As it turned out, Josef came across a one-owner ’84 C-10 while searching for that ’95, and the deal was simply too good to just let some other lucky dude grab it. So, he brought it home, came up with some new ideas, and started collecting the pieces to make his altered dream a reality.

The new plan had Josef’s C-10 sitting on a mildly lowered suspension with some 22-inch wheels. The paint would be in the stock colors, with restored exterior trim for a cool resto mod that Josef could drive on a daily basis.

Yeah, that didn’t happen, and he scrapped those ideas, too. “A few days after I bought the truck, I took it to Matt McClary [of McClary’s Metal Works] to start a basic ’bag job. Meanwhile, I made several calls to Travis at Pro Performance. We started ordering all the parts for my initial idea, then it snowballed from there.”

The transformation didn’t happen overnight, but throughout the next three years, as the truck neared completion, he began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Josef wasn’t kidding. The transformation didn’t happen overnight, but throughout the next three years, as the truck neared completion, he began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But, as Josef explained, he started having third thoughts. “I realized it was time to go big or go home. The truck was ready for paint and body, and the factory trim and accessories were purchased and ready for installation.”

So what happened? “It was all coming together. Then, the day before the body shop was ready to paint, I decided to change the color. After seeing another truck with a similar color, I wanted something different.” Egad, man, pull yourself together!

Well, at least the truck was ready to go back together, right? Kind of. One of the last changes the truck would get before seeing daylight was the omission of the factory trim, so in a way we guess that at least sped things up a bit.

Finally, in June of 2016, the truck was ready for its debut, even though, according to Josef, “I wasn’t 100-percent happy with the final product.” We definitely know the feeling, and with all of the changes that Josef had already made, we guess it shouldn’t be too much of surprise that he was willing to give it one more go-round to get things perfect. “We finished the 2016 show season and decided to make some changes for 2017. New wheels, brakes and interior were necessary to take the truck to the next level.”

For Josef, this next level meant swapping out the 22-inch wheels for 24-inch Hot Rods by Boyd Solution wheels, which are plenty big enough to give folks a sneak peek at the Porterbuilt front and rear suspension setups once they get past the Baer T4 brakes. The interior was transformed by Bruce at Haeges’ Trim Shop, where the interior was covered with persimmon-colored vinyl and leather, including the awesome Snowden bench seat. The Hot Rods by Boyd steering wheel matches perfectly, and its horn button wears the logo of Josef’s club, Negative Camber.

Now that his truck is finally done (yeah, we’re jumping the gun with that assumption), Josef is finally enjoying what he considers to be the perfect street truck, and it’s definitely low enough to snap some of those road “turtles” right off the pavement. ST

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TRUCK SPECS

Owner

Josef Murph
Daphne, AL
1984 Chevy C-10
Negative Camber 

Engine

• Work performed by David’s Machine Shop
• 383 Chevy small-block engine
• Eagle crankshaft
• COMP Cams Thumpr camshaft
• Eagle rods
• Power Pro pistons
• Dart cylinder heads
• Hardened pushrods
• Chrome-moly rockers
• Melling oil pump
• Edelbrock intake manifold
• Edelbrock 650-cfm carburetor
• Billet Specialties Tru Trac belt drive setup
• Billet Specialties valve covers
• Billet Specialties air cleaner
• Hooker headers
• Magnaflow 2.5-inch exhaust
• Be Cool four-row radiator with dual fans
• 700R4 transmission
• B&M 2,500-rpm stall converter
• Rear axle housing shortened 3 inches total with Moser axles

Chassis & Suspension 

• Work performed by McClary’s Metal Works
• Porterbuilt air ride suspension
• Slam Specialties front airbags, Firestone F9000 rear
• AccuAir air management
• Notched frame
• RideTech shocks
• CPP drop spindles
• Baer T4 brakes, 13-inch front, 12-inch rear
• Baer stainless steel master cylinder
  

Wheels & Tires

• 24×9 and 24×10 Hot Rods by Boyd Solution wheels, polished and ceramic-coated clear
• 275/30R24 and 295/35R24 Delinte tires

Body & Paint 

• Work performed by Rettig’s Auto Body
• Bed narrowed 3/8 inch on each side
• Bed floor raised to cover rear suspension
• Shaved key holes and fuel door
• Custom wiper cowl
• 1989-91 crew cab grille conversion
• One-piece side windows
• Custom-mixed PPG Gray paint

Interior & Stereo 

• Work performed by Haege’s Trim Shop and Ultimate Audio Fabrication
• Hushmat sound deadener
• Persimmon vinyl and leather trim
• Snowden custom bench seat
• Wrapped dashboard
• Hot Rods by Boyd S.O.B. steering wheel
• Billet handles
• Vintage Air climate control system
• Sony head unit
• JL Audio component speakers
• JL Audio 10-inch subwoofers
• JL Audio five-channel amplifier
• Optima Red Top battery

Special Thanks From the Owner: “My fiancée Tiffany, my son Paxton, Matt McClary, Ben Labue, Josh Edwards, Eddie Sells, De’Andre Johnson, my Negative Camber family and Brian Goude.”

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