Building a Crew Cab “CSST” From a Pile of Parts

THIS IS ONE of those trucks that could easily fly under the radar. Unless you know your 1967-72s fairly well, you might think that it’s just a converted Suburban, or maybe one of those rare crew cabs. If that’s what you thought, you’d be very, very wrong. What the crew at Sisco’s Fabrication from Surprise, Arizona built for Kevin Bettencourt and his son Jerad goes above and beyond all of the standards ever set for a 1967- 72 C-10. The resulting truck is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

Kevin and Jerad are both C-10 fans and have built multiple versions throughout the years, but they always wanted a factory four-door truck. That vehicle never existed—the closest option was a three-door cab built by the aftermarket at the time— so, after seven years of deliberation, they decided to create one themselves.

Around this time, Kevin’s nephew Scott owned an ’04 Chevrolet Silverado It was stolen, and when the insurance company recovered the truck, it was missing the grille, wheels and the entire interior. Since Scott didn’t want it anymore, he sold it to Kevin and Jerad, giving them a (more or less) complete truck to work with.

Kevin gave Jared the green light to find a builder, and that’s when he met with Brandon Sisco at Sisco’s Fabrication. Brandon has put together some amazing rides throughout the years, including a stunning black ’72 that took the truck scene by storm a few years back. After they all got together and discussed the goals for the build, Brandon and his team went to work getting the project together.

With the SS torn down to just a frame and engine, they started putting the puzzle together. To get at least three of the doors in place, they started with a 1972 Suburban, which they cut off from the rear door back. Believe it or not, the front cab mounts on the Suburban aligned perfectly with the factory SS frame, and they only had to fab a few mounts for the rear. The back of the cab was from another C-10 donor truck, and after some major work, the Suburban was now a three-door cab and sat on the chassis.

Those of you who know their 1967- 72 Suburbans know where this story is going. Those early SUVs only came in a three-door; the driver’s side rear door was skinned over. To make it work, Brandon had to fabricate virtually everything, and by the time he was done, there were four doors swinging off the cab like it was no big deal.

Since they wanted to keep the Silverado SS chassis the stock length, they decided to cut down a junkyard long-bed to the 5.5-foot length that the SS came with from the factory. After some tweaking, pulling and metal work, they had one of the few crew cab C-10s of the era ever done, and it could still fit into a suburban home’s garage.

Now remember, the SS was a complete driver when they picked it up, so they had the entire running gear, including the engine and trans. Once they wired it all up and got things running smoothly, they ended up with an all-wheel drive ’72. Pair that with the crew cab and you’ve got a truck that Chevy never built—a CSST, if you will—but it sure would’ve been nice if they had.

There’s so much more about this truck that begs to be noticed. The rear door is a big deal, but the radiused upper corners on both make it look just right when combined with the rest of the lines. The bottom of the doors and the rockers were widened to mimic the look of the original 2004 SS with the original body kit. The bumper vents, front and rear, also echo that sentiment as well. The more you look, the deeper you go down the rabbit hole.

Kevin and Jerad haven’t taken possession of the truck as we write this, because there are a few more details that Brandon and his crew want to knock out, but in the short amount of time that it’s been seen in public, the CSST has made quite a stir. Why wouldn’t it? This is the first time (that we know of) that a Silverado SS chassis has been mated with a 1967-72 of any kind, plus it was converted to a crew cab. It’s a one-off, one-of-a-kind truck. Who wouldn’t want it in their own driveway?

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BUILD SPECS

OWNER

Kevin Bettencourt
1972 Chevrolet Crew
Cab “CSST”
Strathmore, California

ENGINE

• Shop: Sisco’s Fabrication
• 2004 Chevrolet 6.0l L96 V-8
• Spal dual electric fans
• Champion aluminum radiator
• MSD Atomic EFI System
• K&N air filter
• BBK Performance big bore throttle body
• Sanderson headers
• 2.5-inch custom exhaust by Moose’s Garage
• Coffin Muffler, Inc. mufflers
• All-wheel drive transmission
• Aluminum gas tank fabricated by Mouse’s Custom Fab
• Ron Francis wiring kit

SUSPENSION

• Shop: Sisco’s Fabrication
• 2004 Chevrolet Silverado SS extra cab chassis
• Powerstop slotted and vented rotors, front and rear
• McGaughy’s C-10 master cylinder and 7-inch booster
• McGaughy’s drop spindles, shackle, hangers and shocks
• McGaughy’s helper airbags and rear shocks
• Hellwig sway bar
• Stock leaf springs

WHEELS & TIRES

• 22×9 and 22×10.5 Esajian Slingshot II
• 265/45R22 and 305/40R22 Toyo Proxes STII

BODY & PAINT

• Shop: Sisco’s Fabrication
• Metalux single-stage 2004 Chevrolet Silverado SS factory red paint applied by Sean Wigman
• Custom-cut door glass by Jason Silva of J&A Autoglass
• Factory Chevrolet grille with brushed finish
• Cowl hood
• Brother’s smooth front bumper with custom 2004 Silverado SS inserts
• Smooth pop-up gas filler in cab corner
• Modified factory bumper with Cadillac exhaust inserts
• Factory 1967 front fenders with modified lower corners from Grant Kustoms
• Factory long bed shortened to 5.5’
• Custom tailgate skin and lower SS-style bed sides
• Bruce Horkey’s wood bed kit
• LED taillights
• Goolsby Edition by Lokar 12- volt door handles
• IPCW crystal eye headlights with amber turn signals
• Three-door Suburban mated with truck rear cab wall
• Fourth door and driver’s side rear hinge pillar fabricated
• Custom door skins fabricated by Grant Kustoms to incorporate the SS wide body kit
• New wider lower rockers for SS kit
• Shaved rain gutters
• Pancaked Suburban roof, shortened 4 feet
• Fully shaved firewall.
• Steele Rubber Products moldings
• Billet Badges custom CSST badging

INTERIOR

• Shop: Todd Jubert at Custom Saddlebag Liners
• 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe bucket seats front and rear, modified to remove seatbelts and headrests
• Porsche Gray carpet
• Gray suede and ultraleather
• Custom Intro steering wheel
• Dakota Digital VHX gauges
• Lokar billet interior handles
• Vintage Air AC
• Two modified Chevrolet center consoles
• Ididit steering column
• Lokar billet brake and gas pedals
• Custom door panels

SPECIAL THANKS FROM OWNER: MSD and its Atomic EFI system, Steele Rubber Products, McGaughy’s Suspension Parts, Billet Badges Co., Vintage Air, Hellwig Products, Dakota Digital, Lokar, Coffin Muffler, Kinetik, Ron Francis Wiring, Brothers Trucks, Goolsby Customs, Sanderson Headers, Bruce Horkey’s Wood and Parts for pickups, ididit, Grant Kustoms, Metalux Paints, Esajian Wheels and CTP Concepts.

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