The Second Time is for Keeps

UR EARLIEST TRUCK MEMORIES ARE OFTEN OUR FONDEST AND ULTIMATELY BECOME A PART OF OUR IDENTITY. It was no different for Jesus Fregoso of Hollister, California. “My dad had a ’69 GMC when I was a kid. … It was what I learned to drive in, and I have a passion for these trucks.” We’ve heard this story time and time again, and it still gets us right in the feels.

His dad’s ’69 GMC laid the groundwork for a life of C-10s that, as far as we can tell, will be passed on to Jesus’ kids as well. As a youngin’, that old GMC was there every step of the way, and eventually thoughts of having his own C-10 consumed Jesus. “My family helped me buy a ’68 C-10 when I was 13.I built it from the ground up over the years and drove it in high school.”

Jesus enjoyed every moment with that truck, but eventually another rite of passage into adulthood would mean he had to make a tough choice. “I owned that C-10 for 12 years, but my wife and I decided to buy a house, so I sold it. It really didn’t affect me too much at first, but as soon as we got settled into our new house, it hit me—I no longer had my C-10.”

That realization led Jesus to reevaluate things, and with his wife Mary Jane’s blessing, he came up with a plan to start another C-10 project from scratch. Having to start over was going to be tough on a new homeowner’s limited budget, but the important part was just to get something to build. Jesus knew he would figure out the rest in time.

The search actually didn’t take very long. There is still plenty of prime C-10 metal to choose from in central and northern California. Two weeks after his search began, Jesus found a solid candidate: a ’67 Chevy big-window short- bed located about an hour away in Turlock. The best part was it was a driver, so Jesus was able to get it home under its own power. As Jesus tells us, that drive back to Hollister was a near-religious experience. “The drive home was epic. I had flashbacks the whole way back from when I was a kid. I knew I had bought the right truck.”

Jesus started tearing the truck down as soon as he got it home. He also ordered parts right away, including a complete new front end from LMC Truck. As soon as the front end was bolted on, however, Jesus took a long, hard look at the truck and reevaluated his game plan. This new plan included some very expensive fab work, which meant sidelining the build for a few years in order to sock away a large cash reserve.

After working a ton of overtime and weekends, Jesus was finally able to schedule a block of time at Settin’ Trendz in Fresno. While the truck was at the shop, Adam Russell cut the factory frame right at the firewall and built a completely new rear section, which resulted in a 3-inch stock floor body drop once the pinch welds were cut off and welded smooth. To make more room for low offset wheels, a shortened 12-bolt rearend was attached to a custom link setup, which uses a ’bag-on-bar design to get the rear off the ground. Adam also incorporated some other subtle tricks, such as tucking in the front bumper a bit and fabbing a set of custom hood hinges in order to clear the 22-inch Budnik Ice wheels and Nitto 420S tires when the air is let out of the front.

With the bed cut out to fit the rear frame clip and wheels, Adam continued the modifications. He gave the truck a bath in PPG Satin Black, and after tying up some loose ends, handed the truck back to Jesus.

Once back in Hollister, Top Stitch Upholstery re-covered the factory bench seat and installed new carpet. Some old-school touches from the previous owner, such as the chrome glove box door and door panel inserts, were retained in recognition of the truck’s long 49-year history. To finish off the interior properly, Jesus bolted up a Budnik Ice steering wheel that perfectly matched the billet rollers.

Now that the truck’s at a stage where Jesus can enjoy it with his wife and kids, he’s planning round two, which will include a 6.0L LS swap, a Vintage Air kit, one-piece windows and flush rear glass, among other things. For now, he gets to take his daughters to soccer practice (his youngest loves to play with the Accuair setup) and hit up local shows with his fellow Krucial Koncepts club members.

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 TRUCK SPECS        

OWNER

Jesus Fregoso
1967 Chevy C-10
Hollister, CA
Krucial Koncepts

ENGINE

• 1990 Chevy 350
• Edelbrock carburetor
• Edelbrock intake manifold
• Edelbrock air cleaner
• Hooker headers
• Magnaflow mufflers
• 700R4 transmission
• B&M shift kit
• Aluminum fuel cell

SUSPENSION & CHASSIS

• Work by Settin’ Trendz
• Custom frame clip for 3-inch body drop, painted silver
• Narrowed factory 12-bolt rearend
• 3-link rear setup
• Custom front control arms
• Slam Specialties airbags
• Accuair E-Level manifold setup
• Two VIAIR 480C compressors
• Belltech drop spindles
• Front disc brakes
• 2006 Silverado brake booster/master cylinder

WHEELS & TIRES

• 22×8.5 and 22×10 Budnik Ice billet wheels
• 265/35R22 and 285/35R22 Nitto 420S tires

BODY & PAINT

• Work by Settin’ Trendz
• Pinch welds cut off and welded smooth
• LMC front-end sheet metal/grille
• Shaved fuel filler
• Sheet metal inner bed walls
• Wheel tubs in bed
• Custom hood hinges
• Smoothed firewall
• Sir Michael’s roll pan
• PPG Satin Black paint

INTERIOR & STEREO

• Work by Blake and Aaron at Top Stitch Upholstery
• Factory bench reupholstered with gray tweed
• Seat brackets lowered
• Budnik Ice steering wheel
• Billet rearview mirror
• Black carpet
• Factory AM radio with factory speaker in dash

SPECIAL THANKS FROM THE OWNER: “Thanks to my family for always supporting me, and to my wife Mary Jane.”

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