A Twisted Take on Street-Rod Style

WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT HIS LATEST TRUCK BUILD, CASEY MCCOY LIKES TO SAY, “DON’T BUILD AN S-10 LIKE A STREET ROD. At the end of the day, it’s still an S-10 no matter how many thousands of dollars you put into it.” Of course, he says that now that the excitement and rush of adrenaline he got from building his own has subsided. Looking back at what he’s pulled off with his “worthless” little mini-truck, though, it’s apparent he was piecing it together for some sort of payoff once the dust settled.

When Casey was in the thick of the build, his main objective was to have one of the first finished stock-floor body-dropped Dimes on 22s. The driving factor was a friendly wager he made with a friend; it kept him on track—somewhat. Casey tells us, “The whole project happened in spurts. I’d spend some busy months on it, and then wouldn’t come back to it for a while. Then I would slam on it like I wanted it done the very next day. Showfest ’13 was my concrete deadline though.” Aside from the interior and some of the framework, Casey handled pretty much the rest of the build, so the fate of the job was ultimately in his hands.

In life, things happen and stuff gets in the way, but when there’s a little bit of cash on the line and a competitive push between buds, the time for fooling around comes to an end. For a while, Casey was unsure whether or not he’d finish the job in time, “It was either going to be a bet with odds that could go either way or a donation on my part … but I eventually won.” That journey to the end of the line wasn’t one that came easy for Casey. The majority of the truck was built and put together in his garage in Iowa, but it was extracted a couple of times to have very specific sets of hands help sculpt the truck to meet his expectations.

The first of the very few stops the S-10 made was to Von Chounlamany’s shop, Laodies Kustomz, in Douds, Iowa. The truck was there specifically for chassis and suspension mock-up, and since Von is a mastermind in both categories, it seemed fitting that these two meet up and cut the truck apart in true neighborly fashion. The outcome was a completely new frame from the firewall back, and a parallel 4-link setup with pan hard bar for good measure. Everything was mocked-up, taken apart, reassembled and blown apart one more time to make sure it all fit and functioned to spec before the chassis and components were sent off for powder coating.

ONE DAY WHEN I WAS OUT THERE, MY GRANDPA STOPPED BY. WE GOT TO TALKING, AND HE TOLD ME THAT HE WANTED TO SEE IT DONE. HEARING HIM SAY THAT HELPED ME WANT TO GET BACK TO THRASHING ON IT AGAIN.”

When Casey had the truck back at home in his garage, he tended to go through erratic periods of involvement. The “spurts” that he mentioned before were real, but when he was on, you’d better believe he was taking things way past what most guys are able to accomplish within the confines of their home garage. Casey got down on the bodywork—including the body drop—right there at his home. He handled all of the metal work, slicing and dicing and building a new bed floor around the rear suspension. When the time was right and the truck’s surface was ready for it, he loaded up the spray gun and converted his garage into a makeshift paint booth. The results show that this wasn’t his first automotive-coloring rodeo, and it’s a prime example of just how much can be accomplished with the right set of tools and a ruthless DIY mentality.

Even though Casey took on a healthy chunk of the build himself, there were certain departments where he recognized and understood his boundaries, especially when it came time to step inside the cab for a complete overhaul. Even though he says that he has reservations about attempting to transform an S-10 into a before it went on hiatus. Best of all, Casey was stoked to reach out his hand and take the cash that his friend put up against the odds of the truck not making it in time. It wasn’t a whole lot of money, and there were no hard feelings between the two. It was recognition of the accomplishment of a mission that stretched out five long years.

WHEN I WRAPPED UP WORKING ON THE TRUCK AT 11 P.M. ON THE NIGHT BEFORE I LEFT FOR SHOWFEST, I DROVE IT ON ITS MAIDEN VOYAGE OVER TO MY GRANDPARENTS HOUSE TO SHOW THEM BEFORE ANYONE ELSE.”

A few more years have passed since then, and Casey has continued to hold on to the truck (even through a move) when many others might have sold or traded it off once the limelight dimmed. It’s true that he might never be offered the monetary equivalent of what he sunk into the project, but he knows that projects like these aren’t always about turning a buck. “When I wrapped up working on the truck at 11 p.m. on the night before I left for Showfest, I drove it on its maiden voyage over to my grandparents house to show them before anyone else. This was the first time I had actually driven it since the build began.” S-10 or not, there are very few vehicles out there that carry that kind of sentimental value.

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TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

Casey McCoy
1998 Chevrolet S-10
Ottumwa, IA
Twisted Koncepts

ENGINE

• Stock 2.2L four-banger
• Stainless radiator hoses and valve cover
• Pace Setter exhaust
• Cherry Bomb muffler
• Chevy Cavalier air intake
• Rinehart exhaust tip

SUSPENSION

• Shop: Laodies Kustomz and the owner
• Air Lift Performance Dominator 2500 ’bags
• Form and Function control arms
• Two VIAIR 480 compressors
• Custom 2×3 frame from firewall back
• Rear parallel 4-link with pan hard bar all powder-coated by Firecoat Custom Powdercoating
• Disc brakes all around
• Eight 3⁄8-inch SMC air valves
• AVS switchbox

WHEELS & TIRES

• 22-inch Coys C-5 wheels
• 22-inch Nexen tires

BODY

• DuPont Harley Orange and Cool Vanilla paint
• Shaved door handles, hood squirters, bottom of hood, third brake light, gas door
• Custom-built front bumper
• Clear Blazer taillights
• 3-inch stock-floor body- drop
• Custom inner front fenders
• Custom sheet metal bed
• Gas filler in bed
• Roll pan

INTERIOR & STEREO

• Shop: Ross Johns and Kyle Hix at Hix Design, owner
• Factory seats and headrests chopped
• Leather upholstery with ostrich inserts
• Dash and interior panels shaved and painted with PPG Soft Touch clear
• Custom center console and rear audio system enclosure
• AVS and Nu Image gauges
• Lokar shifter
• Con2r steering wheel
• Kenwood head unit
• Precision Power speakers, subwoofers and amps

SPECIAL THANKS FROM THE OWNER: “Special thanks to my grandparents; my girlfriend, Krissy; friends, Barker, Cody, Derek, Kenny, Squeak, Von, Wezal and anyone else who helped along the way that I might have forgotten to add.”

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