Nothing is Sweeter Than Starting Your First Project

E ALL START OFF BUILDING TRUCKS IN OUR OWN WAY, AT OUR OWN PACE. Some of us get cracking right at 16 (or earlier), turning wrenches before we own our first toolbox. Others take the longer route, waiting until they get deep into adulthood to tackle a project of any magnitude. For Mark Hargrove of Ft. Smith, Arkansas, his course definitely followed the latter path.

HELP CAME IN A FEW DIFFERENT FORMS. MARK IS MARRIED AND HAS THREE DAUGHTERS, AND EVERYONE IN THE FAMILY CAME TOGETHER TO LEND A HAND, BRINGING THEM A LITTLE BIT CLOSER AS A RESULT.”

This is Mark’s very first project and, for a guy who’s beginning a career as a truck builder at 44 years old, it certainly is a doozy. As the story goes, the vehicle—a ’68 Chevrolet C-10—was originally a local farm truck. The owner had another ride as a daily driver that needed some bodywork, so he traded the C-10 to a paint shop in exchange for the repairs. The C-10 then became a project for the paint shop, and from 2007-11, it was in various states of repair. Four years into the work, however, the paint shop’s owner grew tired of wrenching away on the truck. Mark, who had been looking for a project, struck a deal with the owner: the body shop would finish the paint work on the truck once Mark got everything put back together and, in return, Mark would take the C-10 off their hands. The ’68 was then trailered off to its new home and all was well—at first. But as box after box of parts arrived, Mark realized he might’ve gotten in a bit over his head.

When you’re not the guy to take apart a vehicle, you have no idea which bolt goes where. That can be a complicated enough problem if you’re an experienced builder, but for Mark, a truck rookie, it was a nightmare. He didn’t even know that much about the C-10, just that this was the body style that he wanted and that what he had was a good start. After all, the chassis was complete, and that meant that he’d have a solid foundation to build on. As for the rest, he would need some assistance.

Help came in a few different forms. Mark is married and has three daughters, and everyone in the family came together to lend a hand, bringing them a little bit closer as a result. As Mark puts it, “The fact that I stayed married and still have daughters that speak to me after this process is an amazing accomplishment in my book.”

Next up was the team at Street & Performance. They did extensive work to the truck, and the results include some of the more impressive modifications made to the truck. The powertrain, for example, is a 2004 LS1, and the Street & Performance team installed it so that not only would it be super reliable, but it would also have lots of pretty polished, painted and chromed accessories to go with it. The engine now also sports some of their own special equipment, including ceramic-coated headers and custom motor mounts, as well as a host of other goodies. The completed package is now completely dependable, which makes for a pleasurable driving experience.

Chuck Rowland of CAR Upholstery, Inc. stepped up for the interior, which is all custom. Now we say that a lot, but in this case, everything truly is custom. Those seats were built for the truck, as was the console, and even the dash pad was widened a bit for a cleaner look. Of course, the paint shop also stayed true to its word, and the father and son team of Dusty and Rusty Cox of Dusty’s Collision Center painted the truck perfectly.

Although the finished truck is a work of art, it took some serious dedication to follow it through to completion. Where others would have given up, Mark did not. He’s doubling down and working on a pair of ’50s Chevy trucks at the moment, as well as building a 60×60-foot shop to work on them in. He may have started off late in the game, but we suspect that we haven’t seen the last of Mark and his trucks—not by a long shot.

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TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

Mark Hargrove
1968 Chevrolet
C-10 Ft. Smith, AR

ENGINE

• Shop: Street &
• Performance, Mena, AR
• 2004 GM 5.7l LS1 V-8 painted Milano Red
• Polished water pump
• Chromed alternator
• Custom-built polished radiator
• SPAL electric fans
• Street & Performance motor mounts
• Custom chromed Weiand intake manifold
• Street & Performance intake tube and air filter, throttle body, ceramic- coated headers, valve covers, pulleys and wiring
• Stainless Specialties Mega Oval mufflers
• Polished stainless steel exhaust
• 2004 GM 4L60E transmission
• Modified GM steel driveshaft

SUSPENSION & CHASSIS

• Shop: Dusty Cox at Dusty’s Collision Center, Pocola, OK
• Fatman Fabrications front suspension
• Narrowed front clip
• Chromed Mustang II drop spindles by Street & Performance
• Aldan coil-overs
• GM front disc brakes
• Classic Performance Products master cylinder and brake booster
• Custom rear trailing arms
• Rear GM disc brakes
• KYB rear shocks
• GM 3.73:1 rear axle
• Moser axle shafts
• Custom built gas tank by Rock Valley

WHEELS & TIRES

• 18×8 and 20×10 Billet Specialties Legacy
• 225/45R18 and 265/50R20 BFGoodrich KDW-2 tires

BODY & PAINT

• Shop: Dusty and Rusty Cox at Dusty’s Collision Center, Pocola, OK
• Chromed factory steel grille inserts by Street & Performance
• One Piece Products windows
• Hagan gas filler
• LMC Truck front and rear bumpers
• LMC Truck taillights and headlights
• Mar-K bed floor
• All gaps tightened
• Shaved antenna hole
• Painted PPG Milano Red

INTERIOR

• Shop: Chuck Rowland at CAR Upholstery, Inc.
• Auburn leather upholstery with perforated leather inserts in the floor
• Custom-built seats, headliner and center console
• Custom length leather dash pad
• Classic Instruments gauges
• AutoLoc switches
• Vintage Air AC
• Budnik Famosa steering wheel
• Polished stainless bright work
• Stereo by Jeff Teal
• Sony head unit
• Rockford Fosgate speakers
• Optima battery
• Dynamat throughout

SPECIAL THANKS FROM THE OWNER: “A very special thanks to the owner of the body shop, Dusty Cox, and his son, Rusty. Dusty’s advice and direction throughout the entire process kept me headed down the right path to a good result. Rusty did most of the paintwork on the truck and I think that speaks for itself. I would also like to thank Chuck Rowland for the interior work he performed. Chuck’s design and creativity are second to none and his execution is flawless. As an added bonus, he is now considered a lifelong friend. I live with four women (and a female dog) so I can’t say enough about what patience they’ve had over the last several years. They have helped me put every piece on the truck in our garage. I love them all very much and couldn’t have done it without them.”

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