This Monster C-10 has Come out From Hiding

THERE’S NO WAY AROUND IT, IF YOU WANT TO BUILD A HIGH-CALIBER CUSTOM TRUCK LIKE THE ONE ON THESE PAGES, IT TAKES TIME. There are no shortcuts, and if you try to take any, they’ll more than likely bite you in the ass later. Some people might think you can turn around a project in no time if you have unlimited funds. Deeper pockets may speed up the process, but it’s a good stretch to fabricate pieces no matter what, and you’ll still have to put in old-fashioned elbow grease.

Because it takes a long time to build a truck like John Schick’s, many are tempted to show off their creations before they’re finished. In fact, sneak peeks seem to be the norm these days since social media has streamlined how we share photos. However, those who choose to hang low by not leaking photos make the best debuts. John went this route and remained secretive, only bringing his truck out a couple of times to show what he was working on. Sightings of it were rare, and some thought the truck didn’t exist. It was like the infamous monster that allegedly inhabits the dark waters of Loch Ness in Scotland, which is why he named it Loch Ness.

IT WAS LIKE THE INFAMOUS MONSTER THAT ALLEGEDLY INHABITS THE DARK WATERS OF LOCH NESS IN SCOTLAND, WHICH IS WHY HE NAMED IT LOCH NESS.”

For John, his journey started when he was younger thanks to an uncle who owned a ’72 long-bed C-10. He remembers this truck fondly and it was a big part of his childhood. He also remembers that one of his neighbors had a lowered short-bed C-10 with the same body style, and he quickly discovered the differences between the two. Later, when John was in high school, his uncle gave him the truck. He lowered it, but he didn’t want to cut it up in order to get it on the ground. He knew that if he wanted to go all out, he would do it with a short-bed truck.

Soon he found this ’68 short-bed C-10 that a friend’s roommate was selling. From the start, John knew he wanted to ’bag and body drop the truck, so he and a friend rented shop space so that they could work on it. While modifying the suspension, John realized that he needed help; so, he turned to Aaron Iha of Chassis by Aaron Iha to discuss suspension geometry and driveline angles. After talking to Aaron, John decided to cut his losses and have Aaron build a frame from scratch.

When the chassis was finished, it set the tone for the rest of the build. John installed a rebuilt 355-ci Chevy small-block engine purchased from his friend Jason Oliveira. Then a Turbo 400 was bolted behind it, and the complete chassis was slid under the body before it went back to Aaron Iha for some trick body mods. Starting with the front, John implemented a set of headlights from a 2004 Jeep Liberty. The original grille was modified to fit them and opened up to show off the custom core support. Behind this lies a custom set of inner fenders, smoothed firewall and one-off hood hinges. The bed received a Grant Kustoms Cali tailgate/roll pan combo skin, while the inside got full custom bead-rolled sheet metal with chromed strips.

Then the truck was entrusted to long-time friend David Jameson at Little Shop of Kustoms for paint. Shooting for a high- class appearance, John and his wife Marisol chose Silver Lake Blue, a color they’d seen on a Bentley. The frame was sent to the powder coater, while the suspension and all of the hardware were chromed. The body was worked straight and covered in sealer primer before being sprayed with Dupont paint and four coats of clear. To finish some details, John, David and fellow Severed Ties club member Sixtoes helped by making stainless steel braided and hard lines throughout the truck.

As the C-10 neared completion, it was sent to Victor Moreno of V Custom Hot Rod Interiors. Victor used pressed wood to smooth the stock floor and then created a custom headliner. Kick panels, door panels and a rear speaker box were next on the list. Then a C/K Chevy bench seat was modified and placed. Next, everything, including the custom dash, was covered in light tan Ultraleather. Since John plans to drive this truck, he made sure it had plenty of creature comforts including an Alpine sound system and Vintage Air Gen IV air conditioning unit.

THOUGH IT CONSUMED A LOT OF JOHN AND MARISOL’S TIME, THE RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.”

Almost six years had passed since John had started his project. Though it consumed a lot of John and Marisol’s time, the results speak for themselves. The truck debuted at the 2015 Forbidden Fantasy Show where it took Best of Show. Since its debut, this truck has swept every event it has been to on the West Coast. With this kind of success, we’d say that the time and money spent were worth it.

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TECH SPECS

OWNER

John Schick
1968 Chevrolet C-10
Cathedral City, CA Severed Ties

ENGINE

• Chevy 355-ci small-block bored .60 over
• Push-button ignition
• 500-lift camshaft
• Ported and polished camel hump heads
• Ferrea valves
• Comp cams pushrods and springs
• ARP fasteners
• Edelbrock Air Gap intake manifold
• Quick Fuel 650-cfm double pumper carburetor
• Patriot Exhaust Products
• Ceramic-coated 2 ¼ 1967 Camaro headers exhaust with Flowmaster Super 44 mufflers
• Vintage Air Frontrunner serpentine kit
• Aluminum radiator with dual electric fans
• Stainless steel braided and hard lines
• Rebuilt Turbo 400 transmission with 2,600-stall torque converter
• Chevy 10-bolt rearend with 4.42:1 gears and Eaton Truetrac limited slip differential
• Polished custom aluminum gas tank
• Engine assembled by Joe Mejia
• Wiring by Jaime Fifield of Fifield Fabrications, Brea, CA

SUSPENSION

• Shop: Chassis by Aaron Iha
• Full custom narrowed frame made out of 2×4 steel with flat plate welded on the back half
• Frame powder coated by Bubba’s Powder Coat, Desert Hot Springs, CA
• Custom control arms
• 1973-87 drop spindles with disc brakes
• Rack-and-pinion steering
• Parallel 4-link with rear cantilever
• 1996 Impala SS rear disc brakes
• Classic Performance Products brake booster and master cylinder
• Painted shocks
• Slam Specialties RE-7 and RE-8 airbags
• All suspension and hardware chromed by the Corona brothers at So Cal Auto Body

WHEELS & TIRES

• 22×8 and 22×10 Intro Pentia polished billet wheels
• 255/30R22 and 295/ 30R22 BF Goodrich tires

BODY & PAINT

• Sheet metal work by Chassis by Aaron Iha
• Paint by David Jameson of Little Shop of Kustoms, Desert Hot Springs, CA
• Dupont paint mixed to match Bentley Silver Lake Blue
• Engine-turned silver leaf on core support
• Modified original grille with 2004 Jeep Liberty headlights with halo lights
• Custom core support and front inner fenders
• One-off hood hinges
• Brothers Truck single-piece side glass with power window components
• One Piece Window Products flush rear window
• Grant Kustoms front roll pan and rear Cali combo skin
• Shaved firewall, door handles, wiper cowl and gas door
• Sheet metal inner bed with wheel tubs and chrome strips
• Rolled pinch weld on cab
• Flush-mount gas cap
• LED taillights

INTERIOR

• Shop: Victor Moreno of V Custom Hotrod Interiors, Indio, CA
• Sheet metal dash by Chassis by Aaron Iha
• Modified Chevy C/K bench seat
• Custom kick panels, door panels, headliner and speaker box
• Light tan Ultraleather
• Smoothed floor with tan Jaguar carpet
• Billet Specialties AC vents
• Omega gauges
• Billet pedals
• Colorado Customs billet steering wheel with Severed Ties logo
• Classic Performance Products steering column
• Vintage Air Gen IV air conditioning unit
• Alpine 7-inch navigation head unit
• Alpine 6.5-inch component speakers and 8-inch Type R subwoofers
• Alpine amplifiers
• Odyssey battery
• Fattmat sound deadening material

SPECIAL THANKS FROM THE OWNER: “I would like to thank my wife who is my mechanic’s assistant for supporting my hobby and me. There are so many people that lent a helping hand: Jason Lightner and Marcus Smith, all the guys around my old shop, Mark Zarate, Scott Stevens, Jason Oliveira and Sixtoe for lending a big hand, Aaron Iha for the quality fabrication, the Corona brothers for helping me with some undercarriage prep and hook-up on chrome, Brett Oakes for helping me out with the stereo equipment, Scott Stevens for letting me work on my truck at his shop, Josue Quiroz for all the advice and help and David Jameson for doing a bad- ass paint job and bodywork. He’s always down to stay late to help

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