Simple Green, a True Do-It-Yourself C-10

Here at Street Trucks, we truly believe in and encourage the do-it-yourself builder. The pride and possible frustration that come with building and working on your own truck are experiences that will last a lifetime. The end result of years’ worth of work in your own garage, with help from some friends, is a great story to be told. With Jesse Barnett’s retro-inspired flat green ’63 C-10, he has built a clean ride on his own. His talents extend to photography, too, and his images are what you see here. It’s only fitting to finish things off by having him tell his story in his own words.
—Jason Mulligan

The first truck I had was when I was 15 years old. It was a Chevy that I worked on in my driveway after school. I saved up some cash and put some custom rims and tires on it, lowered it and painted it all by myself. Custom trucks kept me busy and out of trouble. I have had dozens of custom cars and trucks since. Everyone always asks me, “Whatcha building?” followed by, “When are you going to sell it?” I can’t stop it; it’s definitely an addiction.

This truck came about one day while I was out to lunch with my wife and daughter. I have always loved the ’63 C-10 short bed fleetside big window. And while searching on my Craigslist app on my iPhone I found one, and it was local. Right away I gave them a call, and within hours I was negotiating a price. The truck was in decent shape, but I knew what I had in store for it so it didn’t matter that it wasn’t perfect.

Within a week I was on the phone with Nathan at Porterbuilt going over my plan. A few weeks later— BAM—full Porterbuilt front Dropmember with upper and lower control arms, sway bar and a rear trailing Porterbuilt kit at my door. Then things got going quickly. Working on the truck around my full-time job, I tore the frame down, cleaned it up and got all of the suspension installed.

Then I moved on to the drivetrain. I wanted to keep it simple, so I ordered a GM crate 350 motor topped off with an Edelbrock manifold and carburetor. Then I put some finned valve covers and

an air cleaner on it to keep the old school look. Finally, I added some Flowtech headers. Next, I had Lodi Transmissions rebuild a TH350 for me. I had Boyd’s driveline service make me a custom two-piece driveline. The stock 12-bolt rear was completely overhauled by West Coast Differential in Sacramento with new axles, posi and 3.08 gears.

I went through Jason at AVS to get my air ride needs taken care of, with an Accuair VU4 valve manifold with mufflers and a VIAIR compressor, 5-gallon tank and Slam Specialties ’bags in the front, with 3/8-inch line all around.

Next, I started cleaning up the sheet metal and putting the truck back together. I didn’t want to shave any of the truck’s handles or tailgate chains because I think it adds to the character of this truck to keep it simple. I wanted to go back to my childhood roots growing up in San Diego and make it a beach-style surf truck: smooth color, soft lines and a laidback stance. Someone once told me that the truck is soothing to look at. When it was time to pick a color I wanted a satin, tropical look. I got a few different paint toners and a gallon of epoxy sealer and started tinting till I liked what I saw. Then it was time to paint.

For the interior I picked up a bench seat from a 1994 Silverado and had it recovered by Mike’s Upholstery in Lodi, California, to a nice white, pleated, old-school style. For wheels and tires, I went with Coker 205/75-15s on 15 x 6 chrome smoothies with bullet caps. I didn’t want chrome bumpers, so I took them over to Precision Powder Coating in Lodi and had the crew there sand them down and add a satin white powder-coat finish. Then I built a custom raised bed floor, and in keeping with the tiki/surf-style, I went with a custom bamboo floor built by hand from 2- inch slats that took hours to finish. I think it fits the theme for sure.

With my wife and daughter behind me, I got to build one of my childhood dream trucks by myself in my cookie-cutter, two-car garage on a reasonable budget. ST

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JESSE BARNETT
1963 Chevrolet C-10
Lodi, CA

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