Stafford’s Ultimate Bucket List Build

WHEN LOOKING for the perfect ride to mold and shape into the truck of your dreams, sometimes the hard part is landing on which exact make, model, body style, etc. meets up with your vision. For Chris Stafford of Bogalusa, Louisiana, he’d already built quite a few different custom trucks of all sorts of makes and models (although most of them were of the GM variety), and he’d narrowed down what his “dream truck” would be. Chris has always loved the lines of the 1960-66 C-10, with its unique bodylines and radical roofline, so really the only question was where to find the perfect canvas?

Like many, Chris set out to build a clean and simple truck that he could drive during the week but clean up on the weekends for the shows. However, once the project was on its way, Chris got called to active duty and did a full tour in Afghanistan, so the project was put on hold for a bit. Shortly after returning home from his second tour after being gone more than a year, his uncle Sherman Stafford lost his battle with diabetes. Chris shared with us tales of how his Uncle Sherman was the one responsible for his obsession with all things automotive and how Sherman would cruise Chris around in his classics and hot rods, creating all sorts of fond memories. Chris changed his game plan and decided to go all out on the C-10 build to honor his uncle.

With the help of some close friends and fellow Severed Ties club members, Chris got his ducks in a row and planned the makings of a truly bad-ass C-10 that would properly honor his uncle and the automotive inspiration that he’d planted early on in Chris. Not wasting any time, the chassis was built by good friend Cody Stoute over at Popeye’s Rod Shop using a Porterbuilt Dropmember and AccuAir controls. Getting the chassis together and finalizing fitments consisted of setting up the 22-inch Raceline Scoundrels and working the sheet metal and body to sit flat on the ground around the meaty rollers. With builds of this magnitude things tend to snowball pretty quickly, so the custom work throughout shifted to have the same level of detail as the suspension and sheet metal.

Chris got his ducks in a row and planned the makings of a truly bad-ass C-10 that would properly honor his uncle and the automotive inspiration that he’d planted early on in Chris.

A custom bed floor was built to clear the suspension, and like the rest of the classy details, it was airbrushed to look like a classic wood bed floor, tying in both old and new. This same theme carried throughout the engine bay and interior where a Blueprint Chevy 383 engine resides between the frame rails pushing plenty of power through the billet pedals. The rest of the interior was wrapped in blood red leather and carpet, and a whirlwind of finishing touches, including Dakota Digital VHX gauges and a complete Vintage Air setup, were lavished on the C-10. The build was coming together as planned, and with deadlines nearing, Chris and friends decided to go for it and check another bucket list item off for both Chris and his uncle—that’s right, the truck was entered to show at SEMA.

But the celebrations were cut short as deadlines rapidly approached. Smoothing out the rest of the body and dialing everything in was critical for Chris since he wanted this build to speak highly of his Uncle Sherman and all that he stood for. So the team at Extreme Liners and Customs got to work and combed over every square inch of the C-10 to ensure perfection before laying down the R-M Diamont Frost White and Flame Red paint. A team of friends and family pulled together to finish off the interior and engine details and button everything up just in time to make their first Stafford family SEMA Show appearance.

Memorial builds are always tough, but the heart that Chris has shown for his uncle, his family and our country just goes to show how much of an amazing person he truly is and how honored we are to feature his beautiful build right here in these very pages. Thank you, Chris, for all that you have sacrificed and all that you have done for us, your family and your friends. We know for a fact that your Uncle Sherman is proud of all you’ve accomplished and is smiling down on you as you’re reading your first cover feature! (Another bucket list item— check, check, check.)

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BUILD SPECS

OWNER

Chris Stafford
1966 Chevrolet C10
Bogalusa, LA
Severed Ties

ENGINE

• Chevy 383-ci engine built by BluePrint Engines (Model BP3834CTC1)
• 450 hp/460 ft-lbs torque
• Blueprint aluminum heads
• Edelbrock dual-plane intake and carburetor
• Stewart Components high-performance water pump
• Flex-a-lite aluminum radiator and fans
• Sanderson block-hugger headers
• Flowmaster Super 10 mufflers and custom 2.5-inch exhaust by Brent Kelly
• Vintage Air front runner serpentine system
• GM TH350 transmission with B&M stage- 2 shift kit performed by Tucker’s Transmission
• Dayco 2,500-stall torque converter
• American Autowire hidden wiring

SUSPENSION/CHASSIS

• Shop: Popeye’s Rod Shop
• Porterbuilt Extreme Dropmember with tubular A-arms
• CPP 2-inch modular drop spindles with 13-inch big brake kit and rear disc conversion
• Custom back-half frame
• 2-link setup with track bar
• KYB shocks front and rear
• AccuAir E-Level air management system
• CPP brake master cylinder and booster
• GM rearend shortened 3 inches with Moser axles and 3.42:1 gears
• LMC rear-mount gas tank kit

WHEELS & TIRES

• 22×8.5-inch and 22×10-inch Raceline Scoundrels polished with powder-coated centers and knock-offs
• 265/35R22 and 285/35R22 Nitto NT420S

BODY & PAINT

• Shop: Extreme Liners & Customs/Jeffrey Brignac, Donald Plumer, Chad Louque and owner
• LMC premium chrome bumpers and grille
• Shaved hood seams, bed seams and gas door
• Porterbuilt hood hinges
• Precision Replacement Parts weather- stripping and seals
• LMC patch panels installed by Shane Craft at JT Kustoms
• Custom sheet metal bed with airbrushed wood floor
• Painted with R-M DC5335 Clear and Frost White/Flame Red paint

INTERIOR/STEREO

• Shop: LB Upholstery
• Custom bench seat with built-in billet cup holders
• AccuAir TouchPad recessed into armrest
• Loop-style ACC red carpet
• Dakota Digital VHX gauges
• Clayton Machine Works window cranks and door handles
• Vintage Air Sure Fit system with steamlined billet control panel
• Lokar brake pedal, gas pedal, dimmer swithc and Nostalgia 16-inch shifter
• Factory Deluxe steering wheel
• RetroSound headunit
• Kicker 6.5-inch components, 10-inch sub and amplifier
• Full Dynamat
• Kinetik HC 1800 battery
• Stereo by: Owner

SPECIAL THANKS FROM OWNER: “A huge thanks to all of my sponsors for their help and support, my wife for putting up with this (again), and my club mates in Severed Ties who helped make it all possible: Joe Molina, Mark Zarate, Brandon Joslin, Johnny Matherne, Billy Chaisson, Robert Fleming, Josh Pittman, Bryce Belanger, Trent Eshte, Julian Thomas, Stephen Corkern, Mike Alexander, Kade Brumfield, Chad Louque, Jared Nowell, Shane Craft, Cody Stoute, Rory Griffith, Tyler Dale, Bill Dubuisson, all of my fellow club members and anyone else who lent a hand along the way—this wouldn’t have been possible without you!”

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