Photos by Corey Decker
The world’s largest gathering of automotive excellence takes place annually in the Las Vegas Convention Center around Halloween (first week of November), which is quite a crazy time to be in Sin City. But that’s not the main spectacle for us gearheads who make the pilgrimage each and every year. SEMA has grown into the world’s stage for debuting some of the wildest custom builds, the best new products, and catching up with friends and industry partners from all corners of the globe.
For us C10 enthusiasts, there was a HUGE turnout (as you can see through these pages), but ALSO we had a special debut in our Motortopia/Engaged Media booth. The staff has been hard at work behind the scenes (while also creating a ton of content), and the “official debut” of our project truck Sergeant Square made its way onto the Las Vegas Convention Center floor to show just how far we have come in such a short time.
Chris Hamilton and crew have put an insane amount of hours, blood, sweat, and tears to create something special for a great cause. This insanely clean yet custom Squarebody C10 build will be auctioned off with all proceeds going to the great folks at Mission 22 and their goal to end Veteran suicide by providing support and programs that help give back to those who gave it all.
The ‘official debut’ of our project truck Sergeant Square made its way onto the Las Vegas Convention Center floor to show just how far we have come in such a short time.
Sergeant Square wasn’t the only badass C10 to debut this year at the SEMA show either! There were a ton of gorgeous C10 builds throughout the halls and in company booths showing off the latest and greatest wares and workmanship. With so many to see, we captured the best of the best for you to drool over at home—as SEMA is a trade-only event (except for Friday, which is now open to the general public). So sit back and browse through our favorite discoveries, and head to Motortopia.com for extended coverage and more. See you at the next one!
Photos by Emma Sauve
The only thing hotter than an Atlanta summer is the car scene, and possibly one of the fastest growing downtown shows—C10s in the City. Chances are you’ve seen the coverage right here in these very pages, but how much do you know about the team behind it?
Sarah Boim and her partner Rick Cheesemen (@sqrbdy_c10) love all kinds of rides, but they have a deep passion for all things GM. Living in Georgia and hitting all the local shows give them the fix of catching rides from all over. But not all of the trucks they’ve seen in the city were meeting up at the same spots, so in July 2021 they started the first C10s in the City in East Atlanta with 60 trucks registered. Last year’s 2023 show had over 500 trucks registered, with the spotlight shining on Sarah’s own SQRBDYC10 pink truck posted up at the Auto Metal Direct booth.
First owned by Phil Cato, Sarah set out to start her own Squarebody project, saying she now truly understands what it’s like to have “an experience everyone else has had just working for years on something.” For two years she and her crew worked on this ’86, completing it two days before its debut at her show. Mike Howe of Howe’s It Doin Garage did the 5/7 drop with a McGaughys lowering kit, along with install of Auto Metal Direct products supplied by Eddy Cebreco, Jason Chandler, and Zach Huckleberry. The truck also features 20×8 and 20×11 Detroit Steel Wheel Delrays that have been powdercoated by Custom Coaters of Atlanta, and then ceramic-coated by Hook’s Detailing to give them that chrome look. Dig the custom painted SQRBDY logo on the caps too.
What impacted me the most is her attitude. She has no quit. Naturally she’s a fighter, not just for herself but for everyone…
Of course buying the truck from Cato also means you have to throw one of his bench seats in there. Cato’s former apprentice runs Atlanta Stitchworks and he did the inserts with the same leather from the seat. Familiar faces Wes and Jeremy from the United by Trucks channel were in on it too. You know who your real friends are when it comes down to the crunch!
Sarah is a breast cancer survivor. She incorporated the pink ribbon on her truck, and all of the proceeds from the raffle at her show go directly toward the Pink Fund. In her experience, most aid goes directly to medical expenses, and when most of your time is spent focusing on your health, finances like gas, groceries, and household bills are still left to be paid. The Pink Fund alleviates that stress, with financial aid that helps with the “other part of the fight.”
After the show I had the pleasure of exploring the art district in Decatur with Sarah and Rick. We hit the iconic Outkast Mural, captured rolling shots in front of the Majestic Diner, and got a contact buzz behind The Junkman’s Daughter. Brembo the poodle sat shotgun while we worked our magic. One of my personal favorite photography techniques is light painting. A little front and rear 3/4 action went down next to a dark and creepy abandoned house that has since been demolished for reasons unknown to us. We won’t forget trying to wash away the strange moaning sounds with IPAs after the shoot.
This truck embodies the missions that C10s in the City stands for—building communities through our industry, celebrating everyone who makes up those communities, and supporting everyone involved. After hanging out with Sarah, I can say she’s one of the most driven people I’ve ever met, with a fierce passion for helping those in need. She recognizes the cracks where people fall through and is working on bridging those gaps to create a better future for her communities.
Be bold, set goals, engage in your communities, and remember that you can be fearless for yourself and others. It’s that mindset that created our industry, and also preserves it.
What impacted me the most is her attitude. She has no quit. Naturally she’s a fighter, not just for herself but for everyone, and I hope she feels that sense of pride every time she takes her truck out. The builds that stand out the most to me are the ones that have a story, and the narrative for this one reads to me as fearless.
When we sat down for dinner, I told Sarah that her mom told me she was really proud of her for how she presented herself during our interview. Sarah laughed and said, “Well when you go through something like cancer, nothing really scares you anymore.”
Be bold, set goals, engage in your communities, and remember that you can be fearless for yourself and others. It’s that mindset that created our industry, and also preserves it.
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Wheels and Tires
The give and take. The yin and yang. No matter what you call it, it’s crucial in all parts of our life to keep the balance right. In our C10 community, we are so lucky to have that balance. We have the trucks, the aftermarket support, truck shows, and most importantly, the community. So where do YOU come in? What can you do?
Honestly, there are so many things you can do! First up, if you haven’t yet, buy a truck! (I realize they aren’t as cheap as they used to be—but what is?!) Even if it’s a project or a fixer-upper, you will have fun working on the truck and have plenty of aftermarket support.
Another great way to “give” is to befriend someone who is trying to get into the scene. Maybe they are new to the C10 Nation and have questions, or maybe they have an idea that they would like to bounce off someone. If you have a buddy or two in the middle of a project, you might be able to lend a hand—even if you’re not a master mechanic, they will appreciate the help and, you never know, you might learn something along the way!
What else can you do? You can hit up a local cars and coffee or meet-up and show off your truck. After that, you can hit up a bigger truck show, maybe a C10-specific show. Meet-ups are a great way to meet new people and connect, but they can also be very motivating. If you go to a bigger show, you’ll see some very motivating builds and some vendors that have some really amazing parts and upgrades for our trucks.
OK, who are the takers? Well, in this case, I am not really sure that many are out there. Let’s take a look at the guy who pulls the old truck out of the field and gets it back into the mainstream for someone to buy. Now we have the truck available to rebuild and bring back to life—so, in all honestly, he is sort of a giver, too. Even though he might be making a little scratch, that’s OK! He just saved a truck!
How about the venders and the aftermarket? They are in business to make money, but a lot of these vendors are creating, designing, and engineering some of the latest and greatest parts for our trucks. So, I would challenge them to keep making great parts that support our builds and keep going to shows and events. Being able to go to a truck show and talk with a vendor is truly invaluable. Ironically, the flip side is that the vendors gain so much knowledge from talking with customers and prospective customers. It’s beneficial to both.
The bottom line is that it takes a village, and the C10 community is one of the biggest classic vehicle villages around! Think about that. You are part of a community with more aftermarket support now then when these trucks were new—not to mention more truck shows and gatherings than ever before!
So keep loving them, building them, and cruising them. Ultimately making friends and memories along the way is giving back to the scene, the community, the C10 NATION!
Everyone loves cool engines right?! Well, we decided to capture all the best truck engine set-ups at SEMA 2019 so you can spend your afternoon drooling. Which one is your favorite? Check them all out!
