The Jay-10: A Dazed and Customized ’68 Chevy
Not all builds go as planned and it takes real dedication to see a project through to completion. Many of the builds we feature make the process look easy, but often times it was a daunting task to make it all a reality. Though the struggle can be real, the positive emotions they can serve are worth all the trouble.
For Jay Durheim of Spring, TX, he learned this hard lesson with his ’68 Chevy C10. Originally, he was inspired by the black ’72 Chevy pickup in the movie Dazed and Confused. From seeing that mean truck drive around in the movie, Jay was inspired to build a classic pickup of his own. Little did he know how big of an adventure he was about to go on.
With intentions of owning a second gen C10, he was able to purchase this truck off a friend. It was a start and Jay quickly found out that the truck was rough around the edges and needed some TLC. One thing needing a change was the frame as it had previous work that was not up to snuff. Jay sourced a donor frame and added tubular front control arms, drop spindles and replacement trailing arms for the rear. He then sourced disc brake for all four corners from Pro Performance and installed a set of lowering springs to complete a 4/6 drop once the body was bolted to it.
After playing around with the truck for a few years on his own, Jay decided he wanted to go further with the truck with paint. He then got in contact with Cory Scott of Kustom Werx Autobody and made a game plan to refinish the truck. Since the body was in bad shape, it was easier to replace most of the sheet metal rather than spending countless hours straightening the originals. It was then painted a custom mixed red for a unique look.
For the inside, Jay was referred to a shop to have it completely overhauled and this turned out to be where the journey went sideways. The upholstery shop was took way longer than anticipated and the work was not up to par either. Jay pulled the truck and had Cory asses the damage. Come to find out that the paint on the cab was damaged from the interior work and it needed to be painted once again. Fed up with the situation, Jay dropped the truck off with Cory and gave him free reign to do whatever. It was then repainted red and given a gray two-tone with new trim to split the colors.
The truck was looking great, but it was time to pick up the pieces from the upholstery mishaps. Jay was referred to John Burgess of Twisted Interiors to transform the inside, which started with a custom center console and a set of Snowden seat frames. The crew at Twisted created the full custom interior that was covered in red leather. Then, Wired Customs stepped in to add a Focal stereo that’s controlled by an iPad mounted on the dash.
While the interior was being worked on, Jay noted some odd noises from the big block engine. He decided to have a turnkey 496ci stroker big block Chevy engine built by Earl Schexnayder. The enlarged block was given upgraded internals, a Lunati camshaft, AFR 265cc aluminum heads, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake and a Holley Demon carb that was tuned by Allen Bills. The engine is now fed fuel from a rear mounted Boyd’s welding gas tank and spent gases are released through a set of Doug’s headers and a custom exhaust with Quick Time Performance mufflers and cutouts. Topping it off, the engine was then dressed with an accessory drive from Billet Specialties and Proform valve covers.
The massive power plant was turned around in only three weeks, which is astonishing considering that it was fully built inside and out. It was wired up by Jay himself and the vitals are now monitored by a Dakota Digital gauge cluster, which now has a Digital Guard Dawg keyless push-button ignition. Behind the big block is a Turbo 350 from Brad’s Transmissions, which is capable of holding a lot more than the 650hp that Jay’s engine makes. Helping to put the power to the pavement is a 10-bolt rear end with 3:73 gears and Eaton limited-slip differential.
To finish off this truck is high fashion, Jay hit up a buddy at American Racing to get a set of wheels that would fit the bill. At first, he got a set of chrome wheels, but they were way too shiny for the look of this truck. He ended up with a set of 20x8 and 20x9.5 VN507 Rodder wheels in silver for a refined finish. They are now wrapped in 275/35R20 and 305/35R20 Nitto NT555 G2 tires with large tread blocks for enhanced traction. Not only do the tires look great on the enhanced truck, but they increase straight-line stability and are rated for superior corning capability.
After a few years of working on this truck and having numerous hands on it, The Jay-10 is now complete. Many people might have thrown in the towel early on as it was no easy task to keep pushing but Jay had some good help from good people. In the end, the juice was worth the squeeze as this classic hauler is mighty fine and ready to lay the smackdown on anyone that challenges it.
Click here to see, "Clifford," the little, red, slammed '62 GMC pickup truck.
