A Loving Tribute

I’ve often made the joke that stepladders are like real ladders, they just love you half as much. Stepfathers are in fact sometimes much better than real fathers in that they give their all to love and guide their stepchildren. Michael Hardwick of Manito, Illinois, can vouch for that statement as his stepfather Dave Ward was his role model as he grew up. Dave had been in the United States Navy for 20 years and brought a wealth of knowledge and experience in every realm of his day-to-day life. One of the many things Dave loved was his classic truck. 

“He bought the ’66 back in the early 70’s,” Michael tells the 10 Builder’s Guide. “It was his living and his passion.”

Originally the ’66 was a service station truck but then became a delivery truck for his trucking company. The C10 even made some trips to Canada, so it was showing a bit of wear and tear. Dave had made a few attempts to restore the now classic but found that after a couple health issues it was best to pass it along to Michael for the restoring process. After a couple of conversations with his stepfather, Michael decided he was going to shorten the stock longbed and make it a stepside. After cutting and welding, Michael found the frame was in bad shape, so instead of doing extensive repair work, he went to see the guys at the Roadster Shop in Northern Illinois.

They showed Michael the process and some of the builds they had done with their chassis, and he decided at that time it was the much better route to buy the complete chassis. Although Michael still had to cut about 12 inches out of the frame just behind the cab, it worked out brilliantly. With the bodywork coming along, Michael wanted to add some immediate giddy-up into the Chevrolet, so he found a 2005 Chevy Van and pulled the motor and transmission. His two sons, Michael Jr. and Matthew, assisted in the process of rebuilding and then decided what other modifications to do. His younger son had the LSA Supercharger from a project he had been working on and decided to add it to the C10. Automotive Machine in Pekin did the machine work to prep the block and crank. The transmission was built by Ron Brooks of Brooks Automotive in Tremont, Illinois.

With the motor now prepared for the Illinois roads, Michael turned his attention to the bed of the truck. He bought a complete bed from LMC and had it welded instead of the normal bolt-on process. He added a rollpan and 1937 Ford taillights. Michael had mocked up the hidden latches and the bed floor, and Joseph Thomas did all the masterful welding. Inner wheel tubs were installed, and he filled in the stake pockets and bed rails for Michael. Michael was able to find some red oak to mount into the bed.

During this process, the most unfortunate thing happened:  Michael’s stepfather passed away. Michael went to his mother, Patricia, and they discussed how he would have liked to see the truck finished. One of the things that stood out was the paint. Although the original color was fire engine red, Michael’s mom assured him that he would have loved a complete color change. The Mica Green with the Champagne-colored top seemed to give the classic Chevy just a bit more nostalgia.

Michael and his two sons tackled the entire interior, including all the sounds by cutting the dash for a Pioneer head unit and A/C controls and custom kick panels for the JBL speakers. Behind the seat is a 12-inch Kicker subwoofer with an amplifier. The seats, console, and door panels are all from TMI Interior. The paint is sandstone with a soft touch finish. In front of the newly placed Billet Specialties steering wheel are Dakota Digital RTX gauges. The Vintage Air unit and the iDidIt steering column make the most out of the small interior. Power windows and locks were added for comfort and ease.

Michael first wishes to thank his stepfather Dave and his mother Patricia for trusting him with something of this magnitude that was such a part of his life. He wishes to thank his sons Michael Jr. and Matthew for all their time, dedication, and knowledge. A special thanks to his wife Connie for not complaining about how much time and money was going into this passion project. Thanks to Joe Thomas at Pekin Alignment and Autobody, Ryan Skaggs at Ryan’s Muffler in Peoria, Illinois, Matt Bell at Redline Automotive in Bloomington, Craig at Brian Tooley’s Racing for the engine parts, Casey Wegner from Wegner Motorsports, Manney and Calvin at Automotive Machine in Pekin and Jacob Porter at TMI Interiors.

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BUILD SPECS

OWNER

• Michael Hardwick
• Manito, IL
• 1966 Chevrolet C10 Stepside

CHASSIS

• Front Suspension: Hypertech Coilovers, rack and pinion steering, 11-inch Baer disc brakes and rotors drilled and slotted, 4-piston caliper, 1-inch sway bar
• Rear Suspension:  4-link, Hypertech Coilovers 2-inch drop spindles, Strange 9-inch with 3.50 gearing, 1 1/8-inch sway bar, 11-inch rotors drilled and slotted with 4-piston calipers

DRIVETRAIN

• Engine: 6.0L, BTR stage 3 cam, ported and polished GM Performance heads, LSA Supercharger with ported snout and throttle body, 2.5-inch upper pulley, Ultimate headers, Wegner Motorsports accessary drive and custom valve covers with coil covers, Wilwood master cylinder, custom engine cover by Joe Thomas with stencil work by Gooch Customs, Billet Specialties power steering reservoir, Dewitt radiator with dual spal fans, custom built inner cooler tank, All American Billet hood hinges
• Transmission: 4L80e with 2800 stall, billet triple disc 9.5-inch torque convertor, Revmax converter
• Rearend:3.50 gear, 9-inch rear

BODY/PAINT

• Roadster Shop spec series complete chassis, Mica Green metallic with Champaign top done by Joseph Thomas at Pekin Alignment and Autobody in Pekin, Illinois, bed welded together with rear roll pan, 1937 taillights molded in, hidden tail latch, 67/72 inner wheelhouse panels cut down for inner tubs, oak bed floor with flush mount fuel filler cap and stainless trim, stake pockets and rail ends filled in, tailgate stenciled to match the Champaign colored top, solid cowl (ventless) panel,

INTERIOR

• TMI Buck colored seats, Dakota Digital RTX gauges, Vintage Air, iDidIt steering column, power locks and windows, passive keyless entry, push button start from Guard Dawg, billet cup holders, factory brown LMC carpet, Billet Specialties, dash cuts for stereo and A/C controls
• Stereo:    Pioneer head unit, JBL components in doors, Kicker amplifier and 12-inch Kicker subwoofer

WHEELS & TIRES:

• Wheels: 20×10 Ridler 650 series in gray with polished lip
• Tires: Mickey Thompson 275/35R20 in front and 305/35R20 in rear

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