When Two Great Minds Think Alike
In Bowling Green, Kentucky, there's a guy named Roddy Grimes, a custom car and truck builder, who had just built a new shop at his house and was looking for a new project. He had a friend who happened to have a pair of C10 pickups, one of which was for sale. $4,500 and a handshake later, Roddy took home a new ride. Originally, the plan was to take the truck and do a mild rebuild just to flip it a year later and make some cash. He started the disassembly process and started the frame-up resto.
As with all good plans, sometimes things can go a bit awry. With a bare frame in front of him, Roddy decided to scrap the previous plan and build a custom truck like he had always wanted. He wanted to build something along the lines of a pro-touring car, so he needed lots of horsepower, a good stance, and clean looks. For motivation, he built a 468ci GM V-8 and threw it between the framerails. Then, he got the suspension in tune with lowering springs, CPP trailing arms, and a Baer big-brake kit conversion for each corner. With that done, he turned to the body. The truck was blocked and primed a few times to make sure everything was perfect, and then Roddy had to decide on a color. He took a spare fender to his painter, Rollo, at Rollo's Restoration, and had him spray it two different shades of silver. After debating which shade looked better for what seemed like forever, he turned to Rollo and said, "Screw it, just spray the thing black."
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, Tennessee, a guy named Brandon Sutton had just picked up a new project too-a '70 Chevrolet Blazer. He had a history of building cool rides, including a '69 Dart, a '60 Biscayne, and even a '72 C10, which he had sold a few years earlier. This time though, he wanted to build a cool custom that would be a little bit different.
Brandon wanted some power, so he slapped a 454ci V-8 under the hood from an '87 Chevy donor truck and backed it up with a 400 Turbo trans. He wanted the truck to handle a little better but also have that cool sport truck appeal, so he lowered it just a little bit and bolted some 20- and 22-inch Coy's wheels on the truck. The truck was blocked out, sprayed black, and then Brandon's attention turned to the interior. He wanted a killer look to set off the topless truck, so he decided a full red leather conversion would be the way to go. He even built a cool bed kit for the truck, which was embossed with Corvette racing flags. The truck was now pretty bitchin.
Of course these guys were building pretty similar trucks, but neither of them had any idea what the other was doing until one fateful day at a show. Roddy was parked at the showgrounds, cleaning up his truck and getting it ready. That's when Brandon walked up to him and said, "You'll never believe this, but I'm building a twin of this truck, but it's a Blazer." As it turns out, these guys had another thing in common-Southern Kentucky Classics. Both of them had been getting their parts at the resto shop. Now that the two knew each other, they ended up bumping into each other at shows across the Midwest. Once both trucks were complete, we caught up with them at an event and decided to capture the moment.
It's funny how things happen sometimes. Two guys building nearly identical trucks just over 60 miles away, with no idea that the other existed. Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways-really cool, mysterious ways.
Brandon Sutton * Lebanon, Tennessee
'70 Chevy Blazer
The 411
Engine/Drivetrain:
1987 GM 454ci V-8 / Turbo 400 Automatic Transmission / Flowmaster exhaust
By: Owner
Rims:
Front: 20X8.5 Coy's C-5
Rear: 22X8.5 Coy's C-5
Tires:
Front: 255/40ZR20 Yokohama
Rear: 285/35ZR22 Yokohama
Suspension:
Front: Belltech lowering springs / Belltech drop spindles
Rear: Leaf springs with flip kit
Chassis: C-notched frame
By: Owner
Custom Paint:
PPG black
By: Roger Jackson, Lafayette, Tennessee
Interior:
1992 Chevrolet truck seats / leather-covered seats and door panels / factory center console
By: Yankee Dan at Custom Covers, Lebanon, Tennessee
Audio/Video:
Stock
BY: Owner
Special Thanks:
Southern Kentucky Classics
Roddy Grimes * Bowling Green, Kentucky
'68 Chevy C10
The 411
Engine/Drivetrain:
468ci GM V-8 / Comp Cams roller cam / Edelbrock aluminum heads / 700R4 automatic transmission with overdrive / Be Cool aluminum radiator / ceramic-coated headers / Holley carburetor / Lokar engine and transmission dipstick / finned aluminum valve covers and air cleaner / billet pulleys
By: Billy Russell
Rims:
Front: 18X8 American Racing Torq-Thrust
Rear: 20X10 American Racing Torq-Thrust
Tires:
Front: 255/45ZR18 BFGoodrich KDW
Rear: 295/45ZR20 BFGoodrich KDW
Suspension:
Front: 2-inch dropped spindles / Baer big brake kit with cross-drilled rotors
Rear: CPP trailing arms / 3-inch lowering springs / Baer big brake kit with cross-drilled rotors
Chassis: C-notched frame
By: Owner
Custom Paint:
2-stage black
By: Rollo at Rollo's Restoration, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Interior:
'64 Ford Galaxy seats / Corvette steering wheel / Classic Instruments gauges / Lokar shifter
By: DJ's Upholstery, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Audio/Video:
JL Audio amplifiers / JL Audio mids and tweeters / JL Audio subwoofers
By: Poston's Electronics, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Special Thanks:
Wife Lisa and children Matthew, Taylor and Emilee, Ronnie Cline, Mark Shultz, Roger Minyard, Mike Cornelius, Billy Russell, and David Woodall.