Determination And Dzire

William Jonathon Quisenberry's '69 Chevy C10

Desire and determination are the dynamic duo of the vintage custom truck hobby. If you have one without the other, you'll wind up with a half-baked 1/2-ton.

When you're starting a project, you have to have passion for the vehicle. It's similar to meeting and dating someone new. If there's no chemistry, what's the point in pretending? Jon Quisenberry of Bakersfield, California, purchased an '84 Jeep Cherokee at an auto auction for $1,000. Sure, he paid little, but the truck he desired was a late-'60s Chevy C10. Jon traded the solid Cherokee for a dented, greasy, and rusty '69 C10 that had a 292ci six and a three-speed column shift.

Not long after Jon bartered for the Chevy, he and his dad Lee dismantled the body panels from the foundation. They replaced the front subframe with a '75 GMC 1/2-ton with disc brakes, Belltech 2-inch drop springs, Belltech 3-inch drop spindles, and Toxic Nitro drop shocks. They C-notched the rear framerails and installed the '75 GMC 3.77:1-geared differential, leaving the stock leaves and inserting Toxic Nitro drop shocks. Jon secured a power-steering system and steering column and a power-braking system from a '95 Chevy.

He had no interest in renewing the straight-six powerplant, so he also sourced the Chevy's low-mileage 305ci roller cam V-8. An Edelbrock polished-aluminum intake manifold and 600-cfm Performer four-barrel carb improved the air/fuel flow, while a Mallory distributor and ignition system supplied a healthier, reliable spark. Jon backed the engine with an '87 700-R4 column shift trans, which he optimized with a 2,500-stall converter and trans cooler.

As we alluded to at the beginning of this tale, the C10's exterior needed massive help. Since father and son Quisenberry were more mechanically inclined, Jon opted to haul the body panels and chassis to Joe Martinez, owner of Stray Kats body shop in Bakersfield. Joe meticulously massaged away at the rusty sheetmetal and welded and smoothed patch panels where necessary. He frenched the taillights and stereo antenna, as well as hid the tailgate latches. With his metalcraft complete, Joe mixed a special blend of Chevy Fire Red, which he skillfully applied. Once the paint had cured, Jon and Lee installed the Bruce Horkey oak-bed-plank floor and stainless steel stringer kit. They wired the pickup with a stock GM wiring harness. Terrazas Mobile Auto Glass, also in Bakersfield, installed tinted glass within the cab once the paint had cured.

Now that Jon had a running pickup, he convinced his sister Janice to help him upholster the interior. He actually found the seat on the side of the road. Believed to be from a Chevy Impala, he and sis trimmed the salvaged bench seat in red and black Empress fabric. They carried the two-tone Empress theme throughout the rest of the cab. In addition to the bottom of the door panels, black wool carpet was used to cover the cab floor.

Apart from enhancing comfort in the interior with the planned addition of an air-conditioning system, Jon's C10 took 1 1/2 years to build. He primarily credits his dad for coaxing him into the garage to work on the pickup. Indeed, Jon has always looked to his father for inspiration. Diagnosed in 1984, the elder Quisenberry has battled multiple sclerosis ever since. Having the desire and determination to complete a project truck does pale in comparison to combating such a formidable foe. Fight on, Lee!