Words & Photos: Tommy Parry

It’s encouraging to see where $800 and a bit of browsing on Craigslist can get you started. It’s even more surprising to see what that initial investment, combined with some careful budgeting and choice parts, could provide over the course of five years. This was the case with Tinman’s ‘67 Chevy C10 Stepside. It didn’t look too healthy from the get-go, but what it became would have grandparents and kids alike dropping their jaws to the floor as it rolled by.

Naturally, the bed was pulled, then the interior stripped. The front end was shelved for the moment to access the motor. At this point, Tinman’s frame did not look to hold much promise, but a lot of sanding and a little bondo helped the C10’s cause, taking a purplish bruise of a car and turning it into a blank canvas.

Upon closer inspection, the bed box was too rusted to salvage, so he shaved the steps and the tailgate, and used a little ingenuity to keep the project moving along. Tinman put together his own box, trading labor for materials; this kept the build tab right around the thousand-dollar-mark for the moment.

That mark wouldn’t change much, even with a semi-new motor finding its way into the C10’s engine bay. After a few hours watching YouTube videos, Tinman confidently rebuilt a 305, which had been traded for two nitro-powered, remote control cars. Only one hundred bucks were needed to get the bits necessary for the rebuild, and along with the V8, he got an engine hoist and a stand. Not a bad tally so far!

With a set of eBay rockers purchased for eighty bucks and some rust cleared out from the aging shell, Tinman gave the machine a makeover with a new paintjob. The combination included acetone, Rustoleum flat-white, some Rustoleum satin-clear finish, and Tractor Supply’s oil-based hardener. Once it had dried, the C10 looked a little like a giant Mentos, but it had surely come a long way from its humble beginnings. Now he could start tweaking and tuning this machine with his own personal touches.

This gleaming, powerful Chevy needed a decent suspension setup to start boogying down the road. In keeping with this build’s style, a cheap air ride system was put together by piecing together a few parts off Harbor Freight, Lowes, and Amazon! Airlift’s 2600 airbags, picked up for a mere $200, were matched to two DC pumps. Even with the fittings, plates, and hoses, the package just ticked the $320-mark. Not breaking the bank by any stretch.

Complementing that Christmas-white paintjob was a ruby-red wheel purchased off eBay for a mere thirty dollars, and an extra bit of flash came with the shifter. Since the new 700R4 swap wouldn’t accommodate the older shifter, Tinman pulled out an axe handle and appropriately styled a new centerpiece for the interior. The nickname “Tinman” begins to make a whole lot more sense with an axe sitting proudly in the middle of the cabin.

Adding a bit more wood to the makeup: a tomato stake, raised-wood bed from Lowe’s for a meager fifty bucks. It’s amazing what a bit of varnish will do to spruce things up. While he was at it, Tinman snagged a set of ‘32 Ford tail lights for – wait for it – nothing. How good can it get?

Well, it got even better. The gap underneath the grille was filled with a bumper. Picked up for an Andrew Jackson off of ol’ trusty CraigsList, the bumper was cut, lowered, recessed, channeled and covered with a splash of Mentos white.

Now, with a new dash pad and a bench seat from an eighties C10, a further $160 was pulled from the bank account. However, it looked just right, especially with that candy apple-red steering wheel drawing most of the focus.

It may have taken five years, some studious CraigsList browsing, two motors and a couple transmissions, but the Lab Rat was finally complete. Far from mangy, this Rat is classically-clean, and only with the massive axe handle giving this a quintessential rat rod touch, the Lab Rat is a perfect blend of presence and understatement. Not asking for too much attention, but having plenty of character for those who know, the Lab Rat is likely to be a big hit on main streets and at car shows for a long time.