In April of 2005 Tim Brown had just finished his 1967 Camaro, and was definitely not looking for another project....but one found him anyway. As he was driving into Jacksonville Tim saw a 1972 Chevy C-10 Fleetside Pickup sitting on a rural corner that was for sale. Tim’s son, TJ, and his daughter, Brittney, who were on their way to school saw it next. The further Tim drove the more he thought about the truck and how much he liked the body style. It had always been his favorite. Tim called his wife, Debbie, who had also seen the truck, and asked for her to stop by and look at it and see how much they wanted for it. Next Tim called his brother in law, Bo, and asked him to check out the body and see what shape it was in. Bo works with Tim, so when he got to work he told Tim it looked pretty good, and Bo thought Tim should go look at it. After school Tim talked to his son TJ and asked him what he thought about working on the truck together. That afternoon the owner brought it to Tim’s work, and it was purchased for TJ.

The duo thought how great it would be to have a father and son project to work on. With TJ being 14 years old they thought how it would be a good way for him to learn hands on about restoration, just as Tim’s father had taught his brother and him. They figured the project would take about 6 months to a year, just fixing some rust and shooting some paint on it, and it would be done. The first week they had it TJ and two of his buddies drove it around in the back yard for a few days, then started taking it apart. The more they got into it, the more rust was found. After working on it for several months, on Christmas Day in 2005, TJ gave half the truck back to his father Tim for a Christmas present.

Since the truck was now half Tim’s they mutually decided to go with a big block, and Debbie talked them into a 572 cubic inch motor by Dyno-flo that included a Dart block, Dart Pro 1 heads, and a Dart intake. It also has a Holley 1050 Dominator carburetor, MSD ignition, and Concept One pulley system. TJ and Tim picked out the DuPont Hot Hues color Blue-By-You, and TJ sprayed the first color on the motor and the valve covers. They also added Hooker headers and 3-inch Flowmaster Super 40 mufflers, along with some electric exhaust cutouts so that you could hear the 762 horsepower engine in it’s true form when desired.

Next they did some cool things like shaving the tailgate handle and the front and rear marker lights, and replacing the original grille with a phantom billet unit. Contrasting the flawless Blue-By-You paint on the body are a set of Intro billet wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport tires (19x8” rims with 255/40ZR19 tires in front, 20x13” rims with 335/30XR20 rubber out back).

The truck drives great with the Gear Vendors overdrive unit on a Turbo 400 transmission, and a Currie Ford 9-inch rear end fitted with 3.70 gears. AirRide suspension was fitted to the modified stock frame, which has been powder coated and features Baer brakes with 13 inch rotors, and a rear mounted stainless steel gas tank.

The comfortable custom interior designed and installed by Schreck’s Custom Upholstery in Deland makes a long drive seem short. The cabin is rounded out with AutoMeter Pro-Comp Ultra-Lite gauges, a Billet Specialties steering wheel, and power windows. The Panasonic Dual Din stereo system has a 6.5 inch wide-screen for the eyes, and Rockford Fosgate amps and speakers for the ears. There are also two cameras mounted on the truck, one as a backup camera, the other is located underbody facing the rear wheels....to watch burnouts!

Once TJ and Tim finished the painstaking body and paint work and the interior was completed, it was time for the assistance of Tim’s brother in law Bo Allen with the wiring and mechanical part of the restoration. Meanwhile, Debbie and Tim were working on the red oak wood bed getting it ready to be installed. Their daughter Brittney is not much for the car show scene, but she came up with the personalized Florida license plate of “FIVE 72”.

Everyone involved spent long hours in the garage at the Brown household, working into the night and often having picnic lunches talking about what they would do next. They bought the truck on April 20, 2005, and finished it on April 20th, 2007 - the day before the Goodguys Spring Nationals in Jacksonville, where they took home the NAPA Trick Truck award. While at the Beach Blast 13 car show hosted by Mike Kelly’s Cruise News at the Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach resort on May 20th, 2007, the truck received the most participant votes and therefore took the Best Of Show honors, in addition to the feature vehicle photo shoot that goes along with it.

When they sit back and look at it all, everyone agrees the pickup was worth all the hard work. They are currently “not looking” for a project again. No, really! However, when you love classic cars and trucks like the Browns do, you just never can tell what is around the corner. CN