Many car enthusiasts gush over their beloved first car and anguish over the subsequent sale, but Yancey Taylor's 1966 Chevrolet C-10 truck is still with him, although now slightly improved and modified. Taylor, originally from Georgia and now residing in Las Vegas, NV, always cherished his high school truck and never had any intentions of selling it. He finished up a three year restoration just in time to have it on display at the 2014 SEMA Show where I saw it.
Yancey Taylor's dad bought the truck in 1979, and he is thought to be only the second owner of this beauty. Dad used it for chores and such and then gave it to Taylor for use during high school. He had to store it when he entered the Marine Corps and served our country for four years. Afterwards the truck stayed in Georgia while Taylor eventually ended up in Las Vegas. Finally the truck came out to Las Vegas and stayed in his garage while Taylor looked for the right shop to work on the truck and transform it into his vision. Taylor didn't want to just restore the truck to its original shape, but improve the suspension and power train components.
Three years ago, Taylor found Misha Munoz, the owner of Divine One Customs, in nearby Henderson, NV and the process began. Munoz stated that Taylor literally brought the truck to his garage in pieces. Like many workhorses, this beast had its share of rust and dings and Munoz knew it would take some effort to restore this truck, which had over 100,000 miles on the odometer when the restoration started. The floorboards, firewall, cab corners and rocker panels all needed repair or replacement.
Munoz estimates they have over 4,000 hours of work on the truck. They swapped in a small block Chevy engine with Vortec heads and an Edelbrock intake. A 700R4 transmission handles the power and a Flowmaster exhaust sends out some mellow notes. Taylor specified a 2 inch drop in the front and a 4 inch drop in the rear which makes for a great ride and look. The rear frame is C-notched and the front utilizes Air Ride suspension.
Taylor was coming by the shop so often that Munoz put him to work on his truck and at the shop. Yancey estimated that he spent over 1,000 hours at the shop while the truck was restored. As the truck was put together, Taylor was always on the scene to see the progress and consider his options, like shaving the door handles and finalizing the paint color. Taylor did give credit to his wife Serita for picking out both the paint color and the wood used in the bed of the truck.
While Taylor's dad has yet to see it in person, he has seen pictures of the restored truck and cannot believe it is the same truck he bought his son 35 years ago. In a tribute to the truck's heritage, Taylor made sure that the new ignition switch was keyed to the original truck keys that he managed to hang on to for all these years!