Patrick O'Connor - '66 Chevy C-10

My dad bought the truck for me as my first vehicle while I was still in high school. He helped me fix it up and I drove it around for a few years until someone ran a stop sign in front of me, totaling the truck. At my request, we kept the truck, and it sat around for about 15 years while I tinkered with it now and again. I took it apart in 2014 for a frame off restoration, and am trying to find the time to put it back together.

I found it in Washington State in 2015. I drive it every day.

Safety and reliability have been my initial goals.

Now I'm working on comfortable with the addition of AC.

 I’ve been a member since June 2015, I worked with Paul’s (the club's president) brother Robert for 14 years and found the club when he shared it on Facebook, great group of guys! When I first joined the  club I owned a 1970 C10 that I bought in Mt. Dora from a guy who used it in his transmission business. I sold it when Roland Nelson (now a club member) walked up to me at a rock and brews show and asked me if I’d sell it. We struck a deal and I soon realized I missed hanging out with everyone and started looking for a truck to replace it. A nice lady in Geneva found the club's site and posted, my current truck, for sale there. Her brother had just passed away and they were selling his truck . It came with a lot of new parts but needed a lot more! The body was very straight and it had very little rust. It was bone stock and cheap so I jumped on it!

My truck is currently undergoing restoration. I was rear ended on the way to the very first club meeting ☹️. This is the truck that inspired me to start the club . Can’t wait to get it finished. 

I was feeling the urge to buy a vehicle that would require more money and   knowledge that I had. So, I went  online and searched for a pickup truck and found this one in Aurora, Colorado.  I  flew out to have a look and bought it with every intention of driving it across the country back home... it was January 2019 (I'm not a smart man and thankfully no one would mistake me for one.)   I got as far as Colorado Springs (a whole 50 miles into my trip) and got caught in a blizzard in the Rock Mountains.  The Muses afforded me one last chance to reassess my plans for an adventure.  While waiting out the storm I decided I'd ship it home and  hopefully live to a ripe old age with my wife and our house plants.  I didn't want to be found in April in the middle of Kansas having eaten out the interior (which is in remarkably nice shape).  It was , as it turns out, to have been one of my few, good life choices and now I spend my time driving around and obsessing about what I will fix on it next with the money I don't have. But I have learned how to kick tires and say, "Hmmmm!" while looking under the hood.

My truck is a daily driver. It’s main purpose is to pull my boat and haul stuff. I found it in Orlando as a result of lots of prayer. I did the body work, which is not very good. I painted it outside. The grille is from a 1983-84 Chevy truck which I found in a junkyard. I made the red side rails, the spare tire carrier, the battery tray, the gun rack, the dash and door panel inserts, the red Chevy emblem On the grille, the Chevy emblem turn signal lights and the radio speaker/storage box behind the seat. Most recently I have installed LED dash lights. My truck matches my personality; old, slow, but dependable.

I'm actually a "chevy guy".I couldn't find one with the basic stuff done without traveling to see it. I've always liked the "fat fender" Fords,and this one was set up to my liking.Later model engine/ transmission,suspension & a/c.Paint/bodywork in the future.These are never really "done",what fun would that be? Plus,I've gained a new fondness for Fords and other brands with this journey.