By Rob Fortier and Darren Harden – Images by Brett Macadam
Being a writer for the last three decades plus, I still enjoy conjuring up a good story on someone’s personal build. But, every now and then, the owner takes the time to do my job for me, and in cases like dyed-in-the-wool gearhead Darren Harden’s 1973 Chevy Squarebody, it’s almost impossible NOT to let them tell the tale from their own perspective. And with that, take it away, Darren!
“I have been around cars all my life. It started when I was a kid. I have seven older brothers who all in some way or another have had different levels of custom cars. Just seeing them is where it started, then it just grew as I got older and got more entrenched in the custom car scene here in Sacramento.
“I bought this truck in 2020 during COVID-19. A friend of mine had it sitting with plans to someday build it. I had always told him I wanted it, but he did not want to sell. Then one day he called and asked if I wanted it. Due to the pandemic, he wasn’t working and needed the money. I agreed and picked it up a couple days later. The truck had been sitting, but it was solid and unmolested. It was unique in that it was an original two-wheel-drive shortbed truck with a 454 big-block.
“When we got the truck, my son (Ryan) was 7 years old and showing an interest in cars. It ended up being something we were able to bond over, and we had a lot of fun getting it back on the road. As soon as the truck was on the road, we started taking it to small, local car shows. Ryan was proud of what we had and loved to talk about it. As a father who’s a car guy, this was a dream come true. We initially just lowered the truck using a BellTech 5/7 drop kit and put it on some 15-inch rally wheels. With a nice patina, we had no desire to paint it. It had a muscle truck look to complement the big-block!
“Not long after that Ryan told me he liked the bagged trucks we had started seeing around. Needless to say, we were soon looking for someone to do the fab work. Through friends in the local car community, I ended up meeting Travis at Mandich Automotive. I took the truck to him for a couple small things, but mostly to test him to see if he was the guy for the job. After being happy with his work, we started talking about bagging it. Travis directed me to Art at BC Fab in Rancho Cordova, California, for the air suspension kit, which Travis ended up installing in July 2021. This first phase of being on air was done with the stock crossmember and still on the 15-inch rally wheels. This was cool for a while but really gave me the fuel to want to take it to the next level.
“After the 2021 C10 Intervention in Woodland, California, we were convinced we needed a front drop member and bigger wheels. After some research I decided to order the front suspension from Choppin’ Block Chassis Products (CB Chassis) and wheels from Detroit Steel. At the same time, I reached out to AZ Pro Performance and placed an order for Vintage Air. By December 2021 the truck was back at Mandich Automotive getting the front suspension swapped out and back half modified to allow it to lay frame. Then the new Detroit Steel 22s showed up in late January 2022. At this point, there were not any significant plans to do much more to the truck other than finish the bed floor. It was cut out for the notch, but we had not built a doghouse yet.
“Then one Friday afternoon in April 2022, Ryan and I had just washed the truck to get it ready to go to a local Cars & Coffee the next day. We decided to take the truck for a little cruise to fill up the gas tank. It was a warm day so we had a chance to run the new Vintage Air for the first time. We were sitting at a light when I looked over and asked him how he liked the cold air and … BAM! We were rear-ended. After making sure everyone was OK, we began to assess the damage. Fortunately, the bed took most of the impact. Since we had not finished the bed floor, the bed crunched up like an accordion.
“After dealing with insurance and the initial thoughts of what had happened, we decided to rebuild. Ryan was very adamant in keeping the same truck and I agreed. We took it back to Mandich Automotive where Travis completely blew it apart. Now it has a custom frame behind that Choppin’ Block drop member and lays pinch weld. I was able to bring Travis a new (used) bed that I found locally. He raised the bed floor by sectioning all of the side panels to keep the factor body lines. Though this took significant time to do, it was important to me to have it look like it came from the factory like that. By July of 2022 she was back on the road, but with a mismatched bed, desperately needing a paintjob. As most car guys would, we were still rolling it to shows and cruises ‘under construction’!
“After speaking with many body shops, we decided to let Jorge with Main Street Auto Body do the work and it couldn’t have been a better partnership. No surprises, no ‘paint jail,’ and better work than we even expected. I dropped the truck off with Jorge in April of 2023 and in four months exactly I picked it up. The only real bodywork was replacing the sheet metal on the back of the cab. This was damaged in the accident. We used Auto Metal Direct for this piece and it fit great. Additionally, while there they shaved the bedrails, fuel doors, body line above the rear window, mirrors, and windshield wipers. I did not want to shave everything but wanted to clean it up a bit. As for the color, we used the stock Mojave Tan with a small amount of pearl. Jorge and team also did the spray in bedliner. After it was home from paint, Ryan and I got to put it all back together. Bumpers, grille, lights, interior, and stereo system all got freshened up and completed the truck. We were back on the road in a matter of days!
“Though it’s been a wild ride, I would not have had it any other way. The truck is a lot further along than I ever planned, but that’s not the best part. Ryan and I have not only had this great experience, we’ve reunited with friends from the past and met so many new people who we call friends today. We love going to as many shows as we can. Rolling with our Slightly Altered Crew and making memories!”
Check out this story in our digital edition here.
