Affectionately known as “Buford,” This 1966 C10 owned by Tyler Dahlgren has become a truly killer truck!
By Tyler Dahlgren & Rob Fortier – Photography by John Jackson
“My ’66 Chevy affectionately known as ‘Buford,’ was purchased in January 1991. Buford was originally a C20 3/4-ton long bed truck; it was named by a coworker who saw it and said, ‘That looks like a Buford to me.’ The coworker died shortly after I got the truck, so the name is a tribute to him.
“Buford was a daily driver for about 18 months to a year before it started having overheating issues. The truck was purchased with the intention of repowering and refurbishing, so I purchased a new 454 big block chevy and a 700R4 transmission. As is common with many projects of this type, life got in the way and it languished until August 2019 in a completely disassembled state.
“Buford was being stored in a building that was about to be sold, so I had to do something with the truck. I decided to seek professional help and contacted Nick Ryan at Killer Hot Rods. The rest, as they say, is history!”
Well, the rest is actually “our story,” as it tells the remainder of Buford’s tale as it pertains to Tyler’s family heirloom becoming the stunning short bed C10 you see pictured here.
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First and foremost, Ryan and his crew at Killer Hot Rods in Arlington, Texas, made that C20-to-C10 transformation happen as easily as possible: by ordering up an short wheelbase (SWB) SPEC chassis from Roadster Shop (RS)! The roller (which does just that on a set of 18- and 19-inch Schott wheels with Mickey Thompson Street Comp tires) is equipped with RS’s standard fare performance goodies, such as Wilwood Dynalite six-piston big-brake package front and rear, Strange Posi 9-inch, power rack-and-pinion, and their adjustable coil overs.
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To power the now 1/2-ton, Killer procured a 6.2L/450hp crate LS engine (now surrounded by a bevy of stain-red custom sheet metal!) that is accompanied by a 4L65E four-speed overdrive. The engine was outfitted with a Concept One Victory serpentine and Billet Specialties dress-up, Holley/Aeromotive fuel system accessories with a Speartech ECU, Hooker ceramic-coated manifolds with stainless Flowmaster exhaust, and is cooled by a DeWitts aluminum radiator with dual SPAL electric fans.
Read More: A Clean Slate C10 Chassis
The C10’s sheet metal—including the SWB fleetside bed, with its molded rear panel and frenched license—was meticulously massaged before being sprayed an eye-catching red metallic and white two-tone, which is accented with deluxe trim and smoothed bumpers, among other things. And while a ’glass tonneau conceals it from view, a satin-stained Mar-K oak wood floor with polished stainless strips lies between those short bedsides.
Lastly, after Ryan’s crew was done updating the inner cab accordingly (Restomod membrane sound deadening, Dakota Digital RTX instrumentation, ididit tilt steering column with a CON2R steering wheel, Old Air Hurricane AC System, Nu-Relics power windows, and a RetroSound Bluetooth system with Alpine speakers), Delgado’s Upholstery finished Buford with a full-custom red Ultraleather interior with TMI bucket seats.
