1949 Chevy C-10 Pickup Makes Great 8

A 1949 Chevy C-10 Pickup owned by Robby Collvins of Mt Vernon, Texas has earned the right to be called a Great 8 award winner here at the 2017 Detroit Autorama. The Michigan Street Rod Association placed the Great 8 award trophy in Collvins’ show display yesterday. Now the owner will be on pins and needles until Sunday when one of the top eight cars will be chosen as this year’s Ridler Award winner.

We talked with Robby Collvins this morning. Look closely at this one because it is not just another pickup truck. He showed us where the whole bed and fender area were fabricated from a 1955 Cadillac Eldorado, including the quarter panels and rear body panels. Note the fat fender styling. Way cool, but still very old school. The wood in the bed is all laminated wood which is native to Northeast Texas. It is all unfinished.

“We designed the paint,” he said. “One off paint from BASF which they will probably release after the show.”

Robby told us his ’49 Five Window Chevrolet has been chopped, channeled and sectioned. It sits on a 2005 Corvette chassis, so the running gear, motor and transmission were originally out of a Corvette.

“We built the 5-bar Chevy grille in house,” he told us. “We wanted to stay with the 5-bar factory grille. But it looked too much like it belonged on a school bus. So we built it, improved on it.”

“We designed the wheels off an old Cadillac hubcap. We took the Cadillac hubcap, modified it and the wheels were made by Colorado Customs.”

“The seats are made of vegetan leather. They’re made a lot like the way you construct a saddle. They are all hand sown, water formed and given the vintage luggage look.” And indeed they do have an old school effect.

Look at this 1949 Chevy C-10 Pickup closely because it has all the elements of a true Ridler Award winner. We have the feeling this one will be a strong contender. It was built by Robby’s shop, Collvins Customs in Mt Vernon.