The collector car market, in your inbox
Classic car news, hand-picked vehicles, and auction coverage. Choose what lands in your inbox.
Every so often a truck rolls onto the auction block that doesn't politely ask for your attention, it simply takes it. This one-off 1968 Chevrolet C10 convertible rat rod, now bidding on Car & Classic, is exactly that kind of machine: roofless, slammed to the weeds, wrapped in weathered matte black, and packing a 7,200cc V8 that makes no apology for itself whatsoever.
A C10 Unlike Any Other
The second-generation Chevrolet C10 is arguably the most customized pickup in American history. Parts availability is superb, the proportions are perfect, and decades of well-trodden modifications mean there is a road map for almost anything you want to do to one. Plenty of builders have gone the pro-touring route, like this low, show, and go 1968 C10, and the results are usually gorgeous.
This truck went somewhere else entirely. The roof and windshield frame are gone, turning a workhorse hauler into a genuine open-air convertible, and the whole thing rides low enough to scrub the paint off a manhole cover. It is a one-off, and it looks like nothing else in a show field. If you have spent any time flipping through the coolest C10s on Motorious, you already know how rare it is to see one this far off the beaten path.
7,200cc Of Big-Block Brutality
Under that long, louvered hood sits a 7,200cc V8, roughly 439 cubic inches of displacement, backed by a four-speed automatic transmission. The listing describes the result as roaring and cacophonous, which feels about right for a big-inch V8 breathing through a truck with no roof to keep the noise out. There is no isolation here, no sound deadening, nothing between you and the engine but a firewall and good intentions. That is the entire point.
A Certified Internet Star
This is not an anonymous build. The truck has already been featured on YouTube, where it has pulled in more than 16 million views, which is a level of exposure most six-figure restorations never come close to. Whoever buys it inherits a machine that people already recognize, and that counts for something whether you are pulling into a cars and coffee or simply enjoying the double takes at a stoplight.
Sorted, Stored, And Ready To Enjoy
The current owner bought the truck in 2019 from a collector who had imported it from the United States, then went through the process of making it usable on UK roads. It was put through an MOT and fitted with fog lights, a handbrake, and wipers, while rear springs were added to lift the ride height enough to survive British tarmac. A worn fan belt was replaced. The seller reports the truck is solid underneath, with the frame and fuel tank located at the rear, and says it is in fine mechanical health.
Since then it has lived a pampered life in dry storage, covering an estimated 200 to 300 miles across roughly seven years of ownership. The vendor says it starts on the button and is remarkably driveable, which is not always a given with a build this raw. Mileage is unknown because the odometer is inoperative, and the truck is now MOT exempt, so the next owner can simply get in and drive it. Rat rods tend to be honest that way, and this one is no different than the wonderfully unhinged 1949 Chevy rat rod we covered previously.
The Bidding Is Just Getting Started
At the time of writing, bidding sits at just 1,100 British pounds with the reserve not yet met, and the auction runs through September 21. There are 153 photographs and a video in the listing, so there is plenty to study before you decide whether your garage has room for the loudest, lowest, most unapologetic C10 on the internet. Ours certainly does.
Images courtesy of Car & Classic.
