From Salvage Yard to the SEMA Show Floor

You’re never too young to get into building custom trucks – just ask 17-year-old Bailey Mckeska, a.k.a. “Boneyard Bailey” of Amanda, Ohio. Growing up in an automotive-minded family, Bailey has been around custom vehicles all her life. But it wasn’t until recently that she took the reins and built her own – a 1976 Chevrolet C10. As if that’s not impressive enough, this gorgeous ride also debuted at none other than the 2023 SEMA show, front and center in the Air Lift Performance booth. How’s that for an impressive accomplishment for someone who’s not even out of high school yet? 

Built with the help of her father Mike, a talented fabricator and classic car fan who owns the local salvage yard, Bailey’s truck is the epitome of sleek and simple. Don’t let that fool you into believing that it’s just another restoration with a nice paintjob. Look closely and you’ll see custom touches throughout that even some builders three- to four-times Bailey’s age can’t pull off.

Bailey’s C10 is a true looker with the performance and stance to back it up.  Needless to say, SEMA certainly won’t be the only show this truck will be seen at,  and we’re willing to bet that it’ll also find its way into a winner’s circle or two. 

“Dad has always had cool custom cars, so I knew I wanted something unique,” Bailey told us when asked about the inspiration for her truck.

After some consideration, she decided on a classic C10, and with a bit of looking on Facebook Marketplace, this ‘76 was procured by the father-daughter pair for $7,500. From there, a lot of planning, a number of changes, and a whole lot of work was required to get the Chevy in tip-top shape.

How Low Can You Go?

What started out as a plan to just lower the truck quickly snowballed into a full-fledged suspension overhaul. Building off of a Choppin’ Block full Extreme Series chassis, Bailey and her dad upgraded the C10 to include a full air suspension system, which utilizes tubular control arms with cam alignment, a narrow track width, and modular construction straight from the company. Out back, you’ll find Choppin’ Block’s triangulated 4-link suspension, also included with the chassis. Giving the suspension the air it needs to function properly is an Air Lift Performance FLO air tank and Viair compressors.

The entire suspension system is controlled by an Air Lift Performance 3H management system with added height sensors. The steering system on the truck also received an upgrade via the chassis’s included rack-and-pinion gearbox, which features flipped steering geometry meant specifically for slammed vehicles.

When lowering a truck, copious amounts of measuring and planning goes into making sure that everything from the wheels and tires, to the whole undercarriage of the truck will tuck nicely for that full-blown slammed stance. To pull this all together, Bailey and her dad opted to bodydrop the truck 1.5 inches, giving them a little bit more clearance for the frame and suspension components. They also tubbed all four wheelwells, tucking them under the hood and up into the truck’s bed, with Bailey doing all of the bead rolling work herself. These two body modifications, along with the custom suspension setup, allow the truck to put body panels to the pavement at its most laid out level.

Custom Down to the Color

While the bodydrop and the wheeltubs are certainly the biggest body modifications on this truck, there are also some pretty impressive finite details that beg for an extra look. This includes the shaved gutters and the shaved fuel filler, which was strategically relocated behind the passenger taillight using an LS Fabrications flip-out hinge. These modifications add to the impressively sleek design of the truck while allowing much of its original character to shine through.

After the custom AkzoNobel Sage Green and white paint colors were sprayed by Aaron Lynch of Lynch Concepts, the truck garners a lot of attention any time Bailey and her dad take it out, only to impress further once people take a closer look.

Fittingly, the interior of the truck is also custom while maintaining many of its vintage aesthetics. The seats are truly one of a kind, with the infrastructure for them being built out of salvaged materials by Bailey. They were then covered in Apex Leather thanks to the help of Trent VanArsdalen of Trent’s Trick Upholstery, who showed Bailey some of the ins and outs of custom auto upholstery while crafting her custom seat coverings. Matching door panels and dash, and complimentary-colored carpet complete the look, while an updated Kicker Audio system ensures Bailey can listen to her favorite tunes while cruising through the Ohio countryside.

If looks could kill, this truck would be guilty, but having an air-ride custom that looks pretty isn’t nearly as fun as having one that can also spin some tires and put down a respectable zero-to-60. Bailey then looked to the Bow Tie’s lineage for inspiration.

 If looks could kill, this truck would be guilty, but having an air-ride custom that looks pretty isn’t nearly as fun as having one that can also spin some tires and put down a respectable zero-to-60. Bailey then looked to the Bow  Tie’s lineage for inspiration. 

Chevy Power

Aiming to keep her truck true to its Chevy roots, Bailey opted to outfit it with a 2005 5.7-liter Chevy LS6 V-8, the same engine you’d find in a 2005 Cadillac CTS-V. Not too shabby considering these bad boys push nearly 400hp stock—more than double the power than  the ‘76 C10 came with from the factory.

Building upon that, father and daughter worked together to add Hooker cast headers, a PSI wiring harness, and a one-off 2.5-inch stainless steel exhaust system built by Mike. Keeping the engine plenty cool is a Griffin radiator and fan, while the LS6 is fueled by a Choppin’ Block fuel tank.

Backing the LS is a GM 4L60E automatic transmission spinning a two-piece rear driveshaft. This is tied to a stock GM 12-bolt rearend, which is narrowed 16 inches to aid in the truck’s lowered and tubbed condition. Planting the truck to the ground are Raceline Scoundrel 22×8.5-inch front and 24×12-inch rear wheels, backspaced by 5 inches and 4.25 inches respectively, wrapped in low-profile rubber. Stopping power comes from Wilwood 14-inch brakes with 6-piston calipers in the front, and Wilwood 12-inch brakes with 4-piston calipers in the rear, both fed by a Wilwood master cylinder and custom stainless steel brake lines.

Bailey’s C10 is a true looker with the performance and stance to back it up. Needless to say, SEMA certainly won’t be the only show this truck will be seen at, and we’re willing to bet that it’ll also find its way into a winner’s circle or two. Regardless of where she takes it, Bailey can show off the amazing truck she and her dad built. We can’t wait to see where this young lady takes her truck, and her growing fabricating skills in the future!