Nate was able to get a rare find, but he doesn’t just want to keep it in the garage until showtime.
When Nate found a listing for two C10s, he found out that one of them had a package not too many C10s can boast.
“My dad worked at GM and he always talked about how cool the Highlander was and one day I found a guy that was selling two C10s when over there, bought both of them, and one of them was a Highlander,” Nate said. “So this was the journey of building a Highlander truck.”
The Chevy C10 Highlander was a truck that was made for one year only in ‘72. The Highlander’s main defining features are additional trim on the sides and plaid cloth inserts on the seats.
Finding the parts specific to a Highlander was what Nate considered a challenge.
“So you got to do your research,” Nate said, “try to figure out who still makes the fabric and then find that source that is producing that fabric, buy it and then have someone that’s going to manufacture that seat cover for you to make it look like a factory build.”
Nate’s favorite thing about his Highlander is the engine.
“Just because when you first glance at it you think it’s a Small-Block Chevy but it’s actually an LS2,” Nate said. “I love the way these trucks are original, so I kind of want to keep them original but then add a little bit of an extra touch.”
When asked what are good starting points for people getting into truck restoration, Nate said to check out C10 forums.
“I mean, these guys have been building trucks for years that are on that C10 forum,” Nate said.
Nate also believes that restoration part stores like Classic Parts of America are a great place for beginners to go to as well, specifically mentioning the assembly manuals they sell.
“That assembly manual has every single thing you need to know how these trucks are built back then,” Nate said. “All the spot welds are marked, everything is marked.”
Nate has taken this truck to many different truck shows, but ultimately what he wants to do with Highlander is take it across the country.
“It’s not a full-on show truck when I’m trailing it because I want to enjoy this, I want to see America.”
Nate, I like the way you think! Some of my fondest memories are road trips! I highly recommend Iowa80 travel plaza on Rt.80
its mindblowing and Full of souvenirs!! Trucks were meant to travel , and I wish you all the best in your journeys😁
I doubt an ‘original’ 1972 C10 ever had an “LS2” engine as mentioned in the article.
Perhaps it had an “L82” ?
I am so excited to learn about the highlander! I have a 72 C10 Custom Deluxe that I want to restore. It also has the plaid on the seats, blue shades and white to correspond with the blue and white exterior.
Is there any way to pass my contact info on to Nate so I can get the name of the company that recreates the plaid? That would be so awesome!