1984 Chevy C10 Silverado – Michael D.

Meeting your future in-laws for the first time can be stressful, but sometimes things work out better than you’d expect, especially when you find that you have a few things in common. For Michael, that first meeting in 2003 went about as well as it could.

While pulling up to his future in-laws’ house for the first time, Michael immediately noticed a beautiful blue and silver 1984 Chevy C10 square-body in the driveway. After meeting George, his bride-to-be’s father, the two of them exchanged compliments on one another’s trucks. Michael was in his 1997 Ford F150 at the time, and he got introduced to Nellie, the 1984 Chevy C10 Silverado that would eventually be an even bigger part of his life.

After a few years of spending more time with his new family, Michael joked with George about taking Nellie off his hands once he got too old to drive her, and that he’d get the truck restored one day. Sure enough, in 2012, Michael got a call from George who was wanting to hand the keys over to give Nellie a new lease on life.

Four years later, and having gone a full fourteen months without being able to drive Nellie between numerous shop visits, she’s back in action and looking better than ever. Aside from having the seats recovered, Michael did all the interior work and exterior trim himself with all parts being sourced from LMC Truck.

The hardest part of the restoration process for Michael was deciding on the color. He thought of single colors ranging from red to charcoal grey, and a two-tone scheme was always in the back of his mind. After his wife continued to remind him, “It’s not Nellie if it’s not blue and grey,” the decision was much easier. After four years of being unsure what color(s) to go with, the restoration shop was finally ready for paint, so he spent just five minutes looking at paint cards before deciding on the final blue and silver paint that Nellie currently wears, and she wears it well.

With the exception of some final clean up of the wiring under the hood and the future installation of pre-cut chrome trim from LMC Truck, Nellie is restored and being driven every chance Michael gets. He’s promised to get a few more photos, and we’re looking forward to seeing them. Plus, we can’t wait for the update when Nellie gets handed down to the next generation.

“I joked that when he got too old to drive, we would take his keys, and I would restore [Nellie] one day.”

—Michael D.