1986 Chevy C10 – Riku A.

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Farm Truck “Mansikki” (Cow Name in Finnish Language)

I have been looking for a 1973-1987 SWB Stepside since I turned 18 in 2012. That’s just simply the best looking sport truck out there for a 90’s kid. I like to have a little bit electric windows and stuff like that.

In Finland, there is not too much to choose from because we don’t have thousands and thousands of C10s out here. So, I did what I could and bought a 1991 short bed Silverado for my first car. And after that, every summer, I had at least one OBS S1500 because we have enough of those here and they also come with cheap prices. Anyway,  I have been looking for a C10 all these years and after I bought a 1987 Buick Turbo-T in 2017 for a project car, I was thinking the whole time if I could somehow save some money for the C10.

I started Automotive Engineering studies at University in 2017 so I did what every real man would. I put most of the study loan to the side and kept it there while seeking my Stepside.

In February 2019, I was searching for cars all over the internet and I found an amazing cute little bastard from Byrdstown, Tennessee. It was a bright red 1986 Silverado short bed Stepside with 462cu big block moaning under the hood. After talking for a while with the seller, there was voice in my head that was like ‘say no more’ and as simple as that, after the price was good, I bought the truck.

Shipping the car from Tennessee to Helsinki, Finland took about two to three months. Also, it’s a long and expensive process. Funny thing is that all the car keys have mostly yellow name tags on the keys. Someone at the port in New Jersey had written on my truck’s key fob “Farmtruck ” and some other stuff 😀.

I knew from the pictures that the owner sent me that the grille and some of the lighting was bad. Also, interior was looking bad, missing handles from the door. and stuff like that.

I ordered a bunch of parts from LMC in the same week as the car was paid so I would get them about same time as the car would arrive in Finland.

Everything went very well and I got the parts for truck in good time. Billet grille and the headlights really do change the car. Original grille was all cracked and painted with spay cans (10ft. paint job) and I wanted little custom look to front end so this was the best solution for my little Mansikki.

I have been cruising about 600 miles with her and I can say for sure that this has been the funnest and coolest truck that I have ever owned. Only problem is that one gallon of gas costs about $7.40 here, but that’s part of the life right?

Best regards to all the truck freaks from Finland,

Riku A.