Dale Taylor, owner of this '72 Chevy C10 longbed, approached the famed Hawaiian paint and airbrush artist, Dennis Matthewson, and made this declarative statement: "I don't want an average flame job." For Dale, this is not just any truck, this four-wheel asphalt assassin was his father's truck for decades before he passed away. William Aubel, Dale's father, used the truck every day and when it came time for Dale to rebuild it in his honor, he surrounded himself with talented people.
Dale, along with most of the custom world, didn't understand that for Dennis Mathewson, there is never an occasion where being average will suffice. After all of his efforts, Dale teamed up with the Alsa Corporation, the makers of exotic and trick paints, to customize his family heirloom. First off, the truck was shot jet black and with a virgin canvas to work on, Dennis Mathewson began throwing out ideas for a truly unique flame job. Deniss worked with Alsa's diabolical chemist, Albert Banoun, who formulates all of that exotic paint. The day the truck was pulled into the booth, transfer tape draped the length of the truck and layers of graphics were sprayed in Mirra Chrome. Afterterwards, Dennis peeled back the tape and embarked on a solid weekend of airbrushing. Black flames and rolling lava pumping out of the volcanoes keep the tiki torches burning bright while the truck was drenched with candy paint. The flames practically jump off of the truck and provide a look that leaves you asking, how did they do that? With the truck completely dripping in custom graphics, Dennis packed his gear and headed back toward Cosmic Airbrush's headquarters, located in Hawaii. Meanwhile, Juan and Edgar of the Alsa staff applied the clear coat and buffed the Chevy to a flawless perfection, such that when Dale peels through East Los Angeles you'd have to be blind to miss him.
After Dennis and the Alsa Corporation got their solvent-soaked mitts on this '70s grinder, Dale harvested and rebuilt a 402ci big-block, which was responsible for powering his long-awaited project. The block was fit with an Edelbrock intake and carburetor, so the fuel starved big-block would never go hungry again. Meanwhile, the full-length headers where added so you could hear the mild cam spin when this beast exhaled. Now, all of the low-end power would be lost if it weren't for the 400 transmission and the fat rear rubber. A shortened 9-inch rearend was ripped from a dearly departed '70 Lincoln, then bolted on to send the power to the pavement. With the truck almost sound, Dale used some steel from a donor C10 to build the tubs that accommodate the wide rear rubber.