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gr8scott51
My 1968 Chevrolet C10 started life as a plumber's fleet truck, or at least that's what the build sheet says. It was originally a stripped down 6 cylinder 3 on the tree. The only options being the heater and panoramic rear window. No dome light, no cigarette lighter, no radio. It has always been some shade of yellow. I've owned it for almost 4 years. I was just going to lower it and put some rims on it. Instead I did this:
It now has a Bowtie Performance 350 with an RV cam and late model Corvette heads, Edelbrock intake and 4 barrel carb, HEI distributor, Cermachromed 2" ramhorns dump in to 40 series Flowmasters that exit at the bumper through 2-1/2" pipes. It's backed up with a T5 five speed tranny taken from an '85-'86 S10 with a final drive of 0.72 to 1, using an 11" clutch from an '85-'89 Astro van and a modified S10 drive shaft connecting to the stock 3.73 rear gears. This combination allows me to cruise at 80 turning about 2600 rpm. The gears in turn spin the 235/70 15 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s on powdercoated truck rallyes. I used Corvette trim rings and 4X4 center caps to finish the rims. The bowties in the middle of the caps are from wrecking yard hubcaps that are glued in the center caps.
The cab got the obligatory rocker panel replacement along with floor boards and door bottoms. The finish body work and Corvette Millenium yellow paint (over a bright white sealer to make it jump) were done by Buffalo Restorations in Puyallup (pew-al-up). My favorite exterior piece is the mid-80s El Camino bumper that was narrowed 9-1/2" and rechromed. The rotten wood was removed from the box and a steel one taken from a fleetside welded in it's place, then sprayed with Rhino Lining.
I rebuilt the suspension using a 3"/5" drop kit from Early Classic Enterprises that included shocks, springs, shock relocators and an adjustable panhard bar. The front end was rebuilt using a kit from Classic Performance Parts and I added a sway bar. The drum brakes have been completely rebuilt with all new parts. The Armstrong steering was replaced with Austin (power) steering.
I left the gas tank in the cab (no odors so far) and installed a gray bench seat taken from a '90s Silverado. The stock gages were replaced with a billet aluminum unit from Boese Engineering and Dolphin gages. Opting to not cut the dash, I installed a Custom Autosound USA 6 AM/FM unit with a 6 CD changer under the seat and kick panel speakers. I'm not happy with this setup. The sterring wheel is a fat gray unit from a Cavalier. A cup holder from a late model Chevy pickup holds my cold barley pops. Air conditioning is supplied by the wing windows at 80 mph.
I wish I had found this forum before I even bought a truck. I probably wouldn't have started with such a rust bucket, and if I'd found this site sooner, I would have replaced the cab and powder coated the frame.
It was an honor to be nominated - thanks oldiron (Dennis).
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