1965 GMC C-10

Mitch Bender from Northbrook, Illinois has been an avid Porsche collector and racer for years. He’s slid behind the wheel of Porsche 956s and 911s, and he even raced in the very competitive, high-end IMSA 2006-07 GT3 Series.

During his travels he started to take notice of all of the cool custom trucks around, and he decided he wanted to build one for himself. He purchased a ’65 GMC C-10 wide-side that was rust-free and would make a good six-month project. Once he got started, though, it didn’t take him long to realize he wouldn’t be able to meet his high expectations and vision for the truck in such a short time; so, Mitch devoted two years to producing this pristine turquoise ride.

What you see on the following pages is what Mitch and builder Ron Durchin at Autowerks of Northbrook created. First, the frame was updated with an 1981 Blazer 2WD front clip fused to the factory frame rails. The Blazer factory front suspension received custom dropped lower tubular control arms, short coil springs, a pair of 2-inch dropped spindles and gas-filled shocks. A pair of Force 10 six-piston aluminum calipers with 14-inch rotors delivers front-end stopping power. Out back, a Dana 44 rearend is stuffed with 3.73:1 gears and a posi-unit for dual traction. The Dana 44 rearend was flipped on top of the leaf springs to lower the rear. A pair of Caltrac traction bars was bolted up to help anchor the rearend and eliminate wheel hop. Rear body roll gets flattened out during cornering via the Hellwig rear sway bar. A pair of gas-filled shocks dampens the rear suspension, while a pair of Force 10 four-piston calipers with 13-inch rotors provides ample braking in the rear. A set of Intro Matrix 18×8 front and Intro Matrix 18×10 rear were wrapped in Nitto NT555 255/45-ZR18 front and Nitto NT555 295/45-ZR18 rear tires.

After many discussions about what was going to power Mitch’s hauler, it was decided to drop in a GM Performance Ram Jet 502-ci big-block that produces 502 hp and 565 lbs-ft of torque. The mighty big-block features modern port fuel injection, a tunnel ram-style high-rise intake manifold that feeds a pair of high-flow aluminum oval port cylinder heads. A pair of Sanderson block-hugger headers merges into a custom 3-inch exhaust and mufflers. An updated MEF-4 controller coordinates the fuel delivery and ignition systems with an easy-to-use, plug-and-play configuration. A GM 4L80 four-speed automatic transmission handles gear selection.

Autowerks took the body down to bare metal, and then the cab, doors, fenders, hood, bedsides and tailgate were gapped and aligned. After massaging and straightening, the sheet metal was given multiple coats of PPG primer and block sanded smooth, sealed and sprayed with four coats of PPG Turquoise and buried in clear. After days of curing, the clearcoat was cut, buffed and polished to a glistening shine. LMC front bumper, grille, headlight bezels, headlights and hood turn indicators add true sparkle to the front end. An LMC rear bumper, taillights and bezels finish off the rear.

Autowerks broke out the sewing machines to lay out the primo leather interior. A 1996 Suburban 60/40 split bench seat was covered with gray Ultra Leather. The dark gray carpet was laid down over a layer of Dynamat heat-dissipating and sound- deadening material. The door panels, headliner and dash were left factory steel and painted gray. A Flaming River stainless tilt shifter steering wheel was capped with an LMC three-spoke half-wrapped gray leather steering wheel. A Brothers billet aluminum gauge panel houses the Auto Meter black-face gauges.

Mitch intended to create a cool, unique custom and now he can roll into any cruise night or show and turn heads. He also uses his new truck to tow his motorcycles and other weekend toys to his favorite playgrounds. ST

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TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

Mitchell Bender
Northbrook, Illinois
1965 GMC C10

BUILDER

Mitchell Bender
Autowerks Ron Durchin
Northbrook, Illinois

ENGINE

• GM Performance Parts 502-ci Ram Jet big-block crate engine, 502 hp
• 565 lbs-ft
• 3-inch-diameter custom stainless steel exhaust
• Magnaflow mufflers
• GM 4L80E four-speed automatic transmission

SUSPENSION

• Shop: Autowerks Ron Durchin
• 1981 Chevy K5 Blazer front clip
• 2-inch dropped spindles
• 2-inch dropped control arms Bilstein shocks
• Coil springs
• Custom tubular control arms SSBC Force 10 four-piston aluminum caliper brakes with 14-inch-diameter ball- milled vented rotors
• Dana 44 rearend
• 3.73 gears
• Leaf springs
• Caltrac traction bars SSBC Force 10 six-piston calipers and 14-inch rotors front; four-piston and 13-inch rotors rear

WHEELS & TIRES

• Intro Matrix 18×8 front, 18×10 rear
• Nitto NT555 tires

BODY & PAINT

• Shop: Autowerks
• PPG Turquoise paint
• LMC front bumper, grille, headlight bezels, turn indicators and door handles

INTERIOR

• Shop: Autowerks
• 1996 Suburban 60/40 split bench seat
• Gray ultra leather
• LMC gray carpet
• Flaming River stainless steel tilt column shift
• LMC three-spoke half-wrap gray leather steering wheel
• Brothers billet gauge panel
• Auto Meter black-face gauges

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