Staying Busy After School

WHEN YOU HAVE kids in their teens, you have to think of ingenious ways to keep them busy and out of mischief. When you find something that you can reward them with that also keeps them out of trouble, it’s a win-win. This was the case for Dakota James Thompson of Portland, Oregon. Dakota’s dad Lonnie Thompson is the owner and operator of Carolina Kustoms. Lonnie’s spent most of his life building 1960-66 trucks and exposed Dakota to the custom truck world when he was very young. Even though his dad specializes in the earlier C-10s, Dakota wanted something that would fit his own style a little better. Since Dakota’s grades weren’t an issue, Lonnie did what most parents in his situation would do: He bought a project truck to keep his son occupied after school.

The ’84 square body was purchased for the simple reason that it was a solid project; they wouldn’t have to go through deep restoration to have a good driver. Once school was dismissed for the summer, Lonnie let Dakota know that the build would be a “poor man’s project” that they would work on in their spare time between regular shop projects.

To start, the body was blown apart, the bed was removed, and the front end was taken off so that the door jambs could be painted. There were no modifications planned for the body, which made the bodywork much easier to finish. Once all of the body panels where finessed perfectly, they were sprayed with two-stage PPG finish. Dakota chose 1977 GM Baby Blue with 1984 C-10 GM White accents. Paul Comeau Pinstriping silver leaf separates the colors.

He bought a project truck to keep his son occupied after school.

With the truck in pieces, it was natural to send out the engine for a thorough going over. The stock 1984 Chevy small-block was sent to Portland Engine Rebuilders where it was deburred and a Scat crankshaft, rod and pistons were installed. The crew also handled the installation of the Comp camshaft, rockers and lifters. The full rotating long- block assembly was shipped back to Carolina Kustoms where they dressed up the 350-plus-hp engine. They installed an Edelbrock intake and carburetor combination, as well as the March Performance pulley setup. For exhaust, the engine was hooked up with Hedman headers and Flowmaster mufflers routed through the stock frame.

The build was completed in less than a year, and was a great father-and-son project that came together quickly.

With the truck painted and the engine fully assembled and running, the father-and-son team tackled the suspension. As a dealer for Slam Specialties airbags and with a strict budget in mind, Dakota and Lonnie kept the stock suspension, installed airbags and performed a body drop. Whether the airbags lay the truck out or are raised to cruising height, the 3-inch body drop gives the truck an aggressive stance at all times.

Since the project was started at the beginning of summer, most of the major hurdles were handled before school was back in session, but there were still a few things to take care of before this truck could be considered done. After school and on weekends, Dakota worked adding Dynamat to the truck to quiet the cab. The audio was routed and the stereo system was installed, and then it was ready for Jim from Jim’s Custom Upholstery to exercise his expertise. The interior was covered in tan accented with a Billet Specialties steering column and chrome factory switches.

The exterior came together nicely when the truck was put on 22-inch KMC Novas, with a complementary phantom billet grille. A custom- painted, matching tonneau cover was bolted up to conceal the C-notch and bridge. The bed also received a touch of bedliner to clean up the compartment.

The build was completed in less than a year, and was a great father- and-son project that came together quickly thanks to the talents of Lonnie, Dakota and the crew at Carolina Kustoms.

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BUILD SPECS

OWNER

Dakota James
Thompson
1984, Chevrolet, C-10
Portland, Oregon
Class Act

ENGINE

• Built by: Owner, Carolina Kustoms and Portland Engine Rebuilders
• GM small-block 350 V-8
• Scat Performance crankshaft, rod and pistons
• Edelbrock intake, carburetor and valve covers
• March Performance pulleys
• Hedman headers
• Flowmaster exhaust and muffler
• 700R4 transmission

SUSPENSION/CHASSIS

• By: Owner, Carolina Kustoms
• 3-inch body drop
• DJM spindles
• Cutom 2-link with Watts link
• C-notch frame
• Slam Specialties airbags
• KYB shocks
• RideTech e3 air management system

WHEELS & TIRES

• 22×8.5 American Racing Nova
• Lexani 255/30/R22

BODY & PAINT

• By: Owner, Carolina Kustoms
• Gem Top tonneau cover
• Spray-on bedliner
• PPG stock 1977 GM Baby Blue paint and 1984 GM White twostage paint
• Silver leaf by Paul Comeau Pinstriping

INTERIOR

• Interior by Jim’s Custom Upholstery
• Stock tan leather interior accented with a Billet Specialties steering wheel
• Chrome switches
• Kenwood headunit
• Kicker speakers
• JL Audio amplifier
• Dynamat sound deadening materialr

SPECIAL THANKS FROM OWNER: Thanks to my dad Lonnie Thompson, Carolina Kustoms and Class Act for help on the project.

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