4X FLOOR | ’85 Shortbed C10

A lot of projects have hurdles to overcome, and in our case, it’s pretty much the norm. Adding enough frame rail clearance for headers, tweaking cheap aftermarket body panels to fit just right and massaging bedsides ever so slightly because we should have narrowed the rear end that extra half-inch are just a few challenges in the life of custom truck building.

After a long search, Tye found an amazing, fully restored truck to start with, and it was even an ’85 like his old truck. It was perfect!

But while these things are to be expected, other complications can really throw you for a curve. Take Tye Farmer’s experience in finding the perfect truck to build. His first truck ever was an ’85 short bed C10, but he eventually got bored with it and moved on. As many of us have experienced, he regretted the decision and wanted to someday get another. But, he also wanted to make it leagues better than he was able to the first time.

A few years ago, Tye began looking for just the right truck, and he knew exactly what he wanted it to look like: a perfect stock body slammed on big billets. Never a bad combination in our opinion!

After a long search, Tye found an amazing, fully restored truck to start with, and it was even an ’85 like his old truck. It was perfect! Well, there was one issue, and it happened to be a major one—it was a K10, not a C10. Yup, a 4×4! The owner had had it built at Swift Brothers Classic Trucks but fell on hard times and decided to sell it for a killer price to move it quickly. Bad news for the unfortunate dude, but great news for Tye.

We’re sure he was almost tempted to not go through with it and leave the truck alone, but… well, you can see what ended up happening. After talking things over with Keith Stephens and Roger Lenskey at RPL Customs, a plan was set, and a 2WD chassis was located and purchased. The new frame was then dressed with Porterbuilt Fab’s latest go-low hardware, which consisted of the company’s Level 3 front and rear air-ride kits that would allow the truck to plant itself firmly on the ground once the airbags are deflated.

The crew at RPL Customs gave the chassis the same attention to detail that  had been given to the rest of the truck, painting everything so as to both  protect it from the elements and keep it looking awesome at all times.

The crew at RPL Customs gave the chassis the same attention to detail that had been given to the rest of the truck, painting everything so as to both protect it from the elements and keep it looking awesome at all times.

Tye didn’t have to worry any about the engine, as the truck received a tricked out 350 crate engine when it was restored, but the headers did have to be swapped out for Speedway cast block-huggers since the truck was now a lot closer to the ground! The fresh 700R4, however, had to be converted to work in a 2WD configuration. Luckily it was a relatively painless procedure, and the guys at RPL could move on to other things, like installing the 14-inch Wilwood brakes at each corner so that the 22-inch Raceline Executive billet wheels and sticky Toyo tires could finally be attached.

Two and a half years after beginning the project, Tye was finally able to cruise his truck, including to shows. Getting top awards at events like  Goodguys Lone Star Nationals and Lone Star Throwdown is no doubt an amazing feeling, but we bet nothing beats opening the garage door first thing in the morning!

Inside the cab, everything appears stock until you flip open the ashtray to reveal the AccuAir controller or take a really close look at the gauges, which are upgraded Dakota Digital VHX units. Oh yeah, then there’s the Retro Sounds head unit, which looks stock but allows Tye to take advantage of 21st century technology.

Two and a half years after beginning the project, Tye was finally able to cruise his truck, including to shows. Getting top awards at events like Good Guys Lone Star Nationals and Lone Star Throwdown is no doubt an amazing feeling, but we bet nothing beats opening the garage door first thing in the morning!