A Pro-touring C-10 Built for Race and Show

The fact that C-10 trucks have become one of the most popular platforms in the custom truck scene probably isn’t news to anybody, but what might surprise some is that C-10s are also on the rise on the autocross race circuit, with many surpassing their muscle car counterparts on the track. When Street Trucks began to cover the autocross scene and build-ups in conjunction with No Limit Engineering’s Joe-Touring and Hellboy trucks, we all thought that a middle-of-the-road pro-touring truck was needed, one that could be built with mostly off-the-shelf parts but still handle and perform well and look good doing it. While the truck didn’t have a name at the beginning of the build, it would soon become known as Foxy Cleopatra for its good looks, golden tone and plenty of sass packed under the hood.

The truck started life as little more than a frame and a cab. Eventually the long-bed C-10 was shortened and the suspension was brought to modern specs at No Limit Engineering in San Bernardino, California. A short- bed conversion kit was developed for the truck, not only to shorten the frame and provide new mounts, but to kick the frame rails up 4 inches and allow for the installation of a Fat Bar 4-link and Currie Enterprises 9-inch rearend with an Eaton Truetrac with 4:11 gears. An adjustable anti-sway bar and tuned Ridetech adjustable coil-over shocks provide race car handling.

Up front, the entire front suspension and cross member were wiped clean in favor of a Wide Ride IFS setup that raised the cross member and converted the steering to rack-and-pinion. It also allowed for tubular control arms and Ridetech coil-over shocks.

“THE TRUCK STARTED LIFE AS LITTLE MORE THAN A FRAME AND A CAB. EVENTUALLY THE LONG-BED C-10 WAS SHORTENED AND THE SUSPENSION WAS BROUGHT TO MODERN SPECS AT NO LIMIT ENGINEERING IN SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA.”

Of course, half of performance driving is braking control, so a full Wilwood disc brake system was installed, including 14-inch rotors with six-piston calipers up front and an ABS power brake booster with Wilwood master cylinder. To lessen body roll, polyurethane bushings, engine and body mounts from Energy Suspension were used. Intro ID-301 wheels (18×10 inches) were powder-coated black and assembled with gold hardware. The rims were wrapped in wide 315/30 Falken Azenis FK453 rubber. Having a wide track width with a wide footprint and squared tires on all four corners improves handling. The chassis was powder coated and reassembled by PPC Customs, and the end result is a truck that can pull the card of any muscle car on the autocross track.

FOR SAFETY REASONS, THE INSIDE OF THE CAB RECEIVED A FULL ROLL CAGE AND SEAT HARNESS SETUP BY BRANDON SILVA AT DYNAMIC METALWERX.”

Under the Classic Industries slope-nosed 1968 hood sits a modern LS engine packed with plenty of go-fast goodies, but the engine isn’t some over-the-top race engine. It started life at PPC Customs in Clovis, California as a 6.0L LS. It was taken over to Clovis Machine to be cleaned, honed and bored out to a 408-cid stroker; this allowed for higher torque and more power on the low end, perfect for autocross racing, burnies and running from the law, the press and the parents. Then the engine block made its way to Peter Guy Racing Engines to be assembled with an Eagle crankshaft and rods, Trick Flow Specialties camshaft and Mahle pistons. Trick Flow Specialties aluminum cylinder heads topped with PPC Customs-fabricated valve covers and MSD coils help finish things off.

Next, Summit Racing accessories were bolted up to a Holley LS bracket kit. For air intake and fueling, a FAST intake manifold with 102mm Big Mouth throttle body with a custom Spectre Performance air intake was installed and saddled with FAST fuel rails leading to a Holley fuel pump and No Limit fuel cell. To expel exhaust gas during high revving sessions, a set of long-tube Gibson LS headers were ceramic-coated gold and installed to a custom exhaust system featuring twin Black Widow 180 series mufflers. A Flex-a-Lite LS radiator and electric cooling fans are used to cool off on hot days. In order to power the modern engine and accessories, the FAST XFI and XIM modules were mounted in the glove box using Ironworks Speed & Kustoms brackets along with the Gear Vendors over/underdrive controller with a Ron Francis Bare Bonz wiring kit powered by a Kinetik HC1800 pro battery. A billet GT-40-style switch panel from Ironworks controls the functions of the engine and accessories next to a set of Dakota Digital VHX gauges and a removable steering wheel. A B&M Racing TH400 automatic with a TCI 2400 convertor and a Gear Vendors over/underdrive transfers power from the engine. The Gear Vendors unit allows the gears to be split and provides more driver control during racing.

For safety reasons, the inside of the cab received a full roll cage and seat harness setup by Brandon Silva at Dynamic Metalwerx. A custom center console to mount the B&M ratchet shifter and Gear Vendors knob was built with bead-rolled panels by Mike Bach and Casey Juarez over at Deluxe Hot Rods. They also tackled the aluminum door panels that feature Lokar handles. Saddling the console is a pair of MasterCraft Safety seats with five-point harnesses to keep you glued to the seat if g-forces aren’t enough. Finally, Heatshield Products Lava heat shielding material helps keep things cooler than cool—ice cold. Then the crew at 714 Motorsports laid down black loop carpeting. To finish things off, R&R Powdercoating cloaked the entire interior in matte black, including the roll cage and dash.

The exterior of the truck was down to not much more than a cab and doors. It started to resemble an old Johnny Cash song with a front end courtesy of a 1968 Classic Industries catalog and a new short bed. The next step was to slick out the sheet metal, including the drip rails, which were replaced with smoothed round bar. To maintain similar but updated styling cues, the door handles were moved back and replaced with a set of Lokar Goolsby billet touch handles and AVS bear claw latches. The system unlocks thanks to a Bluetooth-enabled Viper SmartKey system. Furthering the modernization of the exterior is a set of Truck Lite LED headlights. A flush-fit front windshield and rear window were formed from acrylic by AM Hot Rod Glass to provide optical clarity and safety. The vent windows were cut out in favor of a One-Piece Products setup.

Once all of the metalwork was accomplished, the crew spent countless nights on bodywork. Evercoat Quantum 1 body filler was used to create a smooth finish in preparation for paint at Coast Airbrush. There, Ryno, Tom McWeeney and Cory Saint Clair set about blanketing the canvas in House of Kolor Shimrin 2 Gold and Black.

Sometimes paint concepts change direction and are modified on the fly. Initial plans for glare shield and flat black accents were ditched, and tape was laid out with a wraparound two-tone that follows the hood lines. Custom-mixed gold was laid over black pearl, and to break things up, a Foxy Gold and Blue Blood Red pinstripe was laid out before Kustoms, Inc. added subtle pinstripe designs. The entire truck was bombed in clear and then sent to Line-X where a spray-in bed liner finished the truck off only days before the annual SEMA Show.

A quick buff and shine at Meguiar’s and it was off to SEMA. Buttoning up and dialing in was done once the truck made its debut and returned home.

Foxy Cleopatra blends the classic C-10 platform with modern lines, innovative touches from flush glass to trick door handles, and provides all of the power, handling and safety needed for performance on or off the track. Even better, it looks good doing it. ST

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RUCK

OWNER

Hardkore Performance
1971 Chevrolet C-10 Fullerton, CA

ENGINE

• Shops: Peter Guy Racing Engines/Clovis Machine/PPC Customs
• 6.0L 408-stroker 560-hp LS
• Eagle crankshaft/rods
• Mahle pistons
• Trick Flow camshaft
• Trick Flow aluminum cylinder heads
• PPC Customs valve covers
• FAST intake manifold
• FAST 102mm Big Mouth throttle body
• Spectre air intake
• Lokar throttle cable
• Holley brackets
• Summit racing accessories
• Flex-a-Lite radiator and cooling fans
• Gibson Performance long- tube headers
• Black Widow 180 series mufflers
• FAST XFI and XIM
• Kinetik HC1800 pro battery

TRANSMISSION

• B&M Racing turbo 400
• Gear Vendors over/underdrive
• TCI Auto 2400 convertor
• B&M pro ratchet shifter

SUSPENSION

• Shops: No Limit Engineering/Hardkore Performance
• No Limit Wide Ride front clip
• No Limit short-bed conversion
• No Limit rear Fat Bar 4-link
• No Limit ZG spindles
• Ridetech coil-over shocks
• Currie Enterprises 9-inch rearend
• Eaton Truetrac 4.11:1 gears
• Energy Suspension bushings
• Anti-sway bars

BRAKES

• Wilwood 14-inch six-piston front brakes
• Wilwood 13-inch rear brakes
• ABS power brake booster
• Wilwood master cylinder

WHEELS & TIRES

• 18×11-inch Intro ID-301
• 315/30/18 Falken Azenis FK453

BODY & PAINT

• Shops: Hardkore Performance/Coast Airbrush
• Custom drip rails
• Classic Industries 1968 front end
• Slosh Tubz
• Porterbuilt hood hinges
• QuikLatch hood latches
• Totally Stainless fasteners
• Classic Industries bed raised 4 inches
• AM Hot Rod Glass flush windshield and rear window
• Lokar Goolsby billet door handles
• AVS bear claw latches
• Viper SmartKey
• One-Piece Products side window kit
• House of Kolor Shimrin 2 Foxy Gold, Blue Blood Red and Pearl Black Paint
• Truck Lite LED headlights
• Line-X spray-in bed liner
• Meguiar’s detailing

INTERIOR

• Shops: Dynamic Metalwerx/Deluxe Hot Rods/714 Motorsports
• Custom roll cage/seat mounts
• Powder-coated dash and cab
• Ironworks Speed & Kustom billet GT-40 switches
• Dakota Digital VHX gauges
• Lokar pedals
• Lokar Lakester handles
• Custom bead-rolled door panels
• MasterCraft safety seats
• MasterCraft safety five-point harness
• Heatshield Lava
• Black loop carpet
• Ron Francis Wiring
• Ironworks Speed & Kustom computer mounts

Special thanks to: Richard “The Mayor” Ruiz, Kevin “The Stig” Stiles, Tom “Peaches” McWeeney, Chris “Sully” Crisalli, Jordan “Intern #3” Gomez, Tylor “Eddie Haskel” Gomez, Jason “King of Mini- truckers” Mulligan, Rob “Rockin’ Rob” MacGregor, Travis “Porkchop” Noack, Cory “My Nickel” St. Clair, Ryan “Ryno” Templeton, Dave “Maverick” Monnig, Peter “Kiwi” Guy, Anthony “Mijo” Pedregon, Kevin “El Super Tejano” Aguilar, Carmen “Wasssup” Belanger-Martin, Brandon “Coach K” Lillie, Arizona Ice Tea, Mike “Mike Ness” Bach, Marcel “Bobby” Venable, Johnny “Big Hoss”, Mike “Old Man Mike” Sullivan, Matt “Mumbles”, Pin “You Don’t Need to Know my Government Name” Did It, “Squirrely” Bill Speed, Gangsta Rap, Richie Cunningham and Oprah.

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