One Fast ’68 C-10 Bucket

In 2000, while a senior in high school, Kevin and his mom went on a vacation in Mississippi. They were traveling on an old two-lane country road when his mom said, “Look there’s one,” an old crusty ‘68 Chevy C-10 pickup sitting along side a house. It was Kevin’s favorite style of pickup, and he’d always wanted one. So they drove up to the house and Kevin inquired about the truck being for sale. It’s one thing to find a treasure, but sometimes it’s another matter entirely to get the title. Well, it was Kevin’s lucky day. The owner said he would sell it for 600 bucks, and Kevin had himself a deal, so they shook on it. Kevin told him that he would be back for it in a couple of weeks; they were 16 hours from home after all. Once he got home, Kevin told his dad about his new-found treasure in Mississippi, and that they needed to go back and pick it up. Not letting his son down, Kevin’s dad George hooked up the trailer and made the 16-hour trip back to the old man’s place. When they pulled into the driveway and Kevin’s dad saw the truck he said, “What in the hell have you got me into?” After making a 16-hour trip with a trailer he figured he wasn’t about to go all the way home empty. So Kevin exchanged six Benjamins for the pink slip and they loaded the truck and began the tow home. Kevin had never built a custom car or truck before, but he had helped build a couple of race cars with his dad and uncle. Needless to say, this would be a learning experience. His senior year of high school he stripped the truck down to the bare frame in his mom and dad’s garage. After that “Trusty” sat for four years.

When Kevin was finally roused to continue his build of Trusty, they moved it over to his brother Aaron and sister in law Mindy’s garage. It was there that Kevin, dad George, brother Aaron, uncle Gerald and friends John and Jason began by removing the engine and transmission from the frame. It was supported with jack stands, and the suspension was removed, stripping it down to bare frame rails and cross members. After removing some of the frame cross members, the frame rails were boxed using 3/16 inch plate for added strength and rigidity.

Kevin always wanted a low slung cruiser style truck that hauled ass. They started in the rear by rebuilding the ’68 GM 12 bolt rearend with 3.73 gears and a Detroit Locker with Dutchman Motorsports 31 splined axles. Stopping power comes from a pair of Wilwood 13 inch rotors and six piston calipers. Factory truck trailing arms anchor the rearend housing, and a panhard bar eliminates the lateral side slip. The rear body roll was flattened out by installing a beefy CPP (Classic Performance Products) 1 inch diameter rear sway bar. A 22 gallon fuel tank was located between the rear frame rails under the raised bed floor. The Optima battery was also located under the bed floor. The rear frame rails were step notched to allow the Ride Tech Cool Ride pneumatic suspension and double adjustable shocks more negative suspension travel. The front suspension was handled with a set of Ride Tech tubular upper and lower control arms sandwiching a pair of CPP 2 inch dropped spindles. Ride Tech Cool Ride airbags were installed along with a pair of double adjustable shocks to allow the front end to lay low. A pair of Wilwood 13 inch cross drilled ball milled and vented rotors and six piston calipers stop the front end’s rotating mass. A stout No Limit Engineering rack and pinion power steering rack directs the lateral direction of the Bapst Rod Shop beast. Ol’ Trusty rolls on a set of Rushforth Rated X flat black aluminum 20 x 8.5 front and 20 x 10 rear wheels that are covered in Nitto NT05 255/30R 20 front and 315/35 20 rear rubber.

The original Chevy 283 ci engine was extracted from the frame rails and replaced with a completely rebuilt Chevy 400 ci with four bolt mains. The engine was sent over to Cropper Racing Engines in Flemingsburg, Kentucky, where the engine block was disassembled, cleaned and machined over to a 406 ci block. After retrieving the engine, he and his dad assembled it back at the shop. A new Eagle steel crank was laid into the bottom of the block with a set of Eagle 6 inch rods with JE pistons and Total Seal rings. A Moroso oil pump was bolted in place then covered with a Moroso oil pan. A healthy Comp Cams camshaft was inserted with Comp Cams double roller timing chain. Comp Cams hydraulic lifters and push rods were installed with a pair of Brodix aluminum cylinder heads with 2.02 intake and 1.60 exhaust valves and double valve springs. The heads are covered with a pair of Cropper Racing aluminum valve covers with Moroso breathers. The aspiration was based with a Team G aluminum intake manifold capped with a Race Demon 750 cfm carburetor. A GM Performance one wire alternator supplies the electrical juices to the MSD ignition coil, MSD Pro Billet distributor and Moroso ignition wires. A set of March aluminum pulleys, direct the Gates belts. The throaty sound was acquired by a pair of Dynatech, 3 inch diameter long tube headers that collect and flow into a 3 inch exhaust and a pair of Flowmaster Super 44 mufflers. A 1992 Chevy 700R4 automatic transmission was totally rebuilt by the team at Skinner Racing Transmissions, in Chillicothe, Ohio, who installed all of the good stuff, including a TCI manual valve body and a TCI shift kit. The stock torque converter has a 1,7000 rpm stall speed. A Coleman Racing aluminum 3 inch diameter driveshaft links the transmission to the GM 12 bolt rearend.

As you can see, Trusty’s exterior was left in its ’68 original tarnished light blue patina finish. The only things that are not stock are the home built hood hinges, which Kevin fabricated and installed. The raised bed floor and wheel wells were carved out of rough cut oak planks. The old skool BAPST ROD SHOP door logos were laid out, painted and striped by Dan Shaw at Shaw Signs in Jackson, Ohio.

The interior features a pair of custom aluminum bucket seats with tan burlap covers. The floor was covered in black lizard skin. The stock dash and gauge cluster were left alone. A very cool Joe’s Racing drilled steering wheel gives Kevin something to grip while thrashing through a tight autocross course. A Simpson safety harness and lap belt keep Kevin planted in the seat.

This project is ongoing. Kevin and crew plan on building a complete tube frame with a state of the art autocross suspension to go under Trusty, making it a serious cone killer. As this feature was written, Kevin was recuperating from major back surgery caused by a rollover accident years ago. Good luck on your recuperation. ST

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KEVIN BAPST
1968 CHEVROLET C-10
JACKSON, OH

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