It's a Driver!

With a new engine and suspension, HOT ROD’s C10 project truck is back on the road! See how it happened.

- JOHN MCGANN

It’s been a long time coming, but our 1967 Chevy C10 project vehicle is back on the road after a two year hiatus. What started as a simple suspension change took more time than we anticipated, and that’s something nearly anyone reading this can understand. Along the way, we encountered many more obstacles, such as broken valve springs, supply chain delays, sunken carburetor floats, and wanton engine destruction. Let’s try to summarize the last couple years in the life of Project Truck Norris.

01 While we call it a simple suspension change, this was still major surgery to the truck. Total Cost Involved provided the components for our coilover conversion, and as such, the entire front suspension, including the engine crossmember, went away. The same was true for the rear suspension, with the stock trailing arms and Panhard bar arrangement replaced with tubular trailing arms, a torque arm, and new full-width Panhard bar. Coilovers replaced the stock coil springs and shocks at all four corners, and the steering gearbox was replaced with a new rack-and-pinion unit.

02 The easiest way to accomplish the work was to remove most of the truck’s body, starting with the front clip, plus the engine and transmission. Likewise, the bed was removed for easier access to the rear suspension components.

03 In a moment of inspiration, I used a block and tackle to lift the bed from the body. It would dangle from my ceiling like the Sword of Damocles for almost two years.