Old trucks are interesting because of their decorative front ends with creative headlight designs and chrome bumpers. Right about when Ford was coming out with the Mustang, GMC was producing this C10 Stepside truck, which is just as much a part of custom car culture.
The slammed 1964 GMC C10 Stepside before us was created by Sharpe Automotive, a repair shop from California that deals with all kinds of vehicles, especially trucks. At the very core of this build is the extreme chassis they got from Choppin’ Block Chassis Products. By the look of things, this is the CBC Pro Extreme Ari Ride Chassis.
This C10 chassis is designed to fit 1960-72 models. It starts from around $8,500 and can be configured in a number of ways. Without its special notched rear end, it would be impossible to bring this GMC all the way to the ground.
The Choppin’ Block Chassis can be ordered for any number of popular engine swaps. In this case, it’s been matched to an LS3 that comes with custom heads. It’s nothing too crazy, but the fabrication under the hood is nice, and 500 horsepower is more than you’ll ever need on a low-riding truck like this. A GM 6-speed automatic (column shifter) sends power to the narrower 9-inch rear end. Because of the airbag suspension, that axle pushes itself all the way into the notched frame, next to a custom fuel cell.
After the crash incident last year, every AutotopiaLA fan now wants to know about the brakes and this C10 has 12-inch Wilwood discs in the front with 11s in the back. She’ll stop… and it’s not the kind of rig that gets driven hard.
For wheels, this has something really common but also really nice from within the low-rider community: 20-inch “Steelies” aka Detroit Steel Wheels. They’re not actual steelies, just completely flat alloys with a polished deep lip and a cream paint finish that’s matched to the chassis.
Also notice the white wall tires. The body color, believe it or not, is Toyota Shoreline Blue, which you might find on a slightly older model year of Sienna, Sequoia, or 4Runner. She’s got some modern touches too, like speakers, a roll-down rear window and Dakota Digital Gauges for the C10. It’s hard to believe that 30 years ago, this was a real farm truck with some real farm patina.
Despite the level of absurd craftsmanship that went into the piping for the air suspension, the brake lines, or the fuel, the owner likes to drive this as often as possible. And we don’t blame him, especially when the air suspension is pretty comfortable even when lowered.
