Low and short to some folks mean two different things. For David Neal of Peoria, Illinois, low and short meant the stature and stance of his dare-to- be-different '68 Chevy C10 pickup he named "Shortie". David purchased the truck in 2001 for 800 bucks. Throughout David's glory days of high school he constantly reminded his buddies one day he would build a custom truck. His goal was to create a truck that would make an impression in the cool truck world, earning respect at shows and on the boulevard. His C10 had been an ongoing project for the past nine years. It was finally finished the Wednesday prior to this year's Goodguys Show in Columbus, Ohio, where it debuted. The truck was worked on during the weekends in David's garage with the help of his buddies Tim Strange, Andy Cook, Shane Souba, and Shawn Ray.
Power comes from a 2001 5.3L Vortec cast-iron block with a pair of aluminum cylinder heads. An Edelbrock Performer intake manifold and Edelbrock 650-cfm carburetor were bolted between the cylinder heads. An LS6 Comp Cams camshaft, pushrods, lifters, valves, rockers, and springs replaced the worn factory components to give Shortie more snap. A pair of Edelbrock ceramic-coated headers collect into a 21/2-inch custom exhaust system bent and welded by David. The exhaust flows into a pair of Flowmaster 40 series mufflers. The 2001 4L60E automatic transmission, with an extended Jenny shifter, is used to select the gears.
David can proudly say he performed all of the frame and suspension mods himself. He boxed the factory framerails using 3/16-inch thick plate. Then he C-notched the rear rails to allow the three-linked, cantilevered Air Lift rear suspension ample vertical travel. The C10 was body-dropped by cutting out 21/2 inches of the framerail under the cab that was reinforced by inserting 2x4-inch rectangular tubing. The cab floor remained in its factory stock location and the trans tunnel was raised 21/2 inches. The GM 12-bolt rearend was stuffed with 3.73 gears. Stopping power comes from CPP 12-inch front rotors and four-piston calipers up front and drums in the rear. A CPP master cylinder is responsible for dispersing brake fluid to each corner. Shortie rolls on a set of Centerline Ultra Smoothies 22x9-inch up front and 24x10-inch polished billet aluminum spinning spools in the rear. The wheel hoop lips were masked off, then the wheel centers and hoops were painted white. After the centers and hoops were painted, the masking tape was removed from the hoop lips simulating '69 Camaro polished beauty rings. A set of four '69 Camaro dog dish hubcaps were then secured to the wheel centers. The C10's vertical athleticism was performed by an Air Lift 27c pneumatic 'bag system fed by two Viair compressors into a five-gallon air tank. When Shortie's 'bags are purged the wheels tuck up deep into the wheel wells as it settles onto the earth's crust.
The front rolls on a pair...
The front rolls on a pair of Centerline Ultra Smoothies wheels sized 22x9 inches and the rear wheels are large 24x10-inch examples. The Ultra Smoothie Centerline wheel hoops were masked off and painted white, simulating polished beauty rims.
A pair of '03 Jeep Liberty...
A pair of '03 Jeep Liberty headlights, flank the Early Classic amber turn indicators. The '68 front bumper was cut, narrowed, and smoothed for a better fit, and appearance. The '68 grille headlight bezels were filled and smoothed to accommodate the frenched '03 Jeep Liberty crystalline headlights.
Under the hood is a '01 5.3L...
Under the hood is a '01 5.3L Vortec powerplant that received an Edelbrock intake manifold and Edelbrock 650-cfm carburetor bolted between the factory aluminum cylinder heads.