They say true beauty is inner beauty. Is that the truth? We don't know. This is CCT, not Askjeeves.com, Answers.com, or that whacked out loon Miss Cleo lady. However, we do know one thing: When it comes to building a custom classic truck one has to believe in that old clich, because oftentimes the carcass started with is exactly that--a rotten, decrepit, rusty carcass. For someone like Steve Locklin, he's just one of the many who follow the faith of inner beauty.
A few years back Steve's dad and his dad's right-hand man, Brad Black, rounded up this '70 Chevy truck as a quick turn-and-burn sell. Upon seeing it, Steve saw something in the multi-colored, pieced-together Chevy that intrigued him--despite what others thought, mainly his girlfriend, Danielle! Long story short, the minute the truck was off the hauler his name was on the title. Originally, Steve planned on touching things up here and there, slapping on a quickie paintjob, and then he'd be off cruising the long summer nights in a bitchin' truck. But the deeper he got into the Chevy, the more he realized it was going to be an all-or-nothing buildup.
When the truck was stripped down Steve, with some help from Brad Black, first set off to achieve the stance he was after. As he got to looking around he noticed the previous owner's method of lowering the front suspension was rather interesting, to say the least. The owner had cut a hole in each of the front lower A-arms and welded in a bucket that hung below the A-arm. From there the spring just sat in the bucket bouncing around.
Not too keen on the backyard engineering, Steve replaced the A-arms and then went about lowering the front of the truck in a more conventional way. He installed Early Classic 2-inch drop spindles and drop springs with KYB shocks. In the rear, Steve lowered the truck with a set of Early Classic drop springs and a pair of custom-made blocks he worked up. He also C-notched the frame in the rear to bring things down as far as possible, and installed a pair of coilover shocks. Powering the truck is a '91 454 that has been bored, blueprinted, and balanced by Pranzos Auto Service. To increase the giddyup factor the heads have been milled and ported, and a Weiand intake manifold with fuel injection was installed. Along with that, a Crane camshaft and an MSD ignition add life to the motor as well. Matching performance with looks is a March Ultra Drive serpentine system with a matching air cleaner. Transferring power to the 12-bolt rearend is a stout Turbo 350.