When it comes to customizing, sometimes you can't help but show a little restraint in your approach. For instance, if you bought a '62 Chevy Impala with a dual-quad 409 or a '70 Hemi 'Cuda, you'd be a fool to want to replace that particular motor with something else. You'd either keep that famous engine and make modifications around it, or (if you couldn't resist an engine change) sell the car to someone else and start over with a new project.
Eric Corwin is one of those guys who knows when to concede to his better judgment when it comes to customizing. Although he started off looking for a shortbed, when he found a fully optioned '72 Cheyenne longbed a few years ago several states away, a voice inside told him he'd found quite a gem. The truck sported all the cool features: a big-block 402, rare tilt column, 12-bolt Posi rearend, Turbo 400 tranny, A/C, power steering, power brakes, and bucket seats with a center console just to name a few. (And it was the last year before the metal-to-plastic ratio started changing for the worse.) With a list of gadgets to rival any James Bond movie, Eric struck while the iron was hot and purchased it the same day he found it ... sight unseen.
Eric started ordering parts before he even took delivery of the '72. When it showed up, it was about 75 percent original condition and Eric took the helm to take care of the flaws. The original intention was to get it 100 percent OE original, with a few touches to suit Eric's personal taste. A unique dealer-installed option you'll find is a radiator overflow. The one the truck came with was cracked and after tireless searching, Eric weeded through countless people trying to sell him a windshield washer bottle and bracket to find the correct setup. The 402 was rebuilt to OE specs, but the decision was made to switch to a more user-friendly trans. The stock Turbo 400 and 3.73 rear weren't exactly conducive to highway cruising or good gas mileage, so Eric opted for a Gearstar 700-R4 and had the two-piece driveshaft shortened to be fit. The guys at Gearstar helped him make the necessary adjustments to get it to work with the stock Quadrajet carburetor.
The non-stock mods, albeit subtle, really bridge the gap between custom and stock. The truck sits on 18-inch Cragars in the front and 20s in the rear. There were no problems fitting the rear wheels in with the 6-inch drop in the rear, but the same couldn't be said for the front. The wheels only come with one offset, so to make them work with the 4-inch drop springs and 2-inch drop spindles by Early Classics, a little wiggle room had to be created. The A-arms had to be notched a little and a small portion of the rotor cone had to be removed to balance everything out.
As for bodywork, everything is essentially a nod to the original trim, with the exception that Eric made it laser-straight (which couldn't be said for how the trim looked when it rolled out of the factory). Another not-so-obvious improvement is the bed wood. The original and aftermarket bed wood was colored to be relatively similar to the factory Hawaiian Blue and White paint scheme, but even Eric's daughter recognized that it wasn't even close enough for government work. After perusing some local marinas, Eric found a mix that was a near-perfect match. The improvement is a constant attention getter at shows to enthusiasts who can see that it's better than original.
No matter how you classify it: modified stock, mild custom, or as Eric calls it, "original, but even cooler," there's no denying the best details of this truck haven't been sacrificed. And by that same token, the changes that have been made punctuate the cool factor this '72 was born with.