Fleets Are Neat

The father loves vintage trucks. The son loves vintage Ford Mustangs and Shelby Cobras, especially when he's testing the limits of racing Fords on the apex of a turn or wide open on the straights. Having attended numerous driving schools, including Richard Petty's and schools sponsored by Audi, both father and son enjoy spirited driving.

For 10 years, wife Jean, Al, and Brad Taylor of Frankfort, Illinois, have had what Al likes to call an old truck, a '72 Chevy C10 Fleetside longbed. For several years it was the family's trusted daily driven hauler. For over three years, Rad Rides by Troy in Manteno, Illinois, has transformed the C10 into a special truck that will be used to tow Al and Brad's SCCA or NASA racecar. Fittingly, the Chevy pickup debuted at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Goodguys 12th Annual Lone Star Nationals. At the Lone Star Nationals, the Truck of the Year Early (through '52) and Truck of the Year Late (from '53 through '72) are awarded. The Taylor's truck took home Top Five honors in the late classification.

Nothing less than a frame-off restomod would do for the Taylor's old truck. Troy's crew C-notched the rear framerails and fabricated a custom trans support crossmember. Early Classic Industries 2-inch drop spindles, QA 1 adjustable front shocks, and Air Ride Technologies airbags replaced the stock front suspension. The 3.73:1-geared, original 12-bolt Posi Chevy differential was rebuilt, powdercoated, and installed after the framerails and other suspension items were powdercoated. Air Ride Technologies airbags and Eaton rear shock absorbers give the rearend a smooth ride and an adjustable ride/show height. Within the rear framerails, a Fat Fendered 20-gallon fuel tank was installed.

Since the longbed would be towing several thousand pounds of racecar and trailer, the pickup needed plenty of low-end torque and horsepower. The owners sourced a 350ci GM crate engine and had Troy's crew equip it for go, show, and race weekend tow. A Barry Grant Mighty Demon 750-cfm four-barrel carb with boost control mated perfectly with the Whipple supercharger. For running all the engine's accessories on one serpentine belt, a new accessory drive from Billet Specialties called Tru Trac gave the engine bay a tidy finish. As all the truck's accessories mandated mucho electric power, a MSD billet distributor and a MSD 6BTM ignition box with boost retard were installed. Ceramic-coated Chevy S-10 tubular headers were bolted to the ceramic-coated and custom-welded exhaust system, which they routed through the crossmembers back to Flowmaster Hushpower stainless mufflers. TPI rebuilt a GM 700-R4 trans and enhanced it with a 2,800-stall converter, a remote fan, and a Kugel shifter.

With the drivetrain and chassis better than new, Troy's crew set their sights on the Chevy's exterior. Minor rust was found at the cab's rear corners. The offensive metal was removed and replaced with welded virgin sheetmetal patch panels. Seeking smoothness, they shaved the emblems, marker lights, door handles, and fuel filler. Cleaning up the driprails, bed pockets, tailgate latch, doorjambs and latches, inner fenders, and firewall came next. To reduce the visual mass of the grille, the center bar was painted matte gray to match the engine block and brake booster, and half of the grille was painted red to blend with the body. In preparation for final installation, the '69 NOS grille was smoothed and triple chrome plated. Glasurit Viper Red paint with multiple coats of clear brought the prepared body panels to perfection. For hauling racing gear and tools, they sprayed color-matched SuperLiner, before flush mounting the taillights.

Before handing off the C10 to the upholsterers, Rad Rides by Troy used a M&H harness to wire the restored factory Chevy instruments. Within the sanitary engine bay, they hid every wire from view. The Recovery Room in Omaha replaced the vinyl dash pad with leather dyed tan. They trimmed the TEA's Design seat in leather, as well as the door panel inserts and headliner.

The Taylor's old truck left the Recovery Room in time to make it to the Texas Truck Step at the Lone Star Nats. Alas, the old truck name no longer applies. Soon, Rad Rides by Troy will be painting the new name and logo on the Viper Red hot-rod hauler. Since the Chevy C10's trim package was originally a Cheyenne Special, it has been renamed the Cayenne. For its Viper hot paintwork and high-performance engine, a cayenne pepper logo will brand the all-new vintage hauler. We can't wait to see the Taylors towing a Factory Five Cobra spec racer behind Cayenne. The only thing hotter, cooler, or fresher would be seeing Brad's Cobra carving up the corners at the local racetrack.