Mike Baldwin’s 1967 Chevy C-10

Growing up, Mike Baldwin always liked cars. When he was a kid there were plenty of makes and models that could turn his head. However, not many stayed with him like a certain truck a coworker owned back in his high school days, a ’67 Chevy C-10. Something about the simplicity of that truck always resonated with Mike. As the years went by, Mike built and owned many different vehicles worth discussing, yet that C-10 was always lurking at the back of his mind. Fast-forward 20 years to October 2015, when Mike got the chance to buy a ’67 C-10 of his very own and grabbed it.

After many hours of bodywork to smooth the exterior,  custom white was mixed up and laid across the C-10’s skin.” 

Having multiple builds under his belt and working with Jeremy at Tre 5 Customs on the past few, Mike wasn’t new to the process. Since Tre 5’s schedule was loaded for the foreseeable future, the crew ordered and collected a sizable amount of parts for Mike’s truck before it even entered the Peoria, Arizona, shop. Having a large parts collection in hand, Mike and the Tre 5 crew were confident and relaxed about the direction the build was headed, until they got a phone call from All American Billet. All American had a proposition to make, and a few minutes later it was official: Mike Baldwin’s barely begun C-10 project was going to be at SEMA 2016. After the excitement settled down, reality set in. They had a six-month timeline to finish the build from the ground floor to perfection.

SEMA is by far one of the largest auto events in the continental U.S. With upwards of 60,000 people attending the show each year, and a massive amount of media coverage, it’s easy to see why Mike wanted to make sure every detail of the truck was perfect. The Tre 5 Customs crew had their work cut out for them.

Work began with modifying the chassis with Choppin’ Block front and rear suspension kits. New body mounts from Choppin’ Block were also used to lower the cab an additional ¾ inch and lay the pinch molding flat on the ground when the Slam Specialties airbags were deflated. Since the truck was originally a long bed, Tre 5 Customs called on Kyle at C10 Acres to shorten the bedsides. Once that job was done, a completely new frame was built for the bed to raise the custom-cut wood bed floor over the new chassis. Since the rear wheels are 12 inches wide, the factory wheel tubs in the bed were widened to conceal the massive tires. Custom side and front panels were also constructed to enhance the appearance inside the bed. Under the hood, a set of Slosh Tubz covers the tires, and firewall panels and fender-filler pieces from Slosh Tubz were used to clean things up.

As the build came together, so did the plans for the built 5.3L LS engine that would call the ’67 C-10 home. Complete with COMP camshaft, lifters, pushrods, springs, rockers and more, this was no stock LS engine. Add that to the billet aluminum pulley setup from their booth sponsor, All American Billet, and the engine took shape before they knew it. A custom 3-inch dual stainless steel exhaust was fabricated to run from the Holley headers, through two Black Widow mufflers before exiting via custom-built stainless exhaust tips located in the bedsides just in front of the wheel wells. The engine compartment also received some additional touches to keep the look clean. One-off valve covers, custom aluminum radiator hoses, billet reservoirs for the coolant and the power steering, and a custom-fabricated intake tube complete the sanitary engine compartment.

Although they struggled to make a choice, Mike and Jeremy ultimately selected a set of 22-inch staggered Intro Lince wheels. The polished barrels and transparent copper powder-coat added to the wheel faces creates a look like no other C-10 on the road, much less the SEMA floor.

When it was time for paint, Tre 5 sent the truck two doors down to the team at Ikandy Paintworks. After many hours of bodywork to smooth the exterior, custom white was mixed up and laid across the C-10’s skin. Since Tre 5 Customs and Ikandy Paintworks are used to working together, they coordinated removing the chassis’ sheet metal before the color was applied, which made it possible to powder-coat and paint the chassis and components while the sheet metal received some final bodywork off of the chassis. Once the white was sprayed, one-off copper paint was mixed and laid over the top of the cab for a pop of color. As fans of the unique touch, Ikandy not only painted the roof of the cab copper, but also brought the color into the interior. Then the entire truck was reassembled.

Mike’s C-10 headed back to Tre 5 to be plumbed and wired. Using parts from Aeromotive, Russell and Summit, the fuel lines were plumbed to the engine from the custom-built aluminum gas tank located behind the axle. A Painless Performance universal wiring harness and push-button start took care of the body wiring, while a custom-built engine and transmission harness from Modern Vintage Systems was used to communicate with the drivetrain.

All that was left to do at that point was install the interior. With the truck running and driving, it headed over to Steve Yiu at Definitive Audio. After applying Silent Coat sound-deadening material throughout the cab, Steve spent countless hours fabricating the kick panels, center console and enclosure behind the seat to house the high-quality Power Bass stereo setup. The door panels, bench seat, dash pad and sun visors from TMI Products were also installed, along with the custom-molded Bentley-style carpet. TMI also supplied matching material to wrap the custom pieces that Steve had built. Once the interior was finished, the truck was officially complete and headed off to Las Vegas for SEMA. Compadre was successfully built in just six months; years worth of quality work was packed into just 24 weeks.

“Compadre was successfully built in just six months; years worth of quality work was packed into just 24 weeks.”

Mike Baldwin wants to thank everyone involved in this build for their countless hours of labor, sleepless nights, skipped meals and red-eyed mornings. Special thanks go to Jeremy and Hector at Tre 5 Customs, Frank and his team at Ikandy Paintworks, Steve at Definitive Audio, and Shane and Brad at All American Billet for working with him and hosting the truck in their SEMA booth. Thanks also to Shawn and the guys at Trend Auto; Charles and Jason at Pro Dyno; Erik at PowerBass; Waylon at TMI Products; Jaime at Brothers Truck Parts; Derek at Precision Replacement Parts; and Brad, James and Kyle at Select Glass. Finally and most importantly, the biggest and most heartfelt thank you goes to his wife and kids for understanding his vehicle addiction.

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BUILD SPECS

OWNER

Mike Baldwin
1967 Chevrolet C-10
Frisco, TX

Engine

• Shop: Pro Dyno and Tre 5 Customs
• 2005 Chevrolet 5.3L LS-based V-8
• 340 hp with 330 ft-lbs of torque
• Fully rebuilt and machined block and heads
• COMP Cams camshaft, lifters and springs
• All American Billet serpentine belt pulley system
• Griffin radiator with dual electric fans
• Choppin’ Block motor mounts
• Professional Products polished Typhoon intake manifold
• Griffin cooling fans
• Spectre Performance universal 4-inch aluminum tubing for custom-built intake by Tre 5 Customs
• Custom sheet-metal valve covers
• Custom aluminum radiator hoses
• Modern Vintage custom wire harness
• Engine painted copper
• Holley LS swap headers
• Summit Racing 3-inch stainless mandrel bends
• Custom routing and custom exhaust tips
• Custom bedside exhaust exit
• Black Widow 3-inch Venom mufflers
• 2005 Chevrolet 4L60E automatic transmission
• B&M 2600 stall converter
• Custom two-piece steel driveshaft
• Transmission painted copper

Chassis & Suspension

• Shop: Tre 5 Customs
• Fully painted and powder-coated frame
• Custom-built aluminum fuel tank
• GM 12-bolt truck axle
• Narrowed and fully rebuilt rear axle housing
• Moser axles
• Auburn limited slip differential
• Richmond 3.73:1 gears
• Choppin’ Block back half kit
• VIAIR dual 444cc compressors
• Designed to lay frame
• Choppin’ Block front cross member and control arms
• Slam Specialties SS7 ’bags
• McGaughy’s drop spindles
• KYB front shocks
• Pro Performance C-10 front brake kit
• Custom air tank mounts
• Custom fuel tank mounts
• Choppin’ Block battery mount
• KYB rear shocks
• Slam Specialties SS7 ’bags
• Choppin’ Block triangulated 4-link
• Pro Performance C-10 rear brake kit

Wheels & Tires

• 22×8.5 and 22×12 Intro Lince Wheels with polished barrels and transparent copper powder-coat over polished faces
• 265/30R22 and 335/25R22 Pirelli tires

Body & Paint

• Shop: Tre 5 customs
• ¾-inch body drop with Choppin’ Block cab mounts to lay pinch molding
• Brothers Truck Parts smooth front and rear bumpers
• Shortened bedsides
• Custom-built oak bed floor with raised frame to clear chassis
• Shaved key holes, shaved emblems and shaved gas filler
• Stock grille
• Relocated gas filler to bed floor
• LED taillights
• JW Speaker 7-inch LED headlights
• Precision Replacement Parts gaskets, seals, glass and weatherstrip
• Windshield, door glass and rear window installed by Select Glass
• Createx Colors paint
• Custom-mixed white main body color
• Custom-mixed copper color for roof
• Paint and body by Ikandy Paintworks

Interior & Stereo

• Shop: Definitive Audio
• Vinyl and hound’s-tooth
• TMI Products bench seat, dash panel, door panels and sun visors
• Brothers Truck Parts seat belts
• Bentley carpet
• Custom-built headliner
• Polished billet steering wheel with powder-coated accents
• Slam Specialties MC.1 controller for air suspension
• AVS dual needle air gauges
• Custom-built console to house suspension controller and air gauges
• All American Billet pop-out cup holders
• All American Billet door handles and window cranks
• Pioneer head unit
• 6.5-inch Powerbass components in custom-built kick panels
• Two 10-inch shallow-mount Powerbass subwoofers behind front seat
• Five-channel Powerbass amplifier
• Silent Coat sound- deadening material throughout cab
• Powerbass wiring
• Two Optima batteries with cutoff switches and jumper terminals

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