This 1972 Chevy Restomod C-10 Packs a Punch

LOT OF CUSTOM truck enthusiasts tend to wax pretty nostalgic about our high school years when life was simpler and cool, and budget rides were plentiful. Brian Vowell from Mesa, Arizona is like that. He had a number of C-10s throughout his high school glory days, back when they weren’t considered as cool as they are today. Brian and his buddies would build their dream rides, prioritizing what was under the hood. For them it was all about makin’ horsepower; the exterior, interior, wheels and tires weren’t given too much thought.

Flash forward to adulthood, while attending a Goodguys show, Brian was strolling through the swap meet looking for hard-to-find treasures when he noticed a gray primered ’72 Chevy step side. After checking it out and consulting with the owner, they shook hands on a deal, the first step in the two- year process of busting his knuckles spinning wrenches with his buddies in his two-car garage to create Dreamsicle.

First, he modified the stock frame by boxing the rails. Next, he contacted Nate Porter, owner of Porterbuit Fab in Phoenix, and they decided to install a Porterbuilt Stage 1 Kit, which uses the factory front upper and lower control arms to sandwich a pair of 2-inch dropped spindles. The factory steel coil springs were replaced with the kit’s pneumatic ’bag upper brackets and lower air spring cup attached to the factory cross member to accommodate the kit’s Airlift Dominator ’bags. Shock relocator brackets for the kit’s KYB shocks and all of the Grade 8 mounting hardware are also included in the kit.

For the rear, the Porterbuilt crew used the factory trailing arms and installed a Porterbuilt Stage 1 Rear Kit that includes upper air spring mounting cups, lower air spring mounting plates to replace the factory coil spring, upper and lower shock relocator brackets, a pair of Airlift Dominator pneumatic ’bags, KYB shocks and Grade 8 mounting hardware. Stopping power comes from the factory front disc brakes and rear drum brakes assisted by a new CPP master brake cylinder and CPP power brake booster. Dreamsicle rolls on a set of Boss 338 front 20×8.5 and rear 20×10 wrapped in Federal Couragia S/U front 255/45-20 and rear 295/40-20 rubber.

After all is said and done, Brian’s ’72 Chevy C-10 is an example of home-built perfection.

To guarantee reliable horsepower, Brian had Phil and Randi Gaeta at PRK Automotive in Mesa machine the factory 5.3L block and port and polish the cylinder heads with an all-new valvetrain. A set of new JE flat- top pistons bored .120 over 3.905-inch diameter give it a little lope. PRK inserted a Howard mild camshaft with new lifters, pushrods, valves, springs, retainers and rocker arms. A pair of ProForm polished, smooth valve covers replace the factory versions, and the coil packs were relocated behind the cylinder heads. Fresh air is filtered through a K&N air filter and custom PRK polished aluminum air intake tube that delivers air into the throttle body and GM LS1 polished intake manifold. A Holley EFI system delivers fuel. A set of clean Dirty Dingo Motorsports pulleys and brackets was installed. The MSD 8.8 ignition wires were hidden by running them under the Hooker shorty headers, which are collected into a 3-inch-diameter,  ceramic-coated exhaust system tamed by a pair of dual-chamber Flowmaster mufflers. A factory 4L65E automatic transmission was rebuilt with all new internal components, and when everything was finished, the enhanced 5.7L V-8 produced 360 hp to the rear wheels.

When Brian purchased his C-10 it came with a step side bed. He swapped it out for a more stylish fleetside. Keith Boeldt helped out with some of the cool body modifications, which included hiding the gas filler behind the driver’s rear side-marker light. To add both style and function, a Dynacorn steel 2-inch cowl hood was installed. The truck was delivered to Copperstate Collision where the sheet metal was attended to, then sprayed with a couple of coats of sanding primer followed by block sanding to make the body straight and smooth. Larry Birmingham at Copperstate applied the Dreamsicle paint scheme, using PPF Urethane Pearl Orange and Pure White before burying them in multiple coats of PPG Urethane Clear. Given ample curing time in the hot Arizona sun, the clear was cut, buffed and polished to a glistening shine.

Because Brian still uses his C-10 to chase and haul parts, he wanted to protect the inner bed panels and tailgate surfaces, so he had them coated with black Rhino Lining, and then had the bed’s wooden floor planks layered with brown Rhino coating. For a custom look on the leading edge, a Brothers billet aluminum grille was installed, flanked by a pair of Brothers Euro crystal headlights. Brian hooked up with his buddy Tom Korinek at Truckin’ Krazy in Mesa to replace the old side moldings, trim, mirrors, door handles and wiper arms with new pieces that keep the C-10 looking original. The original front and rear bumpers had seen better days, so they were replaced with new versions from Brothers. A pair of United Pacific LED taillight assemblies was also installed.

Brian was dead set on maintaining a factory look, so he took his C-10 to Guy Tieman, owner of Guys Upholstery in Mesa, for new interior cowhide. Guy applied new foam with high side bolsters and modified the center buddy seat fold-down center armrest with a pair of cup holders and a pocket with flap to house the AccuAir e-Level controller. The seats were covered in brown leather with light brown leather inserts. After laying down Dynamat sound-deadening material, black pile carpet was installed. The door panels were also covered with two-tone brown/light brown leather and black carpet. A custom headliner insert and sun visors were covered in matching two-tone brown/light brown leather. A custom brown leather padded dash adds appeal. A Brothers instrument cluster is filled with Brothers gauges. The ididit chrome steering column was capped with a GM four-spoke replacement steering wheel from Brothers. A Lokar throttle pedal assembly and pedal pads finish off the new factory interior. Vintage Air was installed to provide seasonal creature comfort. To provide road trip entertainment Brian replaced the factory AM radio with a Custom Auto Sound retro-style head unit/radio in the dash that was plugged into a pair of speakers and two 8-inch subwoofers located under the bucket seats. After all is said and done, Brian’s ’72 Chevy C-10 is an example of home-built perfection.

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BUILD SPECS

OWNER

Brian Vowell
1972 Chevrolet C-10
Mesa, Arizona

ENGINE

• Builder: PRK, Mesa, AZ, Phil and Randi Gaeta
• 2004 GM LS engine 5.3L V-8 machined to 5.7L
• J&E flat-top pistons bored .120 over 3.905-inch diameter
• Howard camshaft
• Stock ported and polished cylinder heads
• ProForm smoothed and polished valve covers with coil packs relocated behind the cylinder heads
• LS1 polished intake manifold
• PRK custom cold-air intake
• Dirty Dingo alternator
• Hooker short, ceramic- coated headers
• Custom 3-inch exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers
• Aluminum radiator
• Spal dual electric cooling fans
• Suburban gas tank mounted in the rear
• Optima red top battery

SUSPENSION

• Factory frame rails boxed and smoothed
• Porterbuilt Fab stage one front kit with factory control arms
• 2-inch drop spindles
• Factory rear trailing arms Porterbuilt Fab stage one rear kit
• Front and rear airbags
• Accuair e-Level
• CPP chrome brake booster

WHEELS

• 20×8.5 and 20×10 Boss 338
• 255/45-20 and 295/40-20 Federal Couragia S/U

BODY & PAINT

• Bodywork: Brian and Keith Boeldt
• LMC 2-inch cowl induction hood
• Brothers 1972 Chevy billet aluminum grille insert
• Stock rechromed bumpers
• Wood bed floor Rhino lined
• United Pacific LED taillights
• Brothers crystal headlights
• Molding and trim by Truckin’ Krazy
• Brothers one-piece side windows
• Fuel door hidden behind a side marker on the driver’s side rear
• PPG Pear Orange and White paint
• Shop: Copperstate Collision Mesa, AZ
• Painter: Larry Birmingham

INTERIOR

• Shop: Guy’s Upholstery Mesa, AZ
• Bucket seats covered in dark brown ultraleather with light brown tuck ‘n’ roll inserts and French stitching
• Door and kick panels covered in ultra dark brown leather, light brown inserts
• Classic Instruments gauges
• Stock GM four-spoke steering wheel
• Ididit tilt steering tilt column
• Billet Specialties door handles
• Vintage Air AC
• Lokar pedals
• Custom Auto Sound headunit
• Two 8-inch subwoofers under seats

SPECIAL THANKS FROM OWNER: Brian would like to thank a lot of people who helped with the build, especially Keith Boeldt for the awesome bodywork, Nate Porter for all of the help with the suspension and Phil and Randi Gaeta at PRK Automotive for machining and assembling the LS engine.

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