PROJECT RAVEN
Detailing Our Plan of Attack on This 1965 Chevy C10
UNREACHABLE STANDARDS AND UNREALISTIC “BUDGET” BUILDS HAVE disconnected some media companies from their general audience over the past years, which can upset some loyal readers and supporters. To connect with the every-man, we feel it’s far more important to set reachable goals and affordable budgets on our project trucks so you all can be motivated to finally order those parts and start wrenching on yours.
This year’s C10 project is called “The Raven” as it will be a daily-driven intimidation machine, capable of consistent use with enough peddle power to soar down the streets.
A 1965 Chevrolet is not the most common year to restore and modify, but the style of the hood and those hips had us hooked. Along with the simplicity of the suspension and drivetrain comes a long line of aftermarket parts from many of the incredible manufacturers that advertise with us. From pricey frame swaps to simple lowering kits, almost anything is available for these classic trucks. It’s no wonder that the C10 community is so strong and knowledgeable.
The plan for this pickup is simple: a budget of $15,000 and using nothing but bolt-on, factory replacement parts that you can order yourself and install, if you have the time and tools, of course. I know this may be out of budget for some readers, but to build a truly reliable daily-driven classic truck, there is a price to pay. On this build we will be testing out Classic Performance Products’ all new Totally Tubular control arms and coilovers for a static yet adjustable suspension in the front and rear. Along with the new suspension will be upgraded hydraulic brake assist with 13-inch rotors and hydro-boost, also from Classic Performance Products. The truck already has a rough-running 350ci small-block in it, so we will simply add a new Fitech electronic fuel injection system to make this bird chip all day. A perfect fit fuel cell from Performance Online will allow us to remove the factory tank in the cabin and new motor mounts, also from Performance Online, will take out the shimmy and shake.
Classic Performance’s power steering conversion kit is a thing of beauty, and we will show you the steps to installing it on your own. This is an upgrade you can perform at any time on a show truck you may already own. The benefits are undeniable and once you go power, you never go back. The factory steering column will also be swapped out so we can use a tilt column shifter.
The centerpiece for most builds is the wheels and tires, so we decided to go fully custom and order a set of 22-inch Delray wheels from Detroit Steel Wheel that will be painted to match the interior color of the cabin. These raw rollers are 9 inches wide, and they all share a backspace of
4.5 inches. For rubber, we went with 265-35-22 Toyo Proxes ST
III at all four corners, giving us the option of rotating our tires in the future if needed. Speaking of rubber, Steele Rubber Products sent a complete new rubber seal kit for the doors and glass, which will be added when we start on the exterior. AMD Direct has new steel body panels for this year’s C10, so we spent the remainder of the budget getting a new hood, fender and door skin for The Raven.
Check out our detailed breakdown of all the parts we have ready to go and follow up on this build in the next issue of C10 Builder’s Guide. Additional in-depth articles will be in Street Trucks magazine as well, so be sure to subscribe and enjoy!