Truck Feature: Herman Baldonado’s 1960 C10

Baldonado

A classic car isn’t always about performance. There’s an entire world out there not concerned with having the biggest motor, the widest tire, or tuned shocks. These are folks who are into the lines of a car, finding that perfect shade of paint, and getting the stance on point. They love to cruise, showing off their pride and joy for all to see. I’m not saying hot rodder guys don’t want a great paint job, but generally they like the go aspect more than the show. The owner of this truck knows his go, but his truck is all about the show.

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IMG_7159Introducing Herman Baldonado and his beautiful 1960 C10. This truck doesn’t have a fire breathing big block, air conditioning, or even a full bed floor. Even without some of the fancier modifications, this truck has a sense of style like none other, drawing in a crowd wherever Baldonado takes it. You see, Herman works all day on Dodge Vipers along with some other high performance cars thrown in for good measure. He’s probably forgotten more about performance engines than most of us can learn in a lifetime, even though he’s a younger guy. After wrenching on some of the most powerful engines all day, he likes to slow down a bit and cruise, taking in all the sights and dropped jaws.

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IMG_7174This truck isn’t some fancy show truck either. Baldonado told us, “I drive this truck everywhere. It’s my daily driver. Sun or rain, hot or cold, I’m driving it.” We dug that about him and the truck. We have seen this truck all over the place, it’s not a truck he’s afraid to drive. It might not be the prettiest truck on the lot, but it’s one of the most respected. Herman really lives the car life by driving this beauty to work, wrenching on cars, then cruising it back home to wrench on his other cars.

His favorite part of the truck is its 1960s styling. He loves the overall look of the truck and the vibe it gives off, especially cruising down the road. The one thing he doesn’t care for too much is the DeSoto grill, he hopes to change that back to something stock soon. He does admit that the DeSoto grill gives the front end a unique look, whether that’s good or bad.

Getting Down On The Ground

Tried and true: Small-Block Chevy

Tried and true: Small-Block Chevy

The truck itself is a 1960 Chevrolet C10 short bed fleet side, but there is a list of modifications that have been done to make it unique. To start, it appears to be in primer with a painted top. That’s not the case though as the beige color is actually Hot Rod Flatz Paint, California Suede Metallic.

The cab was painted with a gloss paint to make it stand out and compliment the style. It’s painted in House Of Kolor root beer candy, with “some old school flake in it,” Baldonado explains.

The body itself is stock, but there has been some changes to it. Most noticeably is the grill, which comes from a 1954 DeSoto. The hood is actually from a 1964, but looks right at home. By far the biggest change is the way the back end of this truck sits nicely on the ground, all thanks to a custom airbag set up. In the bed there’s an air tank mounted along with a compressor to supply the required air. There’s no fancy air management system on the truck either as there is only an on/off switch for the compressor and a single switch for the rear. He determines his ride height by feel, adjusting as he goes down the road.

These teeth might bite!

These teeth might bite!

Timeless

Timeless

A set of Astro Supreme wheels and white wall Hankook tires compliments the old school look of the truck. If you notice, the truck has been converted to a five lug setup instead of the factory six lug. The front suspension also sports a set of disc brakes.

Under the hood, you’ll find a clean small-block Chevy 350 backed by a TH350 transmission. The engine does have a few goodies on it, such as an Edelbrock carburetor and intake. The exhaust is fed through a set of Hedman Hedders, Flowmaster mufflers and exits in front of the rear tire for a little noise. While it’s not the most powerful engine ever built, it runs flawlessly, easily moving the C10 down the road.

This truck is definitely a driver and even though it looks pretty in pictures, there’s a few rough areas on it. One of them is the bed floor, which is simply a piece of plywood. There’s even a hole in the middle of the plywood for the pumpkin on the rearend to come through. “I don’t even care, I’ve had Viper motors back there and haul stuff all the time, I just have to make sure nothing falls through the hole,” laughed Baldonado.

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On the inside you won’t find anything fancy. A basic black bench seat with simple pleating fulfills the duty for comfort. There’s no air conditioning or heater in this ride either. Baldonado did add a small stereo, which is two speakers in boxes sitting on the transmission hump. “I put them there so I can pop them out if I park somewhere, so nobody will break into my truck,” explained Baldonado. There is some basic upgrades, such as a column mounted tach, and a set of Auto Meter gauges to keep an eye on the motor’s vitals.

A Trucks Job Is Never Finished

IMG_7175While most of the truck was restored by the previous owner of this truck, Baldonado did put in his fair share of mods. He also has a bunch of future plans for the truck as well, one of them being to redo the bed floor so that he can throw parts in the back and not have to worry about losing them.

Other plans include air bagging the front of the truck, to get it as low as the rear. There’s something nice about the fact that only the rear drops, giving the truck such a unique look. In order to improve the drivability, Baldonado plans on installing a throttle-body injection and an overdrive unit.

We love that not only does the truck look so bold and classy, but he even drives the truck daily.

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One Temporary Modification

IMG_7840Like a temporary tattoo, we made one temporary modification on the truck. That was having miss Mercedes Terrell posing all over the truck for us. She resides in Orange County, California and we were lucky enough to get her to stand in front of the camera for us for a few hours.

She might look familiar to you, as she’s been modeling for years and is very active. You might have even seen her on TV, if you watch anything that Monster Energy sponsors as she’s a Monster Energy girl.

While at the shoot she really loved this C10, and we loved seeing her in it, on it, and beside it. We had her laying on the big front bench seat, posing in the bed, and making sure the engine was full of oil.

Lucky for us, she was happy to oblige and Herman didn’t mind either. She looked right at home behind the wheel, as if at any moment she would mash the throttle with her high heels.

If you want to see more of Mercedes Terrell, head on over to the Babe Of The Month for a full interview and more pictures than you can shake a stick at.

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As for Herman Baldonado, we are sure that we will see more of his work. He’s a huge car lover, and just like most car lovers, he has more than one classic in his stall. He’s currently in the middle of working on an early 50s Chevy, but we will keep the details on that for another article.

About the author

Tim King

Tim grew up in the garage with his Father. From those early years grew a passion for anything with a motor. Helping his Dad and brother restore a '67 Nova is what fueled Tim’s passion for cars. At the age of 15 he bought his first car, a 1966 Chevelle which he still owns to this day. That car started his journey into the automotive world where he’s done just about everything, from being an auto mechanic to an aftermarket Sales Manager. Not only is he a gear head, but he also holds two Bachelors degrees from Cal State San Bernardino.
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