Chuck Hanson of “Chuck’s Garage” recently spoke with the president and CEO of Holley Performance [1], Tom Tomlinson about the company’s current shop truck, a ’67 C10 pickup with all of the old school looks with LS power underneath.
So, what makes Holley’s C10 shop truck so unique? At first glance you might think it’s freshly restored early pickup. If you think that, you’d be dead wrong. This unique truck maintains all of its originality with the benefits of a modern powertrain thanks to an LS3. Tomlinson describes this slick sled as having, “about 500 horsepower and its a blast to drive.” Yeah, we can see why, damn!
[2]
Holley made sure to keep the vintage look of the truck. Even going as far to dress the LS3 up to look just like the original 396ci big-block of the era. “Those coil covers are a great product for us; they have the massive, vintage big-block look” said Tomlinson.
The engine bay isn’t the only place where Holley upgraded the truck during restoration. The stock chassis was pulled and a complete modern suspension including a Ford 9-inch rearend was added.
Just as we were, Hanson was also astounded by the original look maintained by such key features as the truck’s white grille and headlight bezels. Holley CEO Tomlinson explains that this was precisely the point of the build, “…From the wheels to the old time truck lettering on the door…we even kept things like the old style mirror…[and] the fuel filler, which is blocked off at this point.”
Another point of interest for Hanson with the ’67 C10 was the unique design of the vintage knockoff wheels, which Tomlinson claims holds a significance within itself. They are actually 6-pin, Indy Roadster knockoffs that are based on originals from Halibrand [3], except that they have been retrofitted for the truck’s stock 6-lug configuration.
According to Tomlinson, the truck is as functional as it is clean, and he and Holley Performance have been satisfied even with the craftsmanship of the truck’s custom wood bed, “The wood is from Bed Wood [4]; it’s actually very nice.” Other features of the custom C10 include the truck’s relocated fuel filler, which has been built into the truck bed, and Holley’s shop and show pickup currently holds a gas tank of around 20 gallons, should anyone from Holley Performance decide to make use of those 500 horses on a slightly longer lunch run!
[5]