LT4 Swapped C10: A Square Body With A Mean Streak

When a builder known for 5,000-horsepower drag cars turns his attention to classic trucks, the result is anything but ordinary. Mickey, founder of Modern C10, brought his LT4-swapped C10 out from Oklahoma, and what he created blends OE-level detail with the mindset of a seasoned race car fabricator. This truck may look like a clean, restored square body on the surface, but everything beneath the sheet metal reflects years spent building cars meant to survive violent launches and real racetrack abuse.

A Rare Survivor Transformed

Before becoming a fully reengineered build, the truck lived an uneventful life. It was originally purchased new by an older woman who kept it immaculate, protected the bed with a rubber mat, and left it almost completely untouched. When Mickey found it, the truck was so clean he assumed it would cost far more than he was willing to spend. Instead, he bought it for a fraction of what he expected, added a battery, and drove it for a couple of years before the real work began.

The truck’s color is one of the most talked-about parts of the build. It is based on a Jeep color from 2016, adjusted with a silver sealer to brighten it in sunlight. The result looks modern, crisp, and right at home on the square body lines.

LT4 Power With Race-Bred Engineering

Mickey’s drag racing background shows the moment you lift the hood. The LT4-swapped C10 started as a crate engine, but he treated it like one of his race builds. The supercharger, snout, and cylinder heads were all hand-ported. The engine received a larger throttle body and a cam package designed to bring the combination to life. The setup makes roughly 800 horsepower at the wheels, which Mickey calls “practical” only because he is used to engines that make five times that.

The vehicle is equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission featuring working paddle shifters. A PST aluminum driveshaft sends power to a custom nine-inch rear end that his shop builds specifically for their chassis.

Underneath, the entire truck rides on a round-tube chassis of his own design. Instead of adapting a boxed frame, Mickey built a full tubular structure similar to what he uses in drag radial cars. The front uses independent suspension with geometry borrowed from his race programs, while the rear uses a solid axle with a triangulated four-link built in-house. The design allows the truck to be street-friendly during long drag-and-drive events, but it remains fully capable when the slicks come out.

Inside, the C10 keeps a mostly stock appearance but with fresh materials, Dakota Digital gauges, and upholstery patterned to echo factory styling. Even the hidden performance features are carefully integrated, including a rear-mounted fuel tank, a hinged taillight fuel filler, a dedicated ice tank for cooling the supercharger, and a separate methanol tank disguised behind the passenger-side fuel door.

For Mickey, the goal was a truck that drives clean, looks factory, and hits like a race car when asked. And based on how violently this LT4-swapped C10 comes alive on the street, he hit his mark. This is what happens when drag-race engineering meets square-body style.