A truck built specifically for burnouts and drifting often has little use elsewhere. But what if a build intended for smoke shows could also ride and handle exceptionally well? That wasn’t the goal when Shawn “Murder Nova” Ellington set out to build this clean 1981 C10 burnout truck. But his simple slide rig, originally envisioned for torching tires, evolved into something much more versatile thanks to the pros at QA1 Suspension.

Wanting a C10 for “something a little bit different than just racing”, Ellington built this truck for events like LS Fest, and specifically drifting and burnout competitions at those events. He found the 1981 C10 on Facebook Marketplace, made a quick trip to Las Vegas and drove the truck all the way back home. According to Shawn, the Chevy “was a good, solid truck to start with”. Under the hood, a Texas Speed 5.3-liter V8 is paired with a ProCharger D-1 supercharger to send a solid 540 dyno-proven horsepower to a tough Monster TH400 3-speed.

As Shawn spoke with QA1 representative Max, during this 2024 PRI event, he said he knew he was going to outfit the C10 with QA1 components, but that he didn’t realize QA1 offered such a breadth of options for the C10 platform. Shawn’s C10 currently features a full QA1 crossmember kit, A-arms, coil-overs, and a torque arm setup in the back. Max highlighted the kit’s ease of installation: “So with this kit you know, like you mentioned, the ease of install … direct bolt-in kit … no welding required you’re not cutting stuff out to make it happen.” That’s the great thing about QA1’s vehicle-specific applications, which also allow for stance and pinion angle adjustments.

According to Shawn, the QA1 suspension really transformed the truck’s ride and handling. “It doesn’t feel like it’s going to fall apart when you’re hitting bumps [on bad roads and] it drives like a new truck.” making the Chevy a very enjoyable cruiser. In fact, the addition of QA1’s underpinnings completely changed the truck’s purpose. “It was supposed to just be a simple little burnout truck and now it’s turned into one of my favorite vehicles” Shawn said.

Murder Nova‘s C10 build demonstrates how modern suspension technology can transform a classic truck, making it capable of much more than its initial purpose. Thanks to QA1’s high quality, application-specific kits, enthusiasts can now create builds that are a joy to drive anywhere and anyhow. Better yet, these kits are easy to install, requiring no cutting or welding. So, as QA1 says, Go Drive It!