The Hawkeye C10 Truck Now Sports An Incredible Interior Upgrade

The last time we brought you an update on the Hawkeye C10 truck project being performed by the students at the Hawkeye Community College (HCC) Auto Technologies program, the truck was sporting its new coat of silver paint. The students have been pouring class time into completing the project and with the truck reassembled after painting, it was time to begin installing that incredible interior.

During the build, the Hawkeye C10 truck project has been a great hands-on way to showcase not only the skills of the HCC students, but bring visibility to a program that strives to equip students to conquer the demands of the auto refinishing profession. The truck will also carry on as a calling card for future prospective students.

The Hawkeye C10 truck's interior wasn't much to look at when the students first began the transformation.

As such, instructor Terry Van Dyke orchestrated an interior that would serve as more than just a replacement. He instead, formulated a tasty interior that not only complements the truck’s incredible craftsmanship but would also whet the appetites of enthusiasts looking to create great things in their automotive career. As you check out this story covering the Hawkeye C10 truck’s interior, we think you’ll agree that the students were definitely up to the task!

Something Old Something New

The old saying, “Restraint is the most important skill” is never more important than when building up a classic car or truck. Let’s face it, those vintage lines are what makes them such a classic. Rather than build a modern example that leaves those classic C10 interior designs in the dust, the HCC students blended that classic design and modern touches seamlessly.

While there’s a Billet Specialties steering wheel atop that IDIDIT tilt column, the combination works perfectly at updating the style, feel, and mechanics of the Hawkeye C10 truck. That’s because the IDIDIT tilt column was designed specifically for 1967-1972 Chevy C10 trucks. It so closely replicates GM’s OEM tilt option, that it would look great and upgrade even a C10 truck’s restoration.

It's obvious the interior has been updated from the spartan inner-skin the truck left the factory with decades ago. But, you'd be hard-pressed to find that fine line between upgrades and OEM components without going deeper than a quick glance.

Other touches that make one strain to locate the line between late-model tech and OEM would be the modern climate control system and the custom-but-vintage dash layout. Surely, no C10 ever left the assembly line with a billet dash gauge bezel, but the Hawkeye C10 has one, thanks to RingBrothers. The bezel assembly is designed to work with the factory gauges, as well as several aftermarket gauge assemblies. The students stuffed this one with a full assembly of Dakota Digital RTX gauges. They so closely resemble the OEM set that one could easily overlook their capabilities. While visually similar to stock C10 units, these gauges feature color-changing LED backlighting, dual TFT message centers, and have complete late-model drivetrain compatibility.

Rather than cut up that vintage tin, the students created an interior with all the modern amenities that still retains those classic C10 details.

Many C10 trucks never left the assembly line with air conditioning. Thanks to Vintage Air, the Hawkeye C10 features modern-day heating and cooling of the cabin thanks to a Gen 5 SureFit system. Of course, a matching Vintage Air controller slips right into the factory heater control opening, giving a clue if the cabin’s occupants are ever curious about why the air conditioning works so well. A brand-new Painless Performance wire harness ties everything together and allows powering all of these modern conveniences with ease.

Wrapping Up The Hawkeye C10 Truck’s Interior

In our last installment, we showed how the Hawkeye students dutifully taped off the cab of the truck to paint it a contrasting shade of red. Now, the entire innards of the C10 have been wrapped in a similar shade of leather goods, thanks to the folks at TMI Products. A set of low-back Pro-Series Sport-AR seats keep occupants firmly planted. Between them resides a custom TMI center console with matching door skins on each side.

The door-to-door TMI Products interior features custom-designed door skins, seats, seat mounts, and matching center console.

The Hawkeye C10’s striking red interior set against that classic grey exterior makes the truck pop out from the crowd. The Hawkeye team’s tasteful use of restraint when compiling all the components for that interior keeps it from veering away from having that classic C10 truck’s charm and simplicity. Sure, there are modern touches throughout, but they bring a broader range of usability and comfort without an “in-your-face” proclamation of their presence. The interior is still unmistakably Chevy’s C10, it just happens to be better than the Bowtie could have ever built back in the day.

Hawkeye C10 truck interior

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About the author

Andy Bolig

Andy has been intrigued by mechanical things all of his life and enjoys tinkering with cars of all makes and ages. Finding value in style points, he can appreciate cars of all power and performance levels. Andy is an avid railfan and gets his “high” by flying radio-controlled model airplanes when time permits. He keeps his feet firmly grounded by working on his two street rods and his supercharged C4 Corvette. Whether planes, trains, motorcycles, or automobiles, Andy has immersed himself in a world driven by internal combustion.
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