I’ve covered a handful of upgrades made to the project C10 over the last couple of months but by far the biggest improvements I’ve made have been to the suspension. Granted, the ’60s Chevy trucks had a pretty modern independent suspension system for trucks of their era, given their Ford equivalent were sitting on I-beam axles still. I’ve always said that one of the reasons that there are so many ’67-72 Chevys still on the road is that the foundation of those trucks, in a general sense, leaves little to be desired when it comes to mechanical creature comforts. By 1972, power steering, disc brakes, and even air conditioning were pretty standard modus operandi. That meant upgrading your ’67 or ’68 five to ten years later to all the modern features of a new car or truck of that era was a matter of simply swapping parts. A little maintenance and upkeep and there’s little reason for getting rid of a well-running work truck.
But when it came to modifying the original components in the form of, say, lowering it, there was a lot left to be desired. Heated or cut coils got the job done but didn’t necessarily do it right. The geometry changed as did the ride quality. What used to be a nice, soft riding truck became a bouncy, rough riding covered wagon. And today, that’s just unacceptable.
Enter Classic Performance Products (CPP). They’ve nurtured a market that has, until recently, been largely ignored by the performance-minded suspension companies by developing a whole slew of parts designed strictly to make that old truck ride, handle, and perform to today’s standards. From tubular control arms, to Nitrogen shocks, to oversized brakes, they’ve developed a product line designed to take our classic trucks and give those more performance minded muscle car guys a run for their money.
When I started the C10 build, I knew I wanted to lower the truck, but I also planned on driving it in a daily fashion and wanted to experience the latest and greatest suspension setup that CPP had to offer. They recommended their Zero Offset SOS Big Brake Grand Slam kit combined with a set of their Totally Tubular control arms. This setup is good for a full 2½-inch drop, thanks to the Modular dropped spindle and combined with a 2-inch drop coil spring, the front of my C10 should sit nice and low. Plans call for installing a set of 17-inch Rocket Racing Wheels’ Boosters at all four corners shod in 235/55R17 Coker Redline tires. At 27.17 inches, that tire/wheel combo should work great with the amount of drop planned and the big 13-inch rotors will fit nicely and provide plenty of stopping power, upwards of 30 less feet from 60-0 mph.
I’ve had a chance to drive the truck for a few months now with all the new suspension components installed and let me tell you, it’s like driving a totally different vehicle! One of the hardest things that I’ve had to overcome was the initial tendency to drive it like I did before I made all the upgrades. Slowing down to ten miles an hour to take a turn or braking half a mile from an intersection is a thing of the past. In fact, I’ve scared my wife a few times as she was used to the way the truck handled previously and forgot that it stops and handles a hundred times better than it ever did before.
Next month I’ll wrap up the back half and unveil what the C10 looks like down on the ground after the CPP makeover. I think you’ll dig it! CCT
