If you like your restomod trucks to look stock, but have huge amounts of power on tap, look no further than this 1971 Chevrolet C10 Custom Sport with a built 502-cubic-inch V-8 under the hood. It’s on eBay in Austin, Texas with a $69,900 or best offer asking price and lots of time left. Thanks, Rocco B for the tip.
The car is said to be in the hands of its original owner, and only has 30,000 total miles on it. It’s believable that this Texas truck was always garaged. Now that the new motor is bedded in, it “fires right up and drives wonderfully.”
The Chevrolet Performance 502 big block has 3,000 miles on the road. This powerhouse of an engine makes 508 horsepower and is power-enhanced all the way—bored and stroked, with a forged crankshaft, forged connecting rods, forged aluminum pistons, hydraulic roller cam, and 9.6:1 compression.
It goes on, with a Speed Demon 750 four-barrel carburetor (don’t buy the truck if you care about fuel economy), high-rise intake manifold, K&N air cleaner, headers, dual exhaust, chromed alternator, upgraded oil cooler, and even an aftermarket transmission temperature gauge.
The visually unassuming truck shifts through a 700R4 4-speed transmission with overdrive (TH400). There’s a 12-bolt rear and 3.42 gears. The front power brakes are disc, the rear drums. Helping the Chevy go around corners—not always a selling point of American vehicles of this era—are a front sway bar and rear traction bar. It has 15-inch wheels shod with BF Goodrich rubber.
That’s the factory tuxedo black paint, still in very good condition, as is all the original chrome, including the bumpers. These upmarket trucks had an exterior fake wood band, and that’s in good nick also. The factory tinted glass is unblemished, and all the weatherstripping has been replaced.
The interior has a western hand-tooled saddle look, and it’s original, with black buckets and a center console. The 6X9 door speakers and GM-branded AM/FM radio with cassette don’t appear to be original. My source says, “1971 was the first year for AM/FM radios factory installed,” but with cassette players? I don’t think you could get one of those until 1980.
The buyer must have ticked every box, or some of this was added later: Power steering and brakes, air conditioning (that blows cold) and a tilt wheel. This is a “turn-key C10 ready to enjoy,” and it’s a “well-cared-for example with tasteful performance upgrades.” It’s hard to argue with that.
I like it.
This is one nice looking truck, both inside and outside..great looks and the power to go with it. I’ve always liked this series. One thing I would question is if the transmission has been beefed up to handle all that power, also I’d add power brakes, regardless…I’d like to have this truck in my garage, all I have to do is win the lottery!
If money were no object, sigh.
Love it, sharp truck for sure, but not letting on there’s 500hp onboard. 😎