Daring To Be Different With This Twin-Turbo, Right-Hand-Drive Chevy C10

09/01/2022

Daring To Be Different With This Twin-Turbo, Right-Hand-Drive Chevy C10

09/01/2022

Cars have been an integral part of Simpson Blackmon’s life as far back as he can remember. The son of a mechanic and the youngest of four brothers, the Bakersfield, California-based hot rodder tells us that while his brothers’ automotive pursuits focused on vintage iron, he was more of an import guy early on. But thanks to his dad’s sharp-looking ’71 Chevy C10 pickup, Blackmon’s interests eventually shifted toward American muscle – albeit with a dose of influence from the other vehicles that had helped to shape his sense of style. “I had no clue how to work on the older stuff,” he recalls. “But I always used to bug my dad about that C10 because I wanted to learn with it. For a while the answer was ‘we’ll see,’ but eventually he agreed to let me have at it.”


That sent him on a path of discovery that eventually led him to put together a ’69 Camaro with a built 327-cube small block and a four-speed manual gearbox. “It was a project that my dad had owned. It was more or less just a cool cruiser, and fixing it up helped me learn the trade.” But with three brothers all rocking C10s, it was only a matter of time before Blackmon started wrenching on another Chevy full-size. “We’re all truck guys, but I really wanted something that could stand out a bit more. What was differentiating our trucks were things like paint and wheels. I wanted my next build to be a little different.”


LSFW22 RHD C10 Head-On


He spotted a ’72 C10 wasting away in a friend’s yard and determined that it would be a solid candidate for the project. “It was all there – it was just rotted,” he says. “When all was said and done, I basically just used the frame from that truck.” After scoring a cab from a ’70 C10 that his brother owned, he set to work combining the two trucks into one. He had a pro touring build in mind, but he knew right away that he wanted this one to veer from the beaten path.


“I had this vision for it,” he explains. “So the right-hand drive conversion was one of the first things we did.” The process entailed shaving the firewall, modifying the dash to accommodate the gauge cluster and steering column on the right hand side of the cab, and relocating the hardware for the brake and throttle pedals along with the gearbox linkage. “It was actually a pretty simple process,” he says. “A lot of things can stay where they are in a C10, so it was mostly about getting the steering and instrumentation stuff moved over.”


LSFW22 RHD C10 Interior 1


Once the conversion was sorted out he sandblasted the frame and rebuilt the original 12-bolt rear end with an Eaton posi unit and Moser axles before moving on to the bodywork. “I was going for a smoothed-out look, so I got a front end from a ’67 C10, which didn’t have any side marker lights,” he notes. “And the original bed in the ’72 was in pretty bad shape, so I bought new ‘67 bed sides as well.” He lined up the body on the frame and then disassembled everything for prep, primer, and paint, all of which was done in his home garage. To give the truck a understated yet menacing look, he applied the Destroyer Gray paint hue that the truck wears today – a factory shade that’s normally found on Dodge muscle cars like the Challenger and Charger.


LSFW22 RHD C10 Engine Bay


For proper motivation Blackmon sourced an LS2 aluminum block and outfitted it with a forged rotating assembly that consists of a Lunati crank, Eagle rods, and Racetec pistons. Now displacing 403ci and combined with a Tick Performance camshaft, ported LS2 heads, a Holley Hi-Ram intake and a pair of Borg Warner S366 turbos running a conservative 15 pounds of boost, the power plant is good for 936 horsepower and 918 pound-feet of torque at the rear wheels.


A Holley Terminator X Max is also on hand to oversee the proceedings. “When I first started off I was using the GM ECU on it,” says Blackmon. “But that computer is just really limited, and switching over to the Holley system solved a lot of issues that I was having. It was a huge help.” The power makes its way to the rear wheels through a built 4L80E four-speed automatic transmission from Jake’s Performance and an aluminum driveshaft from Performance Driveline.


LSFW22 RHD C10 Engine Detail


The cabin saw its fair share of attention as well. Along with the red Cipher sport seats, which were modified to bring the headrests down by three inches and installed on custom-made brackets, Blackmon made the interior pop with custom door and kick panels, carbon fiber accents, and a Dakota Digital VHX gauge cluster, along with billet pieces like dome light, rear view mirror, and the Lokar gas and brake pedals. He built the truck’s center console as well, which features its own set of carbon fiber inserts and matching red upholstery. Tunes are provided by a Pioneer head unit with a 1200-watt Kenwood amp, Focal speakers, and two 12-inch subs.


The exterior features an array of custom touches as well. “I went with roll pans at the front and back to help give it that sleek look,” he points out. “On the front one I made an inlet for the transmission cooler, and I have the turn signals relocated down there as well.” Other elements like the custom front splitter, rear wing, and Stainless Works exhaust tips – the latter of which exit through bed sides in front of the rear wheels – showcase the truck’s performance intent.


LSFW22 RHD C10 Turbocharger


Rolling on 20-inch wheels wrapped in wide Toyo R888R competition rubber, the truck turned plenty of heads at this year’s LS Fest West event, where it won both Best Classic Truck and Best Engine car show awards. “It my first LS Fest, and I can’t wait to go back,” says Blackmon. “It’s like Disneyland for gearheads – there’s just so much going on.” While he focused on taking in the sights and sounds at this year’s show, he plans to get the C10 into the mix next time. “I’d like to run it down the drag strip a few times and do a little autocross – just kind of venture out with it and see how it does.”


In the meantime Blackmon has a ’67 Chevelle project in the works as well. “That’s also kind of a pro touring build,” he says. “With that one I’m going to go with a stroked L96 and a Procharger. And it’s also going to be right-hand drive, of course.”


LSFW22 RHD C10 Rear Quarter


author

248 Posts

photographer

108 Posts