1965 Chevrolet C-10 Pickup, Red, Sunstar

Now that's the kind of motivation we'll need to get that GS Corvette to the track. The stock 283 was pulled to make room for a nice stout LS6 454. There is plenty of room for the big block. The battery, alternator, transmission, radiator and master cylinder all got detailing while I was in there. Sunstar did a very good job on the engine compartment, unlike most of their models. If I was more familiar with 65 trucks I'd know if the fender liners were body color or black. GM typically painted them black but these are almost unibody in construction even though there is a full frame. Again, I still like the monochrome look on this one.

This had to be the easiest wheel swap I've ever done. They just snapped right on! The wheels are Ertl NASCAR wheels and tires. The original Sunstar hub caps were retained for a modified stock look. The all black wheels were a little too much so a nice dose of red trim was added to each. You can also see the custom pipes made from aluminum tubing poking out. The tires are a little large, but look fine on this truck with it's huge wheel wells. The red, black and chrome look to the wheels keeps them custom looking while still maintaining the stocker appeal of the truck.

The interior got the removal of the column shift, a 4-on-the-floor, a bit of detail to the dash components and the horn button Chevy emblem was filled in with Chevrolet Racing Red. You can also see how the cover fits nice and flush. The chrome trim on the cab's rear pillar has been black washed to fill in the recessed areas with black as on the real trucks. Bucket seats would have been cool, but the interior bucket is molded as one large piece so it would be very tough to graft in a new interior pan with buckets. The bench looks very truckish anyway which seems to fit the look.

Now you can see how much the rear came up when compared to my stock green truck. The rise isn't that drastic, just enough to make the truck look a little more serious. It's obvious here as well that the new wheel and tire combos fill in the wheel wells much more nicely. And those mongo pipes speak louder in more ways than one than that wimpy thing on the stocker.

Those huge truck mirrors have been axed in favor of nice stylish and sporty car style mirrors for both sides. The rear pillar trim shows up again though it's hard to make out the black detailing. The antenna and cab trim really make this model look complete. The door handles are very nice renditions of the real thing. You can also see here the chrome detailing to the side body trim. So much nicer than the dull silver paint used there in the first place. I know there is nice chromy looking paint out there, why don't the manufacturers use it? Oh well, it would still look better with chrome foil, which, like the ads say, "looks like real metal because it IS real metal!"

It was a bit of a struggle to make room for the new four speed. Making the new pipes wasn't all that tough but finding a way to keep them attached to the vehicle was tricky. I fashioned a new cross member to support the transmission. The drive shafts, transmission, oil filter, starter and anti-sway bar all got detailing touches.