Working muscle

With the prices of our favourite Aussie and American muscle cars continuing to soar upwards, many car enthusiasts are looking further afield for their next project. Classic full-size US pick-up trucks obviously don’t have the Bathurst heritage of, say, your Falcon GTHO or Torana A9X, but they are common, relatively cheap, and fairly easy to modify.

Like this one. Affectionately known as Thumper, this 1972 Chevrolet C10 has been built-up by Enthusiast Insurance into a full-blown muscle truck. From its long-bed body to its enormous 502ci (8.2-litre) big-block Chevy V8, everything about Thumper is super-sized.

“What started out as a simple purchase, clean up, and drive quickly became a far more detailed project,” says Enthusiast’s Brett Williams. “We chose this vehicle because it is timeless in the street machine, custom and hot rod world. Built as our ‘shop truck’, we knew it had to have a racer’s edge; it had to be tough with great street presence; and it had to make other enthusiasts realise we understand them, as we are just as passionate about our cars as they are.”

Under the bonnet, the big block Chev breathes through an aluminium Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold and is fed by a Holley 950DP Street Performer four-barrel carburettor. It’s fitted with Hooker headers and a custom-made three-inch exhaust system to improve the Chevy’s lung capacity. Opening up the Mark IV big-block’s breathing ability is the key to unlocking power, and Brett estimates the C10 now makes around 650hp (485kW).

All that power means the drivetrain needs to be nuclear-grade. The TCI Super Street Fighter TH400 three-speed auto, with manualised shift kit, handles the job just fine; the standard diff has been replaced by a Castlemaine Rod Shop-built Ford nine-inch that boasts a TruTrac LSD, 35-spline axles, and 3.7 diff gears.

Getting rid of the farm truck stance, handling and ride, Enthusiast fitted tubular QA1 A-arms and adjustable coil-over struts in the front. At the rear, the stock leaf springs have been replaced by a full QA1 four-link kit and Panhard rod, and adjustable QA1 coil-over struts. 

A CPP big brake kit with Wilwood disc brake calipers all round were fitted to replace the standard Chevy stoppers. Similarly, the skinny steel wheels and tyres have made way for custom Koya forged wheels: 18x8.5-inch up front and 18x10 at the rear.

Inside, a custom-trimmed bench seat by Boss Trim, Dakota Digital gauges, Vintage Air A/C, and TCI shifter take the truck from workhorse to street machine. Now it’s ready to flex its wares all over the country at Enthusiast events.

“It’s been a very typical build as we uncovered all sorts of issues a classic vehicle can have, but that’s all a part of it,” says Brett. “A huge thanks needs to go out to the whole Enthusiast team for the ideas and excitement for this project; Joel From Killer image for the epic vinyl wrap; Jake from Boss Trim the custom-trimmed seat that goes beyond expectations; Aaron Gregory from Memphis Hell for the NASCAR-style wicker bill on short notice; Scott Barter from Oxytech Powder Coatings for his support, Koya Wheels for designing and building a killer set of custom wheels; the team at United Customs for all the CPP parts.”

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If you’re looking to insure your muscle classic, get a quote from Enthusiast Motor Insurance on-line. For more info visit Enthusiast Motor Insurance