Hotwire 1965 Chevy C10 Gasser Truck

When Jimmy shine took over his new building at 867 N. Commerce St, Orange, CA, the previous tenant Dave Keister left this ’65 C10 Fleetside in a corner saying, “I’m busy, why don’t you finish it off for me?” Narrow gauge, straight axle gassers are all the rage as are C10s of almost any shape and size so it was a no brainer for Shine and his team of craftsmen including Paulo Dosdoglirian and Branden Johnson who took the lead on this build to dive in. The first generation C10s were a step up for truck owners as their drop-center ladder frame with coil-spring suspension (from ’63), air conditioning from ’64 and low-profile seats made them ride more like a car than their predecessors. The addition of an optional 220 hp 327-ci engine for ’65 clinched the deal. Dave already owned a rad, street-driven ’66 that he built himself when work began on the gasser and he knew exactly what he wanted. The stock frame was retained along with the rear trailing arms but the front suspension was swapped out for a straight axle, parallel leaf spring kit that had to be heavily massaged to handle the power and the weight. Dave had previously purchased an assembled engine based on a Dart Big M cast-iron block from a friend that he turned over to Jim Guthrie Racing, Whittier, CA. Jim, who specializes in boat engines and Chevys in particular, went through the assemblage, changed up a few components, and dialed in all the clearances, etc. This 572 incher produces 902 hp and looks every part the gasser. It sounded wicked too as we rolled into Irwindale Raceway/Drag Strip for a semi-private shakedown session. After a thorough check by Jimmy and Branden they gassed up with VP C15 and Dave cranked the starter while son Sage watched on. Fuel is pumped from the bed-mounted fuel cell up to the Moon sump tank and then to the mechanical Crower stack injection. With only a couple cranks the engine cracked into life and sounded sweet. Dave turned it off and everything was checked again before he lit it up and headed for the strip. First-time tests are always tricky, you’re itching to get on the gas but you have to hold back and make sure everything works before you hit it hard. Everything tracked well; the truck launched hard and ran straight. On the second run, Dave dropped the Deist and again all was well. It was time to get on it and he made six or seven trouble-free passes with the best for the 1/8-mile of 6.37 at 107 mph. Pretty good for a 55-year-old truck. Specs Vehicle: ’65 Chevy Fleetside Owner: Dave Keister Builder: ShineSpeedShop.com Engine: Big-block Chevy / Builder Jim Guthrie Racing Block: Dart Big M Capacity: 572 ci Crank: Scat Rods: H-Beam Cam: Comp Cams .830 lift / Pistons JE, cr 14.2:1 Heads: AFR ported and flow tested Valvetrain: Jesel Belt drive: Comp Cams Oil pan: Moroso deep sump Induction: Crower mechanical 8-stack injection Fuel pump: Holley Blue primary feeds sump tank then Hilborn 80-A mechanical Water pump: Meziere electric Balancer: ATI Headers: Custom by Shine Speed Shop Exhaust: Magnaflow 3-1/2-inch blow-through muffled system Radiator: US Radiator Fans: Spal electric fans Clutch: 3800 stall Trans: Turbo 400 by Dana Sniff Racing Transmissions https://bit.ly/torqtalk56c10gasser