1967 Chevy C10 - Metal-Finished Madness
Bob Grant: The Man Behind The Metal
/ By Jeremy Cook
/
Article provided by: Classic Trucks Magazine
Bob Grant just may be the most talented guy you've never heard of. For well over 10 years now, he has been hiding out way up in Northern California in the town of Oroville, producing some of the most unique trucks ever built. Really!
Back in the old days, his daily driver was a super-low '83 Toyota with the bed grafted to the cab, and opened up to accommodate an S-10 Blazer roof, glass, and tailgate. Bob has had customer trucks lined up out the door of Grant Kustoms pretty much ever since and is setting the bar higher with each truck he gets his head around and hands on. There is the '67 Chevy crew cab dually that was leaps and bounds cleaner than what the coach companies ever produced, along with chopped and channeled '67 Suburban with handmade Camaro-style bumperettes. There is a Luv truck out there somewhere with a handmade bed that actually matches the cab correctly. And somewhere sits a Toyota Roadster with '56 Chevy bodylines, fins, and taillights. In the shop right now is another '67 shortbed that is using all curved glass from various late-model cars. And finally, there lies what will ultimately be the lowest deuce roadster ever built. The coolest part of all is Bob is a really nice guy and extremely humble for being so talented. A conversation I had with him a few years ago probably sums it up best. In regards to a bed floor he was working on, he said, "I think I'm gonna do compound curves in all the corners. It's pretty hard, but people seem to like it."
There's a question on our tech sheet that reads: Why did you build this truck? Both Clint Petree and Chris Couto, owners of these '67 and '63 C10s, had the exact same answer: "To have the baddest C10 ever built. That's why I took it to Grant Kustoms." Luckily, they chose different body style trucks, so just maybe they can both assume the title.
"WorldsBaddestC10.com"
ep, the Web site is real. Clint Petree is funny like that. He's one of those guys you have to hang around when you run into him at a show because you know you'll be entertained. As owner of SIC Motorsports in San Jose, California, he's a wealth of knowledge and talent, too. Several of his customers' vehicles made Truckin' magazine's Top 100 of all time, including a '69 Chevy he helped out on. From there he was hooked on the body style and has spent four year's worth of late nights and weekends on this '67 C10 since finding it. It originally was supposed to mimic the '69 he previously built, only with a complete tube chassis.
Eventually, Clint had his one-off chassis built and was well on his way, until he decided to take a yearlong detour north to Grant Kustoms. From then on, the solo effort became a collaboration between Clint and Bob. According to Clint, "it became a partnership of ideas and construction. We combined two creative heads and turned them into one badass truck." The main goal was for the truck to have a continuous flow about it, like the pointed nose and tailgate, or the bodyline that starts on the center of the hood, runs down the center console, through the bed floor, and up the inside of the inner tailgate. John and Harrold Laisure (John owns the aforementioned '69) built the one-off grille and brought Clint's wild taillight design to life.
With metalwork like this, Clint definitely could not cut corners with the rest of the truck. From the ART shockwaves and the one-off solid Boyd Coddingtons, to the ZZ4 crate engine topped with a Whipple supercharger and Zoops serpentine system, no expense was spared in getting this truck to its current state. We'll be keeping an eye on Clint and his progression on the world's baddest C-10.
| Facts & Figures |
| | |
| Chris & Selena Couto | |
| Acton, California | |
| 1963 Chevrolet C-10 | |
| Frame: | IF Customs one-off, Z'd in front, new back half with super notch in rear |
| Rearend / Ratio: | Chevy 12-bolt / 3.73:1 posi |
| Rear suspensioN: | Custom four-bar w/ Watt's link |
| Rear brakes: | SSBC Force 10, 11" |
| Front suspension: | '73 Chevy crossmember, Belltech spindles, Firestone airbags |
| Front brakes: | SSBC Force 10, 13" |
| Master Cylinder: | Corvette from CPP |
| Steering box: | '84 Chevy |
| Frame & Suspension: | by IF Customs, Sylmar, CA, www.ifcustoms.com |
| wheel make, size: | Boyd Coddington, 20x8.5, 20x10 tire make, size: Falken, 255/35/20, 285/30/20 |
| Gas tank: | No Limit, under bed |
| Year and make: | GM TPI 350 |
| Valve covers: | Billet Bow-Tie |
| Manifold / Induction: | Polished TPI w/ K&N filter |
| Headers: | Gibson |
| Exhaust / Mufflers: | custom 2-1/2" w/ Gibson mufflers |
| OTHER: | polished serpentine system & accessories from Enos Components |
| Make and model: | GM 700R4 |
| Shifter: | on column |
| Body Style / Material: | complete one-off |
| Manufacturer: | Grant Kustoms, Oroville, CA |
| Modifications: | chopped & channeled by IF Customs, completely reskinned with new sheetmetal, unibody conversion, door edges reworked to appear slanted |
| Hood: | scratch-built using '67 top, sides molded to fenders |
| Grille: | new from Brothers |
| Bed: | reskinned, raised rails body line & taillight accents in tailgate, '96 Chevy bed floor w/ custom wheel houses |
| Metal Finish: | by Bob Grant |
| Headlights / Taillights: | stock / '59 Cadillac |
| Bumpers: | stock, new from Brothers |
| Dashboard: | stock, shaved & filled |
| Gauges: | VDO white face in smooth panel |
| Wiring: | Painless Performance |
| Air Conditioning: | Vintage Air |
| Steering wheel: | CPP Classic |
| Steering column: | polished ididit |
| Seats: | Suburban 2nd seat |
| Material / Color: | tan cloth |
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