Project Copperhead: 1967 Chevy C10 Payoff Part 9

Hey, welcome to trucks. You know, the purpose of this show has always been to show you how to do stuff,

you know, the tools and techniques it takes

to hand build something of your very own. But every once in a while, the time comes to put the tools down

and see just exactly what it is that you've created.

And today on trucks

is one of those days,

you know, without a doubt, one of the most popular trucks I've ever built is this little 67 Chevy called Copperhead. But why?

Well, the reasons are pretty obvious. The 67 through 72 GM trucks are without a doubt, one of the best looking trucks ever built.

And there are so many parts available for them that you can literally start with a frame and a cab

and you can build this truck. I've been telling you that from the very beginning,

but telling you that and proving it to you,

that's two different things. This

is the proof.

Now, I know a lot of you have been following this project from the very beginning and you're just dying to see it all come together

and hear that big 572 finally kicked to life.

Well,

guys and girls,

this is complied.

Starting at the very bottom, the frame and the chassis were the first two things to be brought back to life

with all new components.

What I'm starting with is literally a 67 cab, a

frame

and of course a title. You, you gotta have a title. You don't have a truck without that.

Remember by breaking your big project into smaller subprojects,

you not only keep everything more organized,

but you're also able to keep the project moving along and give you a sense of accomplishment.

The drive train, what's next?

And with that came the introduction of Chevy's new 572 crate engine

and this sucker not only kicks out a massive 620 horsepower on pump gas,

but this is also the very first production engine

which makes this truck definitely one of a kind.

We backed up all that power with a built turbo 400 tranny and an overdrive.

So this thing will run down the road as well as get off the line.

And at this point,

people were beginning to understand why I had named this truck. Copperhead.

It's a very potent street machine disguised in the unlikely body of a pickup truck.

The paint and body were the next stage and to go with the name Copperhead

and to add to the illusion that this is just a fancy show truck that you'd only drive once in a while.

We created a special PPG color called copperhead metallic and it looks good even on a cloudy day.

And then we started putting it all back together

using a combination of reproduction

N Os and original parts

proving once again that you got a lot of options when it comes to building one of these trucks,

uh the interior

that is a whole step in itself. And once again, with these body style trucks,

you have a tremendous amount of choices

from bone stock to full on custom. And the only limit is your imagination and of course, your budget.

Yeah,

easier said than done.

Don't underestimate this step.

This is where most people get discouraged and give up usually because of bad planning or unforeseen problems that they weren't prepared for

and then all of a sudden it's done.

Now, did I hit my goal?

Do I have something that can be a full

on show rig when it needs to be?

But something that's reliable and functional enough to be ad driver,

but at the same time can transform itself into the fastest baddest nastiest thing on the street.

Is that even possible?

Oh, sure. It is. Check it out.

The first stop for Copperhead upon completion

was not just any old car show.

It went to one of the biggest, the SMA

show in Las Vegas

where it sat on display in the Chevrolet booth to represent the crate motor program with the very first production 572 crate engine bulging out from under the hood.

This was a tremendous honor for an old truck that was just a derelict frame. And

just a few years ago,

the response to the truck was overwhelming. People swarmed around it, looking, pointing, asking questions. It was great.

I even had some time to spend with Jay Leno who had his awesome 67 to

auto on display right beside it.

You may notice shave the drip rails because it always looked like a big eyebrow on these things. Oh, that's true. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's all subtle. It's wonderful.

Keep

it real

slick.

Beautiful. Yeah. Yeah.

Anyway, the Seamen Show was great. Truck was a huge hit,

but that's only a small part of what this truck is.

The biggest part we're gonna cover when we come back

because we're gonna put you in the passenger seat.

We're gonna drive this sucker,

you know, you better hold on. It's not about to swing your butt all over that seat.

Welcome back to trucks and the Copperhead payoff.

Now, we already know the truck looks good.

But how does it perform on the road?

Well, that is what we are gonna find out. Come on.

All right, we're rolling down the interstate here right at 80 miles an hour. Everything is just as smooth as glass. This thing feels like a new truck, which I, I guess it is

all the gauges are lined up.

Everything's functional. We got 60 pounds of oil pressure,

water temperature is 100 and 80 degrees

to meter working holds fuel.

This thing's feeling good.

Now, one thing that's really cool that I want to show you is this gear vendors overdrive. Now I'm running down the road here. 70 miles an hour. 3000 RPM. Si hit the overdrive,

drops it down to 2500. Just like that.

If I wanna go back,

hit the button back to 3000,

it's like a whole another gear. That's, that's sweet.

The first thing we want to take a look at is the handling of the road manners.

Remember I didn't get overly exotic with the suspension because you don't need to

new urethane bushings, ball joints, bigger sway bars, quick racial steering, drop strings and spindles. All this adds up to make this thing handle surprisingly well on the street, especially for a truck with a big heavy engine in the front

R eight big heavy truck. Let's see what you can.

However, if you start to push this thing on a road course

you'll get the typical understeer entering a curve

but a quick flip of the throttle, bring that rear end right out from under you with oversteer,

which would make this truck a handful on a slick or grab a road.

But it is a lot of fun on a road course.

I'll tell you what this quick ratio steering is nice even if you're building a truck just to be a street driver,

you need to have quick ratio steering,

the harder I push on the gas, the more the gas gauge goes down. Why is that?

Of course, if you wanna play,

you gotta pay. Yeah, Scott lost the toss on this one.

How's it going, Scott?

I gotta watch you, man.

Uh,

now rolling down the road, this thing is surprisingly quiet due largely to all that sound proofing. I put on before putting the carpet in the upholstery.

Now, the gauges are big and easy to read.

The mirrors are small but they're functional.

Driving position is nice and comfortable shifters within easy reach. This is definitely a vehicle that you could drive down the road every day if you'd want to.

That takes care of two criteria for Copperhead, one nice cool Show truck, two

nice, reliable daily driver. If you want it to be.

Now when we come back, I'm gonna put some switches,

we're gonna see just how nasty this thing really is.

This is awesome.

Welcome back to the Copperhead payoff.

We've taken a look at the show ability

and the street ability of this rig.

Now it's time to get back to the Nashville superspeedway

and put the pedal down

in the quest to see just how sharp this thing will turn.

I found it will actually turn in its own radius

but not using the steering wheel, just the throttle

which leads us to the conclusion.

If you're into drifting, you need to build a truck

because nothing will hang the rear out like a truck.

Of course, right about now, it's time to take our increasingly familiar position

at the back of the truck and this is 112.

So nobody's gonna miss these few gallons. Are they,

you wanna just like, pull that tank behind me

the way this stuff's going through there, we're probably gonna need to do that.

All right, the tank is full. It's time to find out what kind of top speed this thing is capable of

and with its sixties, aerodynamics

and its modern power and drive train.

Trust me, this truck's gonna be airborne long before it stops accelerating,

making 100 and 40 miles an hour, a nice round number

to stop pushing it at,

well, at this point, it's time to stop fooling around

and see what this thing will do off the line with or without slips.

So, after warming up the unfortunate Toyota tires to get as much traction as possible,

I'll court the headers

and turn this sucker loose.

Here we go.

Now, hold on. Wait a minute, wait a minute.

I'm not really sure. You understand what you just saw.

Those black marks are over 300 ft long and it was still spinning. Hadn't hooked up yet.

Finally, at about 70 miles an hour with the rear end whipping back and forth.

I finally lifted the throttle enough to let it hook up. And guys that was without the nitrous amazing here. Watch it again.

Well, there it is Copperhead.

Now, this is the best part about this whole deal. We put 250 miles on this thing in two days, drove it to the track, flogged the

wi out of it

and then drove it back in the dark. No breakdowns, no leads,

no problems. Everything worked exactly like it should. And that is what you want.

That's where all the time that you spent working on the details, making sure they were right. Really pays off because you don't want breakdowns and problems when it's time to go have fun.

Now, a lot of you may be thinking, well, that's great for you,

but I can't build a truck like this.

Yes, you can. That's the whole point here. You can build your own version of this truck to your skill level and your budget man put a small block in it or keep the stock interior or the stock brakes, just build something and make it yours.

That brings up one final point. I wanna make,

you're not gonna build a truck like this in six weeks. You're not gonna build it in six months. Heck, you're not gonna build it in a year.

The average gearhead spends four years working on this project. So don't get discouraged because one day

it will be time to turn the key

and drive out of the garage. And at that point, I have got two requests of you. Number one

that you drive it like you stole it. And number two, if you ever pull up beside me,

you better be ready to run it

when it comes time to lift your truck. Bigger is not always better if you've got a work truck or a recreational SUV or a daily driver.

A lot of people don't like to jack these too high because you can lose the practicality of it. Now, if this is you,

well, this new skyjacker three inch lift for late model GM trucks and suvs is exactly what you need. It's very simple kit, got new knuckles, brackets, cross members hardware to not only lift the vehicle three inches,

but it all also gives you better control and stability than your stock suspension

and

you can fit a 33 inch tall tire here. So if you need a little bit more to get through that old mud hole or if you're more into the bling bling thing with your SUV

Skyjacker had you in mind when they built this,

if your idea of a dream vehicle is a big SUV with a big wheel and tire combination on it like that Cadillac you just saw,

well, you're gonna find that getting those big wheels is the easy part,

finding a set of tires to fit.

That's a little tougher. That is where Neto has got you covered with what they call the 420 s.

Now, this is a cool looking high performance street radio

that has a non directional pattern. So it's gonna look good no matter where you mount it on the truck,

you can also get these for up to a 24 inch rim. Now,

guys, if you need a bigger rim than that,

you might want to check into some wagon wheels which I'm sure Neto will build some tires for if you can figure out a way to bolt them on.