Published 9/19/24
A C10 for the Strip and the Show
WORDS: DAN HODGDON
PHOTOS: NATE LIGHT
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Understandably, it’s rare to see a show-quality build on a racetrack. Phil Puleo’s blue LS-swapped 1967 C10 is an exception. During this year’s Holley LS Fest East program at Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Puleo competed in the Truck & SUV class on the drag strip throughout the weekend. But his truck could have also been part of the car show on the grounds.
“I like going fast and I didn’t want just your run-of-the-mill Fox body or F-body, so I just thought I’d do something a little bit different,” Puleo said.
Phil Puleo’s show-quality 1967 C10 can be found on drag strips throughout the Midwest.
Puleo, who hails from Plainfield, Illinois, has owned the truck for approximately eight years. It was powered by a stock inline six-cylinder engine when he bought it, and the owner had added lowering springs, but otherwise it was similar to how it rolled off the Chevrolet assembly line.
“I brought it home and was going to put air-ride [suspension] on it and make it a street truck,” Puleo said. “It kind of snowballed into this.”
Included in that snowball effect was the addition of a 6.0L LQ9 engine from a 2003 Silverado. The mill is a GM Gen III Small-Block, representing the first generation of LS engines.
Puleo added stock LS3 cylinder heads and a stock LS3 intake manifold, improved gapping on the piston rings, and installed an S480 BorgWarner turbocharger along with a Shearer Fabrications intercooler. The engine is paired with a 4L80-E four-speed automatic transmission.
The truck is powered by a 6.0 LQ9 engine swapped from a Chevrolet Silverado.
So why the LS?
“I think the aftermarket that’s there for it, and then just seeing all the proven numbers that people are doing with LS stuff,” Puleo said. “With simple mods they go pretty fast.”
A look in the engine bay in the C10 reveals a clean setup that could be a candidate for awards. But above all, it is functional.
“To me, less is more,” Puleo said. “I just kind of keep it clean and simple by hiding the wiring and all that. It's just the way I like things.”
Performance upgrades for the track include a Skyview Race Cars front suspension kit featuring chromoly tubing, rack-and-pinion steering, a Quick Performance nine-inch rear end and Viking Performance coilovers on all four corners. The truck rides on Billet Specialties Win Lite wheels and features Mickey Thompson Radial Pro Tires out back.
The truck’s interior features a blend of stock-appearing elements and racing components.
The interior sports a classic look with bench seats, but a Holley EFI Pro Dash offers a constant stream of data. The interior incorporates a Motion Raceworks shifter and a C02 kit from the company to work in tandem with the turbocharger. The rollcage is from Skyview Racecars and Rick’s Racecraft installed the cage to ensure proper fitment.
Puleo’s father is retired from the paint-and-body business, but he painted the truck its sparkling custom light-blue shade in his three-car garage. Phil Puleo, a truck driver by trade, did most of the other work in the two-car garage at his house.
At Beech Bend, Puleo competed in the eighth-mile in the Truck & SUV class for the third consecutive year. His wife, Rachel, and friends John and Nikki made the trip with him. The truck has turned in a best time of 6.04 seconds in the eighth, however, it is more geared for the quarter-mile. In 1,320 feet, Puleo has clocked a 9.61-second pass at 138 mph.
Puleo likes to go fast, but also for his vehicles to have a clean and impressive appearance.
Puleo doesn’t follow a series, or even run competitively that often, but instead hits a variety of test-and-tune events with his friends at places like Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove, Wisconsin, Illinois’ Byron Dragway and US41 Dragstrip in Morocco, Indiana.
When he’s not on the strip, he often attends car shows and cruise nights, where the truck looks just at home as it does on the track.
For Puleo, his C10 truly is the best of both worlds.
Be sure to keep watching The BLOCK for more feature stories featuring Chevrolet Performance from the 2024 edition of Holley LS Fest East.