Projects: Copperhead

Copperhead

1967 Chevy C10

Of course the key to doing a project like this is to pick a vehicle that is popular, and has a lot of aftermarket support to help you out. The 67 - 72 GM trucks are without a doubt one of the most popular body styles of truck ever made, and the aftermarket has stepped up to produce almost every piece you can imagine for them, both stock and custom. Copperhead proves that with just a cab, frame and title (what I started with) you can put a killer truck together just the way you've always wanted on a budget you can live with, using nos, reproduction and aftermarket parts. This also gave me the opportunity to show viewers how to plan the direction of their project and follow it through to the end.

A lot of people ask where the name "Copperhead" came from. Well, the answer is in the direction I chose to take this project. The direction of the copperhead buildup was simple - to build a blindingly fast street truck that looked all nice and smooth and slick on the outside, like a show truck.

However, it also needed to be reliable enough to drive every day. And it should give no warning to those around just how lethal it really is under the skin. The actual copperhead snake was my model for this because it looks really cool, it's very dangerous, and it has no rattles to warn you it's about to nail ya! Yeah - we're talking the ultimate sleeper here!

I kept body mods to a minimum, just the drip rails were shaved off the cab because these 67-72 GM trucks have such great lines. A special orange "copperhead metallic" custom color was created, and a lot of chrome and polish was used for the "show" effect. Under the hood is not only lethal, but a piece of history. It's the very first, pre- production, GM Performance ZZ572 crate engine - packin' 620hp. Add to that a 150hp nitrous system, dual exhaust cutouts, overdrive and then hide it all in the console, and you have one sneaky snake!

Paint Code

Copperhead Metallic

Credit: Custom Color created by Stacey David and Ron Payton of PPG
Source: Paint and bodywork by Kevin Tetz; additional paint and bodywork by Malcolm Pritchett