NRV R i de s
A Smooth Purring Sunny Day Ride
Text by Karl H. Kazaks Photos by Tom Wallace One recent weekend, Donny Dunbar had his restored and modified, sunburst orange, chrome-bedecked 1965 Chevy C10 in his yard, preparing to go to a cruise-in – if the rain held off. “I like the way it rides and drives,” Dunbar states about his prize. “It doesn’t drive like a truck. It drives more like a sports car.” The truck’s easy driving quality is in part due to modifications which have been made to the shortbed classic, but even if it had been restored to factory specs, it would be a smooth ride. That’s due to the vehicle’s independent suspension – a new feature to the C10 in 1965. That factory design change 40
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permitted the truck to handle more like a sedan and permitted the vehicle’s designers to opt for a more low slung body style, a look which has helped the pickup become a classic. Dunbar’s specimen is a stepside. It sports a narrower bed and fenders situated on the bed’s exterior with a platform in front of the fenders permitting access to the front of the bed. The bed itself has a wooden bottom and, as you can see on its interior walls, exposed rivets indicating where the fenders are attached to the cargo box. (photo on page 42)
The interior of the truck’s cabin is spartan but spacious, easier to enter
than preceding years’ models thanks to a wider door swing. The 1965 is also the first year the C10 had standard airconditioning (underdash). This truck has power windows as well. Dunbar lives in Pembroke, where he has worked at Celanese for three decades. He grew up in Giles County, where his WW II veteran father, Eugene, and his older brother, Duane, enjoyed working on cars with a younger Donny. Some of the cars the Dunbars worked on were classic cars before they became classics, like Eugene’s 1972 and 1975 Camaros. Donny himself restored a 1971 Camaro and worked on a 1985 Monte Carlo SS and a 1953 GMC pickup.
May/June 2021
