The old formula is simple, if you have a two-wheel-drive truck, you slam it and make it a street truck. If you have a 4×4 truck, you lift it with mud tires, right? Well, maybe not. In recent years owners of 4×4 trucks are lowering theirs instead of lifting them to create radical sport trucks that can accelerate like no other on the street with double the traction. But a lifted two-wheel-drive pickup can’t be cool, can it? “Rocky” is a lifted C10 set to prove us all wrong.

What started life as a rusty $2,500 project truck has turned into this Ferrari-red beauty. Originally, this short wheelbase single-cab half-ton came with a 250 cubic-inch straight six that had an output of 100 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque. Not that it matters anymore, as that tired workhorse was long gone by the time its latest owner got ahold of it. The fenders, doors, and bedsides were covered in small dents and dings from work duty and the cab corners were rusted through like all old C10s.

The first step was to strip the truck down to a bare metal frame that was then coated in KBS rust seal black coating. Once cured, it was time to get the suspension sorted out. The front suspension is a combination of stock and aftermarket parts to get four inches of extra lift. The front spindles are from Rough Country and provide the lift, but are made for 1988-’98 C1500 trucks. With a careful combination of stock parts from Rock Auto for C10 and C1500 trucks, they mount on easily.

The rear lift is achieved with new leaf springs from BDS Suspension mounted to the stock axle, rebuilt with Yukon Gear differential and gears. Rocky’s new rolling chassis was completed with 22×12-inch American Force Guardian SS polished wheels and 33×10.50×22 Toyo Open Country A/T III tires.

It may only be two-wheel-drive, but with a limited-slip differential and these wide 33-inch Toyo tires, it can keep up with most on the trails.

Before bodywork and paint, the rest of the drivetrain needed to be finalized with a new engine and transmission. A new LS was the only way for Rocky the lifted C10, so a Summit Racing 5.3-liter LS crate engine was freighted to the shop. Based on a factory iron block with stock cylinder heads and rotating assembly, it has a Summit Racing Pro LS hydraulic roller camshaft measuring 222 and 232 degrees of duration on the intake and exhaust lobes with 0.550 inches of lift on both. Hedman headers were used for the swap and connected to a custom-bent dual exhaust with Borla mufflers. This combination of parts helps this 5.3-liter pump out 450 horsepower and 420 foot-pounds of torque.

Compared to a classic Gen-1 small-block Chevy, the LS can be challenging to dress up in a classic car or truck. To remedy this, Holley supplied a single-plane EFI intake manifold with their black fuel rails and 42-pound-per-hour fuel injectors. The intake is fitted with one of Summit Racing’s 92mm billet throttle body and the fuel, spark, and transmission are controlled with a Holley Terminator X MAX engine management system. This gives the modern LS platform the classic four-barrel look and when topped with a black stock air cleaner and Lokar’s LS Classic Series valve covers and valley cover the result is a clean and tasteful engine bay with a ’70s vibe.

The 5.3-liter is connected to a TCI Street Fighter 4L60E transmission kit to handle the 450 horses in front of it. The transmission kit from TCI comes with one of their Breakaway torque converters, a transmission cooler, filler tube and dipstick, and three gallons of TCI’s Max Shift transmission fluid to give you everything you need to complete the installation.

Subtle touches in a custom build can be hard to see at first, but set the build apart from the rest. This “Rocky 79” emblem on the dash is a nice touch.

Street Dreams Paint and Body in Ocala, Florida handled the sheet metal and paint. The new skin was sourced from Auto Metal Direct, National Parts Depot supplied all new glass, and once everything was together and level, the team painted Rocky Ferrari red. The interior is dressed in TMI’s Cruiser Series for the dash, door panels, and seats trimmed in black vinyl with red stitching. Behind the new dash are Vintage Air AC, Dakota Digital Gauges, and a new Ididit Steering Column connected to the rebuilt steering box.

So, can a lifted two-wheel-drive pickup be cool? We think Rocky is a strong contender to prove us all wrong and buck the trend. With a 450-horsepower LS under the hood, perfected bodywork, and bright Ferrari red paint, it’s hard to imagine anyone kicking this lifted C10 named “Rocky” out of their own garage.