NIGHTTRAIN - Jesse Coburn - 1984 C10 Chevy Pickup

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ike most of you reading this magazine, Jesse Coburn has a long and sordid history when it comes to his love affair with the automobile.

“Growing up, as a kid I was always around cars with my

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dad,” the Basehor, Kansas resident reflected. “As long as I can remember, my dad Randy was always tinkering with his 1969 Mustang,” he added.

Along the way, Randy managed to pass the gene down to the son, with the pair hot rodding ev-

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erything from lawn mowers to daily drivers and everything in between.

When it came time to start driving, Randy bought Jesse a well-travelled 1984 C-10 shortbed for $500 to serve as his first truck. With a kajillion miles and a now-trendy blue

story by

James Williams

photos by

Cameron Richardson

!

IL A M E H T L U A H LY L A E NR A SINISTER C-10 THAT CA

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BACK IN BLACK It’s hard to beat the villainous looks of gloss black paint, and Coburn’s C-10 is no exception. With a slammed stance and Mickey Thompson tires, the Chevy just looks nasty! The “EPA Approved” exhaust dumps may or may not actually be legal.

patina’d paintjob, it was a project to say the least. True to form, the duo added headers and a trick high-flow induction system (read: they flipped the factory air cleaner lid upside down) and proceeded to crack off a quarter-mile ET in a range that roughly equaled Jesse’s age.

Sadly, an unexpected

mishap avoiding a deer resulted in a total loss for the first ol’ squarebody.

Undeterred, Jesse found yet another ’84 just days later and purchased it right away for $400. “The ‘new’ truck was in really bad shape— both bed sides were caved in, the roof was smashed in from

kids jumping on it—it needed a ton of work,” he said. Tasks included updated, replacement, or new panels pirated from whatever was useable from the totaled C-10 and elsewhere before laying down a black paintjob. “We actually painted the truck in a shop that had a wooden floor and wood

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everything else. We decided on black and that’s what it has been ever since,” he added.

With the truck finally together in time for Jesse’s senior year of high school, things were trending in the right direction, with a best of 13.62 @ 98 mph. But it still wasn’t nearly fast enough for either Coburn.

The tandem proceeded to yank the mild 350 and sold it

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along with the transmission, rearend, and front suspension. Most simply, going fast usually revolves around two things: minimizing weight and maximizing power. The Coburns opted for both.

First up: the heft. A Scott’s Hot Rods bolt-on front crossmember was chosen and installed, along with matching Scott’s tubular control arms and a pair of Menscer

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shocks. Big 14-inch discs with 6-piston calipers help slow the classic Chevy up front. A pair of 17x4.5 inch Alumastars with Mickey Thompson tires further accent the slammed stance while keeping the rotating mass to a minimum.

Other pound-saving measures included replacing the factory steel sheetmetal with GlassTech carbon replacement pieces to the hood, tailgate,

RACE READY The truck features plenty of clues that it is way more than just a parts runner. From the wing to the cage, the rearmounted ’chute or the carbon fiber turbo inlets, it is ready to take on all comers.

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LIGHT FLIGHT Squarebody Chevies aren’t known for being sveldt, but there’s plenty of carbon fiber to keep the heft down on this one. and front bumper along with a custom carbon bed cover and rear wing.

I guess you could say things were starting to get serious.

Out back, the suspension upgrades were less about weight and more about ensuring the drivetrain was up to par for the massive power the

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Coburns had in mind in the near future.

A fabricated 9-inch housing from Moser was filled with a Moser through-bolt center section and Moser 40-spline gun-drilled and star-flanged axles.

Matching Menscer double-adjustable shocks make suspension dial-in a breeze and Moser disc brakes help slow the beefy 15x12-inch wheels

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and their 315x60-155 Mickey Thompson meats.

The chassis was fully filled and smoothed before being powder coated d black. Meanwhile, a Larson 25.3 chromoly cage addss rigidity and safety and was powder coated metallic gray for contrast.

With the weight loss man-

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JESSE COBURN’S 1984 CHEVY C10 PICKUP Chassis Type & Mods: Full factory frame was smoothed, filled, and powder coated gloss black. Larry Larson 25.3 cage powder coated metallic gray.

Suspension & Brakes: FRONT: Scott’s Hot Rods bolt-on front crossmember with tubular control arms, Menscer double-adjustable shocks, and Wilwood 6-piston disc brakes with 14-inch slotted rotors. REAR: Calvert Racing split mono leafs with Caltrac bars. Menscer double-adjustable shocks with Moser dual piston calipers and cross-drilled rotors.

Body & Paint: Custom black and ghosted grey stripe by Trenton Clark and TKF Motorsports. GlassTech carbon fiber hood, bumper, bed cover, wing, and tailgate.

Custom chrome on bumper, grille, and charge pipes by Alternative Chrome Creations.

Engine: Patterson Racing-built 400 ci SBC. Dart Little M block with Callies Ultra Billet crank, Carillo H-beam billet rods, and Diamond Racing turbo pistons. AFR 245 NP aluminum heads with spread exhaust ports, heavy-duty stainless intake valves, and Inconel exhaust valves.

Induction & Fuel Delivery: Edelbrock Super Victor aluminum intake reworked

by Wilson Manifolds. Wilson billet elbow and 105 mm throttle body. Wilson 4-inch spacer. Aeromotive brushless spur gear pump and regulator pushing E-85. FuelTech EFI system.

Power Adder: Twin Precision Turbo 76/75 billet wheel ball bearing turbochargers installed by Larson Race Cars. Bed-mounted PT3000 air-to-water intercooler.

Precision 46mm waste gates and 60mm blow-off valve.

Electronics & Ignition: FuelTech FT600. RacePak Smartwire system. All wiring completed by KCMAXX Performance.

Exhaust: Larson Race Cars custom turbo exhaust with fender dumps.

Transmission & Driveline: M&M TH400 with first and second-gear leaves.

Internal and external dump valves. Pro Torque bolt-together converter. Gear Vendors overdrive (“For those date nights with the wife.”).

Differential: Moser fabricated 9-inch with Moser through-bolt center section, Mark Williams Pro gear 9.5-inch 3.89 gears, and Mark Williams 40-spline gundrilled and star-cut flanged axles.

Tires & Wheels: FRONT: 17x4.5-inch Weld Racing Alumastar wheels with 28x617 Mickey Thompson Sportsman SR front tires. REAR: 15x12-inch Weld Racing Alumastar wheels with 315x60-15 Mickey Thompson ET Street Radial Pro tires.

Performance (quarter-mile): 8.88 @ 153 mph best to date with more to spare since updates.

aged, it was time for some muscle. For that, the Coburns opted for a Patterson Racing Engines 400 ci small block Chevy with twin Precision turbos for power. A Dart Little M block was stuffed with a Callies crank, Carillo rods, and Diamond pistons.

ARP hardware was used throughout. A roller cam from Bullet Racing was spec’d out and partnered with keyed Jesel solid roller lifters. AFR 245 heads were selected for the

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turbo setup due to their spread exhaust port design so critical for heat dissipation.

Likewise, stainless intake and Inconel exhaust valves help keep pace with the turbo heat.

Induction for the mighty mouse consists of a pair of 76/75 mm Precision Turbo ball-bearing billet impeller units blowing through a bed-mounted airto-water intercooler.

The charge is then routed back up front

to a Wilson Manifolds billet 105 mm throttle body mounted to a billet elbow and a 4-inch spacer. An Edelbrock Super Victor aluminum intake was reworked

by Wilson with an extensive port job as well as welded-in injector bungs for the 225# injectors.

Fuel is supplied via a unique Larson dual pump setup using a custom fabricated cell with twin Aeromotive electric pumps. AN-10

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NICE MIX The Chevy is certainly a capable competitor on the track, but it isn’t all business. Alternative chrome and factory trim complements the custom touches perfectly.

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BIG BOOST, LITTLE BLOCK The 400-cube Patterson Racing-built small block Chevy runs a pair of Precision Turbos and a custom bed-mounted intercooler.

lines keep the fuel flowing freely, and the 15 gallon street side and 5 gallon race side of the cell is fully compatible with E-85 or other more exotic fuel choices.

Electronics consist of a FuelTech FT600 system to manage the EFI and a RacePak SmartWire system for all the other electrical needs.

Nearby KCMAXX

Performance handled all the wiring chores, and the truck still runs working headlights, taillights, markers, and turn signals.

Backing the engine is a fully for-

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tified TH400 trans complete with a Reid case and bellhousing, all billet internals, first and second gear leave, and both internal and external fluid dumps. A bolt-to-

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NOICE.

gether converter keeps k the h launches hard and a Gear Vendors overdrive unit makes for more fuel efficient highway cruising.

Paint and body is straightforward and clean, with Trenton Clark of TKF Motorsports handling all

paint and prep. The sleek black paintjob is highlighted by a number of pieces treated to Alternative Chrome Creations unique spray-on chrome application, including the front bumper, grille shell, and charge tubes. Lastly, a custom carbon-look “NIGHTRAIN”

ggraphic makes its way ba back along the truck’s fla flanks.

Inside, the square body is mostly business, with a number of factory black pieces like door panels, dash, and trim augmented with custom black anodized billet trim and the

Every inch of this beast has been detailed and attended to, as indicated by the killer clean interior. The black-n-chrome theme from the exterior and engine bay spills over inside, with a host of factory pieces interspersed with custom touches like the chrome intercooler tubing.

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CERTIFIED. FRESH.

The Mustang’s cockpit features a lightweight chromoly skeleton and lots of carbon fiber panels and bar protectors. A Racepak digital dash is the lone addition to the fiberglass replacement dashboard that lives behind the quick release Strange steering wheel.

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custom inset digital dash. A pair of lightweight carbon bucket seats, a Grant quick release wheel, and custom shifter round out the creature comforts, while an on-board fire suppression system and cage round out the safety gear.

The truck’s best pass so far has been an 8.88 at 153, but those

numbers are undoubtedly expected to change this summer. “Right now the truck is still new and we are working a lot of the little bugs out of it, but it is still a true street truck,” Jesse said.

“This has been a six year work in progress, and has had many highs and lows. But it is worth every bit of it! My dad

Randy and I work together and are looking towards the 2020 racing season with confidence!” he concluded.

And why not?

With a scary-fast Chevy like this, you know that the Nightrain is capable of delivering the Coburns all the way to the winners’ circle every weekend!

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