Hot Rods, Customs, and Muscle Cars of Detroit Autorama 2026
March 23, 2026
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
TOYOTA STEERING SOLUTIONS
While early Toyota trucks are a great foundation, they do require a few modifications to make them capable of serious off-road use. Sure, you’ll need the basics, such as larger tires, lower gears and some kind of traction-aiding device in the differentials, but first there is a more important issue at hand. The steering on these early Toyota trucks was not designed with hardcore off-road use in mind.
4/7 SWAP
We showed you how to build a small-block engine that could make over 500 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque on 87-octane gas. It was a motor that could be driven just about every day with a hydraulic-roller cam and a good carburetor, making acquisition and maintenance almost nonexistent. Like many things we do in the engine world, the results we enjoyed—while good—just weren’t satisfying anymore. We wanted more.
TRADING PLACES
It was during the ’60s when Vern Hill’s love for all things automobile blossomed. And like so many young men of that era, his love of cars turned into a thirst for speed, and there was no looking back. Hill began building cars, several of which were racecars, which helped him accumulate a few Wallys that adorn his trophy case.
Spotlighter
Too Cool
Chevrolet's Coolside II Is The Answer (The Question Is What Took Them So Long)
When Billy Durant approached Louis Chevrolet about designing a new automobile, Chevrolet was a famous race car driver whose exploits in the Indianapolis 500 were legendary. The year was 1911 and Durant, who could see the writing on the wall for his horse-drawn buggy business, figured who better to design an all-new, high-performance vehicle than a successful driver. Chevrolet, a company that was founded by racers and has produced some of the best high-performance vehicles ever to hit the pavement, has once again gone where no other manufacturer has dared to venture. With truck sales making up nearly 50 percent of their sales volume each year, Chevy wanted to create a Flagship vehicle for their pickup line. It had to be a totally new idea in pickups. But what was to be the angle? Luckily, someone at Chevy figured that since the Corvette holds that title for the autos, maybe the new truck should be equally as high performance. With that, the new Chevrolet Silverado Coolside II was born.
Author
Matt Emery
Photos by Scott Killeen
Built To Handle Serious Horsepower
It takes a tough transmission to handle the kind of power this engine is capable of producing, but Chevrolet has seen to it that the tranny is no standard off-the-shelf item. Chevy has modified their 4L80HD 4-speed automatic transmission to be a high-performance piece in its own right.
All-Wheel Drive Changes Everything
Think that all that power combined with little weight over the rear end would make this a vehicle that is just looking for an excuse to spin? Not with this rig. In an effort to make this a true high- performance vehicle, the C-II has been equipped with—get this—all wheel drive! That’s right. Using technology developed for Chevrolet’s Pikes Peak hill climb race trucks, the C-II is equipped with a New Venture Gear viscous coupling all-wheel-drive system. There’s never an out-of-control moment with all the wheels hooked and pulling. Do you have a friend with an Audi Quattro? Tired of listening to him brag about how well his car works in the corners? With the huge power and AWD capabilities of the Coolside II, you can now take him to a twisty road that has a few long straights in it, and wipe that Euro smirk off his face.
Lower, Tighter, and More Responsive
But the Coolside can do it with more than just brute force. In addition to the AWD, Chevy has modified the frame and suspension components, making it ride 3 inches lower than a stock 1500, and handle in a much more responsive way than any stock C/K pickup. The front suspension remains independent even with the AWD. The front differential is equipped with 373 gears and is mounted to the frame and coil springs do the work up front. No such independent luck in the rear however, as a solid rear axle is held in place with leaf springs. Granted, they are high-quality units from the suspension pros at Hotchkis, but no IRS.
Brakes Worthy of the Performance
Another area where Chevy went all out is with the brakes. The Stillen front disc brakes feature six-piston calipers and huge 355×35.5 rotors. The rotors are directionally vented and have been cross-drilled and slotted as well. Out back, a set of floating GM single-piston calipers puts the squeeze on the 280×24 drilled and slotted solid rotors.
Rolling Stock That Matches the Mission
In another happy departure from the norm and rather than try to design their own wheels, Chevy deferred to the experts and outfitted the C-II with stylish 18×10-inch Budnik Famosa wheels. And in keeping with the ultra high-performance standards that they have strived for with the rest of the C-II package, Goodyear Eagle F1 tires have been mounted up.
Exterior Details That Demand Attention
It has been said that what is inside is what counts, but the exterior of the C-II makes the argument that it is what’s on top that matters. Taking cues from the show-and-shine crowd, the C-II sports many trick touches such as the 2000 Aurora door handles. There is also the one-off front airdam complete with Tahoe Z71 fog lights and the rear rollpan that features molded in exhaust pockets. The height of the tailgate has been raised, but not too much as there is a tonneau covering the bed made from aluminum sheets with a honeycomb center.
Flames, Attitude, and No Apologies
Once again, Chevy was true to their go all-the-way game plan with the C-II. There is a hot rodding adage that says that if you are gong to flame something: flame it! With the black base in place, multihued flames lick over the hood, fenders and doors and even appear on the tonneau cover. A truly striking display!
A Proper Performance Interior
Continuing the black color scheme to the interior is an understatement as nearly everything is black leather save for the red insert on the bucket seats and the trim on the steering wheel. We are not saying this is a bad thing. There is way too much gray that is being foisted upon the masses in what are supposed to be performance vehicles. Race cars have black interiors, period.
The Verdict
The verdict? “Wow” just doesn’t seem to fit, but that is usually the first response one has upon seeing the Chevrolet Silverado Coolside II. A startled, overwhelmed “wow” (usually followed closely by an expletive). “The reaction has been fantastic,” said John Moss, Manager of Chevy/Geo Specialty Vehicles. “The Cool-side has enjoyed a great deal of attention from the racing world. People love the Coolside and all the high-performance and appearance modifications it sports. They can’t believe this performance vehicle is a truck.” We can’t believe it took Chevy so long to build it. But we are definitely happy that they did; now we want it in production.
Editor’s Update: The Coolside II Today
More than two decades after this story was first published, the Chevrolet Silverado Coolside II remains very much alive. Today, it stands as a rolling artifact from one of General Motors’ boldest eras—a time when engineers didn’t just push boundaries, they slammed into them, asking what a performance pickup could be before anyone else even imagined it. Long before factory-built performance trucks became common, the Coolside II married big-block power, all-wheel drive, and show-car flair into a single, unapologetic statement. With documented auction appearances and no recent public exposure, it’s likely tucked away in private hands, quietly waiting for this generation of GM trucks to catch fire in the collector market—especially as clean OBS pickups climb beyond reach. The Coolside II isn’t just a concept remembered; it’s a benchmark, a challenge, and a reminder that Chevrolet once built without hesitation—and damn, it showed.
