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600 HP LS3-Swapped Chevy C10 Was Dreamt by BMW Specialist With E46 Handling

Most North American BMW fans that love a premium mod on their Bavarian rides have probably heard about the Dinan Performance Centers. Well, one of their retired engineers seemingly decided it was time for a change... and build a 600-hp LS3 Chevrolet C10 that could out-handle his E46!
Chevrolet C10 Pro-Touring restomod AutotopiaLA 76 photos
Photo: AutotopiaLA/YouTube
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Shawn Davis, the host of the AutotopiaLA YouTube channel, decided to find out if the engineer managed to complete the project as intended. So, he invited Chris Chandler – the owner, engineer, and BMW aficionado (if you watch carefully, you’ll catch the Bavarian Easter Egg in the interior detail section starting at the 6:05 mark) - for a quick look and ride with the Chevy C10.

From the get-go, we have to give the engineering soul credit where due – this is certainly one of the cleanest and most subtle C10 restomods we have seen of late, with a clearly understated exterior styling that gives only minute hints towards the performance credentials hiding under the black and white livery.

Of course, a connoisseur will immediately notice something is amiss – even when standing still the lowered ride gives enough clues, and once the LS3 engine is fired up the custom exhaust note will signal this ride is ready to shame many performance-wannabees that test its patience on the road.

According to the description, just about everything on the Chevy C10 has been changed – starting with the underbody where it rides on a No Limit Engineering chassis, Forgeline alloys, and brakes on a C6 Corvette Z06 package.

With his technical mind, the owner says he decided to go for OEM parts as much as possible – and in the process he managed to subdue the weight credentials to around 3,700 pounds, with a weight distribution of around 52 / 48 front and back.

By the way, these two guys turned everything into a geeky technical discussion, so if you want more of the chit chat just head to the drive part from the 8:35 mark – where they smile a lot during acceleration and explain even more of the engineering stuff in the meantime.

Just one more note before we let you fully enjoy the video (embedded below) and judge for yourself if the C10 restomod does compete with the legendary E46 – the LS3 engine he uses was initially a crate replacement unit for a Corvette, but he optioned a GM Performance controller to reach 525 hp and after some enhancements it now resides in the 600-hp (500-hp at the wheel) ballpark.

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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
Aurel Niculescu profile photo

Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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