MANGO TANGO | Eddie Motorsports’ 1980 GMC C10 Square Body Stunner

Builders of hot rods, muscle cars and sport trucks looking to incorporate billet accessories into their projects must alaready be familiar with the Eddie Motorsports brand. When it comes to great-fitting and better-looking exterior, interior and engine dress-up parts, Eddie has been a reliable source since 2009.

Dealing with designing so many parts and pieces for direct replacement, I have come to rely on test fitting all pieces many times before final installation. Patience, patience and more patience are also key during these types of builds. All good things come with time.
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Ed Borges started Eddie Motorsports at the tail end of the 2000s, but it certainly wasn’t his first rodeo in the world of design and manufacturing of high-quality, kick-ass hardware and accessories. Ed first started in the performance marine industry with Eddie Marine, while at the same time being able to crank out the parts in-house at Eddie Machine—a state-of-the-art machine shop with 12 CNC mills and three CNC lathes. Fusioncoat, another of Ed’s ventures, is his internal powdercoating operation that allows for in-house coating solutions with the utmost attention being paid to superior quality control. The motorsports division was just next step in the process of leveling up and reaching a new market of enthusiasts.

In the past, Ed has built a pair of pretty cool classic Camaros to showcase the variety of Eddie Motorsports’ parts range. As you can imagine, the response to these cars was positive in all aspects. Not only were they properly dressed in custom billet accessories, but they were completely stacked in the horsepower category—for a lack of too flowery a description, the builds turned out to be absolute beasts. Given that Eddie Motorsports has catered to the custom sports truck fan base for years as well, the time to start on a pickup project was swiftly put into high gear.

TO FRESHEN UP THE FRONTEND, THE FACTORY GRILLE AND BUMPER WERE TREATED TO A REJUVENATING PAINTJOB.

An ’80 Chevy C10 would serve as the foundation for Ed’s pickup build and, of course, the level of customization would be above average, but the project would stay within the realm of attainability with nothing too over the top.

“I’ve always loved the Square Body C10 trucks,” Ed admits. “Building one would allow us to have some fun while showcasing some of the parts and services that our company offers.”

With an agenda as simple as that, the old Chevy was ripped into and inspected to see where the build would begin.

THE BILLET BUDNIK WHEELS WERE TREATED TO A GOLD HAZE COLORED POWDERCOAT FINISH TO COMPLEMENT THE MANGO TANGO PAINTJOB.

Luckily for Ed, the truck wasn’t in too bad of shape to begin with. An ’80 GM 350 would serve as the truck’s power source, and it was built up to pump out an impressive 420hp after all the aftermarket performance enhancers were thrown into the mix. From Trick Flow racing heads, Doug’s headers, custom exhaust and a whole supporting cast of horsepower inducing products, the C10 received a hearty helping of go-fast goods. Of course, the engine overhaul wouldn’t be near complete without Eddie Motorsports’ billet accessories, which this truck sports a lot of, naturally. But instead of just bolting these parts on directly from the rack, Ed went a step further to powdercoat them first in a Gold Haze color that would work in tandem with the truck’s scheduled paintjob to give the C10 its own unique appearance.

THE 1980 350CI ENGINE HAS BEEN DECKED OUT IN POWER ADDERS AND EDDIE MOTORSPORTS ACCESSORIES. THE CUSTOM POWDER AND PAINT COMBO MAKE THE ROUGHLY 420HP POWER PLANT LOOK JUST AS GOOD AS IT PERFORMS.

With the engine well taken care of, the truck’s exterior was next treated with whole lot of love. The first thing to catch the eyes of onlookers is the paint, which is by design. The PPG Mango Tango Toxic Orange is a Chrysler color, but man does it look fantastic on this Chevy. The orange hue played a role in the color coordination of the entire rest of the truck from the exterior, interior and underneath the hood. On the exterior, the Eddie billet parts were also treated to the powdered Gold Haze that just plays so well with the Mango Tango color. Even the Budnik wheels were given the same treatment for overall uniformity. It was a big move to go the extra distance to coat so many billet accessories, but Ed wanted to show other truck builders what his brands are truly capable of delivering.

EVEN THE INTERIOR BILLET ACCESSORIES WERE POWDERCOATED TO MATCH THOSE FOUND ON THE EXTERIOR AND UNDER THE HOOD.

The interior was next to be updated, and the same game plan that was used everywhere else on the truck was scheduled to unfold inside the cab. Ed has used Raul’s Auto Trim, in Ontario, California, for his previous builds, and did so again with the C10, knowing full well that he could expect stunning results. The cinnamon-colored Allante upholstery has truly transformed the factory bench seat, door panels and dash. Even the fresh wool carpeting that had been brought in matches the color scheme. And again, the familiar Gold Haze powdercoating has covered Eddie’s classic billet steering wheel, window cranks and pedal covers.

THE FACTORY BENCH SEAT WAS GIVEN NEW LIFE WITH FRESH UPHOLSTERY BY RAUL’S AUTO TRIM.

Overall, the completed project took about a year to finish, which isn’t too bad considering the level of detail work that went into this C10 build. Even though Ed has been around the block a few times now with these custom projects, he always manages to take something new from each one.

“Dealing with designing so many parts and pieces for direct replacement, I have come to rely on test fitting all pieces many times before final installation,” he shares. “Patience, patience and more patience are also key during these types of builds. All good things come with time.”

If you didn’t have an idea of what Eddie Motorsports offered for your C10 build, this square body here is a prime example of just a partial offering of their menu. It’s cool to see that not only can you get the billet parts you want for your truck, but you can get them specially powdercoated to work best with whatever color combinations you’re working with—directly from Eddie. This truck not only displays the goods they offer, but the type of outside the box creativity that comes from playing with color and coating ideas and then running full speed with them.

[divider]Build Specs[/divider]

OWNER

Ed Borges
(Eddie Motorsports)
1980 GMC C10
Rancho Cucamonga, California

Engine/Transmission

1980 Chevrolet 350ci V-8
Trick Flow racing heads
Edelbrock intake manifold
FiTech Easy Street 600hp fuel injection, ready tank and in-tank pump setup
Doug’s headers
Flowmaster exhaust system
Pertronix FlameThrower III ignition coils
Eddie Motorsports valve covers and breathers, oval air cleaner, billet hood hinges
All under hood billet pieces powdercoated with Gold Haze powdercoat
1980 TH350 transmission
Trans Go Stage 2 shift kit
B&M vacuum modulator, governor and weight kit