1956 Chevy Truck — LS2 Build

This truck arrived painted but mechanically bare, a shell with potential and a pile of parts that needed to become a truck.

The starting point was the bones: a Hitman Hot Rods full aftermarket frame. If you know the name, you know the reputation. These frames come out of Ontario, Canada, with geometry that transforms a 60-year-old truck into something that plants itself in a corner. This one came with the Mustang II front suspension and rack-and-pinion steering already in place. Out back, a Ford 9-inch rear end located by a 4-link suspension puts the power down and keeps the ride planted whether you're cruising the highway or burying the throttle.

The engine is a 6.0L LS2 all-aluminum V8 pulled from a C6 Corvette, factory-rated at 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. That's not a "built" number, that's what GM shipped from Bowling Green. The LS2 is all aluminum from the block to the heads, so it sheds weight where it counts, and with a 10.9:1 compression ratio it snaps to life the moment you tip into the pedal. Behind it sits a GM 4L70E four-speed automatic, the heavy-duty sibling of the 4L60E, built to handle the LS2's torque without breaking a sweat. Fourth gear is a 0.70 overdrive, which means this thing cruises at highway speed like a modern pickup. We fabricated the exhaust in-house from the headers back, because no catalog system ever fits quite right and we'd rather hear exactly the note we want.

The stance comes from a set of Detroit Steel Wheel D-Town Smoothies, 20-inch steelies with that deep-dish profile that says old-school but fills the wheel wells like a modern pro-touring build. We wrapped them in rubber that grips, not just fills space, because this truck gets driven.

Inside, we went clean and functional. New vintage gauges replace the factory cluster with a full digital display that reads like modern instrumentation: speed, tach, oil pressure, coolant temp, fuel level, volts, all in one programmable unit. A tilt steering column puts the wheel exactly where you want it. The wiring is all new, every circuit, because fifty-year-old copper wrapped in crumbling cloth tape is not how you build a reliable driver. All-new glass, all-new chrome, all-new lighting. Nothing that saw 1956 is still on duty. The bed floor is a custom-fabricated piece we just finished, and it ties the whole truck together the way only a clean bed can.

Build Highlights

• Frame: Hitman Hot Rods full aftermarket frame. Custom-fabricated in Ontario, Canada, with modern suspension geometry that transforms the handling of a 1950s truck into something that corners flat and tracks straight at any speed.
• Front Suspension: Mustang II-style independent front suspension with rack-and-pinion steering. Eliminates the vague, wandering feel of the original solid axle and gives you precise, modern steering response.
• Rear Suspension: Ford 9-inch rear end with a 4-link suspension. The gold standard for hot rod rear ends. Strong enough to handle serious power, and the 4-link keeps the axle located under hard acceleration without the bind of leaf springs.
• Engine: GM LS2 6.0L all-aluminum V8, sourced from a 2005–2007 C6 Corvette. Factory-rated at 400 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 400 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm. All-aluminum construction (block and heads), 10.9:1 compression. Instant throttle response and a sound that needs no introduction.
• Transmission: GM 4L70E four-speed automatic. The heavy-duty evolution of the 4L60E, purpose-built for LS powerplants. Fourth gear overdrive (0.70:1) makes highway cruising effortless without sacrificing off-the-line punch.
• Exhaust: Custom-fabricated in-house. Built from the manifolds back for perfect fitment and the exact tone we wanted.
• Wheels: Detroit Steel Wheel D-Town Smoothies, 20-inch. American-made steel wheels with deep-dish styling. The look of a classic steelie with a modern 20-inch footprint that fills the fenders.
• Gauges: New Vintage Gauges. Full electronic instrument cluster replacing the factory gauges with programmable digital readouts for speed, RPM, oil pressure, coolant temperature, fuel level, and voltage.
• Brakes: Power disc brakes. Modern stopping power to match the modern go.
• Cooling: High-capacity aluminum radiator. Keeps the LS2 at operating temperature whether you're idling in traffic or running hard.
• Wiring: Complete rewire. Every circuit, every connector, every fuse block replaced with new. No 60-year-old wiring anywhere.
• Glass & Trim: All-new glass, all-new chrome, all-new lighting. Every piece of brightwork and every lens is fresh.
• Bed Floor: Custom-fabricated bed floor. Just completed, built to our spec for a clean, finished look that ties the build together.