Flashback Dec.'96: A Pivot-In-The-Middle Chevy Pickup

“THE PIVOT PROVIDES A REPORTED 34 INCHES OF WHEEL TRAVEL (NOT INCLUDING THE SUSPENSION), AND THE FRAME FEATURES A PIN-LOCKING SYSTEM TO HOLD IT IN PLACE WHEN PIVOTING IS NOT DESIRABLE.”

- Ken Brubaker

In the Dec. ’96 issue of Four Wheeler, we published a piece on the 30 th Annual Sierra Trek. After an overview of the event we displayed a series of photos and information geared around “custom innovations” that we saw on attending 4x4s. The collection included a Toyota with a rear leaf spring/coil spring combination suspension, a rig with flatbed box tubing that held 12 gallons of compressed air, an early Toyota with an IROC Camaro 350ci V-8, and a squarebody Chevy with a pivoting frame.

The Chevy with the pivoting frame dominated the story. We wrote, “This Chevy gets radical flex with the help of a chopped and boxed frame fit with custom crossmembers and a pivot in the middle fabricated from two axlehousings. The pivot provides a reported 34 inches of wheel travel (not including the suspension), and the frame features a pin-locking system to hold it in place when pivoting is not desirable.