This 1959 GMC pickup was my dad’s first vehicle he ever owned. He bought it off a farmer when he was 16 and it has been in the family ever since. Eight years ago, it was left to his brother, who in turn left it to rot in a field of all places. I coordinated shipping to Buffalo, NY and decided I wanted to make the truck my own.
I started by stripping the truck down to the frame and swapping in a Corvette front and rear suspension with help from Flat Out Engineering. I built a turbocharged 6.0L along with a fully built 4L80 transmission. I got bored one day, stripped the paint, and clear coated the bare metal with Eastwood matte clear.
Scouring Facebook marketplace one day to complete my drivetrain I came across a C4 Corvette rearend, the ad states it was from the TV show Gearz, and after countless emails, calls, and video research I found it was originally in Stacey David’s Cheetah build. However, that didn’t last long; it exploded not once but twice. That’s when I decided I needed something that can handle the power I was making, so I contacted Spraker Racing out of Mooresville, NC and he got me set up with a custom fabricated Ford 9” with 35-spline Moser axles and a stout Brute third member.
I can’t seem to make up my mind, and every year I want to make it better and more unique. So, I began researching, mocking up parts, doing small scale testing, and eventually designed an AWD system using the stock frame, C6 Corvette suspension, custom CV axles from The Driveshaft Shop, a built front differential out of a Trailblazer SS from Bully racing, and a custom 3” aluminum driveshaft by legendary Denny’s Driveshafts here in Kenmore, NY. From the fourth and latest tear down to finish, it took only 9 months to design, trial, and build a fully working AWD system on the stock GMC frame. I added a 6-point roll bar, bucket racing seats, lightweight column, and of course a Holley EFI. It has 18x10 Rocket Racing wheels with Nitto drag radials all around to help transfer that power to the ground. I eventually want to autocross the truck as well as paint it, as well as make a custom tubular chassis.
