In 2014 I was looking for a 4WD fleetside short bed GMC or Chevy truck. That combination is pretty rare, but I found one on eBay. I took a chance and won the auction for a truck that I had never seen in person. The truck was out in Idaho and I live in Indiana. I had the truck shipped to Indiana and began the process of restoring the GMC.

My plan was to do everything myself except for body/paint and the engine rebuild. Fortunately the GMC had spent most of its life in the dry state of Nevada, and was mostly rust free. I completely disassembled the truck down to the bare frame. All of the GMC’s original drive train, sheet metal, interior were still in place. The only piece of sheet metal replaced was the bed floor, due to waviness after 45 years of life. One of the attractions of this truck to me was how it was optioned. It had the mid level trim package (custom), but the original owner had also ordered auto transmission, A/C, and power steering.

As the GMC went back together, I couldn’t resist adding a few touches of my own. I added carpeting, tach dash cluster and replaced the original step bumper with a chrome sport bumper. I also installed a 2″ leaf spring lift that somehow turned out closer to 4 inches. I did not want the GMC lifted that much but it does look really good. I went with 32″ tall tires on 15×8 GM rally wheels. The mostly home garage resto is approx. 95% complete, with only a few minor issues to deal with.

I took the GMC to the 2018 Indianapolis “World of Wheels” car show where it won first place in its class and also won a judge’s award. That’s all well and good, but what I’m really looking forward to is driving this GMC all thru the Indiana summer. I’ve spent 4 really enjoyable years getting this GMC restored, but now I’m ready for some seat time.