In 1971, Bill and Chris Mocko went to the GM car dealership in Sidney Montana and settled on a ½ ton, long box GMC for their farming needs. To be different, they had the dealership order in a truck with the White/Ochre color combo like you see today. The truck was used as a farm truck for only 2 years then became the family truck and ended up getting nicknamed “The Jimmy”.
The Jimmy’s current owner, Lee Mocko was born in 1977 so this truck has been in his life, his whole life. From taking him to pre-school in Fallon Montana all the way to helping him move to Choctaw Oklahoma in 2021. Lee learned how to drive in this truck and got his license in this truck. Lee took his wife, Melissa, on their first date in this truck along with taking her to his prom in 1995 and her prom in 1996. They also rode in the back of this truck for their first drive as Mr. and Mrs. Mocko in 1999.
After Bill’s passing in 1999, building this truck in his memory was A-must. As life happens, the truck was driven until a transmission failure in 2005 when the plan to restore it started, but was never actually put in motion until 2018. The Jimmy was trailered from Sidney, Montana to Minot, North Dakota after sitting in a storage for almost 13 years. The engine was replaced in 1996 so only needed all new gaskets and a fresh camshaft. The transmission was finally replaced with a brand new TH350 and 2000 RPM stall torque converter. The suspension was lowered four inches in the front and six inches in the rear. Finished off with all new exhaust, brakes, and tires. I got The Jimmy back to drivability and reliability that was much needed.
In 2021, The Jimmy made the 1300-mile drive with no issues from Minot, North Dakota to Choctaw, Oklahoma. In 2023, Freddie’s Custom Paint fixed all the dents and rust then painted the truck back to its original colors. After paint, it went to Eli’s Easy Trim for all the interior work, which was themed after Bill and Chris’s carpentry business, Fallon Industries. Last was Bubba’s Pinstriping to give the truck its finishing touches of pinstriping, putting the truck’s name on the glovebox, and the Fallon Industries logo on the back glass.
The Jimmy is not perfect, but it has Chris’s approval and sure Bill would like it too. The Jimmy was passed down from Bill to Lee and someday, it will be passed down to Lee’s son Kaidon to keep it in the family, but hopefully that is many miles down the road.