1969 GMC 1500 – Robert M.

This 69 GMC started as my brother-in-laws contracting truck, hauling tools and material to job sites. Over the years it lived a hard life, it spent a few years on the north coast of California where the salt air started a good case of rust.
25 years ago my wife and kids bought it for a birthday present for me that I had to tow home, due to a blown head gasket.
We started cleaning it up, but the rust was really bad, the bed wood was rotted , the floor was full of holes, the bottoms of the doors had body rot.
So we started by cleaning and that led to cutting which turned into complete disassembly.
When we arrived at it just being a bare frame, I needed to come up with a vision of what I wanted it to be.
I have always loved the 67-72 gm truck body style, big blowers, fat tires and bright red paint are my other favorites. So to combine those points into one truck and do it well was the goal.
Though this is not a stock restoration, LMC Truck was a key partner in having all the parts to finish it, like all new doors and mechanisms, handles mirrors, marker lights, grill and trim, bumper and bolts , etc…
So this is not your typical LMC truck, but even the custom trucks use lots of your parts.
So I started with the tires and wheels and desired ride height, and designed a frame to fit it. From the front bumper to the back of the cab I kept the stock frame rails and boxed them. Built new cross members and a new heavy duty rectangular tube back half to the tailgate.
I did all the fabrication, body work paint, interior upholstery, engine and transmission building and glass in our 2 car garage.

The engine is a balanced and blue printed gen v 496, producing 775 hp with the help of a 871 wieand blower.
The transmission is a th400 built for 1000 hp.
The rear end is a 9” narrowed to 36”, with a Detroit locker, moser axles, and Baer disc brakes.
The rear tires are 33×21.5×15 Mickey Thompson sportsman pros.
The front suspension is a Fatman air ride with rack and pinion steering and qa1 shocks.
The rear suspension is extreme duty ladder bars, with air bags and qa1 shocks.
The pneumatic tilt hood and bed make access for maintenance easy.
Thank you LMC truck for all your help!