A GMC With a Mopar Heart

Brand loyalty is something that most auto buffs cling to. Whether it’s domestic or foreign vehicles, fans usually don’t stray from the badging they are familiar with. Using parts from other brands to finish a custom vehicle would be completely sacrilegious.

Although Jody Holdren has his favorites, he isn’t a hardcore loyalist. When he was 17, he bought and sold a few different vehicles quickly. The one he was most fond of was a ’70 C-10 with a six-cylinder engine and a three-on-the-tree shifter. He sold it to a friend, and within a few days, the truck was wrecked beyond repair. When he heard about the truck’s fate, Jody was filled with regret.

Around the same time, he also had a ’70 Plymouth Barracuda, a muscle car anyone would covet. Although Jody sold off his C-10, he kept hold of the ’Cuda, and we can’t blame him. Most gearheads would part with a lot to own such an iconic ride. As decades passed, Jody made more and more modifications to the ’Cuda to make it faster, but he soon realized that it really wasn’t that much fun to drive a gas-guzzling muscle car in Southern California traffic.

So, Jody decided to return to the truck of his youth and quickly located one four hours away in Fresno. He secured a truck, trailer and a wad of cash, and got ready to strike a deal. His plan didn’t go as smoothly as he anticipated, though, when he realized that the truck in the Craigslist ad wasn’t as picturesque in person. The truck was covered with rust, so Jody took a pass. As he headed home with an empty rig and a bed-load of disappointment, Jody decided to scour the surrounding farmland to see if he could find something else to bring home.

After just a few hours of searching, he came across a ’69 SWB GMC sitting in front of a barn. He inquired and discovered that the owner had bought it from a sick friend and left it to sit for seven years. Since he wasn’t doing anything with it, the owner decided to sell it to Jody for a mere $1,000. As if that weren’t enough to drop your jaw, the truck also came with a bed full of Chevy conversion parts and a spare cab. Jody loaded up his haul and pointed his truck south.

Back home, Jody sold off the parts to help fund his GMC project. He swapped the cab and sandblasted the sheet metal for a fresh start. Then he worked everything straight and coated it in matte black paint. He set the chassis low with Slam Specialties airbags, with Porterbuilt control arms up front. Wilwood front spindles and 14-inch front and 13-inch rear disc brakes were installed. The HRE wheels were secured as part of a trade for a ’68 Camaro shell. Jody finished the interior with TMI Products seats and Dakota digital gauges.

Initially, the truck came with a six-cylinder engine. It was swapped with an SBC, but it wasn’t fuel-injected. Jody’s friend, Brad Kilby, came across a 6.4L Hemi from a wrecked Challenger and thought it would be perfect for Jody to get the reliability he wanted. After some research, Jody determined that he could use SRT8 Jeep exhaust manifolds and a wiring harness from Hot Wire Auto to get the Hemi to power his truck. He added a Tremec six-speed transmission and Currie 9-inch rearend to complement the new engine.

Though a Hemi-powered GMC might seem odd, it works for Jody since he’s a Mopar guy who happens to like classic GM pickups. Even though the combo is unique, it does the job, and it’s become quite a conversation piece. We think it’s awesome to see guys like Jody put a unique twist on classic trucks—brand loyalty be damned.

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BUILD SPECS

OWNER

Jody Holdren
1969 GMC
Newhall, CA

Engine

• Custom motor mounts
• Hot Wire Auto wire harness
• Modified stock dual-pass radiator
• Dual SPAL electric fans
• 2.5-inch custom exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers made by Morse Muffler in Burbank, CA
• TREMEC six-speed manual transmission
• Custom steel driveshaft
• Boyd Welding gas tank
• Currie 9-inch rearend with 3.70 gears

Chassis & Suspension

• Wilwood drop spindles
• Wilwood 14-inch front disc brakes with six-piston calipers
• Wilwood 13-inch rear disc brakes with four-piston calipers
• Slam Specialties airbags
• Viking double adjustable shocks
• Porterbuilt control arms
• Stock trailing arms with new stitch welds
• Rear C-notch

Wheels & Tires

• 20×11 and 20×13 HRE wheels
• 295/35R20 and 29x15x20 Mickey Thompson tires

Body & Paint 

• Shop: Andres Auto Body, North Hollywood, CA
• 1968 hood
• GSI Machine door handles
• Matte black paint
• Widened stock rear wheel tubs
• Original bumpers powder-coated gray
• Clear taillights and corner markers
• Weather Guard toolbox in bed

Interior & Stereo

• TMI Products bucket seats
• Momo steering wheel
• Dakota Digital gauges
• Vintage Air SureFit AC system
• iPhone used as head unit
• Kicker amps, speakers and subwoofer

Special Thanks From the Owner: “Brad Kilby and Kastle Aviation”

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