Brad Gann’s 1987 Silverado is Packin’ Some Dirtymax Torque Under that Vanilla-White Hood
Certain folks possess a knack for things in life that others simply don’t. Take Brad Gann, for example. While unlucky schmucks like you and I search desperately for that magical, life-changing “barn find” truck, Brad seemingly stumbles across treasures like it’s nothing at all. This guy has tentacles and fingers reaching into the depths of the four corners of the universe.
If you pay any attention to the C10 community on social media, you’ve likely run across Brad’s Instagram account, @c10.man (not to be confused with fellow Chevy truck sniper, Shawn Wallace @c10_man). His photos depict the trucks that he has stumbled across and purchased over the years, and it’s kind of ridiculous. Squarebodies of various wacky color combos, several squeaky clean OBS era examples, ‘67-72 trucks and Suburbans, and even a stray cateye and NNBS thrown in for those guys. If your uncle Dwayne passed away and left his truck sitting in a storage locker, I guarantee the old C10 Man will eventually sniff it out and find a way to buy it.
Some of the trucks find a permanent home at Rancho C10 with Brad, others find their way into new homes. Most of them end up with a set of American Racing Torq Thrust wheels. The man knows what he likes and sometimes the most crucial task of any given day is deciding which version – chrome, polished, or gray – to mount on his latest truck.
When this squarebody popped up on Brad’s radar, it was a bit outside of his comfort zone. For starters, it’s painted white. Unless it’s teal, or green, or yellow, or two-tone blue, it’s typically not something you’ll find in his garage. Bigger yet than the color, is what’s under the hood. And if you guessed LS swap, you’re dead wrong.
The folks at Xtreme Diesel Services in Van Buren, Arkansas, originally put this truck together as a shop project. Admittedly, a slammed two wheel drive truck on 22’s and 24’s is not exactly “in their wheelhouse” and not typical of the diesel service they normally perform daily. But the truck turned out great and looks the part. Oh, and if you couldn’t see where this was going, it has a dialed-in LB7 Duramax and 6-speed Allison transmission stuffed between the motor mounts. When the truck came up for sale, Deputy Brad had already sniffed it out and made a deal before the junior wheeler dealers were even out of bed.
While he’s not talking power numbers, we can tell you that this truck gets after it. It literally sounds like a freight train when he gets on the pedal and it easily disappears toward the sunset in a cloud of soot and tire smoke.
It’s no beauty pageant contestant, either. This refrigerator on wheels was built to handle the power and also built to cruise. Vintage Air climate control and a refreshed interior with USA 1 Industries seat cover and dash make the ride comfortable while a RetroSound radio provides the audio entertainment. Underneath, a custom 4-link with Watts link and Chassis Fab control arms work with an AccuAir e-Level air management system and Fox shocks to control the ride height. Raceline Billet Contender wheels in 22×8.5 and 24×12 are banded with Yokohama tires.
The paint on the exterior is mostly original and in remarkable shape. The original Paw Paw owner took care of this one and only a good polish and a small amount of touch-up was required to bring things up to speed and a few pieces of trim were replaced to bring back the sparkle.
If you’re ever in the Clover, South Carolina, locale and want to check out a fine little collection of GM trucks, look no further than old Brad “Dirty G” Gann and his shop full of barn finds. You might just twist his arm and get him to sell you one.
