TEXAS SKID MARK

Just when you thought Gas Monkey Garage was done, the crew made a major comeback with an epic build to shut the mouths of all the naysayers! Many are familiar with seeing shop owner Richard Rawlings and his GMG crew on Discovery Channel’s now discontinued show Fast N’ Loud. Since parting ways with the TV production, some faces have changed but goal of creating some of the wildest rides on the planet has not.

Always on the hunt for the next big thing, Richard found this ’72 GMC 1500 step side (that now identifies as a ’68) in a field near Fort Worth, Texas. It caught his eye as C/K trucks are hot and building a GMC would make for a project that could stand out from the rest. Originally the idea was to clean it up, throw on some wheels and take it to the C10s in the Park show. However, it quickly escalated into a full high-profile SEMA build.

While doing some research for parts, the crew realized that they could easily fall into the rabbit hole of customization and followed the journey down. And this is not the first time they have built a full truck like this as we’ve been around for their previous truck adventures. This time around they decided to go even harder than before, and we’d have to say that this one tops the list of trucks they have produced.

To ensure this truck has more of a shock value, the crew decided to lay it on the ground over a set of 24-inch JTX Forged wheels. To get this done, the folks at Total Cost Involved (TCI) customized one of their Grounded Chassis to fit the bill. On the front end is an independent suspension system that has Wilwood spindles and 14-inch brakes with 6-piston calipers. On the rear is a four-link with pan hard bar and a set of 14-inch Wilwood brakes with 4-piston calipers and an electric parking brake.

When it comes to making vehicles to go fast, GMG knows how to find just the right combination of power and flash at the same time. After a call to Scoggin Dickey Parts Center, they landed on an L8T engine and threw in a prototype camshaft from Chevrolet Performance. Furthermore, Late Model Engines stepped in to boost it up with a high ram intake with twin throttle bodies. This 600hp beast was then connected to a 6L80-E transmission that transfers force to a Currie Fab 9 rear end, which was built to harness everything this setup can throw at it.

With the foundation off to a good start, it was time to address the body as it was in dire need of some love. Auto Metal Direct (AMD) came in clutch with a hood, fenders, doors, rockers, and a completed bed with 4-inch wider wheel tubs. This put the build in good motion, but the crew just couldn’t leave well enough alone and had to take things further by raising the bed floor, making a rear hatch to expose the suspension, and then shaving the bumpers that were tucked in closer to the body.

One of the biggest mods on the truck that distinguishes it from the rest is the one-off billet grille created by Titans of CNC. Though this may sound like a simple task, it was a monumental effort that took 25-days to create. While mocking it up, the design was tweaked to be more aggressive, and 3D printed in carbon fiber in Italy for the test fit. After all revisions were made, the two-piece final version took 60-hours to cut out of solid blocks of aluminum.

When coming up with a striking design for the color scheme, Richard, Mike Coy, Josh Paris and Brandon DePrato came up with the idea of emulating the graphics of a Desert Fox Squarebody and modified the stripes to make them unique to this truck. Brad Builds stepped in to create a good rendering that would act as an instruction sheet for Mike to lay down the custom mixed Axalta paint on the truck. Topping it off is front and rear “GMG” billet lettering from Titans of CNC.

Rounding off the build was the interior that started with a set of Slosh Bucketz seat frames. Texas Seats stepped in to make a custom carpet, door panels, and upholster everything in green vinyl and matching fabric. The dash was then treated to an Ididit steering column with a Sparc Industries wheel for a premium finish. Then, NTX Audio Innovations added a Hertz sound system that is controlled by a Audison B-Con unit.

From start to finish this truck took 45-days to complete and considering all that it has, that was a huge feat of numerous sleepless nights for the many helping hands. Just a few mere hours after it was done, this truck along with three other GMG builds made a debut at the SEMA Show where they all proved that the crew has what it takes to still have a seat at the big boys table.

Richard would like to thank everyone at Gas Monkey Garage that helped, including Josh Paris, Mike Coy, Brandon DePrato, Ricky Mosley, Kenny Ordonez, Mike Preston, Sinjin Venegas, Raymond Watson, Shawn Brockway, Daphne Rawlings, Jason Ammermon, Big Chris, Dwayne Phipps, and Margaret Raine.