53gmc

Got the engine/transmission done, frame and wheels are almost ready

I havent decided yet on the body, but the frame and wheels will be white like in the promotional pictures

Got the body painted up and most the way detailed. Paint could be better but itll do

Got started on this while im waiting for parts on my camaro project

I hear ya there on the cold, we've been in the negative digits here. Luckily i have a garage with a heater and i work at a body shop so i have options

Yeah i get theres definitely a better re-sell value in clone cars over base models, but its skewed everyones beliefs on these cars. I grew up thinking everyone was driving quarter mile/street terrors, when in factost were just simple people movers. Its like that in the foxbody world too, i was looking at 92 the owners claimed was a cobra(they didnt build a cobra in '92 lol). I can definitely see that, every car i came across online searching for reference material was an rs/ss or z/28, its good to see every car that left the factory survived the last 50 years lol jk!

Thanks for the encouragement and following this build!

Thants pretty sweet! That was my thoughts doing this car as a sixer too

Thanks! I found an old factory picture to kind study . Ive got a few extra pieces coming for the interior but its 90% done now

Interiors almost complete now

Interiors almost complete now

Dash boards painted up. I didnt like the faint stereo features, so i built a radio delete plate

While i wait for the interior to dry, i modified the fan shroud to be like the 1:1 version ( which is probably more a fan blade guard than a shroud

Those old six cylinder seemed to be pretty torquey taking off so i could see that. Honestly id rather see one of these at a car show over another ls swapped or sbc car just for the unique aspect alone

Thank you! It took some research to get any info and reference material since theres even less now than when they were new

Im glad to hear that, thank you!

I bet that engine bay looked even emptier than this one! Chargers are pretty big cars

Started on the interior, which will probably be the easiest part of this build. The 6 cylinder cars could be ordered with the center console and floor shifter, but not the gauge package. So i carefully removed them and built a block off plate. I also removed the head rest from the seats (They were like a $60 option then) and made them low backs. The only added options would be the deluxe interior package, center console with floor shifter, and a radio.

That was one of my original color ideas, but i ended up going white, with a red interior

I was always more of a fan of the kenworth in the first one myself ha

Yeah they look kinda goofy to me on the big trucks, and the gmcs seem to have a big wheel opening in the hood to fill

Haha nah im a pepsi guy myself, That might be a good option to look into.

I got the wheels and tires ready to go on. The custom wheels from the '63 nova kit looks super similar to an optional wheel cover that was available for the camaro in "68. The rpo code was n95. The nova also donated the white line tires, which was another factory option

Got the chassis assembled. Made my own exhaust from the only picture i could find. Its made out of solder wire to a junk muffler and tail pipe from an old 72 nova kit

I like to call it an ss/rs, secretary special or rental special lol