This GMC Semi Used to Be a Dump Truck, Now It’s a Restomod with a Big Block V8 Surprise

COE trucks started to pick up steam in the mid-to-late 1930s, then became even more common after World War II. Placing the cab over the engine of a large truck allowed for a shorter wheelbase design, which in turn allowed for specific payloads to be transported in shorter vehicles.

In other words, these trucks could carry the same payload as longer models, but turn in a shorter radius, which came particularly handy in crowded cities.

Speaking of handy, this 1939 GMC used to be a dump truck. Can you imagine the life it’s lived and the things it’s “seen”? Of course, it looks a lot different today than it did back when it hauled stuff. First, the cab was extended to feature a Freightliner-sourced rear section, hence the sleek design. Then there’s the colorway – metallic red with silver fenders, headlight buckets and running boards. It’s a beautiful mix.

Other visual highlights include the chrome grille, bumpers, and side mirrors, the split pop-out windscreens, a tinted rear window, dual side-mounted aluminum fuel tanks, mud flaps, a pintle hitch, polished exhaust outlets, a hydraulically operated dump bed with an aluminum cargo floor, and a set of polished 18-inch alloy wheels with 225/75 Firestone Transforce HT tires at the front and 215/85 Wild Country Radial APTs out back.

This truck also has an air suspension system (independently adjustable at all four corners), and power assisted front discs.

There’s plenty of neat stuff going on inside too, where you’ll find red power-adjustable bucket seats, color-coordinated door panels and carpets, a wood-rimmed steering wheel with stylized GMC lettering, custom white-dial instrumentation, auxiliary gauges, cruise control, power windows, plus a custom overhead console with a Blaupunkt Daytona Beach C51 head unit, a CB radio and a 5-disc CD changer.

Can I just point out how that steering wheel looks both awesome and incredibly dangerous? You do not want your hands slipping through either that ‘G’ or that ‘C’ in case of a frontal collision. It’s a cool design, but maybe not the most practical.

Anyway, as for performance, there’s a GM big-block V8 unit situated behind the seats, and it’s been fitted with an Edelbrock Performer 2-O intake manifold. It’s hard to say how much power is being generated (the seller didn’t specify the output), but everything gets sent to the rear wheels via a TH400 three-speed automatic transmission.

This probably won’t kick your ass in a straight line, but that’s not really what you’d expect from such a vehicle anyway.