Who’d ever thought classic work trucks would return as race cars? Well, there’s a small community of tuners boosting lawnmowers and forklifts – let’s hope this madness doesn’t go mainstream in the future.
The car in question today is a 1985 GMC Sierra Classic work truck. If you know anything about this General Motors production, it was the ultimate work hand back in the 80s. It was designed to haul, uproot tree stumps, and carry just about anything that would fit in the bed.
But this here is not your ordinary boring 30-plus-year-old farm mule. This GMC Sierra Classic sitting on air suspension, was built for Robert Lane by Peoria, Arizona-based Tre5 Customs.
According to Rob, the classic truck initially belonged to his grandfather, who bought it used in 1986. He owned it for 35 years, after which Rob took ownership after he passed on.
It’s no longer the bone stock truck Rob inherited two years ago. Simply put, it’s a fabulous cocktail of new and old paying tribute to his grandfather.
His initial idea was to build the toughest street truck (super truck).
Since he was a diehard Corvette guy, he put some of that aggressive spin into the truck in the form of a supercharged LT4 V8 powerplant.
The Corvette engine is mated to a GM 8L90 8-speed automatic transmission. Even though he's not sure what kind of power the super truck is currently making, he's satisfied with how hard it rips down the road.
“I had a Dyno tune, and the guy was like, hey man, I’m really sorry, uh, I just couldn’t get a graph. It just kept spinning the tires. I was like that’s great!” Rob confessed.
Besides what’s under the hood, the truck's rear firewall was reimagined and hand-fabricated (a Tre5 Custom signature). According to Rob, the Arizona-based builders specialize in neat builds with zero visible wires in the engine bay.
The 1985 GMC Sierra Classic sits on a Ford GSI chassis with 9-inch Ford Chromoly rear axles.
It also runs on full-length headers with a dual 3-inch free-flowing exhaust (no cat).
It rides on a clever air-suspension system with e-level controllers with potentiometers on each corner. The system constantly corrects itself rolling down the road.
For the brakes, the builders installed fabricated 14-inch rotors with six-piston calipers. Rob admits he’s not tested their full potential, but he’s impressed with the stopping power so far.
Considering the build, most people would have gone for a modern custom interior with gadgets and gizmos. However, Rob chose to moderate it. It has a Chevy blue interior with twin bucket seats, stock dash, original gauges, and panels.
You are probably wondering how good this reimagined classic truck runs. Well, we recommend checking out the video below for that action.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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