There are many different paths that one can take to get their truck into this here magazine. The most common, of course, is to complete your truck and bring it to the shows that we attend regularly so we can get a look at it in person. Another popular option is to e-mail us some photos of your ride in the hopes that we can coordinate to meet sometime later in the show season. Heck, living in SoCal and all, we've even been known to chase down a truck or two while cruising Pacific Coast Highway.
Every once in a while, though, we start to hear the buzz about a truck long before it is even completed. This '58 GMC belonging to Steve and Pam Sourapus was one of those trucks. The first call came from Deuce Kustoms. The guys there called and said, "You gotta see this GMC we just took in; it's an inch off the ground with 18s and 20s, and we're painting it Charcoal Gray." It sounded good to us, but it also sounded like it would not be finished for a while. A couple months later, we got a call from Steve "Revo" Reeves, owner of the world-famous Stitchcraft Custom Interiors. Steve said, "There's a really nice truck down here; we're putting an all-leather interior and full stereo in it." After stopping by and realizing it was the same truck, we just had to shoot it.
Steve originally bought the truck because when he happened upon it, he liked the idea that it was built the year he was born and that it was a GMC, which would stand out amongst a sea of Chevys. The truck was in rough condition, but the cab and bed were rust-free and unmolested, so Steve could visualize how he wanted it to eventually look. First and foremost, he wanted his ride to sit low and on big wheels, all the while maintaining a comfortable ride. With a ton of help from his good friend Sluggo, Steve started on the suspension. He first installed a Z'd Camaro clip up front and fit it with Firestone airbags. The rear of the frame was step-notched and boxed before a Caddy disc brake rearend was hung from a custom four-link setup and a second pair of Firestone 'bags. Although they came later in the build, Steve already settled on the polished Intro Vista 18s and 20s and ultra-low-profile Falken rubber.
In addition to filled stake...
In addition to filled stake pockets and rounded corners, this bed also received a custom-built smooth-metal bed floor, topped with a coat of Line-X for practicality.
Steve and Sluggo then set out to build an extremely fast but equally reliable small-block. They stroked an early 350 block and filled it with some of the best parts available, including 10.5:1 pistons, a big Isky cam, and 2.02 valve heads. The final product has since made many trips across the desert at perfect temperature - making well over 400 horsepower all the while. The 388 is backed by a tried and true TH400.
The next major goal was to clean up the look of the truck without any major hacking of the original sheetmetal. Although the gutters, wipers, and door handles are intact, just about every inch of the cab and bed was smoothed over, including building a steel bed floor and one-off roll pan, rounding the bed corners, and widening the rear fenders by 2 inches. The coolest mod, however, has to be the front grille, where 3-1/2 inches were cut out of the center before it was sunk into the opening 3 inches.
At this point, Steve and Sluggo turned the truck over to Deuce Kustoms for the final paintwork. Deuce sprayed the '03 Chevy Tahoe Gray paint and rubbed the truck to perfection. Then the GMC was handed off to Revo and the crew at Stitchcraft to cover the inner cab with gray and black leather, including the Chevy Astro center seat that sits atop a custom steel riser. That riser also houses the Sony head unit, as well as the manual air valve setup from Master Image Customs. The smoothed-over dash features Dolphin gauges in a polished-wood panel and an ididit column topped with a leather-wrapped Budnik wheel.
Believe it or not, this is the first custom vehicle Steve has ever attempted. All he wanted was a show-quality ride that he could drive daily if he wanted to with no hassles. We'd say he accomplished his goal. At this past Brothers show, Steve's first, the gray '58 picked up two of the big trophies. And although the truck was photographed for a feature long before the recent Del Mar Goodguys show (where the truck picked up a Top 10 award), wouldn't you know that about 10 people told us about this amazing truck at the back of the show that we just had to see.
The engine compartment in...
The engine compartment in Steve's '58 is all business. The 10.5:1 388 is built out with just about the best parts available and topped with camel back heads. It puts out well over 400 ponies and can still handle sitting in traffic on the way home from Lake Havasu - a trip the truck makes regularly.
Facts & Figures:
Chassis
Frame: '58 GMC
Modifications: Z'd front clip, step-notched, boxed in rear
Rearend / Ratio: 10-bolt Seville / 3.73:1
Rear suspension: custom four-link with Firestone 26C airbags
Rear brakes: Cadillac disc
Front suspension: complete '84 Camaro, airbagged with Firestone 26c airbags
Front brakes:12" GM
Suspension mods by: Sluggo's Hot Rods, Brea, CA
Master cylinder: GM with booster
Steering box: Camaro
Front wheel make, size: Intro Vista, 18x8
Rear wheel make, size: Intro Vista, 20x10
Front tire make, size: Falken, 225/40ZR18
Rear tire make, size: Falken, 285/30ZR20
Gas tank: 18-gal custom stainless by Sluggo
Engine
Year and make: '69 Chevy
Displacement: 388 ci, balanced and blueprinted
Camshaft: Isky 0.488/0. 510
Heads: Chevy camel back
Valve covers: cast aluminum from GM Performance Parts
Manifold / Induction: Wieand Action Plus / Holley 600 / K&N Air Cleaner
Ignition: GM HEI
Headers: custom by Sluggo
Exhaust / Mufflers: custom 2.5" / Flowmaster Delta Flow mufflers
Machined / Assembled by: Orange Engine, Orange, CA / Sluggo
Transmission
Make and model: Chevy TH400
Modifications: TCS 2200 converter, shift kit
Shifter: ididit on column
Before chroming, 3-1/2 inches...
Before chroming, 3-1/2 inches were removed from the center of the stock GMC grille, and it was recessed 3 inches farther into the grille surround. The result is a front end that most people stare at for a while before declaring that it looks great - even though they can't figure out exactly what's been done to it.
Body
Body style / Material: stepside pickup / steel
Manufacturer: GMC
Fenders front/rear: steel, rears widened 2" with frenched taillights
Modifications: all trim and mirrors shaved
Hood: nosed
Grille: narrowed 4" and sunk into opening
Bed: shaved pockets and latches, smooth steel floor by Sluggo, coated with Line X, fuel door hidden in floor
Bodywork and paint by: Duece Kustoms, Placentia, CA
Paint type / Color: PPG / '03 Chevy Tahoe Gray
Headlights / Taillights: halogen / '39 Ford, frenched
Bumpers: stock front, custom rear pan by Sluggo
Chrome by: Orange County Plating, Orange, CA
Interior
Dashboard: smoothed and paint-matched
Gauges: Dolphin
Air conditioning: Hot Rod Air
Steering wheel: Budnik
Steering column: polished ididit
Seats: Chevy Astro middle seat reworked on custom frame
Material / Color: charcoal leather with black inserts
Carpet: black
Head unit: Sony, custom-built into seat riser
Amp: Sony
Speakers: Polk Audio, two 6.5" in custom kick panels, two 10" in box behind seat
Interior and stereo by: Stitchcraft Custom Interiors, Huntington Beach, CA