1998 GMC Sonoma - Lawn Ornament

This November 2005 cover truck spent the better part of a year as chief lawn ornament at Jonathan Goolsby's home. Goolsby, who is the head painter and owner of a full service custom shop in Sylvan Springs, Alabama, had purchased the wrecked Sonoma from the local salvage yard with the intention of rebuilding it into a clean shop truck. As with most things in our world, the truck took a back seat to life in general and sat dormant while the grass grew around it and the critters made a home in it. By the time Jonathan removed the truck from the landscape, he was itching to get cracking on the bodywork.

The truck wasn't in bad shape, even with the considerable damage incurred from the front-end collision that sent it to the wrecking yard. The front sheetmetal needed replacing, and the frame horns were a bit twisted, but this was nothing more than an excuse to upgrade the truck beyond the necessary repairs. Goolsby chose a same-year GMC Envoy front end, with its bright HID headlights and smooth fascia, to bring the truck back to life. Now, the plan was to just repaint the truck and use it to haul parts, but somewhere along the line, Jonathan lost his mind and went gonzo. He continued bodyworking the truck until the rear end was molded shut, the bed floor was smooth as a baby's butt, and the doors swung in the opposite direction, suicide-style. To top it all off, the truck received a bitchin' gold-over-black flame job that flows into every jamb and crevice of the cab, which turned the truck into a work of art much too precious to be relegated to parts hauling duty.

Since the body was beyond what he had originally envisioned, Jonathan gave into all his creative urges and 'bagged the mini, using Air Lift components. The 'bags gave him the ability to set the framerails firmly on the ground at will, tucking the Boyd Coddington Rallye billet rollers with style. Jonathan also lost his mind when inside the cab. All of the stock plastic was scuffed and colored-matched, and the pieces that couldn't simply be painted over were coated in layers of fiberglass and sanded smooth. A trick center console was also made of the itchy stuff and houses a subwoofer enclosure as well. All told, Jonathan and the staff of Goolsby Customs and Collision whipped up this cover truck in under two months, prompting us to wonder when the crew had time to work on customer's vehicles. Whatever the explanation is, we're just happy that this truck exists for all to see in Sport Truck this month.