The younger guys in this industry always seem to be pushing the envelope. Older guys put 'bags on their trucks and younger guys put 'bags on their trucks, too. Although, the difference is many old-guy trucks barely tuck tire at full dump, while some of these younger guys are removing body parts to get their truck that much deeper in the weeds. Cutting be damned, it's a no-holds-barred-non modification festival for some people. Having been born into the hot-rod scene and growing up knee-deep in it, J.D. Lusardi is one of these young guns who is breaking all of the rules.
BMW seats, a LeCarra steering wheel, Dakota Digital gauges, and plenty of paint, leather, and tweed make for one enjoyable seating position inside of J.D.'s truck. Also, you can clearly make out the A/C vents in the lower panel underneath the dash.
This '48 represents J.D.'s first truck and its original intent was to transport him to and from high school while still looking good and turning heads at the local cruise nights. What transpired from there has been a rocky road of youthful ignorance, filled with the occasional run-in with the local constable. Tickets have been issued for everything from exhibition of speed, due to burnouts, to a variety of unsafe vehicle violations because of dragging the truck with the 'bags deflated. We won't mention any of the speeding tickets. Oops, we just did. It's all in the name of good fun, of course, but it sure can get you in trouble in a hurry. It's something many of us can relate to, at one point or another in our lives.
Under the '48 is a completely custom-built chassis consisting of 2x3-inch box tube steel from end to end. Although the GMC was considered a fullsize truck in its day, by today's standards, it's actually quite diminutive. To make fitting a radical suspension under the truck easier, along with making finding parts easier, the front suspension is all from a Chevy S-10. The rear axle is from the same stable. DJM drop spindles combined with Slam Specialties RE-6 airbags brought the 18-inch Budniks deep into the fenders. Also, a triangulated four-link holds fast to the S-10 rear axle with Slam Specialties RE-8 'bags, which were mounted onto the lower link bars for a better ride and an added lift. Larger 20-inch Budnik wheels are at home out back, and they have that nice deep lip we can't get enough of. J.D. is a fabricator for Street Rod Factory (SRF), so it's no surprise to us that he did all of the fab work in-house.
Now well removed from high school, J.D. still enjoys smoking the hides once in awhile, which requires some extra doses of testosterone. Under the hood is a bored-out Chevy 350 block, which now sports 383 ci, thanks to a 400 crank, .060 over pistons, and it thumps to the tune of a Crower camshaft. Sanderson block-hugger headers were HPC coated and flow out to Flowmaster mufflers stifling the roar from a heavy right foot. Shifting chores are handled by a custom-built 700-R4 spinning a Vista Driveline driveshaft and 3.25 gears. Under the bed is a 25-gallon fuel cell feeding the mill, and the spark is courtesy of an MSD ignition and Taylor wires juiced by an Odyssey battery mounted under the passenger seat.
Motor-vation is a disease we are happy to have, and apparently this '48 is afflicted with it, too. No mere inline-6 powers this classic anymore. Instead, a healthy 381 ci small-block spins the ponies out through an S-10 rear axle. And it makes for some attention-getting tire smoke, too | 
With the frame, body, and suspension modifications on this GMC, it can be cruised mere inches from the pavement. It makes for one sweet ride. |
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