Sean Guillory told us the story of his '98 GMC and it sounded like something we can all relate to. In an email he sent after the photo shoot, he explained in greater detail the process of the build from it's modest initial goal to the low, smooth two-toned cruiser you see now.
Early on, when the truck was fresh off the dealer lot, Sean just wanted a family vehicle, since his Mitsubishi wasn't big enough with his family's new addition. After a year of family service, the GMC got a set of Colorado Custom wheels and a billet grille. Soon after, Sean bolted on a 4/6-drop and his friend, Bob Hardin, welded in the roll pan. With some metal work under way, Sean wondered, why not take it a step further?
Sean's work schedule, along with a move to a new home, kept the truck on the back burner. But by 2004, Sean was ready to step up to the plate again. Sean and his friends, Eric Davis and Jeff Spencer, began a total rebuild of the truck. Once the paint was removed, Eric discovered that there was still rust under the body filler, so it was fixed for good. Once prepped, Eric and Jeff sprayed the truck indigo blue and a light shade of silver that's actually an OEM Chrysler color. The ghost flames and stripes were Eric's handiwork. More of Eric's stripes were laid over Kevin Menard's paint work, under the hood, and inside of the cab.
In addition to the audio equipment, Sean also mounted his air gauges into the center console.
Next, Sean dropped the truck off at a local body shop to shave the door handles, stake pockets, and the tailgate. He also asked them to add frenched Cadillac taillights. After a false start, the shop got the taillights right; but then Sean had Cadillac style at the rear and not the front. After a call to a local GM dealer, the OEM parts to complete the front end swap were picked up. Not happy with the gap between the wrap-around bumper and the sheetmetal, Sean decided to section and widen the fenders rather than attack the bumper.
Right about this time, Sean realized he no longer owned a family vehicle. So, he contacted Ekstensive Metalworks in Houston to take the truck to the pavement. Firestone `bags, Nitro shocks, and 3/8-inch valves at all corners, with a notch in the back, allowed Sean to stuff plenty of wheel under the truck. Still in primer, the truck headed off to another shop for paint, where they noticed that the metalwork from the first shop had begun to rust. Sean was assured it could be fixed, and the truck was painted its original indigo blue.
Master Craftsman in Beaumont, Texas, was responsible for the interior, as new carpet and a headliner were installed to match the Katzkin seat covers that were installed over the new factory buckets. Tony Blasingame finished the interior with a custom center console, which now houses two screens, two 10-inch Kicker subs that receive signals from a Pioneer head unit, and a PlayStation 2. Next, Sean removed all of the interior plastic, including the dash and door panels, and sprayed it with DuPont Dove Gray plastic dye to match the carpet, headliner, and seats. The final touches in the interior are the billet shift handle and a Twisted Vista steering wheel, which matches the 20 and 22-inch Intro Twisted Vista wheels.
The story of Sean's truck sounds a bit familiar, as many of the great trucks we feature begin as builds with modest goals. And like those builds, none of them would have been possible without a lot of hard work and sacrifices. Sean would like to thank his family, Heather and Marcus, as well as the friends whose hard work is reflected in the final product: Eric, Jeff, and Kevin.