Korek Designs Finishes a Father and Son Project: a 1967 GMC Named James
The story behind Scott and Kim Crews’ 1967 GMC pickup is one that involves a humble initial plan, an unexpectedly involved rebuild, and a special meaning once complete. It started as a father-son project between Scott and his father, James, with the goal of a having a cool old truck to cruise around.
“We went on eBay and purchased a ’67 pickup sight unseen,” Scott says. “Like a lot of those purchases, when it arrived it was definitely not what we expected.” That’s when they decided on a more custom direction for the project. They began collecting parts, starting with a new No Limit Engineering chassis and an LS3 engine Scott found online. “It turned out the seller was NASCAR racer Mike Bliss, who was also building a C10,” Scott says.
“As the pile of parts grew for the 1967 GMC,” Scott continues, “Dad and I realized the project was beyond our abilities, so we reached out to Ryan Korek and his team at Korek Designs. Ryan and I met years earlier when he did repair and paint work on my son’s junior dragster, so we knew the quality work his team did.”
Korek’s involvement led to an Eric Brockmeyer rendering and a collection of subtle body modifications like functional hood scoops, tucked and integrated bumpers, one-piece door glass, an aluminum bed floor, and a ’58 Impala dash. A custom firewall and under-hood panels were also part of the recipe. The metal was ultimately finished in a custom-mixed shade of BASF paint with satin black accents.
The No Limit chassis was outfitted with Fox coil-over shocks, 14-inch Wilwood disc brakes, and 20-inch Schott wheels wrapped in Michelin tires. The LS3 engine, meanwhile, was detailed with maroon paint to match the planned upholstery and fitted with a Wegner accessory drive and BBK headers leading to a custom stainless exhaust.
John Miller at Hide Originals brought the inside up to show standards by stitching the Wise Guys bench seat and other soft parts in rich maroon leather. A custom console, Lokar shifter, Ididit tilt column, and Vintage Air were part of the mix, along with Dakota Digital instruments in the ’58 Impala dash.
“The 1967 GMC project took on a new meaning in 2019 when we lost my dad to cancer,” Scott says. “At that point I committed to finishing the project to honor him. We had been talking about a name for the truck as it neared completion. For some reason, I struggled to come up with a name. Then it became so clear that the perfect tribute to my dad would be to name the truck James.
“To complete the build,” Scott says, “Ryan had some James badges made, which perfectly complement this great build.”
Photos by Damon Lee
