Ricky Rosas’ Home Built 1958 GMC
Some people come into hot rodding through a family member or friends. Others, like Ricky Rosas, the owner and builder of this slick 1958 GMC, just seem to be born with the aptitude to tinker, rebuild, and modify nearly anything mechanical.
After high school, Ricky pursued a degree in automotive design, but he is largely self-taught when it comes to automotive fabrication and bodywork. Surprisingly, he continues to fab, build, and work on cars as a hobby rather than as a full-time gig, which helps keeps the craft enjoyable and fun rather than seeming like a chore.
Ricky found his GMC seven years ago as a forlorn project in a heap of parts, but he had a vision and the abilities to see the project through (with a little push from family and friends). He scored a 6.0-liter LS engine and 4L80E transmission from a donor truck and then set about boxing the stock chassis and installing a Mustang II front end including air suspension. For the rear he worked up a triangulated four-link system connected to a 9-inch Currie rearend and added a set of Wilwood brakes.
As the pieces came together, Ricky started in on the original GMC sheet metal and cab. He reworked the drip rails, tightened the gaps, filled stake pockets, and smoothed edges, while adding sleek door handles from an Alfa Romero and a set of nifty VW mirrors. The tailgate was reframed, and beautiful wood was used to finish the bed floor, which lifts to view the trick suspension and center-dump exhaust work.
The factory GMC grille was straightened and re-chromed, along with a set of smoothed and custom fitted bumpers. Ricky also spent a lot of time under the hood of the truck filling holes and crafting a clean firewall with a serious setback for the drivetrain. He and his friend Rene Rodriguez finished the body with a custom green paint with a touch of yellow pearl.
The interior panels and stitching were handed by Alameda Auto Upholstery, where they reworked a pair of bucket seats from a 2003 VW and stitched a custom headliner and door panels. A Restomod Air climate control system was added along with modern Dakota Digital gauges, a tilt column, and 13-inch billet wheel.
Ricky spent so much time in his garage that his family started to call the GMC his mistress. After five years of hard work, he was able to bring his 1958 GMC mistress out to the West Coast Nationals to introduce to everyone, earning him a finalist position for the Scott’s Hotrods Truck of the Year Early!
Photos by Todd Ryden
