Details Matter

If you’re thinking, “I’ve seen this truck somewhere before,” you’d be right. This truck, a 2023 GMC Sierra 1500 known as Project Stockish (#projectSTOCKISH), has been part of several install articles throughout the past year in Street Trucks magazine where we showcased parts used for the build.

Project Stockish just so happens to be my 2023 SEMA build and current personal vehicle, so I was involved in every step of its creation.

I knew how I wanted this truck to look before I even ordered it. Early 2023, I headed down to my local GMC dealer and got the Sierra with all the options I needed to make my vision come to life. While it was being assembled at the GM plant, I gathered parts and came up with a game plan so I could dive in immediately when it arrived. Because I have multiple SEMA builds and magazine feature vehicles under my belt over the past 30 years, I know how important it is to get things lined up to prevent any crunch time from happening. I’ve heard too many horror stories of the dreaded “SEMA crunch” and have even cut a couple builds close—and I knew I didn’t want to do that with this truck.

I’ve built a couple big lifted trucks, a few bagged import cars, a couple German performance cars, and even a bagged truck, cRAMbury, that was the August 2020 Street Trucks magazine cover truck, so I knew early on that this build had to be a clean, static-dropped sport truck. I have wanted a static-dropped truck for a while, so it was time to make that happen.

To achieve this, I got with Belltech Suspension and ordered its 4/6-inch drop kit and a set of 26×10 Dropstars brushed billet wheels wrapped in 305/30-26 Lionhart tires and took it to Wheel City Tire and Alignment to install everything. This positioned the truck exactly how I wanted it to sit. I also added the Switch Suspension bolt in helper bag kit as well as an Air Lift Wireless Air controller to keep the squat away when towing. While the suspension was being installed, I also added some R1 Concept drilled and slotted rotors to help with stopping power.

Since I was under the truck already, I had J.R. Parker at Parker Speed fab some custom brackets for the Viair onboard air system and Hornblasters Shocker XL train horns. No build is ever complete without train horns to startle friends. This truck is a 4WD truck, and even being lowered, it still has all the 4WD capabilities. Do I take it off road? No! But you never know when a wet field at a car show or a winter storm would require using 4WD. This way, this truck still functions as a stock truck even though it’s not.

The name, ‘Project Stockish’ was perfect for this build. In custom truck world terms, the truck is ‘stock-ish,’ but it’s highly detailed.

Now that the truck had the perfect stance, it was time to dial in the exterior and clean up the look. First stop was the tint shop to get Tracy Ford to black out all the windows; the fishbowl look is not for me. The frontend was blown apart, and the grille and emblem were color-matched. I also sent the headlights and taillights to Jeremy at The Retro Shop so he could color-match them and add the new Klearz MFG lenses to the headlights. The third brake light was also color-matched. Diode Dynamics replaced the stock bulbs for some much brighter LED bulbs and added a hitch light.

For the bed, I added a Bedrug Bed Mat to make the bed more like a trunk for all my camera gear. I also added a Swing Case and an Ultra Flex trifold bed cover, both from Undercover Bed Covers. Ikonic Badges made me custom “Stockish” fender badges.

When I bought this truck, I knew I wanted the 3.0L Duramax in it, mostly for its 25-33 mpg. That, and even being a baby Duramax, I still get plenty of that diesel sound out of it. It also needed a few upgrades, so I added a new intake and a full DPF back exhaust from AFE Power to help it breathe better. Tameless Performance handled the PPE red intercooler install and the new PPE carbon fiber intake tube.

Last but not least was the interior. Every one of my builds is known from its killer interior, and this build couldn’t be any different. Knowing I had to have an interior color that would stand out and complement the exterior’s factory Sterling Metallic paint, I opted for red.

To achieve my custom OEM+ look, I took the truck down to Shawn Arnold and his crew at Ultimate Audio in Lexington, South Carolina. They have done most of my builds, and I knew they would knock this one out of the park as well.

We started with all-red Roadwire Leather seats but also added plenty of matching red to the dash, door panels, and console. Trey Steele at The Paint Shack painted the factory woodgrain piano black and tying it into the factory gauge bezel. Because the headliner was out to paint the third brake light, we decided to wrap it and the pillars in gray suede and add matching suede inserts in the door panels. Several Racesport Lighting lights were added to the interior while it was reassembled as well to add a show look to it.

MTI Acoustics built a pair of A-pillar speaker pods to hold a Memphis Audio 3.5-inch and tweeter in each one and built me a custom sub enclosure for under the rear seat to house two Memphis Audio 12-inch MB subs. There is a set of Memphis Audio VIV series 6.5-inch components in each door to ensure I had enough vocals to hang with the subs. Behind the rear seat, Ultimate Audio mounted two Memphis Audio amps, a VIV1100.1 sub amp, and a VIV600.1 vocal amp. With the interior now giving off that Mercedes AMG vibe now, the custom carbon fiber Carismo Design steering wheel was a must to tie it all together.

This truck was finished in more than enough time for its SEMA 2023 debut in the Dropstars Wheels booth. I drove the truck 2,300 miles to Las Vegas for the show and then back home once it was over, all while averaging 30 mpg with the cruise set to 85 mph. Driving a custom truck across the country and back with all the creature comforts you could ever want was a blast. I will be doing the same trip for the 2024 SEMA show in a new Tahoe I’m building for my wife, Kristin, to match this truck. This way we will have a matching his/her package. Speaking of my wife, there is no way I could build back-to-back show vehicles like this if it wasn’t for her support. Thanks to her, Mitchell Metcalf, Bobby Long, Gary Bruce, Wes Frisbee, Russell Goforth, Bryson Hart, all the sponsors that continually support my builds and the shops that make it happen.

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OWNER 

Brandon Burrell
Fletcher, NC
@burrellimages
2023 GMC Sierra 1500

TRUCK SPECS

CHASSIS & SUSPENSION

• Belltech 4-inch front drop with coil overs and spindles
• Belltech 6-inch rear drop with bolt in notch and flip kit
• Belltech front and rear sway bars
• Switch Suspension helper bags
• Air Lift Wireless air controller
• R1 Concepts drilled and slotted rotors
• Viair onboard air system with dual 485 compressors
• Hornblasters Shocker XL train horns

WHEELS & TIRES

• 26×10 brushed Dropstars two-piece billet wheels
• 305/30-26 Lionhart LH-TEN tires

ENGINE& DRIVETRAIN

• 3.0L Duramax Diesel
• AFE Power intake
• PPE carbon fiber intake tube
• AFE Power DPF back exhaust
• PPE Intercooler

EXTERIOR & PAINT

• Sterling Metallic factory paint
• Color-matched fender trim
• Color-matched grille and emblem
• Color-matched headlights by Retro Shop
• Klearz MFG clear headlight lenses
• Smoked and trimmed taillights by Retro Shop
• Color matched third brake light
• Diode Dynamics LED bulbs and hitch light
• Ikonic Badges custom fender badges
• Undercover Bed Covers Ultra Flex tonneau
• Bedrug bed mat
• Undercover Bed Covers swing case
• Bolt Lock hitch lock

INTERIOR

• Red Roadwire leather seats
• Matching red door panels, dash panels, and console
• Racesport Lighting LED trim lights
• Carismo Design carbon fiber steering wheel
• Painted panels by The Paint Shack
• Suede headliner, pillars and door inserts
• Husky Liner floor lines
• All interior work by Ultimate Audio in Lexington, SC

AUDIO

• Factory head unit
• Wavtech DSP
• Memphis Audio wiring and connectors
• Memphis Audio MOJO Mat
• Memphis Audio VIV600.1 vocal amp
• Memphis Audio VIV1100.1 sub amp
• MTI A-pillar pods with Memphis Audio VIV vocals
• 6.5-inch Memphis Audio VIV components in all doors
• MTI under seat box with two Memphis Audio 12-inch MB1222 subs
• All audio work by Ultimate Audio in Lexington, SC

SPONSORS

Dropstars Wheels, Lionhart Tires, Belltech, Retro Shop, Klearz Mfg., Undercover Bed Covers, Husky Liners, Bedrug, Memphis Audio, Ultimate Audio, Bolt Lock, Diode Dynamics, Roadwire Leather, Air Lift Company, Switch Suspension, Adams Polishes, Viar, Hornblasters, AVS, MTI Acoustics, Elite Auto Glass, Wheel City Tire & Alignment, PPE, AFE Power, Parker Speed, R1 Concepts, Ikonic Badges, Tameless Performance, Carismo Design

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