This 1966 Chevrolet “Ponderosa” by Rtech Fabrications is the latest classic off-roader to get restomodded with serious muscle.
If you don’t remember ever seeing a ’60s-era production pickup this monstrous, it’s because you haven’t. The Idaho-based builders welded their own Chevy K30-style body out of 16-gauge sheet metal, gave it a Lucent GM Sight Green paint coat, and placed it on a 1972 Chevy C30 chassis with massive 175-inch wheel base.
The front also got a period-accurate chrome grille in addition to a stock bumper and LED headlights, the sides boast tubular steel rocker panels, and everything rides on six 20-inch American Force wheels wrapped in 37-inch Nitto Trail Grappler tires.
Under the hood is a RAM-sourced 5.9-liter, 12-valve Cummins diesel that was fitted with a bigger turbo along with new injectors, intakes, exhaust and other components.
It’s now good for 500 hp and a whopping 1,300 pound-feet of torque, though as The Drive notes, it’s unlikely that a platform of this age would withstand the max load that the engine is capable of towing or hauling.
Power is channeled to the axles through a five-speed transmission with only four usable gears…Autoblog spoke to Rtech Fabrications to find out what happened there:
Shifting duties get carried out by a New Venture Gear 4500 five-speed gearbox with a twin clutch, even though the shifter in the cab only counts up to four forward gears at the moment.
Rtech Fabrications founder Randall Robertson told Autoblog he wanted to keep the old-style four-speed shift knob, but hasn’t had time to get the “5” inscribed on it yet.
The interior is loaded with custom vinyl and cloth-clasd 1966 GMC Sport Trim bucket seats, Daytona weave nylon carpet, Dakota Digital Gauges, and a Bluetooth-compatible Kenwood sound system controlled via a RetroSound Hermosa head unit.
Anyone can commission a Ponderosa for $150,000, which is at the low end of other restomodded trucks we’ve covered recently like Velocity Restorations’ ’66-’77 Ford Broncos or Mil-Spec Automotive’s Hummer H1.
Head to Rtech Fabrications’ website for more info.