When you see a classic GM truck, you assume it has either the original carbureted engine or maybe even a LS or LT swap in it. Those three staple engines are what the norm has become. Any gearhead can tell by the sound of the engine when the truck passes as to what is under the hood. So it caught us by surprise when we ran across this 1979 C10 Chevrolet truck at the 2024 Dinos Git Down. We immediately knew this was not your run-of-the-mill small-block C10.

Marveling at how clean the truck was, the exhaust note made us double take. This thing didn’t sound like every other classic GM at the event. The distinctive Cummins rattle got our attention and we knew that we needed to investigate further. After flagging down  the owner, Jesse Encinas, we are happy to get the scoop on this super clean truck.

Encinas picked up this truck back in 2013 and knew it would come together nicely. Building a standard truck wasn’t in the cards for Jesse. Taking a few auto shop classes back in high school sparked his love for cars and trucks – a passion that would continue throughout his life. It’s been his mission to make any vehicle he comes across run and look better. So now that he had his hands on this Chevy, it was time to make it exactly what he wanted.

The exterior of the C10 was perfectly restored and painted gray and black, complete with new moldings to freshen up the look. The inside was also updated, which now includes leather seats out of a late model GM truck and a full collection of AutoMeter gauges. To get more presence when driving down the road, Jesse had the truck lifted and utilized some Fox 2.0 reservoir shocks at all four corners. For rollers, a set of 22-inch American Force wheels were used and wrapped with 37×12.50-22 Toyo Open Country tires. Behind these new wheels you will find Wilwood brakes with 6-piston calipers.

Now for what sets this truck apart from the others – the drivetrain. As we pointed out before, this truck doesn’t have one of the “standard” drivetrains in it (thank goodness for Diesel Army readers). It has a 12-valve Cummins under the hood, mated to a GM 4L80e transmission. To keep this new setup cool, there is a Mishimoto radiator stuffed behind the grille. To get the new powerplant even better looking, the firewall was shaved and painted, and a few engine dress-up parts were added as well as some go-fast parts. Getting the diesel power to the ground, the rear axle was a beefed-up GM 14-bolt rearend, and the front was swapped to a Dana 60, both with 4.10 gears and ARB air lockers. Getting those spent diesel gasses out of this classic truck is a 5-inch stainless Borla exhaust system. 

Now that Jesse has a one-of-a-kind truck, a far cry from most of the classic GM’s you see around, he is out enjoying it as much as he can. Having a Cummins-powered, classic Chevy is one of those things that most people can’t even fathom, let alone have the priviledge to drive. We’d say Jesse was a lucky man, but he put in the sweat equity to make it happen.