Icon 4x4 Grafts a Vintage C10 Body Onto a New Silverado Underneath

Icon 4x4, the Chatsworth, California restomod shop founded by Jonathan Ward, has spent two decades building custom 4x4s on ground-up Art Morrison chassis for its Bronco, Toyota FJ, and Chevrolet Thriftmaster lines. Its newest offering, the Chevrolet C Modern Retro Series, takes a different route entirely: rather than building a bespoke frame, Icon starts with a donor 1967-72 Chevy or GMC pickup body and a brand-new Chevrolet Silverado work truck, then merges the two. Hagerty Media drove a prototype of the concept last year, and in a July 22, 2026 feature by Brandan Gillogly, the outlet reports the production version is now ready for buyers.

The build process keeps far more of the new truck than a typical restomod. Icon retains the Silverado's chassis, engine, drivetrain, brakes, gauges, switchgear, and most of its electronics, then fits the old truck's sheet metal over that modern foundation. According to Hagerty, that meant relocating components, editing factory software, and tracking every wire in the harness so the finished truck would still communicate correctly with the Silverado's onboard systems, despite looking five and a half decades old.

That donor-chassis approach shows up in how the truck drives. Hagerty describes steering that takes modest effort but has no dead spots, along with a compliant ride from the Silverado's suspension and 17-inch wheels wearing tall-sidewall tires — enough give to soak up potholes on-road or minor obstacles off it. Ward told Hagerty the platform is flexible for owners who want to go further: "If people want to drop them, we can drop them. They want to lift them, put 35s on there? We can."

Power comes from the Silverado's stock 5.3-liter V-8, rated at 355 horsepower and paired with a 10-speed automatic that Ward says is central to the truck's manners. "I think the 10-speed's the reason why it's so efficient," he told Hagerty, noting the engine settles into a quiet roughly 500-rpm idle and returns around 20 mpg. Aside from deleting the engine's cylinder-deactivation system, the powertrain is left factory-stock from intake to exhaust.

Keeping the new truck's electronics intact, rather than working around them, was central to Icon's approach. "It still thinks it's in a stock truck. That's how we're able to keep the ABS and the hill hold. The stereo stays on until you touch the door, and all that," Ward said, describing the adaptation as being done "through software, not Band-Aids." One system was deliberately isolated: Icon fits a Vintage Air Gen 5 HVAC unit disconnected from the Silverado's CAN network, while new Focal and Morel components feed a nine-speaker system that still runs CarPlay and Android Auto through the adapted factory touchscreen and gauge cluster.

Buyers can choose between two finishes: an "Old School" build with restored, original-style trim, or the aged "Derelict" look — the style of the teal example Hagerty photographed, scuffed paint and all. Ward plans five trucks in this series over the next year, with roughly four-month turnaround times once a build begins, and pricing starting at $450,000. One truck in the run is being held back as an "omakase" build, where the buyer sets broad parameters — bed length, two- or four-wheel drive — and leaves the remaining color and material choices to Icon, drawing on a shop with more than 350 custom builds behind it.