You’re looking at “Brown Sugar,” a 1983 Chevy C30 dripping with nearly as much early 1980s nostalgia as Stranger Things. This was built for the 2019 SEMA show by River City Rods of Davenport, Iowa, a shop that was only founded in 2016. As you can see, they figured things out pretty quickly. This is the same shop that built “The Mullet”, an equally cool but very different camper build, and this Coyote-powered Mexican-market Ford B100 that you absolutely must check out.
The shop seems to have a knack for dumping trucks right down to the pavement, and Brown Sugar will lay the front crossmember on the campground pad if you’d like. Power’s provided by a GM LS V-8, a 5.3-liter iron-block powerplant that feeds a 4L80E automatic transmission. Front suspension is courtesy of GSI, as is the steering.
If you think the outside is awesome, wait until you see the inside. The plaid is keyed to the hockey stripes on the exterior, and it looks absolutely amazing. Things get wilder further back. A couple of whiskey barrels hide subwoofers, the sink is made from a vintage Coca-Cola cooler, knotty pine paneling abounds, and copper detailing and custom metalwork finish things off perfectly. It’s a functional camper, too, which adds a whole ‘nother element to taking Brown Sugar to shows. You could display the custom truck and camp in it. If you buy Brown Sugar, you better not mind talking to the neighbors at a campsite, because it will surely draw a lot of attention.
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The best part is that you actually can buy this custom, if you have the cash. Grand Rapid Classics has it listed on their site for $179,000, but it’s also listed on eBay Motors in a reserve auction that has six days left at the time of this writing. Bidding is up to $65,000, although reserve hasn’t been met. This is going to be the ultimate combination of nostalgia, raditude, and practicality for some lucky buyer—we just wish it were us.
