The 1978 E-Rod Chevrolet Silverado

The 1978 E-Rod Silverado. All photos courtesy of The Block

Among the sea of vehicles at SEMA, most are brand new cars or classic cars. You’re usually hard pressed to find any late 70’s, 80’s or even 90’s cars. Seems everybody brings the latest and greatest, or our favorite classics such as a Chevelle or Bel Air.

When you walk through the enormous Chevrolet booth, everything in the booth is new: Corvettes, Camaros, Silverado’s, Impalas, etc. Then there is a slew of brand new crate engines on display like diamond rings in a jewelry store. However this year one truck stood out like a sore thumb, but for many good reasons.

The 1978 E-Rod Silverado. At first glance you would think what would Chevy bring a 78 truck all the way to SEMA? After asking ourselves that same question, it became apparent. That’s a truck thats near and dear to lots of Chevy lovers heart, myself included. Growing up one of my best friends Dad had a truck similar to this that we use to ride around in and go four wheeling in. When we turned 16 this was the same truck we beat up and took out in the hills. The Block felt the same way about those cherished late 70’s Silverados. This truck however, was brought to life by Special Vehicles Project Manager, Gary Mulder. “Personally, I started working with General Motors back in ’78, so it definitely takes me back to day one, so to speak.”

A full frame off restoration was completed.

Jim Campbell unveiled the truck at SEMA and told the story about this truck. The truck has had a complete frame off restoration, including powder coating the frame. “There’s more to this story. Under the hood we used one of our E-Rod Crate Powertrain systems including the LC9 5.3L V8 with 336 horsepower, nearly double the horsepower of the truck’s original small block.” So while the truck may look fairly stock, there’s an updated drivetrain in the truck to add comfort and make it scoot down the road.