Icon is ready for its next chapter of restomods

We’ve driven several builds from Icon 4×4, the Chatsworth, California, shop that has turned out hundreds of high-end restomods. The majority of its builds—more than 350 now—have relied on a custom chassis. Icon has a decades-long relationship with Art Morrison, who builds the chassis for Icon’s Bronco-, Toyota FJ-, and Chevrolet Thriftmaster-based lines of vehicles. The customizability of those chassis allows customers to get anything from a low-slung, canyon-carving machine to a solid-axle rock-crawler. Icon’s Chevrolet C Modern Retro Series of trucks, however, leans on the factory engineering of the most popular pickups in America to deliver a versatile platform that excels in daily driving. We sampled the prototype last year, and now the updated production version is ready.

Icon’s Chevrolet C Modern Retro Series Starts with a donor 1967–72 Chevy or GMC pickup and a new Chevy Silverado work truck. Icon retains the chassis, engine, drivetrain, brakes, gauges, switchgear, and most of the electronics of the new pickup. The modern sheet metal is recycled. Thanks to all of the integrated software, it wasn’t as simple as dropping on the donor body. After moving components, editing software, and meticulously tracking every bit of wire in the truck’s harness, Icon is left with a vehicle that looks like it’s 55 years old, yet offers the functionality of a new truck.

There’s plenty of upside to using a new truck chassis and suspension. Not surprisingly, the old pickup drives like a modern pickup. Steering takes just a little effort, but it’s not lazy, and there are no dead spots. As delivered, they ride great and can fit enough rubber to deliver a worthy trail rig. The tall sidewall on 17-inch wheels helps absorb potholes and other road/trail deviations, keeping things comfortable. There’s also plenty of options for modification. “If people want to drop them, we can drop them,” says Icon founder and CEO Jonathan Ward. “They want to lift them, put 35s on there? We can”.

Icon pioneered this build concept last year. Ward logged thousands of miles on the pilot vehicle to shake things out. He is justifiably proud of the work his company put in to do things the right way when starting with such a complex OEM platform. The adaptations are done “through software, not Band-Aids,” Ward notes. “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,” he adds.

One aftermarket solution did solve a lot of complexities. “We used the Vintage Air Gen 5 and divorced that from the CAN network, so the HVAC is standalone,” Ward says. The audio screen and dash were both adapted to fit into the old truck body. They both remain totally intact. New Focal and Morel components enhance audio processing and delivery with a nine-speaker system, but the CarPlay and Android Auto functionality is there. If the owner happens to scratch the acrylic of the gauge cluster, a trip to the nearest Chevy dealership can fix it.  


Buyers of this run of Chevrolet C Modern Retro Series can select either Old School or Derelict styles. The former will result in a restored look with original-style parts. The latter, like this truck, maintains the aged appearance of the donor vehicle.

Ward plans five of these trucks over the next year, with turnaround times of about four months. Buyers will be able to pick from a variety of materials and finishes to make theirs just right, and pricing starts at $450,000. There will be one final build of this series that Ward is setting aside as an Omakase build: The buyer will give an idea of their goal—long-bed, short-bed, 2WD, or 4×4—and leave the final choices on material and the exact color palette up to Icon. It’s not like they’d be going in blind. Finicky about fit, finish, and fabrics, Ward’s 350-plus custom builds at Icon give any prospective buyer a good idea of what they’re in for.

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