The Ultimate Swap: Diesel Power in a Classic 1987 Chevy R10

Jonathan Forrest’s 1987 Chevy R10

At various truck events, we often find ourselves wishing that some of these beautiful classic pickups had diesel engines under the hood. Thankfully, Jonathan Forrest, of Slidell, Louisiana, has given us just that and then some. He took his favorite body style—the 1980s Chevy R10 (1987 to be exact)—through quite the journey over a period of a year and a half to become a diesel-drinking machine.

Having sourced a 2004 Duramax motor, Jonathan took the R10 to Xtreme Diesel Services in Arkansas to have the crew install it all, along with an S&B intake manifold, an LBZ CP3 pump, an Air Dog lift pump, head studs, a custom LLY intercooler, as well as a custom radiator, Stealth 64 G2 turbo, and EFI Live tuning. The Duramax is mated to a built SunCoast DT750 6-speed transmission and a 14-bolt semi-floating rearend. On the shoot with Mach1Media, peering into the engine bay revealed just how clean and well done the swap is. You wouldn’t know that such an overhaul has occurred until you looked closely. There’s no bulge in the hood, no goofy firewall relocation, no bits sticking out from the grille or fenders.

Jonathan touched on this, as they had to go above and beyond to ensure the A/C lines fit properly because the new motor was too tall to include the stock A/C lines as they sat. His buddy Ryan Heyd figured out a way to make the stock factory lines work with cold hose fittings! Having seen quite a few engine swaps in our time, it’s always super refreshing to see something look “stock.” Taking a glance at the exterior, you’ll notice that all of the badging has been replaced with some epic billet badges, the door handles are all billet, and even the cab trim has been swapped to billet too! Keeping in theme with the brushed/billet look, the staggered Raceline wheels (22×8.5 and 24×12) feature a mix of brushed and polished finishes to match everything else. Underneath lies an Accuair air suspension system with a custom four link in the rear, done by Jose Pena of DRU Customs out of Deer Park, Texas.

One of our favorite parts of this truck is the interior. Opening the doors revealed a lovely Nuance merlot suede interior, which was absolutely incredible. There’s also no shortage of billet here either. You’ll notice the door pulls, the window buttons, cup holders, gear shifter, and even the air freshener are all billet! Wesley Cato of Anything Car Audio and Upholstery is the guy to blame for such a beautiful interior. There’s a matching Raceline steering wheel, as well as a custom sound system that has a shallow subwoofer tucked beneath the bench seat! Keen viewers may even catch the hidden tweeters tucked away near the air vents. We seriously did love this interior—there’s something about the color that had us entranced.

Jonathan has already been busy showing this thing off around the country at a handful of shows such as LST, Mini Nats, Battle in Bama, Scrapin the Coast, and Last Resort, but we caught him at Orange Beach Invasion! For him, there’s really nothing that he’d like to change on the truck. “I really love the stock look with a twist”, he says. Some might say it’s quite an extreme twist, but we fully support it. The easiest part of the build? The paint of the truck simply because Jonathan’s family does paint and body for a living! It’s definitely nice having that skillset to apply as we’ve all heard of the nightmares regarding paint shops over the years. Some words of advice from Jonathan on your own build; keep pushing—it will pay off in the long run! As for Jonathan, he’s just stoked that his truck isn’t like every other slammed truck with an LS.