GRANDE MAX

STAN AND LEE ANN PITMAN’S DURAMAX POWERED 1970 GMC 2500 SIERRA GRANDE

- CHRIS TOBIN

Stan and Lee Ann Pitman are a lot like your typical couple but with a few twists. They own S.D.P. Manufacturing in Dunkirk, Indiana a manufacturer that builds equipment used to install utility poles. They specialize in machines that are easy to transport and will fit through small openings for residential yards. The twist comes in Lee Ann’s choice of transportation. Like many suburban women across the country, she chooses to drive an SUV, but her SUV of choice is this restored ‘70 GMC Sierra Grande 2500 with a modern chassis and Duramax/ Allison drivetrain below the classic threedoor. What’s more, she searched for and eventually found the restored SUV online, flew down to Orlando, Florida and drove it back home to Indiana (with a failed starter replacement along the way) then commissioned the conversion of the GMC. Her new ride went from a lifted monster with a weak 350ci gasser under the hood to a more useful height with a durable modern chassis and powerful diesel drivetrain.