I guess it’s time to go through what it takes for a 1969 Chevrolet Blazer K5 to become an Icon K5 Blazer with an LS3 crate engine up front. It’s pretty much the exact opposite of what the Roadkill guys are doing.
I’m always curious to see what happens to small car companies a few years down the line. It’s easy to fail as a startup, but when things works out and you start making some money, the sky is the limit as long as the market is kind to your products and you know how to come up with cool new things.
Icon’s Jonathan Ward is clearly aiming for nothing shorter than that. As well as building classic trucks like the Toyota favorite FJ, the Bronco-based BR, the Iconized Chevy 3100 known as the TR or even a Land Rover Defender if a client really insists, Icon’s line also includes what they call Derelict classics and other one-offs from the Reformer series.
Icon operates in a 44,000 square feet garage in California, employing just 47 people. The build process of a car like this Blazer starts with a phone call to Mr. Ward, who will draw up some sketches and a build sheet before finalizing the design and agreeing on a budget. Then a project manager takes over, and a team of two starts working on that given car, and that only.
A lot gets done to a Blazer before it can finish its 1,000 mile test drive process and leave Icon’s doors, but I’ll let the boss explain that in detail:
You know what’s better than a fully-loaded Cadillac Escalade? Well, a Chevy blazer that probably costs three times as much.
Icon’s current project car inventory includes a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE, a 1962 Pontiac Catalina Safari Wagon, a 1950 Studebaker Starlight Commander Coupe, a 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback and a few other things I would love to fork money over for, if I had it.
Carry on, Mr. Ward!
Photo credit: Icon
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