Building a Squarebody - FROM SCRATCH

Spirit of ’76: How AMD & Rockford Custom Paint and Body Built a 1976 K10 Completely From the Catalog

The 1973–1987 Chevy and GMC trucks—better known today as Squarebodies—have exploded in popularity. From work truck survivors to full-blown show builds, these C10, K10, C20, K20, Suburban, and Blazer/Jimmy platforms are the go-to canvas for classic truck fans.

At Auto Metal Direct (AMD), we’ve spent years expanding our 73–87 GM truck product line so builders can restore, restomod, or completely reimagine these trucks using brand-new parts. Today, that catalog includes hundreds of SKUs—everything from cab structure and floor pans to bed sides, hoods, fenders, bumpers, glass, trim, weatherstrip, and hardware.

To prove just how complete that catalog really is, we teamed up with Rockford Custom Paint and Body in Mt. Airy, GA and set out to do something bold:

Build a fully running and driving 1976 Chevrolet K10 using AMD parts from front to back—no donor body, no original sheet metal. Just the catalog.

The result is the now-famous “Spirit of ’76”—a truck that became:

• A highlight of the 2025 SEMA Show

• A Top 10 Battle of the Builders – Young Guns finalist

• A feature vehicle in the AMD booth at Dino’s Git Down in Glendale, AZ, the premier all-GM truck event in the world

• The star of multiple viral social media posts over the last few months

Built From a Parts Book: What It Takes to Create a Squarebody From Scratch

Most restorations start with a complete truck. This one started with part numbers.

Working closely with AMD, Rockford Custom Paint and Body pulled from our 73–87 Chevy/GMC catalog to assemble a brand-new 1976 K10 body. The project drew on an extensive list of AMD components, including:

• Cab structure & sheet metal

  • Cab shell components, roof skin, cab corners, rockers

  • Inner kick panels, floor pans, braces, cab mounts, and supports

• Front-end sheet metal

  • Hood, cowl panel, inner and outer fenders

  • Radiator support, braces, and front splash shields

• Bed & rear structure

  • Bed sides, front bed panel, stake pockets, cross sills

  • Tailgate, tailgate hinges and latches, rear sill and supports

• Exterior finish parts

  • Front and rear bumpers, brackets, and hardware

  • Grille, headlight doors, park lamp housings and bezels

  • Moldings, trim pieces, and badges

• Glass & weatherstrip

  • Windshield and rear window seals

  • Door and vent window weatherstrip, beltline felts, glass channels

• Interior & doors

  • Door shells, hinges, latches, and strikers

  • Interior panels, dash components, hardware, and seals

Every line of the massive parts list you provided—from 100-4073 all the way through X950-4073-3ER—played a role in transforming a pile of boxes into a complete Squarebody. (You can see the full build parts list and direct links to each product at the end of this article or on the project landing page.)

The Spirit of ’76 isn’t a patched-up relic; it’s a real-world proof that, with AMD, you can build a 1973–1987 Chevy/GMC truck body from scratch.

Why AMD Invested So Heavily in 73–87 GM Truck Tooling

The Squarebody boom isn’t slowing down. These trucks are:

• Affordable entry points for young enthusiasts

• Versatile platforms for lifted 4x4 builds, slammed street trucks, and everything in between

• Supported by a huge aftermarket for drivetrains, suspension, and interiors

AMD’s role is to provide the foundation—sheet metal, structure, and all the supporting components that are hard (or impossible) to find rust-free.

That’s why our catalog covers:

• 1973–1980 “Squarebody” and 1981–1987 R/V-series body styles

• 2WD and 4WD: C10, C20, C30, K10, K20, K30 plus Suburban, Blazer, and Jimmy

• Critical rust areas: floors, cab supports, rockers, cab corners, radiator supports, inner fenders

• Cosmetic components: hoods, fenders, doors, tailgates, bedsides, valances, and bumpers

• The small but necessary pieces: braces, brackets, seal channels, and hardware kits

All of it is stamped or molded using AMD tooling, with OE-style gauge, proper contours, and EDP or plated finishes wherever appropriate.

The Spirit of ’76 at SEMA, Battle of the Builders & Dino’s Git Down

The payoff for this investment—and for Rockford’s craftsmanship—was huge.

At the 2025 SEMA Show, the Spirit of ’76 turned heads all week. Builders, media, and spectators stopped by to wrap their heads around the idea that this truck didn’t start life on an assembly line in 1976—it started in the AMD catalog.

The quality of the build and the vision behind it earned Rockford Smith a coveted spot in the Top 10 of the Battle of the Builders Young Guns competition, putting both the shop and the AMD brand in front of a global audience of enthusiasts and industry pros.

From there, the truck headed to Dino’s Git Down in Glendale, AZ, where it held a premium spot in the AMD booth at the largest all-GM truck gathering in the world. Photos and videos of the Spirit of ’76 have since circulated across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, reaching millions of Squarebody fans.

What This Means for Your 73–87 GM Truck Build

You don’t have to build a complete truck from a parts list to benefit from AMD’s 73–87 Chevy/GMC coverage.

Maybe your project needs:

• Just a pair of rockers and cab corners

• A complete bed replacement

• New doors, fenders, and a tailgate

• Or a full front clip with radiator support, inner fenders, grille, and bumpers

The Spirit of ’76 proves that our parts line is deep enough and accurate enough to build an entire truck. That same depth and precision make smaller jobs easier and more predictable, too.

You can mix AMD sheet metal, interior pieces, glass, and trim with any drivetrain or suspension setup—stock, LS-swapped, big-block, lifted, or slammed. However you envision your Squarebody, AMD gives you a solid, rust-free starting point.

See the Exact Parts Used on the Spirit of ’76

Want to see just how extensive the AMD parts list is for 73–87 GM trucks?

We’ve published the full Spirit of ’76 parts list, including direct links to each product on AutoMetalDirect.com—covering everything from major panels to the smallest brackets and hardware kits.

View the complete AMD parts list used on the Spirit of ’76
(Use the links/part-number list provided below or create a downloadable PDF/landing page.)

Whether you’re planning a full build or just tackling one panel at a time, this list is a great blueprint for what’s possible.