The quality of this homemade build is so good, you’d think it came from the factory.
I absolutely love builds like this Chevy HHR SS pickup truck conversion. Whenever I see a heavily customized build, which began as a relatively unpopular, somewhat forgotten car, it makes me happy because it shows a ton of passion. This owner loved their car and wanted to make it even more special than they already thought it was and that’s awesome. And now you can take their passion home because this oddball pickup is currently for sale on Bring a Trailer.
This build obviously started out life as a standard Chevy HHR SS, not to be confused with the Chevy SSR pickup truck. The latter is an even more retro-looking pickup with a V8. The HHR SS is a retro hatchback with panel van vibes and a four-cylinder engine. Then the fun started. To put it crudely, the owner chopped the roof off of the HHR behind the B-pillar and turned the rear into a pickup bed. However, that criminally minimizes the level of craftsmanship that went into this build.
Bring a Trailer
Despite not having the stock car’s rear doors, the shoulder line and rear wheel arch look perfect, as if this car came from the factory as a pickup. The bed, rear window, and tailgate also look fantastic and had me double-taking to make sure Chevy didn’t actually build this back in 2008. The wood strips on the bed floor are a nice touch, too. A ton of love and care went into this build and it’s hard to not appreciate it all. If you’re a potential buyer who’s worried about the quality of work, the seller has several pictures of the build process.
Ironically, this car is factory-fresh, too. With just under 5,500 miles on the odometer, whoever buys this will be getting a nearly brand-new car.
Under the hood is the same turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine used in the Saturn Sky Red Line and Pontiac Solstice GXP. A six-speed manual was standard when it was new back in 2008 but this car has the optional four-speed automatic. Unfortunately, that means power drops to 250 horsepower and 223 lb-ft of torque (the manual car made 260 horsepower and 260 lb-ft).
I’ll admit that, on paper, I wouldn’t have initially thought that a Chevy HHR SS pickup truck conversion would appeal to anyone. However, it would seem that I’ve been proven wrong as there are only two days left on the auction and the current bid is up to $16,000, with 11 bidders already in the mix. People want this funky hand-built ute, and I don’t blame them.
Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com
