Beau James GMC Ready to Deliver Refinement to New Owner
Special-edition GMC Sierra Classic has refreshed paint, tons of NOS parts, and all of the compliments every time it rolls by.
GMC has had plenty of special editions over the past decades. For example, there’s the Sierra Elevation, which has color-coordinated body work with black accents. There was the Gentleman Jim Sierra, draped in black with gold stripes. There was the Impact Edition, with its wild stripe decals. There was even the Amarillo and Amarillo GT, which gave the Sierra lots of yellow paint, sunset stripes, and sportiness under and outside of the hood.
If you were looking for some luxury in the personal luxury era of the mid- to late Seventies, but in a truck, you could opt for the Beau James Sierra Classic in 1975. Lucky for us, we happened upon such an example at SMclassiccars.com the other day, looking as good as it did back in the day.
So, what did the Beau James package mean for one’s Sierra back in the day? As the sales brochure we found on Unique Cars and Parts goes, the package “was created for those who like the special things that life has to offer: the extra touches, the small refinements, the quietly appreciated subtleties.” In short, it was a truck for someone who may have been thinking about buying a Cadillac or something more luxurious, a marketing tactic that was novel in its day, but commonplace today.
What does this particular Beau James Sierra have, though? According to its seller, it has a 350 V8 paired with a TH350 automatic to deliver the goods to the rear pair of stock GMC Rallye wheels shod in fresh rubber. The blue and silver paint was refreshed, and the whole thing received a major infusion of NOS parts to get it back up to its former glory.
Inside the Beau James Sierra’s cab, the bench is lovely in its navy/Catalina Blue combo, while the faux wood accents give the truck the ruggedness expected with a name like Beau James. Meanwhile, the bed looks as if nothing was ever hauled upon it, and is kept that way with the help of the two-piece tonneau cover.
We’re not sure why this particular luxury package for the Sierra was called Beau James — perhaps to evoke a genteel, Southern gentleman vibe? — but we do know this is one fine truck, and a rarity at that: according to a Beau James fan page, 4,000 were only built for the 1975 model year.
Photos: SMclassiccars
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