hile traveling on the road recently for Classic Truck Performance, our path led us to TK Customs (TKC) in Mitchell, Ontario, Canada, to check out some of the latest projects being worked on for the new season. Upon arrival, we were greeted by shop owner Tyler Kawalez and were immediately drawn in by a pair of wicked classic truck builds well on their way to becoming attention magnets once they reach the streets.

For Kawalez, starting out in a two-bay garage at his home almost a decade ago evolved rather quickly once his craft became known, leading to expanding into a shared space with a local auto parts distributor. This was great initially as it was easy to source an endless stream of parts, however, he still needed more space. He settled into his current 1,800-square-foot location, allowing him ample room to take on several builds at the same time. With a background as a licensed tool and die maker as well as a millwright, he blended his experience with mechanical and fabrication skills honed since his teen years of building and drag racing both a 1990 GMC Sierra and 1991 S-10 Blazer at Grand Bend Motorplex.

When asked about style preferences, Kawalez told us that he prefers melding influences from both the traditional and contemporary sides while also incorporating a true uniqueness to each build through custom fabrication to add just the right amount of allure to the finished project, regardless of whether it’s a vintage truck, muscle car, or hot rod. By fusing the latest in modern technology with cutting-edge drivelines, chassis upgrades, suspension, and braking, it allows him to provide his customers with an endless stream of options while designing them truly unique and innovative individual projects. This has resulted in turning out several truly notable hop-ups over the years.

Walking through the shop, we were first treated to an up-close view of an in-the-works 1970 Chevy C10. Sitting on an Acme Chassis Factory Stage IV spine packing their exclusive IFS, three-link with fabricated Ford 9-inch rear, and 14-inch Wilwood discs with six-piston calipers at each corner, it’s able to drop to its rockers thanks to Slam Specialties ’bags. Powered by a supercharged LT4 it’ll easily dust the competition from any light. Taking on the build, Kawalez added his magic, starting with a full rebuild of the cab, including floors, custom trans tunnel, inner roof, and under cab structure. The engine bay features a custom firewall, relocated hood hinges, and Hart Fab inner fenders. Out back, more TKC touches include a raised bed floor with tilt, custom-fabbed rear wheeltubs and inner tailgate filler panel along with one-off oak bed floor and smooth trim.

The 1970 Dodge D100, aka “The Dude,” arrived as a client project that had been mothballed for over 20 years, needing a new lease on life. Reworking all the mechanicals, bringing it up to today’s standards, TKC first updated the powdercoated modified factory chassis with a fresh ’bag system from Air Lift, including all hard lines and fuel system. For power, a Cummins 5.9L turbo diesel packs a punch with a Fleece Performance Engineering cylinder head and custom plumbing by TKC. Cool details include maintaining its factory patina while also adding Vintage Air, Dakota Digital Mopar B-body custom-fitted gauge cluster, and tunes from Retro Manufacturing.

Our final treat was seeing Kawalez’s personal 1990 GMC Sierra, which he’s owned since high school. With its current version (an eight-year buildup) it sits on a full TKC custom tube chassis with C5 Corvette IFS, fabricated Ford 9-inch rear, and adjustable QA1 coilover shocks at each corner. Packing a built big-block V-8, it puts out 600 hp on pump gas with enough gusto to make it a threat on the street, dragstrip, and road course. As with all of the trucks at the shop, we’ll really look forward to taking a deeper look into each one when time moves forward.