GMC

Since March 1984
Hi, I’m Marty Fay the owner of Motor Works. In March, 1984, Motor Works began serving the DeKalb and Northern Illinois public. We are a one-stop-shop offering every conceivable automotive amenity. A critical part of that commitment is GMC service and repair. Towards that end, we have three ASE Master Certified Specialists on staff. By the way, our new “used” shop truck is a GMC.

Pushing Hard
GMC, the fourth largest producer of pickup trucks in America, is pushing hard. It and bigger brother Chevy are pouring in vast capital to revise their trucks in preparation for new offerings from Ford and Ram.

The Rumor Is Apparently True
Many an expert has scratched his or her head as to why General Motors did not drop GMC in their recent massive restructuring. After all, wouldn’t all those split resources be better spent on one truck line rather than two? Maybe not.

There is now a confirmed rumor that GMC will start to differentiate itself from Chevy with totally standalone vehicles. GM global product chief Mark Reuss was asked at the recent Detroit Auto Show whether we’d see a non-Chevy-based GMC, he replied “Oh, yes, you will.” He was vague on further details, but it looks like GM has a long range plan for GMC.

That’s Just Fine With Us
Motor Works has been working on these tough vehicles for over 30 years. I, personally began learning my craft on a GMC truck in 1970. See Full Circle below. Our technicians go to school constantly to stay current with the brand’s continual changes. Motor Works’ dedication includes thousands of dollars of unique tooling and computer scanners.

From The Smallest Service To The Biggest Repair
We offer everything from light bulbs to transmission overhauls, “check engine lights” to motor replacements. We are comfortable with all the manufacturer’s models and strive to deliver the service you deserve.

GMC owners in DeKalb and Northern Illinois choose Motor Works because of our reputation for excellence, we hope you’ll choose us too.

Schedule Today!
If you would like to bring your GMC in for repair or service please schedule an appointment online or call us at 815-756-2882 to speak to our friendly staff.

Full Circle
My long GMC experience has just come full circle. I started as a technician for another local shop in 1970. My boss had an early 1960’s GMC pickup and this became my first “practice vehicle”. Meaning I could learn to replace tires and change oil without immediately endangering a customer’s car.

Local dealerships flooded the area with GMC trucks. I soon found myself repairing everything from little S-15 pickups, to large 6500 Series agricultural grain trucks. Even an infrequent Motor Home would show up.

In 1984 I opened my own shop, Motor Works, and nothing much changed in the GMC world. I think it was at least ten years before we saw a new model. GMC seemed stuck. This continued until roughly five years ago, when two really neat things happened at almost the same time.

1) GMC came alive with new models and they aggressively modernized their older offerings. New Acadia’s, and Terrain’s, plus redesigned Yukon’s, Sierra’s and strong Savanna vans started showing up.

2) Old GMC trucks were increasingly becoming hip classics. Motor Works performed a huge partial restoration and upgrade on a 1953 GMC pickup. This included:
- Front disc and power brake conversion
- Front kingpin replacement and major chassis work
- Rear brakes and spring repair
- Complete rewire with new dash cluster
- New tires and wheels and much more
Please see this truck in our website Classic Car Section

And I can’t leave out a continuing restoration of a 1963 GMC Suburban 4x4. So far we have:
- Resealed the transmission
- Resealed and repaired the transfer case
- Performed major driveshaft work
- Completed extensive steering repairs
- There’s a ton more, some of it major that I can’t recall at this exact moment.

The circle that started in 1970, connected just last week. On 5/27/2014 Motor Works bought a new “used” shop truck to replace our rusted out 1990 Chevy 4x4 snowplow. For close to two years we have been searching for the right truck: a reasonably priced 2500 series 4x4, with gas motor, under 100,000 miles, in good condition, and with minimal rust. We finally found one and it’s a GMC. YIPPEEE!