Frank Altholtz of Rancho Cucamonga, California, has drag racing in his blood and has been lining up against other drivers since he was 16 years old. Now, he races a '70 Chevy Nova stuffed with a 632ci big-block that can run a 4.60-second eighth-mile at 152 mph, in addition to the 730hp truck you see here.
So how does a Pacific Street Car Association racer end up behind the wheel of an '05 Chevy 2500HD regular cab pickup? He used to own a Lincoln Navigator with the 5.4L gas engine, but after a friend bought a Duramax truck and smoked him at stoplight after stoplight, Frank knew he had to buy a diesel truck. After some time enjoying his first Duramax, he decided it was time to purchase a brand-new Chevy with the goal of building the fastest truck in the Western Hemisphere.
This truck was going to spend its life running 1,320 feet at a time, so there was no need for heavy luxury items such as power windows and carpeting. That's why Frank ordered his Silverado with GM's Work Truck trim (a notch below the base-trim-level Chevy LS or GMC SL), which comes with vinyl flooring and a manual transfer case. Frank started his project by removing the driver seat/middle seat and replacing it with the smaller passenger seat and adding a Crow five-point racing harness. Next, a six-point safety cage was built and attached to the truck by the crew at All Pro Cage in Temecula, California. A standalone boost gauge was added to the dash, and the cabin was complete for Stage 1 of this dedicated drag truck.
Although no internal modifications have been made to the Duramax LLY engine under the hood (yet), this Chevy has produced 730 hp with nitrous and 528 hp using only number #2 diesel. This is accomplished with fueling upgrades and custom programming for the ECU by Steve Cole at TTS Power Systems.
To take advantage of the racing tune in the engine computer, TTS reworked the entire fueling system. The stock tank and lines were removed and replaced with a race cell and larger-diameter fuel lines. A TTS dual lift-pump kit pushes diesel through the large bore lines up to a stock CP3 injection pump. The fuel is then fed into the stock common rails and delivered via stock injectors with larger Kerma 50hp nozzles.
Cool air is delivered from a fully enclosed Volant airbox into the stock turbo and then pushed through the stock intercooler. Since the truck will not drive on city streets, the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system was removed, and a custom bracket was built in its place to support the stock intake manifold. The air-conditioner compressor was also removed and replaced with an idler wheel on a bracket. Exhaust travels through stock manifolds up to the turbo then exits through a TTS downpipe that feeds into a flex line and leaves the truck through a 5-inch-diameter stack in the pickup bed.