Turbo OverspeedChris's bad luck struck again though when the shaft on his HTB2 turbo broke, causing the impeller wheel to break apart and send aluminum shrapnel through the intercooler and into the head. It could have been worse, but the aluminum still damaged the valves and head. Chris removed the head, and replaced and reseated all the valves. The stock intercooler was full of aluminum from the turbo so it was replaced with a Banks intercooler and Banks High Ram intake elbow.
Compound Turbocharger SolutionWith the truck back together, the turbo still had to be replaced. Chris obviously didn't just replace the turbo, he upgraded to a compound turbo system from MPI. Powerlabs in Idaho Falls installed the MPI kit with an HTB2 feeding a larger Schweitzer S400. With the twins installed, the truck had way too much power for the stock transmission to handle, and it got smoked. The transmission was then rebuilt by Auto Trenz with billet shafts, a billet torque converter, a shift kit, more frictions and steels, a billet drum, and a deep oil pan.
Mission AccomplishedWhen Chris purchased the truck, it already had a 6-inch Tuff Country lift installed with 20-inch American Racing 6700 wheels. Chris wanted a look that would make the truck stand out, so he started color-matching a few components with blue. The wheels and stacks were powdercoated Postal Blue. The rocker panels, bed, hoodscoop, bumpers, and nerf bars were all Rhino-lined blue. The blue and yellow theme also extends under the hood with the head, intake elbow, and turbo piping. You have to appreciate the attention to detail that has gone into the blue-yellow scheme. Even the lug nuts and fender flare bolts have been color-matched, making the truck look just as good as it runs.