Drag Truck
Lighter is better in the drag racing world, so our drag truck build would be centered around a two-wheel-drive GMC 2500HD powered by the Duramax diesel. We'd try to find one that was wrecked or had a bad transmission, and then we'd tub the rear end, put in a fabricated 9-inch rear axle and a ladder bar rear suspension. The transmission would be a 47RE from Sun Coast (known as a DuraFlite) adapted to the Duramax engine with a stand-alone controller for torque converter lockup and overdrive.
The engine is where we'd do something very different. The stock engine of whatever year truck we got would have its water passages half filled with Hard Blok, a stud girdle, and aftermarket connecting rods. We'd also install an aftermarket cam and a set of ported cylinder heads. For air, we'd ditch the turbo and install a PSI screw supercharger, which would take about 200 horsepower to turn, but would be capable of producing a smoke-free 70 pounds of boost.
Tuning would be accomplished by EFILive. It's our guess that we could get the truck down around 5,500 pounds, and it would have about 1,200 horsepower. With that kind of power-to-weight ratio, 9-second quarter-mile times at more than 140 mph would be no problem. Oh yeah, and we'd still drive it on the street.
Truck: '01-'08 GMC 2500 HD, two-wheel drive
Engine: 6.6L Duramax
Performance modifications: PSI screw supercharger, connecting rods, cam, ported cylinder heads, EFILive tuning
Estimated HP: 1,200 hp
Transmission: 47RE (Sun Coast DuraFlite)
Front axle: Stock
Rear Axle: Ford 9-inch, 35-spline axles
Suspension: Ladder bar rear
Tires: 31x16.5 ET Streets
Wheels: Lightweight beadlocks
Chassis modifications: Narrowed rearend
Body Modifications: Tubbed
Why it will work: Lightweight, high horsepower, purpose-built