GMC’s Syclone pickup has, and always will be, the truck brand’s pinnacle achievement. Dropping a 280hp turbocharged and intercooled V6 under the hood of a Sonoma pickup, installing AWD, covering it in gallons of black paint and embarrassing Ferraris at the stoplight was only part of the appeal. Crank up the boost, open up the intake and exhaust tracts, install a recalibrated chip and dump in a gallon of race gas, and you would find yourself deep in the 12s pretty quick!
But that was then, this is now. Although most of the world has moved on from the one-year only GMC pocket rocket pickup, there are still plenty of those die-hards out there who petsit with their little black pickup, and this particular racer is one of them.
Although there are certainly ways to really wake up your Syclone, this truck has been completely rebuilt from the ground up using the perfect balance of some of the best parts currently in the aftermarket! Our friends over at Full Throttle Speed has lent some of their expertise since this video was uploaded, including their Revolution X-Series torque converter. However, the truck’s owner was quite mum on the details. Not because we’re not cool enough to know, but because he doesn’t want us spreading the word on its recipe.
Under the hood, the foundation starts with a Chevrolet Performance Bow-Tie block, that’s been fortified with a Billet crankshaft, custom-made connecting roads and pistons. Sitting up top, is a one-off intake manifold, “custom” cylinder heads and intake manifold. The boost comes from aĀ Borg WarnerĀ turbocharger of unspecified specs, that’s connected to one-off, custom headers and downpipe, while an oversized intercooler helps keep the intake charge in check.
Sitting behind the buzzing’ half-dozen is a TH400 gearbox and (now) the aforementioned Full Throttle-sourced converter. There are obvious other modification made to the Sy that contribute to the truck’s success in being a dragstrip terror, but until we can catch up with the owner personally, strap him down and utilize third-world torture methods on him to get the full rundown, you’ll just have to suffer like the rest of us on the details!
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isnāt tuning, testing, or competing with the brandās current crop of project vehicles, heās busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
