We’re huge fans of the turbocharged GMC trucks from the early ’90s; the Syclone and the Typhoon. They were quick, nimble and launched incredibly hard, thanks to their full-time all-wheel drive system. Throw in a boosted 4.3L V-6, and all bets were off — they even gave Ferrari’s 348 flagship (at the time) some troubling heartburn However, that was then and this is now.
Fast forward to 2016, and you need quite a bit more power than the 280 hp that the little GMC trucks left the factory with of you want to be taken seriously these days. Heck, even the base-model, secretary version of today’s pony cars pump up well over 300 hp. Today’s Sy/Ty enthusiasts understand this, so while some purists persevere with the 6-pot block as God intended, many have jumped over to the Dark Side of the LS-swap.
The owner of Syclone #354 (out of 2,995) has taken his truck to the Nth degree, by dropping in an iron-block 6L stroker, measuring in at 408-cubic inches. It’s currently sporting a complete Callies stroker kit, 317 cast heads, a small boost-friendly cam, an Edelbrock intake manifold and fuel rails, Turbonetics 91 compressor/101 turbine and a built 4L80E gearbox. A Moser 12-bolt sits out back and the OEM differential still resides up front and fully-functional. This truck is not only tastefully modified, but has been built from the ground up by the owner, his brother and their father.
Even with 132k miles of street and track abuse under its belt, its drivetrain is apparently modern enough to lay waste to a head/cam C6 Z06, a brand new Mustang GT and the “all-mighty” Challenger Hellcat at a recent WannaGoFast event in Virginia. With the low-end grunt paired with the all-wheel drive, as well as the turbo spooling at the midrange and on the top end, this truck os pretty unstoppable in its full-street trim.
That truck is GONE!
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
