Project LBZ Part 1

Planning Stages

A truck like this only comes along once, twice, in a lifetime. And while ’07 was less than a decade away, the truck is already beginning to show its age, hovering somewhere between “current/modern” and “classic.” With a fully developed line of aftermarket parts available, we were able to truly plan a build, picking from a mature collection.

“I wanted to create a truck that is dependable,” Greg stated, “tows snowmobiles, and will start in the morning, but I also wanted to unlock the hidden horsepower and torque potential from within the engine. I want to take it to the streets and feel the acceleration.”

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Dependably Powerful

From the beginning we knew we wanted to build a truck that would not only outperform stock trucks, but also remain dependable. This meant planning a build that wouldn’t overproduce horsepower and torque when not towing, unnecessarily straining the transmission and other parts. In the weeks after the purchase we developed a long list of parts that we knew we wanted, no, we needed, on Project LBZ. After finalizing our plan, we headed to Bully Dog to test the stock specs of the truck.

Surprisingly, the truck represented stock builds and regular maintenance well, and clocked an impressive 359.3hp and 638.1ft/lbs of torque.

“I thought the truck was going to post 270 or 325hp at most,” says Bully Dog Shop Manager Theo Harmison. “I was impressed to see the horsepower at 350. The truck must have been running really great that day, and, honestly, we weren’t expecting to see it that high and the truck got better numbers than we were anticipating. Obviously, we started with a great truck.”

From scratch we knew we wanted to keep the horsepower around 650, and avoid the problems of shrinking rods, overstressing stock parts, overloading the transmission and others. With our 650hp target, we planned to roll out the build in sections, first tackling deep engine work: head gasket, studs and more; and later building outward from there. We reached out to Custom Auto, LLC, for their expertise in our first round of serious engine work.