Built Like a Freight Train

April 2008 TDG Truck of the Month

Steve Phillips is the owner of this 2002 GMC Sierra SLT. As everybody knows...a freight train lives a life of hard work. Constantly pushing and pulling loads that would make ordinary vehicles wince and crumble under the strain. Ask anybody what they envision about trains...and strength, power and of course, big diesels come to mind. Read on to find out how just appropriate Steve's name for his truck is. 

The truck began life as a construction truck. It had to work and earn its keep. It pulled trailers to and from work sites, and if it could fit in the bed, it got hauled. A couple of years ago, Steve decided that it was time to retire the truck to a life of pulling, although perhaps using the word retire is a bit out of place.

Steve knew that if he was going to be competitive 300 ft or a 1/4 mile at a time, the 6.6L Duramax engine would have to undergo some serious modifications. He first began by getting an LBZ block from Merchant Automotive, then stuffing it with LB7 slugs cut for 13.9:1 compression. The pistons are attached to crower rods, with a SoCal Cam keeping everything in rhythm. ATS twin CP3's provide enough fuel for the extrude hone injectors which are mounted in SoCal heads. The ATS Aurora 5000 breathes through an ATS intake. Making sure the Aurora always spins freely, an ATS turbo oil supply upgrade was performed. ARP studs have the duty of keeping everything together. In order to make everything run just right, Pat "McRat" McSwain and The Diesel Pilot performed a bit of their tuning magic. When even more power is needed, the NX Nitrous kit and Snow stage III kit provide the bit of extra boost. Spent diesel fumes exit via a BD manifold, then into a 5" exhaust setup to a single 6" stack.

When you've got this much power, attention also needs to be paid to the transmission. Steve contacted Sean Worthington, and with the help of Mike out at Inglewood transmission, a Suncoast IV fitted with a 1057 converter soon arrived at Steve's door. An '01 TCM helps with shifting strategy, and the SC/TC brace makes sure that the transfer case stays put.

Driveline wise...Steve knew that unless he wanted his front tires to point at each other going down the track, Cognito Braces needed to be installed. The idler arm was upgraded to a Super Steer version and also braced. Super Diesel provided the center link, and custom tie rod ends with 3/4" heims were also installed. Out back, the traction bars and pull hitch were fabbed by B&B Fab shop. The front panhard bar, weight bar, U-joint shields and drive shaft loops were also fabbed up by B&B. An Eaton E-locker resides in the front pumpkin, while the stock G80 locker sits in the back. Steve says that the G80 will be soon replaced by a spool. These ensure all 4 TSL Boggers get grip going down the pulling track. Also residing out back are Klikkel Axles. The whole rig then resides on a Tuff Country 4" lift.

Inside the cab is pure business. To quote Steve, " I have lots of switches, buttons, and gauges" Nuff said! The truck is street legal and tagged. It's still wearing the original Indigo Blue paint it left the factory with, and the odometer has rolled over 151,000 miles. Steve is pretty proud to point out that the only dent in the truck is the one in the hood that was left when the turbo exploded. Steve also credits Lokey Trucks.com as his main sponsor and helping him get the truck into the form you see here before you.

Congrats Steve on Freight train being selected as the April 2008 Truck of the Month.