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By
Joe Pettitt
Last
month, we showed the Banks Twin-Turbo SS454 test mule
just after the crew dropped the dyno mule motor into
the engine bay. This month, it’s
alive.
The
reasoning for bringing the beast to life is to promote
what Gale Banks Engineering is calling its “Back
to the Future” Twin-Turbo systems. In short, the
company has had these kits available before, but not
with the advanced level of today’s turbo technology,
or necessarily designed to fit as cleanly in the engine
bay of a ‘90s Silverado.
The
Banks crew claims its new twin-turbo system contains
everything you’ll need to twin-turbo a Chevy small-block
V-8 engine, from induction and exhaust manifolds, to
wastegates, turbos, and every nut, bolt, line fitting,
heatshield, flange, clamp, and hose to finish the job.
About the only thing the systems don’t include
(besides the truck) is the fuel injection system, ignition
system, throttle body, and front drive system.
We’ll take Banks’ word for it, especially
after taking a couple of seriously tire-limited side-street
0-60 blasts. It’s thoroughly quick: In the early
testing, the combo, backed by a Doug Nash six-speed manual,
pulled 119 mph in the quarter-mile after melting the
posi clutches in the rearend.
This mule motor just came off dyno duty, had an aggressive
cam, which is not needed with the turbo, but the wicked
street machine idle added to its charm. The idea is to
get the kit to meet the emissions requirements for the
last generation of Silverado, thus making it legal for
sale in all 50 states.
Just
think of the possibilities: You could build a Lightning-eating,
Ram SRT-10-chewing monster of a sport truck for about
the price of a good used Lightning. You know, that’s
not a bad idea.
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