When talking with Chris St. Aubin, the title holder of this red Chevy SS, he mentioned his muse for the build was creating a Chevy sport truck the way Chevy should have designed it. We've chronicled the AWD Chevy SS's weaknesses in previous issues, and Chris has modified and upgraded darn near every component to make a ridiculously fast red blur that Chevy engineers would drool over. It's not just fast, though; this Silverado is a comfortable daily driver that has no problems attending hot-rod shows or audio sound-offs.
Starting with a new '04 Chevy SS, Chris had a decent platform, and he wasted little time in making the Silverado a tire scorcher. On went the typical mods: an intake, a programmer, and an exhaust. But after some time, the performance didn't garner a big smile. Off came the regular and on went the exotic. A ProCharger P-1SC supercharger was bolted on and the smile got bigger. As is the case with shiny new toys, this too left a little to be desired, so Chris made the plunge and pulled the 6.0L LQ9 engine and had Midstates Machine add a Schnieder Racing camshaft, Mahle forged pistons, ARP bolts, and balanced the rotating assembly while also placing pins in the crank. The GM 317 heads received a full port and polish, only to be filled with air by a much larger ProCharger D-1 huffer. All of that compressed air is sent through a huge front-mount intercooler, via custom air inlet tubes and a ProCharger blow-off valve. Now 12psi of boost fills the engine and sends power to the tranny that was built with billet servos, larger accumulation pistons, a TransGo shift kit, and 2,600rpm torque converter. Other go-fast goodies include Arizona Speed and Marine long tube headers and custom 2--inch exhaust, which was bent by Iowa Muffler with Aero mufflers. All of this performance is enough to roast the tires, as the AWD system kicks in with 4.10 gears. At best estimation, the SS should be throwing down 550 hp to all four wheels. Now a smile is always on Chris' face.