When we got our hands on our 1989 Chevy C1500 Silverado, it was exactly what you would expect. A simple and sturdy pickup truck that is suddenly becoming harder and harder to find. So our plan for this truck is something a bit out of the ordinary. Rather than just restoring this old truck to working order, we decided that we were going to convert it into a fearsome, rubber-burning race truck!
Even though the stock engine was able to produce 172 horsepower (which is kind of what we expected), we decided that it was best to swap it out with a 406ci stroked LS engine that was able to produce nearly 600 horsepower and 511 lb-ft of torque! Not to mention reverting it back to a manual transmission coupled with a high-performance clutch.
Of course, the LS engine swap was certainly impressive, the one part of this truck that really made it stand out from the rest of the crowd was its custom 3-link cantilevered rear suspension. This setup, despite its looks, is actually very simple. The biggest challenge behind building it was the amount of accuracy and precision required in our geometry and measurements. Because if we are off by even a little bit, the suspension will not perform at its fullest.
When it was time to put the OBS Chevy back on the road, we could see improvements in every aspect of the truck. It showed dramatic improvements in performance, power, handling, and comfort. Plus, the amount of compliments we receive for the 3-link suspension is pretty nice too!
