2001 Chevrolet HD Truck - Night Train

Brian Brown's vision of rolling thunder came to reality right after he first read of the new '01 Chevy HDs. He knew he had to have one of these powerful machines because he lives for the thrill of building and driving custom built-to-the-hilt, functional off-road vehicles. He crafted a plan to build this HD to be faster, stronger, and taller than factory form. As owner of Bullet Suspensions, Bryan's expertise in suspension design played a key roll in the construction of this monster freight train.

While Bryan can't tell you the exact number of lifted 'wheelers he's built, he will tell you what he's learned from the projects, how to build them right, and how to increase their performance without sacrificing dependability. Right out the factory door, the Chevy is a dependable and powerful beast; the Vortec 6000 V-8 SFI engine has a horsepower output of 300 hp at 4,000 rpm and 360 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm. Seizing the opportunity to boost these specs even more, the first component Bryan bolted on the HD was a Powerdyne Supercharger. This belt-driven centrifugal supercharger gave the powerplant an additional 100 hp and 120 lb-ft of torque, bringing the total power output to around 400 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque. To help the engine breathe a little easier, Redlands Brake and Muffler of Redlands, California, installed a 2-1/2-inch Flowmaster dual exhaust system and a set of Gibson stainless steel headers.

With the increase in performance, there were no problems in lifting the suspension to impressive heights and wrapping some massive meat over the wheels. The overall lift on the HD measured 19 inches. The front suspension received Bulletproof's Chevy HD suspension kit. This includes a one-piece cage, differential drop shackle tie in, upper control arm drop downs and upper control arms, tie rods, torsion drop down brackets, center link bar, impact bar braces, steering arms, pan hard bracket, Heim joints, dual shock hoops, and extended braided steel brake lines. Bryan also uses a set of CST 4-inch lift front spindles and Atlas 15-inch rear leaf packs. Fox precision remote reservoir shocks were used to smooth the ride: four in the front and four in the rear. When all was said and done there was enough room to fit a set of 16.5x12-inch Weld Super-Single Stone Crusher wheels with huge 42x12.5-16.5LT Interco Super Swamper TSLs for ground biting traction.

Brian's monster HD is a serious looker. This aesthetically pleasing off-roader certainly stirs an enthusiast's senses. The 4x4 exterior was enhanced with blue ghost flames and all trim pieces and handles were painted to match. The interior of the cab is a performance audiovisual theater built by Pryor at Auto Accessory Warehouse of San Bernardino, California. The system consists of an Alpine audiovisual system, an Alpine stereo head unit, three MTX 1,000-watt amplifiers, eight 12-inch subwoofers mounted in the bed and extending through the cab wall, and an MTX 6-1/2-inch component set for each door.

With experience comes knowledge and Bryan has taken his years of automotive know-how, patience, and skill and turned an ordinary Chevy HD into a show-stopping bruiser of a beast that has the power and thunder of a fast moving locomotive.