2002 Chevrolet Silverado Prerunner - Super Truck!

It's no stretch calling Bob Shepard's Chevy prerunner super, since that's precisely the term that best characterizes this no-holds-barred Bow Tie. Designed and built by the legendary Geiser Brothers (Rick, Jeff, Mark, and Frank), this '02 Silverado is largely scratch-built and incorporates only a few OE - or close to OE - components; everything else is the handiwork of the brothers G.

Beneath the maze of chrome-moly tubing is a pair of OE framerails, at least in part. The front and mid segments of the stock 'rails were used as a foundation for the multiple struts, gussets, plates, and reinforcement tubes (all of which are 4130) that give Shepard's ride its basic strength.

The truck's front suspension is Trophy Truck in design and execution; upper and lower A-arms were custom-built with chrome-moly plate by the Geyser Brothers and cycled through an impressive 26 inches of wheel travel. On each pair of control arms, a single King Technologies 3-inch-diameter coilover with dual-rate springs provides basic suspension and damping, while the massive 4-inch-diameter King triple-bypass damper delivers additional - and finely tuned - control.

The Chevy's rear suspension is no less impressive. The Geisers fabbed a four-link suspension that cycles the Chrisman 10-inch rear axlehousing through an astounding 33 inches of whoop-eating travel. As with the front suspension, a King 3.0 coilover shock and a King 4.0 bypass damper deliver precise damping and spring action. The front and rear suspensions are controlled from excessive compression by the King 2.5 bumpstops mounted at each corner.

To provide the ultimate in strength to an area known as suspect, the Geisers installed CNC front hubs with a 6 on 6.5 pattern and backed up these hyper-strong hubs with a pair of CNC 14-inch disc rotors, which are squeezed by CNC six-piston calipers. Still on the frontend, we find a massive 3-inch-diameter steering rack that moves the various steering linkage through Aurora rod ends. The rearend is equipped with a custom antisway bar, which pivots on Aurora rod ends, as do the various rear suspension links. As with the front, the rear disc brake rotors are 14 inches in diameter and are clamped by CNC six-piston calipers.

While many exotic prerunners are radical in the suspension and chassis department, only a select few sport an engine that lives up to the standards set by the wicked travel suspension. Such is the case with Bob Shepard's truck. The bent-eight is based on an LS-1 (Corvette) block and cylinder heads, displaces a full 6.0L, and cranks out in excess of 500 hp, accompanied by 550 lb-ft of torque. Built by UMI Racing, the Mouse was treated to such niceties as a sophisticated Motec fuel-injection system, Goodridge stainless lines and fittings, and Borla mufflers. Greg Holman of REF Unlimited fabricated the beautifully functional headers and exhaust system, using stainless-steel tubing throughout. The engine's coolant is circulated through a custom 4-inch-thick, Ron Davis-built radiator, while an array of Fluidyne coolers remove heat from the engine oil, the transmission fluid, and the power steering fluid. Putting the power to the Chrisman rear drive axle is a 4L80 four-speed OD automatic transmission, which was completely reworked by Gordon Stoney and boasts a TCS torque converter.

Not to be ignored was this prerunner's interior. The Geiser Brothers scratch-built an aluminum dash panel/console, and then trimmed it with a carbon-fiber inset. The dash was plugged with Auto Meter gauges, a PCI/Kenwood race radio, a PCI four-link Digitalk intercom with a trio of headrests for the passengers, a Lowrance GPS with color monitor, and a Terratrip mileage computer. Fortunately, Tom Oliva knew what to do with a soldering gun and electrical connectors - he's responsible for all the wiring in the truck. Sparco seats, a Mastercraft safety harness, and a MOMO steering wheel round things off in the thoroughly equipped cockpit. As a finishing - and expensive - touch, Ron Mangus of Bloomington, California-based Custom Auto Interiors by Ron Mangus was called in to cover much of the interior with leather, but not before two layers of Dyna Mat sound-deadening material were applied

Truth be told, we'd need to devote an entire magazine to Bob Shepard's fabulous prerunner in order to chronicle every cool mod and slick upgrade, but we can't. What we can do is deliver an additional number of Randall Jachmann's stellar images so that you can sit back and scope out the incredible Geiser Brothers' fabrication skills and revel in the manner by which Bob Shepard's magnificent prerunner literally redefines the term state-of-the-art.