Chevrolet has been constructing vehicles for greater than a century. Its first foray into that phase was the 1918 Mannequin T, to not be confused with Henry Ford’s iconic automobile of the identical identify. Chevy’s Mannequin T was partially a do-it-yourself providing, consisting of solely a chassis and body. That left the proprietor to put in their very own cab and physique, which led to some inventive configurations. That preliminary mannequin was powered by a 224 cubic inch (3.7 liter) I4 engine that put out simply 36 horsepower and got here in half-ton and one-ton variations.
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Within the 100-plus years since then, Chevy vehicles have advanced together with automotive know-how. In 1929, Chevy launched the straight-six engine and enclosed cab to the pickup truck world, and the Job Power collection that debuted in 1955 may very well be bought with GM’s new small-block V8 engine. The legendary and long-running C and Ok collection first appeared in 1967 and lasted by means of 2002, by which level these badges had been changed by the Silverado. The 2025 Silverado comes with a number of engine choices, all of which dwarf Chevy’s early engines when it comes to output. Intrepid Chevy homeowners have not stopped at what they will get from dealerships, although. A few of them use modified engines to take their vehicles past the realms for which they had been initially supposed; we will take a peek into the perfect of each of these worlds and present you probably the most highly effective Chevy vehicles to ever hit the street.
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The Duramax 6.6-liter diesel now makes 470 horsepower
Normal Motors started creating the Duramax line of diesel engines in 2001 in partnership with Isuzu, and its first engine produced was a 6.6-liter V8. That motor continues to be obtainable on the 2025 Silverado 2500 Heavy Obligation (HD) pickup and produces a formidable 470 horsepower and 975 pound-feet of torque. Chevy boasts a towing capability of as much as 36,000 kilos, and Edmunds examined the four-ton beast at 6.8 seconds from 0-60 miles per hour.
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That is greater than twice the time the quad-motor Rivian R1T takes to make that very same dash, however the Silverado with the 6.6-liter Duramax can haul greater than thrice as a lot because the Rivian. On the marginally smaller Silverado 1500, the most important of the 4 engine selections is a 6.2-liter Ecotec 3 V8 that places out 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. These aren’t fairly Duramax numbers, however they nonetheless rank fairly excessive on Chevy’s all-time record of beefy inventory truck engines.
[Featured image by Dana60Cummins via Wikimedia Commons|Cropped and scaled|Public domain]
The 6.2-liter Ecotec3 has some cutting-edge know-how
The 6.2-liter Ecotec3 is the successor to the 5.3-liter Ecotec V8 that GM produced from 2014 by means of 2019 to be used in its vehicles and SUVs. This engine carries the L86 and L87 designations, with the latter model first showing in 2019 Silverado and GMC Sierra Excessive Nation and LTZ pickups. Each 6.2-liter Ecotec3 engines are naturally aspirated and have direct gasoline injection and cylinder deactivation know-how to assist save gasoline.
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The block and heads are manufactured from light-weight aluminum, and the crank and camshafts are metal for added power. For the 2025 mannequin yr, you may get the 6.2-liter Ecotec3 on SIlverado RST Crew Cab, LT Path Boss, ZR2, and four-wheel drive LTZ and Excessive Nation vehicles. The smaller 5.3-liter Ecotec 3 V8 can be nonetheless obtainable, though it makes a extra modest 355 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque. That engine is the bottom providing on Silverado LTZ and Excessive Nation vehicles and could be added as an choice on the WT Crew and Prolonged Cab, the Customized Path Boss, the LT, the RST, and the LT Path Boss.
The 1970 El Camino SS was an absolute beast
The El Camino coupe/pickup hybrid debuted in 1959 and lived by means of 1987 as half-muscle-car and half-truck, however the 1970 El Camino SS was so particular we will ignore the automobile half and embrace it right here. Solely about 500 El Caminos acquired the Corvette’s 454 cubic inch LS6 V8 that yr, making this a uncommon beast certainly. This engine produced good spherical numbers of 450 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque and smoked the rear tires through a Muncie four-speed guide gearbox. Even with a curb weight of three,840 kilos, this was sufficient to whip the El Camino down the quarter-mile strip in 13.2 seconds.
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A completely restored 1970 El Camino SS with the unique LS6 454 engine offered at public sale final yr for $275,000, which is greater than 4 instances the top-end worth that JD Energy quotes for a run-of-the-mill instance. If yow will discover — and afford — one of many few remaining specimens, there are many methods to spice up the 454’s energy numbers even larger, like cam upgrades, efficiency heads and exhaust methods.
One scorching rod ’55 Chevy pickup makes 1000 HP
400-500 horsepower is good and will definitely make any Chevy truck haul butt, however some modders did not cease till they pushed their powerplants into four-digit horsepower territory. One such craftsman is part of the crew at Hood Muscle Vehicles in Los Angeles, and labored wonders with a 1955 Chevy 3100 pickup. The grey-bearded gentleman goes by Clean, and caught the road racing bug and customizing bug from his highschool auto store trainer, Mr. Gray. He advised Autotopia LA in 2023 that regardless of having accomplished intensive work to the suspension and body, he had additional plans for the rear finish and underpinnings, and he was nonetheless in “the start levels” of constructing out the truck.
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The engine is a 5.3-liter LS collection V8 with a pair of {custom} constructed turbochargers sitting within the entrance corners of the engine bay, however Clean claims he will get greater than 1,000 horsepower with none added turbo enhance. He mentioned the whopping energy output is creditable to the machined heads and further spring stress supplied by the upgraded valve system he put in.
Rob McGregor’s Chevy pickup has been within the household for 50+ years
Rob McGregor’s father, Butch, purchased a 1979 square-body pickup from a dealership in 1981 with 5,000 miles on the odometer and a loud water pump. Butch and Rob made intensive upgrades to the inventory 350-inch motor in 1989, and in 2011, they changed it with a 454 cubic inch massive block V8 with a crankshaft from a 396. Rob mentioned that the engine was able to about 630-650 horsepower, however he blew the motor later whereas doing burnouts with a pal. The truck then sat idle for seven years whereas Butch and Rob contemplated a brand new construct.
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By that time, Butch had died, and the truck and 565 cubic inch motor Butch had bought for it was handed right down to Rob. He and two pals have since made a number of rounds of upgrades and enhancements to the engine, together with mounting a 1,150 cubic foot per minute Holley Dominator carburetor to the consumption. Rob mentioned the engine ran at 7,500 revolutions per minute throughout dynamometer testing, the place it registered 1,008 horsepower. The truck continues to be operating robust, and Rob mentioned he has realized beneficial life classes throughout his a few years of engaged on the Chevy. “It is superb what a automobile will do for you so far as rising, and this truck has accomplished that for me.”
Jake Black’s basic Chevy pickup makes 803 horsepower
For our subsequent high-potency Chevy Truck, we go to Utah resident Jake Black, who began with a 1968 C10 pickup with 32,000 miles on the odometer. When he purchased it, the truck had been garaged for almost its entire life and nonetheless had the inventory 307 cubic inch engine mated to a column-shifted three-speed transmission. Jake swapped these out for a 468-inch big-block V8 that he promptly blew and changed with a 572-inch monster with scorching cam, beefier crank and pistons, and ported heads with upgraded valves. That engine’s 803 horsepower was an excessive amount of for the Tremec TKL-600 transmission that sat behind it, so he changed that gearbox with a Tremec TKX, which is rated to deal with as much as 980 pound-feet of torque.
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To place that energy to the street, Jake put in a custom-built rear 9-inch axle that was initially made for vehicles constructed by a rival producer whose identify he nearly could not convey himself to say on digicam for Autotopian LA. (Trace: it begins with”F” and rhymes with “Bored.”) The nine-inch rear finish has served him properly, although, and he finally acknowledged that it was acceptable to permit the beefy axle to sully the purity of his almost-stock Chevy chassis.
