Third time's a charm, right? That's how it went for this issue's cover truck, a 2007 Chevy LBZ owned by Josh Briggs. When our original cover truck fell through due to a blown motor (hey, just get some friends and push it down the road for the photos!), we went to plan B, which immediately led to plan C-Briggs' LBZ.
What first strikes you about Briggs' truck are the clean looks and big stance-that is unless the first time you see it is at night, with all of the lights turned on. Briggs' side business involves lighting up parking lots for dance parties. The truck is the center of attention and when the five Rigid Industries LED light bars, the Recon strobes and tail lights, the Lightforce off-road lights and the ASM HID head lamps and fog lights are all on (simultaneously, thanks to a bright box addition), the parking lot is considered lit. Go back and see the contents page for a better visualization.
But lights and strobes do not make a truck fast. No, but compound turbos and EFI Live do.
Briggs' truck is running an MPI compound turbo kit that eliminates turbo lag and transforms the mild LBZ Duramax into a 638-horsepower machine. EFI Live tuning by Powerlabs Diesel fine tunes the fuel delivery system to match the boost capabilities of the compounds. A DPS-5 switch-newly available from SoCal Diesel for the LBZ and LMM Duramax-lets Briggs drop down to a milder tune for towing heavy loads.
The LBZ is running a stock fuel system-stock CP3 and stock injectors. The LBZ's FICM is capable of supplying the fueling needs of a 600-horsepower truck without any modifications.
To keep an ample supply of cool air flowing through the charge system, Briggs added a Spearco Torque-Master intercooler and an AFE intercooler tube. And the truck has a 4-inch turbo-back exhaust with a Magnaflow muffler.
A Snow Performance Stage 2 water/methanol kit gives the engine more cooling capabilities and gives the truck an added boost in performance.
Cam Hulse at Adrenaline Performance built the Allison transmission for the Powerlabs truck build.
The Silverado HD features an RCD 4-inch lift coupled with Cognito's 2-inch level kit, which features upper control arms and Cognito's dual-shock hoops with Bilstein shocks. The front end is complete with Cognito HD tie-rods and idler and pitman support brackets.
RCD traction bars keep the rear axle in place under load, while Cognito Deaver springs and a Firestone Ride-Rite air bag kit keeps the rear end from sagging, especially when the bed is loaded with gear.
A Leer topper keeps the compressor and other items in the bed secure and protected from the elements. CAG Performance installed the Yakima rack on the topper with all of the Rigid Industries light bars.
Inside the cab, there are five Esspro white-faced gauges: fuel rail pressure, pyrometer, air pressure and two boost gauges. One boost gauge is for the large charger and the other shows total boost entering the intake manifold.
A Bully Dog Watchdog monitors other parameters of the truck.
Briggs has a Pioneer AVIC-03 touch-screen head unit for the audio system and a Tekonsha trailer brake controller for towing trips. And even the interior lights are HID bulbs.
AMP Research electronic-folding running boards round out the added features, while a set of 37x13.5R22 Kumho Road Venture M/Ts ride on Incubus wheels.
The truck is an impressive build, especially considering that Briggs almost sold it a year ago to buy a new LMM. But he didn't want to deal with the emissions problems the new trucks have and instead invested in the reliable LBZ.
Good move. Now, I can't find my keys . can someone turn the lights on?