2002 Chevrolet Pickup Truck Performance Upgrades

The best-selling vehicles in the U.S. today are pickups. Just look around as you mosey down the highways and byways and you will realize that trucks come in every shape and size and are often personalized by their owners and reflect their owner's personality.

It is still true in many regions of our country that you can drink a man's liquor, you can steal a man's girlfriend, but don't be messin' with his truck!

The first step was to upgrade to a nicer set of wheels and tires. Wayne Brown at Lindsay Tire in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, installed the Ultra 17-inch chrome wheels. The Breman ground effects were also painted and installed at Lindsay.

So we buy that perfect truck, whether it be used or new, and immediately start making it our personal calling card. This might entail brushed-steel toolboxes for that work truck or a new set of ground effects for that new sport truck.

Follow along as I detail how I created my own Silverado SS to serve as a combination rolling performance platform and work truck. I have recently retired from the airline industry where I had 32 years worth of experience, but it was successful since my number of landings equaled the number of takeoffs! Since I was also a Navy pilot, I have always believed in operating the best and most powerful equipment available. I installed the Magnuson Supercharger, Hotchkis front sway bar, Tokico shocks, Dynatech headers, and a Pace-Edwards Jackrabbit cover. The rear sway bar had to be integrated around the Flowmaster exhaust so we employed Gene Childress' talents at Muffler Masters since he had the welding tools and heavy-duty drill.

My previous experience with Hotchkis Performance made me aware that the best handling upgrade is a set of tuned 171/48-inch Hotchkis sway bars and Tokico Trekmaster shocks, especially since I'm planning to tow with this truck. After combining the Hotchkis sway bars and the shocks, the ride and handling are significantly better than stock.

Note the staggered mounting of the Tokico Trekmasters and the well-engineered frame-mounted rear Hotchkis sway bar-this arrangement helps plant the rear tires. The Flowmaster exhaust is designed and tested for specific applications. The exhaust note from this system doesn't even hint at the estimated 480 flywheel horsepower the little 5.3 Vortec cranks out.

You cannot call yourself a car crafter unless you tweak the power. With a supercharger, you need an excellent exhaust system, including the DynaTech headers and connecting pipe with a catalytic converter to keep it all legal.