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Operation Muscle Truck Part 4
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Prepping for Power With a GM Performance Parts HT 383 Crate Engine

From the moment we turned the first wrench on Operation Muscle Truck the concept was to create a pickup with a performance slant. It had to hug the ground, go around corners like nobody’s business, have a vintage muscle car era feel, and be stuffed with a power plant that would set pilot and passengers back in the seats. From the moment we turned the first wrench on Operation Muscle Truck the concept was to create a pickup with a performance slant. It had to hug the ground, go around corners like nobody’s business, have a vintage muscle car era feel, and be stuffed with a power plant that would set pilot and passengers back in the seats. The 1988-98 Chevy seemed like the perfect platform because there are millions of them on the road, and they can change hands for just a few thousand dollars. This 1995 Chevy Cheyenne was perfect with 105,000 miles on the clock and an arrow-straight body. We started the project by adjusting the stance down with a Level 2 tuned air suspension system from Air Ride Technologies, and continued the performance journey with Baer brakes and bonspeed wheels wrapped with Toyo rubber. With an Air Ride Technologies sway bar navigated under the front, our project was slicing the corners and making child’s play out of the hairpins, but it still lacked a major part of the performance equation: horsepower. While the factory TBI 305 ran like a champ, it certainly did not impress when we buried the skinny pedal. In order to complete our performance pickup package a motor swap was necessary. Having shown off quite a few LS engine swaps in early trucks, we decided to stick with a throttle body-based platform and began browsing through the GM Performance Parts catalog.

The GMPP HT 383, which is a stroked 350, seemed like the perfect fit to pin our necks to the headrest. Fit with a heavy-duty 383 stroker forged steel crankshaft, heavy-duty rods, and hypereutectic pistons all rotating inside a cast-iron block fit with four-bolt main caps, this wicked little mouse was sure to deliver solid and reliable flat-footed fun. GM Performance Parts claims 435 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,000 RPM, which when moving heavier metal like a pickup, is key. The power pulls by delivering 400 lb.-ft. of torque at 2,500 RPMs all the way up to 4000 making for big-block power and acceleration in a small-block package. If your 5L 305 or 5.7L 350 in your CK Chevy is getting a bit wheezy, GM Performance Parts HT 383 could be your performance wake up call. In this installment we will yank the original 305, show you a few teaser shots of the 383, and organize all the parts for reinstallation.

Sources

AIM Industries
Dept. STTR
260 S. Hibbert
Mesa, AZ 85210
877.480.3793,
www.airbagit.com

GM Performance Parts
www.gmperformanceparts.com

Ridetech
Dept. STTR
350 S. St. Charles
Jasper, IN 47546
812.481.4786
www.ridetech.com

Baer Brake Systems
Dept. STTR
2222 W. Peoria Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85029
602.233.1411
www.baer.com

bonspeed Wheels
714.666.1966
www.bonspeedwheels.com

The Choppin’ Block
Dept. STTR
5553 W. Barstow Ave.
Fresno, CA 93722
559.275.2901
www.choppin-block.com

Kinetik
888.522.8346
www.kinetikpower.com

Toyo Tires
800.678.3250
www.toyotires.com