You can only drive 1 vehicle at a time… so why not try & build ‘everything you love’ into 1 vehicle? ?
This is Jason Lader’s turbo LS Silverado trophy truck – 2008 2wd. And with this build, the motive was to create something wild, capable, versatile, and street legal. Something that could thoroughly amuse everyone at the local drift event Friday night… dominate the desert all day Saturday… cruise through the car show on Sunday… then commute to work on Monday with fully-functioning AC.
Jason’s got love for ALL forms of automotive culture…
So he really wanted to build a trophy truck that any auto enthusiast could find a little bit of themselves in. The goal here is to include, not exclude. To inspire fun, not influence fans.
This turbo LS Silverado Trophy makes 604whp on a conservative tune…
And it can spin 37s as easy as a hot girl getting a free side of guac. The engine is a Precision 66/68 turbocharged 4.8 LS with supporting mods, a built 4L80 trans, and a 100% California-approved exhaust. Snow Performance water/meth helps with power, and makes intake temps cool even in the hottest Arizona heat.
Chassis-wise, the only thing left uncut is the cab…
The Chevy Silverado’s frame has been shortened, and entirely reengineered & strengthened behind the cab to house the LEX Off-Road 4-link suspension, in addition to a Trailgear fabricated full-float Ford 9” rear axle. Up front, the frame has also been chopped just a bit for ground clearance and custom bumper fitment.
The stacked spares mount over (actually behind) the rear axle for maximum traction & tire bite.
And the truck is set up with King shocks at 12-inches of suspension travel, which is a ton for us regular folk… but not a ton in this world. There’s a theory behind that setup: Jason’s mated that 12-inch-travel with a BIG 1.5-inch rear sway bar. So when you pair that with the truck’s super-wide track & overall low center of gravity in the rear, you get a truck that’s stable & responsive (from a handling perspective). And therefore absurdly fun & hoonable… even on pavement!
One of the main goals was to keep everything tight and consistent from side-to-side…
So everything is run up the middle of the truck, and as low as possible. A 20-gallon fuel cell sits in front of the Trail Gear rock assault 9 differential, and 2 37″ Kanati trail hog AT tires as far back as possible for weight over the rear.
The rear end is a custom 4-link…
That’s been built by LEX off-road using a Trail Gear rock assault 9 housing with custom truss… with 4:88 gears and a spool. Baer 6s calipers and 15″ rotors front & rear handle the stopping duties.
The front suspension is…
Custom LEX off-road front long travel suspension with a 98″ track width. It’s got King 2.5″ coilovers and 2.5 bypass shocks, and a 5″ exhaust dumping out the passenger fender… coming off the Precision turbo under the hood. The truck also retains the AC. 🙂
Jason wanted to do something different with the rear suspension of the Silverado…
With LEX’s past experience with lowered vehicles, and in the idea of ‘wanting to incorporate everything into one vehicle’, Jason chose to use airbags in the rear suspension. The Slam Specialties SS7 bags have been on the truck since 2016, and Jason has yet to destroy a bag, even with all the abuse this truck goes through. How much travel can the truck have because of the length of the bag? Well the answer is: The limit of the travel is just like any other truck… being limited by the length of the shock on the bottom of the airbag. Jason used the Daystar airbag cradle, which allows the bottom of the bag to drop out, and then self-centers back on the cradle. Jason has a series of air tanks plumbed-in to act as a reservoir… to soften the rear on full compression. And it’s all controlled from the center console on the fly!
The console and seats are a modular design that bolt into the factory mounting points…
And they can all be removed in 1 piece. The console houses controls for just about everything on the truck: Fuel pump, trans cooler, lighting, air bags, race radio intercoms, and subwoofer from MTX. It even has an ‘oh $hit’ handle for the passenger. Also – a custom LEX off-road hand brake lever, NRG steering wheel & quick release.
Let’s play this out real quick:
We’re used to driving impractical cars daily. Something like this trophy truck is at least comfortable lol… and extremely durable. There’s about a billion used full size trucks sitting around for sale in America. And usually everyone wants the 4wd models… so the 2wds are always less desirable & more affordable. True? Sooo why not? Theoretically just kick that can down the road… and see if you don’t get a little amped about the prospect of mashing through town in basically a life-size RC truck. While calling it your daily / family car.
Text by Wooley Photos by Jay Canter
Black Rhino “Madness” wheels in 20×9 with Kanati Trail Hog AT tires in 37/12.5
Mocha performance AUX lighting…
The Silverado has M44s in the front bumper & M44 custom-made taillights.
Fiberwerx fenders…
The Handbrake = Wilwood pass-through master cylinder with LEX lever…
Pass-Through system
With the Wilwood pass-through handbrake system, the front brake lines still go straight to the front brakes as normal. But a new rear line now runs to & through a 2nd master cylinder located at the hydro handbrake lever. It then runs to the back of the car, and splits off to each rear brake caliper. When you pull the lever… SKRRRRRRRRT… the rear brakes lock up. Advantages of a pass-through system: Cost. Jason is running his own LEX brand lever, but for example, the Wilwood lever runs about $150, and the Wilwood master cylinder is about $70. Other than that, you just need to buy & run new brake line, and a splitter to split-off to each caliper. Disadvantages: Because it’s not a completely separate system, you might feel a little bit of a difference in your brake bias from the pedal (less rear caliper performance, and more front bias). Also, if you’re pulling the handbrake, and during the pull you ALSO push the brake pedal at the same time, you might feel the handbrake resist & want to pull forward a bit.
Remote system
A 2nd option is Wilwood’s remote style of handbrake system. A remote-style handbrake is entirely separate from the car’s main braking system. Not integrated at all. The handbrake lever is attached to an independent master cylinder with its own fluid filler/reservoir… and it runs directly to a 2nd set of rear calipers. Advantages of a remote system: This is the ideal option in something like a high speed drift car, as it operates completely independent from the main brake system, leaving no bias or pull-back side effects. Disadvantages: Cost. You need to buy a 2nd set of rear calipers, and you either need to buy (if available), or fabricate a mounting solution for them. And be wise to reinforce the backside of the sheetmetal/tunnel with a backing plate when you mount these things, as there can be enough force exerted in the moment… to pull the bolts straight through the floor.
Where can we follow him? Is he on fb or yt?