Project: Quickshift (2005 GMC Canyon)

[MattO]

So I've kinda been lurking on here for a long time. Watching some of the coolest cars in the world come together. It's a great way to kill an hour or two when you can't sleep at 4am.

This is my latest project, a 2005 GMC Canyon that I bought from my grandma after my grandfather passed away in December of last year.

When I bought it, the truck was already sporting a Belltech suspension kit with a 2/3 drop, sway bars, and 18" wheels with Toyo Proxes tires.





First things first, being young, impressionable, and having a fascination with shiny objects that make noise, I brought he truck to my friends at Auto Radio Stereo and just let them go nuts. WE started things off with a top end Pioneer AVIC unit, which feeds signal to an Audison BitOne processor, and then from there it flows into an Audison LRx5.1k 1600w amplifier. The amps feeds a pair of Hertz HSK 165XL components in the doors, and a pair of Hertz HX300 12" woofers in a custom ported box. The system is set up for sound quality and can competed in MECA and IASCA competitions, but also manages to hit 142.1dB

[MattO]

After having my fun with the stereo and showing for the shop on several occassions, I was content, bu as we all know, this wasn't going to last. An opportunity at work came my way that I could not pass up, so I left for Texas from my home in California and began working 14-16hr days for the next 5 months straight.

All this over time allowed me to do alot of fun things while in Texas, and offer an opportunity or two for friends back home. A good friend of mine volunteered to do the fab work on a one-off STS turbo system and once all the parts were gathered, I sent the truck off to Fresno to undergo some surgery.





Some small things have changed since these cellphone pictures. I'll make sure and get some better photos soon.

It's at this point that we ran into a snag with a tuner in Fresno. He didn't really know what he was doing and I got to pay for it. Several weeks of frustration went by before I finally drove down and took the truck back home to a shop that I know and trust and we subsequently went through the truck and undid all the work done by the tuner. Low and behold, once this was done, the truck fired right up, idled like stock, and actually drove home...



As it stands, I'm going to be working with another, much more trustworthy shop here in Sacramento and finally get this truck running as it should.

Next step is to get some new wheels/tires, and suspension under the truck, then the exterior.

And now, finally, the rendering.

[nitropyro]

what type of power you plan on making from this setup?
Danny

[MattO]

All fingers point to 300rwhp on 7lbs. The truck is my daily driver and I love it to death.

The main issues with putting forced induction on these stock motors is the high compression (10.3:1), weak dome pistons, and an inept computer.

I'll post dyno results and video once everything is done.

This motor should make a few people go "WTF?" at shows. It's not every day you see an inline 5 with a remote mount turbo

[rjsjea]

Fun daily driver

[nitropyro]

cant wait to see the dyno sheet!
Danny

[Evaporate]

Nice project, glad you rescued it from the last shop . What intercooler is that? What part of Sac are you in? I miss that town, it's where I was born and raised.

[MattO]

The intercooler is from Treadstone. TRV1259. Supposedly supports up to 500hp worth of air flow with a 1.5psi drop overall.

Normally with a remote mount setup they don't run an intercooler, but because of how we had to route the charge piping and the fact that I over build everything, I figured it was a good choice and also leaves room to crank up the boost later on if I get the chance to strengthen the motor.

[MattO]

I guess it would be a good idea to go over some of the finer points of this build considering I put this thread together while waiting for turkey on thursday

The truck is (as stated) a 2005 GMC Canyon with a 3.5L I5 and 4L60e transmission. Rated from the factory at 224hp, my goals are slight more lofty than GM had in mind.

The idea is simple: Take a daily driven, clean, inexpensive truck, and add some tasteful, well executed modifications in order to get better all around performance in all areas. I'm doing this with a mix of both factory and custom parts to create a unique, elegant, and attractive overall package that won't blow anyone away, but will draw attention to the finer details.

First and foremost was the STS turbo system which was designed and built by my close personal friend Jonny Vico. Jonny has a great deal of experience for someone of his age and is very good at making the best he can with what he has to work with. His work can be seen on many cars and trucks in the Fresno/Visalia area of California.



He started with a universal kit from STS and then did all the fabrication in his own garage with nothing to go on but a MIG welder and his wits. It's not the most beautiful thing in the world, but it serves to feed another goal of this project, which was to do as much of the work in the garages and shops of the 355nation as possible. This projects #1 goal is to get the community involved and excited about a project that they can all be a part of. One that shows what is possible when a group of people come together to help one another.



With this in mind, I'm also working with several smaller companies in order to promote their products, and develop new parts. Sinsity Kustomz (SSK) is already knee deep in creating a myriad of one-off billet parts for the interior and exterior of the truck. Custom door handles, tailgate handle, HVAC and light switch knobs, and battery tray, all machined from aluminum and black anodized.



HiLEDS.com and Auto Radio Stereo in Sacramento, CA have both done a great deal to help me with the interior and stereo work. I have been a customer at Auto Radio Stereo for a number of years and their knowledge and expertise extends far beyond the interior of your car. They have helped me on numerous occasions and have used my truck to represent their shop and its stellar work several times. They will continue to aide me with any electrical, interior, and stereo work that will be done, including the creation of a new center console, new seats, and fiberglass work.

[MattO]

The truck is heading to the tuner on Thursday. Finally... It's been a long and very tiring few weeks trying to get everything squared away and ready.

I was supposed to be at the dyno two weeks ago, but the night before I was scheduled, I took apart the charge piping just to make sure everything was buttoned up and found oil pooling in the intercooler

I traced the source to the turbo charger (not surprisingly) and found that not only had the threads in the intake side been stripped/stretched, but the impeller was broken. So off to STS it went and a new unit was sent back to me.

While the turbo was out of the picture, I went through the entire truck to make sure everything was ready. New O2 sensors, new plugs, rerouted a few vacuum lines, etc.

Now things are back in good shape and ready to go. I've got some base numbers to plug into the computer so we can get things moving and then start cranking out some pulls on the dyno. Let's just hope nothing else goes wrong...