1,000 Horsepower 2007 LBZ Duramax Street Truck

Collin Casstevens Aims For 1,000 Horsepower With His 2007 Duramax Street Truck

How many of us have bought a truck thinking, “I’ll just do exhaust and a chip?” How many of us have actually stopped there? Collin Casstevens from Middletown, Indiana, had the same idea when he bought his 2007 GMC Sierra 2500—until he caught the diesel performance bug and saw the possibilities. Working at one of diesel motorsport’s hubs at Fleece Performance Engineering at the time of the build, and now as a machinist for Neturen USA, the 21-year-old Casstevens well knew the potential inside his Duramax, and the idea of a 1,000hp street truck was too much temptation to pass up. With the help of several of the industry’s top shops and their best components, he set out to overhaul his daily driver into a road warrior.

After Casstevens initially did his exhaust work and a tune, he felt compelled to give the truck a little more. Once he had bolted on a stock-appearing Fleece Cheetah turbo, upgraded CP3, and new injectors, he realized he was going to have to bolster his stock Allison transmission to handle the power he was making with the upgraded Duramax.

The Duramax configuration can make it challenging to keep a tidy engine bay, but Casstevens did it right with powder-coated Illusion Blueberry accents and outstanding pipe and wiring work.

Jacob Richards at Fleece helped Casstevens tear into the transmission to install a SunCoast Diesel 6Pac kit with Raybestos clutches, Transgo Jr. shift kit, a SunCoast Diesel 1058 billet triple-disc torque converter, Fleece Performance AlliLocker, and Merchant Automotive’s Pump Rub upgrade and transfer case brace. With his newly rebuilt transmission, the truck seemed like a complete build—until Richards said, “You should be good to go now unless you want to build the motor.” All it took was that seed of an idea to get Casstevens’ mind churning, envisioning a 1,000-horsepower street beast.

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With the pulley powder-coated to match the engine accents, the second Fleece PowerFlo 750 10mm CP3 stands out as it does its job of providing a high volume of high-pressure fuel to the oversized Fleece injectors

Soon Casstevens was talking to Chase Fleece and LJ Benshoof and Greg Lossi from Freedom Racing Engines to get the process started building his block. Using a core LBZ block as a starting point, the team at FRE was set to machine and build the short block. With a 0.020-over engine bore, cylinder heads milled with a competition valve job, bronze valve guides, FPE max life PSI springs, Chromoly retainers and keepers, Trend Performance Stage 3 push rods, CP-Carrillo connecting rods, Mahle Motorsport pistons, keyed and polished crank, SoCal Diesel 3388 cam, ARP main bolts and head studs with Grade C head gaskets, and all-new Clevite internal bearings, this LBZ was ready to breathe fire.

The S480 atmospheric turbo feeds air directly into the secondary S366 to boost the intake charge further before it cycles through the Banks intercooler and finally into the LBZ’s intake manifolds.

Back at Fleece Performance, Casstevens and some of the guys in the shop helped pull some long nights assembling the engine and installing the new heart in the ’07’s engine bay. Casstevens and the Fleece team further tightened up the Duramax with an ATI SuperDamper, new oil pump, and oil cooler, PPE Power exhaust manifolds and up-pipes, ATS Diesel dual pump kit with twin Fleece PowerFlo 750 10mm CP3s, PureFlow AirDog 200 4G fuel system, Banks Power Intercooler, and a SunCoast billet flexplate. Then they bolted the engine in place with a set of Merchant Automotive engine mounts. Expelling the fumes from the beast of an engine is a 5-inch JAMO exhaust system with a 6-inch tip. But even the built engine and single S366 turbocharger weren’t enough to quench Casstevens’ thirst for more power.

Vital components to the high-powered engine are the smoothly fabricated JAMO 5-inch exhaust (part of which is seen here) and the PureFlow AirDog 200 4G fuel pump and filter system to get plenty of clean #2 up to the dual Fleece CP3s.

The next stop on the road to glory was Seth Wallace and Jake Bells of BOFA (Build Overhaul Fabricate Anything) Performance in Fairmount, Indiana, to custom build a compound turbo setup for his GMC. This would be BOFA’s first kit for the Duramax powerplant, but they didn’t back down from the challenge. After tooling and retooling their fabrication, the crew was able to craft a sleek and powerful compound setup, sporting the S366 turbo as well as an S480. Casstevens’ attention to detail shined as he made sure to dress up the upgraded engine components in an electric Illusion Blueberry powder coat finish by Shane Marshell at PCT Coatings tied in throughout the engine bay. With an expert tune by Brayden Fleece, this LBZ was set to top some charts.

With Fleece’s tie-rod sleeves and Bilstein 5100 shocks and steering stabilizer, the front end is equipped to hold steady when the potent LBZ is unleashed

Later, Casstevens upgraded his transmission further to keep up with the power with SunCoast billet input, output, and intermediate shafts, billet C2 and P2 hubs modified P1 sun gear, and swapped to a SunCoast 1053 torque converter for a higher rpm stall speed. With this configuration, Casstevens was able to put down an impressive 950 horsepower and 1,765 lb-ft of torque in his street-driving Duramax. And with some even more aggressive tunes loaded now, he plans to break that coveted 1,000-horsepower mark next time he straps the truck down to a dyno.

After removing the rear overload springs, Casstevens installed Caltrac traction bars to ensure the rear end would hook up under power.

With all that power coursing through the veins of the Sierra, Casstevens had to focus on getting it to the street and keeping it there. To counter a weak point often found in powerful GMs, Casstevens installed Fleece Performance tie-rod sleeves. Tightening up the performance truck’s ride are the two-inch Belltech drop shackles, Bilstein 5100 front shocks and steering stabilizer, Caltrac traction bars, and the removal of the rear overload springs. Hostile Havoc 20-inch wheels were selected and paired with 305/50 Nitto 420s for grip down the road.

The focus of the build had been to cram immense power into a streetable machine, so when it came to aesthetics, Casstevens opted for a subtle, sleeper exterior and comfortable interior. Spencer Baledge in Alexandria, Indiana, helped color-match the Silver Birch factory paint into the mirrors, handles, and bumper plastics for a sleek custom look. A billet aluminum grille with the GMC logo removed, aftermarket headlights, and tinting on all three brake lights added some subtle touches to catch your eye. Inside, the factory gray leather remains with the only visible modifications being the AutoMeter A-pillar gauge pod with Ultra-Lite II gauges and an Edge Products tuner overhead. Audible customization comes from a JL Audio 6W3 sub replacing the factory Bose model inside the center console and a JL Audio 200-watt amp tied into the sound system.

The overhead Edge tuner and AutoMeter pod with Ultra-Lite II gauges are the only giveaways of customization on the inside—until you hear some additional boom from the JL Audio 6W3 subwoofer in the center console powered by a JL Audio 200-watt amplifier.

All it took was that first upgrade and a little encouragement and Casstevens caught the performance bug. Even with a lofty goal, he was able to pull together his dream truck with help from friends at Fleece Performance Engineering, BOFA Performance, Freedom Racing Engines, and his brother Jarren Casstevens. Living up to the goal, Casstevens 2007 GMC Sierra 2500 rides like a daily driver—that is, until you mash the throttle and let the beast come to life. Continuing to prove it can take the street or the track, on a recent 200-mile trip with the nearly 1,000-horsepower machine, it averaged 19 mpg. Casstevens truly built an awesome diesel truck.