1991 GMC Syclone - Ride Of The Valkyries

No different than any other Syclone fanatic who saw something special in a pickup truck that easily outperformed most import sports cars of its day, Robert Pothorcki was willing to go to great lengths to own a Sy back in 1992. What separates Robert from most owners, though, is that it took a heck of a lot more than a plane ticket and a couple tanks of gas to get his truck from Florida to his home in Gothenburg, Sweden. Since this town is better known for producing Saabs and Volvos rather than American-made turbo trucks, he had the element of surprise every time he prowled the streets or headed to the track. Shock and surprise was not just reserved for the Nordic inhabitants, but was spread to the U.S. years later when he ran 8.98 at 155 mph to become the fastest all-wheel-drive Syclone in the world.

Unlike his U.S. counterparts, Robert had little experience or help to draw from locally, making his journey to the 8s all the more challenging. Quite a few phone calls were made to Precision Turbo & Engine, as well as several other manufacturers, to get the combination dialed in. But for the most part, Robert was on his own in tuning the FAST computer and putting together this record breaking truck. Through some research he discovered that a custom ground solid roller, a Bow Tie iron block and Brodix aluminum heads were needed to make his ride a serious contender.

After boring out the cylinders to 4.030, the block was stuffed with low compression JE forged pistons, Eagle forged rods, and a Scat 3.75-inch stroke, forged, even-fire crank allowing 287 cubic inches (roughly 4.7L). Robert hogged out the heads as much as possible-increasing flow to and from the 2.08 intake and 1.60 exhaust valves, and establishing an 8.5 to 1 compression. Comp Cams chrome-moly pushrods and 1.6 ratio rockers keep the valvetrain in check. An Edelbrock carb-style single plane intake was ported to match the heads, and paired with a custom fabricated doghouse from Precision Turbo & Engine and an Accufab 75mm throttle body. Robert plumbed the intake to fit a set of PTE 96 lb/hr injectors, which are fed by a Weldon Racing 2025 fuel pump.

	Aside from the Mickey Thompson 26x10.5 slicks and drag wheels the Swedish Sy is pure street. A fiberglass cowl hood is one of the only other cues that the Syclone is anything but stock-making it fun to surprise a few motorcycles and exotics.	Robert keeps unsprung weight to a minimum with Dynamic Pro Race 16x8 wheels up front and Mickey Thompson ET Drag 15x10 wheels out back. Wilwood lightweight, 4-piston brakes are used at all four corners as well.
From the Momo racing seat the driver looks onto a host of Autometer gauges-EGT, boost, oil pressure and tranny temp-which line the stock dash and A-pillar. A chrome-moly cage was made by a local shop to meet Sweden's specs for street driven cars and trucks.	A 287-cube Bow Tie block with a forged bottom end, solid roller cam, Brodix ported aluminum heads, and a PTE GT45 ball bearing turbo help make this the fastest AWD Syclone in the world. An Edelbrock single plane intake, a PTE upper intake plenum and an air-to-air intercooler also help this street driven truck run 8s on 100-octane unleaded.	An NOS nitrous system jetted for 70 hp was installed to aid in cooling the 28 psi of boost. However, no successful runs have been made with the juice. It was Robert's goal to run 8s first before having a little fun with the laughing gas.