Somewhere, deep inside every GM enthusiast is a little Sy/Ty fan, someone who loves the idea of an all-business truck with all-wheel-drive, a killer drivetrain, and sleeper looks. Admit it. The first thing you said to yourself when you saw this truck was: "Ooh, a Typhoon. I love Sy/Tys but you never really see them, they are so cool." And it is true that these trucks are something special, with only 2,200 built in 1993. Even in stock form they command some serious respect and the stock turbo V-6 motor is no joke, especially after some easy upgrades. But what if you love the looks and all-wheel-drive of the Typhoon, but require a massive V-8 powerplant under the hood? For Michael Kiley, the answer was simple. You pull the stock parts out, spend months with Beyond Redline Performance fabricating and fitting new parts and end up with one of the most unique Typhoons we have ever laid eyes upon.
The new heart of this '93 Typhoon started as a stock 6.0-liter block, which was bored to 4.030 inches by Goodwin Competition, making room for a set of Diamond pistons wrapped in Total Seal rings. A four-inch Callies crankshaft and matching Callies connecting rods were chosen to round out the bottom end, which are hung by ARP hardware and the stock GM-supplied main caps. Up top, Beyond Redline Performance installed a pair of LS6 cylinder heads, which were massaged and CNC'd by Goodwin Competition to accept a set of 2.050 intake and 1.550 exhaust valves, closed by a set of Comp Cams dual valvesprings and opened by a set of Harland Sharp 1.7 roller rockers. For most people, a motor of this caliber would be good enough to have some fun, but then again, Michael is not most people. With the goal of a 10-second pass, the crew opted to keep compression at 8.2:1 and install a Kenne Bell 2.8H supercharger, pullied to make 16 pounds of boost, which is just enough to eclipse the 600hp mark, making 610 awhp and an astounding 711 awtq. "It is always a good time to watch the guy next to you drop his jaw at the sight of 711 awtq leaving the stoplight."
Backing this behemoth is a Precision Industries 2,600-stall converter, which applies power to a Finish Line Transmission 4L80E transmission. This transmission sends power to the stock transfer case, which splits it to the stock front and rear wheels via a pair of custom-built driveshafts. Up front, a 3.42 differential spins inside the stock housing, while the rear is a 12-bolt Moser unit complete with 31-spline axles. With the drivetrain nearly complete, the crew began prepping the truck's suspension, retrofitting a set of QA1 coilovers. The rear suspension is similar, using a set of QA1 shocks to help control traction.
At this point, one would normally just slide the motor in place, bolt up the transmission, and get going. Unfortunately, with a Typhoon, which was an AWD turbo V-6 before, there is slightly more work involved. Beyond Redline Performance began with a set of custom mounts, which had to be further modified to get the engine to sit correctly in the engine bay. With the motor halfway installed, the next issue was the oil pan, which had to be completely hand fabricated to work. Since keeping the AWD was a priority, George Blake was called upon to supply his custom transmission crossmember and 4L80E adapter parts, which allow the stock Typhoon front diff to work, along with the Moser 12-bolt, which has a matching 3.42 gear. Of course, no stock or aftermarket headers would fit, so Beyond Redline hand-built a pair of 1.75-inch stainless steel long-tube headers, which mate to a custom 3-inch Y-pipe. For intake purposes, BRP fabricated a cold-air intake off of the stock LS2 throttle body, and installed a custom 8-rib pulley setup on the front of the motor, using Corvette accessory drives.
With everything physically installed, a custom Speartech wiring harness was laid over the drivetrain, powered by a modified '04 GMC truck ECU. Luke Stubbs was in charge of tuning this beast, using HP Tuners to help him make the changes. Fueling is done by an in-tank Walbro pump, which is regulated by an Aeromotive unit in the engine bay. An octet of 65-lb/hr injectors controls the fuel, while a matching number of NGK #8 spark plugs provide the spark. Some slick wiring and a Dakota Digital box allows the stock instrument cluster to operate, which makes the truck seem all too stock during cruising. Upon initial tuning and break-in, this Typhoon made 570 awhp and ran an impressive 11.40 at the track. Not satisfied, the crew went back to work, upping the boost and tweaking the tune, resulting in an amazing 10.9 at 128 mph timeslip, on a brisk 1.52 60-foot. Not too shabby for a completely stock-looking, 4,300-pound '93 Typhoon on pump gas, especially when you consider just how much engineering it takes to make all of this work together.