Haymaker

Keith Phillips had a problem.At 126,000 miles, his 1991 Chevy K1500 4×4 pickup was beginning to show its age.Though the truck was basically in good shape, the 5.7-liter VS engine seemed to lack the power needed to tow his bass boat, drive offroad while deer hunting, and haul loads for his home improvement business. He wanted to upgrade the engine’s performance, but he also wanted the truck to run cooler and get a boost in fuel economy as well.
Fortunately, one of Phillips hunting partners is Keith Stamper, owner of Pro-Motion Auto Machine, a Round Rock, Texas, performance shop. As a hunter, Stamper knows the kinds of performance that outdoorsmen want. “We’re not talking drag-strip speed he told me. “We’re talking improvements in low-end torque for towing and offroad use without a penalty in fuel economy. Specifically, the trend in 4×4s seems to be leading toward exhaust and air intake systems, computer chips, and transmission upgrades. And since a lot of this stuff is computer controlled, we’re doing a lot with the computer controls for both engines and transmissions.”