RECIPE FOR EXCESS; Chevy's 395-hp pickup would run with the best.(News)

Byline: JOHN D. STOLL

When ladling information our way on the Chevrolet Silverado regular-cab SS, GM officials wanted to make it painfully clear that their Performance Division wouldn't be building GM's most legitimate high-performance truck anytime soon. But you can: Visit any GM parts catalog or salvage yard, grab the goods, take them to the garage and settle in for a major project.

This is a stripped-down, rear-wheel-drive benchseater fitted with a modified 6.0-liter V8. One of Chevy's two six-speed manuals-the Corvette's T56-serves as transmission.

In short, this is just what The General should build for no-nonsense, lumber-hauling performance junkies.

The six-speed is operated via a chrome shift lever capped by a Hurst cue-ball handle. Tight and textured black rubber flooring, mammoth 20-inch Goodyears, white-faced gauges, SS badging and a pair of boxed-in 2.5-inch tips with accompanying growl present an image somewhere between minimalist and glutton. (GM offers a 345-hp dual-cab SS Silverado that, at 5000 pounds-plus, errs on the side of gluttony.)

Packaging aside, what sets the 4190-pound concept apart is the 395-hp, 409-lb-ft worth of balls-out acceleration found in full force just north of 4000 rpm and continuing all the way to a redline in the low 6000s. The smooth Centerforce clutch and silky manual shifter allow you to run up and down the gears with an ease somewhat characteristic of a Corvette. We ripped the SS around an interstate/surface street lap in metro Detroit and were delighted with flawless clutch engagement and reams of high-end power.

This isn't an out-of-the-box V8. The iron small-block is fitted with Corvette LS6 aluminum cylinder heads. Combustion-chamber volume ...