It’s already well-established what a V8 can do in a tiny(ish) truck. What really gets my blood pumpin’ is something like this Atlas I6-swapped Chevy Colorado. Rather than opting for an LS, the guy behind the Reignited – Cycle and Automotive YouTube channel tossed in a GM 2JZ with a big ol’ turbo. He’s been working on it for a few months, and now, it’s a running race truck that’s sure to go fast.
The project started when the host, Sky Perry, bought a $1,200 Colorado with a blown engine. Although he’s been known to swap in a Hemi or two in the past, like with his twincharged 392 Dodge Magnum, he scored a cheap Atlas 4.2-liter I6 out of a $300 Chevy Trailblazer. It was a budget build all along, and according to the latest update, he’s in it roughly $7,800—and that’s including the truck.
Of course, that number would be way higher if he hadn’t done all the work himself. Perry estimates that he spent 250 hours getting the Colorado on the road, fabbing a custom exhaust manifold for the VS Racing turbo as well as tuning it with a MaxxECU, swapping in an 8.8-inch rear-end, dropping the suspension 3 inches, and all the smaller jobs. Impressively, it’s still running the factory Colorado AR5 manual transmission, though that required a custom-machined flywheel as the Atlas was never offered with this gearbox. He finished it off with a $100 clutch (yes, really) and the truck was ready to roll.
Perry had help on his Colorado race truck from Calvin Nelson (Nivlac57 on YouTube), whose work I’ve written about before. He’s the one who swapped a 1,000-horsepower Atlas 4200—or “AmeriBarra,” as he likes to call it—into a fifth-gen Camaro. Not only that, but he also boosted an Atlas I6 Chevy Trailblazer to a 10-second quarter-mile. There’s a community developing for these swaps, and you know, I’m not sad about it.
According to the latest video, the truck was slated to hit the dyno on Sept. 6 but I haven’t found any results posted just yet. Perry figured it would make a little more than 400 horsepower, which I wouldn’t be surprised by. I’m eager to see it make a pass at the drag strip, but no matter how fast or slow it is, you know it’ll be a blast with all that boost and a five-speed stick.
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From running point on new car launch coverage to editing long-form features and reviews, Caleb does some of everything at The Drive. And he really, really loves trucks.