If you were hoping the new year meant we’d lose interest in the V10 Continental, I have some terrible news for you — that’s not going anywhere. Also, you might want to schedule an appointment with your doctor, because, clearly, there’s something wrong with you. I’m not saying it’s fatal, but you can’t look at a V10-swapped, rear-wheel-drive, manual Lincoln Continental and think, “I want to see less of this,” unless you’re at least circling the drain. Especially when it makes 500 horsepower at the wheels and sounds this incredible.
Today, though, we aren’t here for the Continental itself. No, we’re here for something a little different but still built by the same guys who blessed this blogsite with the V10 Continental. You see, while towing the car back from SEMA with a borrowed 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe, they had a little oopsie in the middle of a snowstorm that left the Tahoe in need of some bodywork. Bodywork that they decided to do themselves. That’s not very exciting work, especially since the car in question is just a two-decade-old Tahoe, so to make things a little more interesting, they also decided to turbocharge it. You know, as one does. After all, it’s Jack’s brother’s car, and nothing is more important than helping family go fast.
As has been the case with many of the videos on the Build It Yourself channel, this one isn’t a quick watch. Clocking in at more than 45 minutes long, it’s one you’re going to set some time aside to fully appreciate. So, if you’re short on time at the moment, you’ll probably want to come back later when you aren’t in a rush. With that warning out of the way, though, let’s dive in.
Chevy Turb-hoe
As Jack and Diego explain, the goal was pretty straightforward — take an engine that made about 230 horsepower at the wheels when it was new, and give it enough boost to make closer to 400 hp at the wheels. Oh, and also fix the doors. Can’t forget about that bodywork. Why a turbocharger instead of a supercharger? Apparently Jack’s brother Nick had been talking about turbocharging the Tahoe for a while, so they gave him what he wanted. Even if the whole “surprise” part was just for YouTube, I hear people tend to prefer receiving gifts they actually wanted.
In the interest of keeping things simple, they went with a turbo kit that was designed specifically for the Tahoe, but wouldn’t you know it, actually making the kit fit ended up being a little more difficult (and involved) than expected. I know, it’s hard to believe a car project ended up being more complicated and time-consuming than those Yelling Goatee Man Garage shows make it look, but maybe this was just the exception. Surely, that next project you’ve been putting off won’t take nearly as long as you’re thinking, and everything will fit perfectly.
But they actually did get it working. Eventually. And they did manage to cut the 0-to-60 time from about 8.8 seconds down to the low-sixes. Does it still need some work and potentially a new transmission to handle the extra power? Sure. But that’s what the next video is for.
