Shawn Braun’s Bad Asset; 2004 Chevrolet LB7 Duramax

In life you come across certain individuals that just strike you as honest and hard working, the kind that would give you the shirt off their back,even if you didn’t ask for it. Shawn Braun is that type of guy. Every time we see him or talk to him, he is just an honest country guy that is doing what he can.

As a self employed machinist/welder, Braun is certainly skilled at creating things. So, when he wanted “To Show the Dodge boys that a Chevy can compete” we knew he was going to create something pretty special. But, before he decided to make a full time pulling rig, he used his 2004 Chevrolet 3500 LB7 as a hot shot truck. Then on the weekend, he and the family would occasionally take the truck to a pull and hook up every now and then.

The more hooks Braun got under his belt, the more modifications the truck started to receive. “It was my shop truck that just got out of control,” is how Braun explains it. Before he knew it, he was at a crossroads.  Make the truck a dedicated puller or stop modifying it. Well, as you can see, stopping wasn’t really an option.

Braun is the only Chevrolet that consistently pulls with the Texas Truck and Tractor Pulling Association and he is really the only truck that isn’t a Dodge. There will be an occasional Ford, but really, it is this lone bowtie that has to represent against a mountain of competition.

To do that, he needed to make sure the chassis was going to hold up. Retaining the factory IFS meant that he needed to do a lot to keep everything under control. After quite a bit of experimenting, Braun finally has a sound setup. The locker that he is running up front is an Eaton E-Locker which is connected to the factory axle shafts. Once Braun lowered the truck down, he hasn’t had a problem with anything breaking. To get the truck lower, he removed the sway bar, got rid of the factory torsion bars and switched to a custom coil over setup. Then he added some stops to limit the amount of suspension travel up front.

In the rear, Braun removed most of the spring pack and solid mounted the axle. Then he added some long ladder bars in the front and added some short bars running back to the rear of the frame. He, also, built a custom cross member with a support running back to the hitch. The axle shafts are custom made by Tony Burkhardt and he is, also, running a spool from them as well. Both front and rear differentials are running 3:42 gears.

To put the power to the ground, Braun custom built a set of 11×17” wheels and wrapped them with Goodyear DuraTrac 315/70R17’s. In the rear, a set of 8×16” wheels are mounted with the same Goodyears, but 315/70R16’s.

To move some weight around, Braun has removed the tailgate, gutted the interior, custom build front and rear bumpers and moved some little things here and there. Then he built a custom weight box to not only house his weights, but also, his cold water for this air to water intercooler. Under the hood, is the original engine that has been bored over 0.020, with Carillo rods, custom pistons, and features a SoCal Diesel camshaft, valve springs, and oil pump. The engine, also, has a set of Merchant Auto pushrods as well as their motor mounts.

For fuel, Braun turned to the experts at Exergy Performance for a set of “high flowing” injectors. A PPE Dual Fueler CP3 kit ensures that the injectors are always fed. To provide the air required and to meet the 2.6” class rules of various organizations that Braun pulls in, he turned to the guys at Danville Performance for a custom turbocharger. For tuning, Braun turned to EFILive and has Danville Performance tune the truck, as well. He estimates that the truck is producing somewhere around 1200 horsepower and 2100 ft.lbs of torque.

With that much power, a stock Allison wouldn’t be very happy. So, he turned to the guys at SunCoast for the works. He is running on of their high stall converters with a fully built transmission. So, has he achieved his goal with Bad Asset? In 2013, Braun finished 4th in points and usually finishes in the top group. So, while he isn’t exactly dominating, he certainly is on the “Dodge Boys” radar.

About the author

Chad Westfall

With diesel running through his veins from childhood, Chad has more than a decade of experience in the automotive industry. From editorial work to wrenching, there isn’t much he hasn't conquered head-on. When he’s not writing and shooting trucks and tech, you’ll find him in the shop working on turning the ideas floating around in his head into reality.
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