Sean Lindenberger’s “Cocaine Cowgirl” 2006 GMC Duramax

“It is a sickness that I have had since I was born,” is the way Sean Lindenberger describes his passion for performance. He grew up working on cars with his dad, but it wasn’t until he was in college that the “sickness” really took hold of him. His buddy and roommate, Steve Schmitzer (SS Diesel Tuning) had a Duramax that he raced and Lindenberger always felt that it was a waste. Up until that point, Lindenberger was more about the looks. All it took to change that was for Schmitzer to take Lindenberger down the strip once and he was hooked!

Over the next 8 months Lindenberger started looking for the perfect truck. He had no idea what he was getting into when he finally found his girl. She was a 2006 GMC Crew Cab short bed that already sported an 8-inch Pro Comp lift. Initially he had two goals for the truck; killer looks and the ability to “spank” 90% of the cars on the road. Living in Southern California, that’s a tall order. Since then, he has added the goal of breaking 1,000 horsepower.

He started his mission by ordering an EFILive tuner from Schmitzer and had him start working his wizardry. To help the air flow in and out of the engine, he opted for an S&B intake and installed a 4-inch MBRP exhaust system. To support the injectors an AirDog lift pump was added and to keep the truck heading straight down the track, he went with a set of Fabtech HD tie rods.

As is the case with a lot of Duramax trucks, as soon as a great tuner gets their hands on the tuning, the transmission quickly becomes the next weak link. Lindenberger headed over to Inglewood Transmission. There he opted for their Stage 4 kit. The Stage 4 kit includes more clutches, upgraded clutches, and friction plates, as well as a billet input, deeper transmission pan, and reworked valve body. Finally, he could start having some fun with the truck and not worry about going into limp mode!

Since the truck was already lifted, Lindenberger installed AMP Research power running boards. Since they tuck up and out of the way, they keep the truck looking clean, but when the ladies need help getting in, they are there to assist. To further set the truck apart from everything else, he opted for a set of Standard Series 20×10 Method Racing Wheels in matte black. They are wrapped in Cooper Zeon LTZ 305/50R20’s. These have great street manners, are good in the desert, and handle the power well when at full throttle.

Up front, a custom pre-runner bumper was done by T&B Fabrication. To help him see at night while in the desert, he opted to install a 40-inch Rigid Industries light bar on the bumper. He, also, swapped all of the shocks out for the Rancho 9000 series. These let him dial in the performance he wants; soft when towing and firm when on the street. To give the truck a more aggressive look, a fiberglass hood was added that featured dual scopes. Up top, he painted the roof blue.

As with any good addiction, you are always left wanting more. In the search for more power while not losing the functionality, Lindenberger called Trent Nell at Extreme Prejudice Racing (EPR) for a set of compounds. They feature a BorgWarner 66mm high pressure with a polished race cover fed by an BorgWarner 80mm low pressure, also, with a polished race cover. He upgraded the air filter to an aFe Power filter and installed a PPE intercooler to complete the setup.

To make sure there was enough fuel to support this much air, a PPE Dual Fueler was added along with 100% over injectors from Exergy Performance. “Steve [Schmitzer from SS Diesel Tuning] told me with this much fuel, I had about 20 full throttle runs till the motor would break…and unfortunately he was pretty accurate ha, ha,” said Lindenberger.

After bending a rod or two, it was time to tear into the internals and upgrade everything. The engine was brought to PPE where they tore it all the way down to a bare block, bored .040”, and deburred everything. With the block prepped, the rotating assembly was weighted and everything was then balanced. The Mahle Motorsports pistons are held in by the Carrillo rods which are connected to a factory crank. Lindenberger opted to stick with a stock camshaft, but upgraded to SoCal Diesel’s stage 1 heads. When everything went back in, Lindenberger opted for a set of Merchant Automotive (MA) high performance motor mounts.

To keep an eye on everything, Lindenberger opted for a full treatment of IssoPro gauges. There are two boost gauges in the SoCal Diesel Auxillary Gauge pod in the overhead console and the 3 gauge pod mounted to the a-pillar has an EGT, fuel rail pressure, and transmission temp gauge. To stay in communication with everything, a Cobra 25 LTD Classic CB radio is mounted to the floor. Mounted above the CB, he installed a Draw-Tite Activator II trailer brake controller. To set the interior off a little bit more, Lindenberger wrapped the headliner panel and visors in suede.

So, what is all of this worth? Well during our recent dyno event, he laid down 889 horsepower and 1,307 ft-lbs of torque. (Click here to see what the other Duramax trucks laid down.) As we mentioned before, once you’re addicted, the itch never goes away. For Lindenberger, it is easy to tell that he is nowhere near finished. There is a nitrous bottle sitting in the bed of the truck just begging to be hooked up.

httpv://youtu.be/AokaUPLMn78