Moving into the '80s and '90s, Gale found a new home among diesel engines, as witnessed with his world-record Dakota Sidewinder. Never forgetting where he came from, he has always kept his hands in the mechanics of large- and small-block GM motors. Since his early days in racing, Gale has maintained that the small-block Chevy was a prime candidate for the twin-turbo setup. Going from stock to spine-tingling supersonic street racer is almost as easy as picking up the phone and placing an order. The amount of power and G-force is only limited by the depth of your pockets. Below is a compilation of what has gone into the Rat Rod, all of which is readily available should you choose to go down this plug-and-play road.
Gale Banks has named the engine portion of this project the "Revival Twin Turbo," setting it apart from its earlier cousin. This new engine would develop 400 more horsepower over the earlier version. Starting with 366 cubic inches, Banks added a sophisticated modern fuel injection system and ignition controls that make a calm daily driver turn into the baddest ride in town.
Banks also installed an ACCEL Pro-Ram intake manifold that is CNC port-matched to the Banks/Dart heads. The fuel injection and spark management is controlled by an ACCEL digital injection system and was calibrated and sealed by Banks. Thousands of hours on the dyno and real-world testing have given Banks enough data to preset the system-with "safe" fuel and spark management-for the use of 91-octane fuel and also for the use of 100-octane fuel during maximum boost conditions.
Besides the high-quality internals, Banks also has a new CNC billet aluminum serpentine belt drive system that drives a high-output alternator, the A/C compressor, a high-volume water pump, and the power steering pump. Also included with Banks' revival twin-turbo engine is a customizable engine wiring harness, exhaust flanges, wastegate flanges, a pressure regulator, and a fuel pump. A detailed owner's manual, installation instructions, and dyno sheets also are supplied with the package.
The remainder of the truck follows suit, as Gale Banks truly has a nose for clean and mean. The Rat Rod was equipped with a Richmond six-speed transmission stirred by a long shifter. The 12-inch Centerforce billet steel flywheel is mated with a Centerforce Dual-Friction clutch and a ductile iron pressure plate. The rearend is the stock 454 SS GM 14-bolt heavy-duty version, with a Detroit Locker for traction.
Speaking of hooking up, Banks added Cal Trans bars to hold things down and keep the rearend from developing axlewrap. To bring this screaming sport truck to a clenching halt, the brakes are Baer GT Plus 12.75-inch discs front and rear. The front end was dropped with Belltech Spindles modified by Baer to work with its GT Plus brakes. To give the Rat Rod a more vintage flavor, Banks later replaced the modern rims with 18-inch billet aluminum "Pseudo Steelies" by Wheel Vintiques on sticky Nitto NT 555R 305/45R18s.
After all this gear-jammin', eye-popping fun, it turns out that there was even more power on tap than we experienced. The engineers at Banks had to detune the Rat somewhat for the Hot Rod Power Tour, so it was actually only developing a "mere" 700-plus horsepower. Rather than being disappointed by this shortfall, though, it just fired up our anticipation. Can you imagine what would have happened if they hadn't taken those four hundred ponies and temporarily put them out to pasture? Well, that's a performance fantasy for another day-and yet another cross-country run.