Banks purchased a running 1966 Chevy C20 3/4 ton pickup for $1. Yes, one dollar!

BANKS BUILT follows the team as they overhaul a very rusty ’66 Chevy C20. A land-speed world record holder and legend in the performance aftermarket, Gale Banks is regarded as the Godfather of diesel performance. He’s most known recently as the exclusive engine supplier for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Program. Thousands of JLTVs are powered by Banks’ Duramax 6.6 liter engines. So, what engine do you suppose will find its way into this old Chevy? You may be surprised.

EPISODE #1
What should we do to this 1966 Chevy?

EPISODE #2
GATHERING DATA FROM OUR ’66 CHEVY C20

EPISODE #3
Our ’66 Chevy hits the dyno!

EPISODE #4
The ”66 Chevy is getting some major upgrades

EPISODE #5
The guys take a private tour of Roadster Shop in Illinois and finalize the frame design for LokJaw.

EPISODE #6

Engineering a Custom 8-lug Axle!

EPISODE #7

Engineering Custom 8-Lug Spindles

Most restored C10 and C20 pickups are 5 or 6-lug. Not LokJaw. This 3/4-ton Chevy will keep its 8-lug status. Thanks to Strange Engineering​.

EPISODE #8

This is the Banks Supercharged Duramax!

Gale Banks explains how we will shove a massive supercharged 7-liter Duramax L5P diesel engine into LokJaw, our rusty ’66 Chevy 3/4-ton pickup. He’s joined by Fabrication Engineer Erik Reider, Mechanical Engineer Erik Reider, and Brand Manager Jay Tilles. Gale details the Whipple 3.8L Gen-5 supercharger and blower drive, Banks’ marine-inspired liquid-coupled charge-air cooler, Ram-Air intake system, new cast L5P exhaust manifolds, 2020 L5P oil cooler, Banks Fluidamper, dry-sump system, and ATS-modified Allison transmission.

Episode #9

We used Wilwood’s geometry!

The guys secure the final piece of the 8-lug puzzle; custom front spindles that’ll accommodate our GM 8-lug hubs! As you’ll recall from previous episodes, it’s important that we keep LokJaw, our ’66 Chevy 3/4 ton C20, an 8-lug truck. Why? Strength and aesthetics. Erik and Jay head back to KibbeTech Offroad to admire Ryan Kibbe’s work. Meanwhile, LokJaw gets 3-D scanned at Roadster Shop.

Episode #10

A transmission built for 1,200 HP

The supercharged Duramax will produce 650-1,200 horsepower. So they talk to ATS Diesel founder Clint Cannon about their Allison transmission upgrades including billet input and output shafts, clutch pack, torque converter, improved cooling, and electronic controls.

Episode #11

Chassis built to support 1,000 lb-ft

Episode #12

Roadster Shop reveals the chassis

Roadster Shop reveals the chassis. Not only will it accommodate a much larger engine than the old Mr. Goodwrnch 350, but it must stay straight when subjected to over 1,000 lb-ft of torque. Oh, and it has to accommodate 22″ wheels and lay flat on the ground.

Episode 13

How to BRAKE a supercharged Duramax

Having the right brake setup is incredibly important, especially if you want to slow down a heavy truck with big wheels and tires. Wilwood Engineering’s Mike Hamrick breaks down braking and explains how to choose the right components for our truck and yours. Wilwood offers the TX6R big brake kit for 2011-19 GM 2500/3500 HD as well as Ford, and RAM full-size pickups.

Episode 14

How to BRAKE a supercharged Duramax Part 2

See how high-quality brake systems are made in this tour of Wilwood Engineering. We’ll be using Wilwood’s massive TX6R brake system on the ’66 Chevy C20 pickup, along with their new forged aluminum master cylinder and 10:1 swing mount brake pedal. Walk with us through Wilwood’s manufacturing facility to see the craftsmanship in action.

Episode 15

Gale UNBOXES LokJaw’s new chassis! |

IT’S HERE! The Roadster Shop Spec Series chassis for our ’66 Chevy C20 big window pickup arrived in a huge wooden crate and Gale couldn’t wait to pry it open. In addition to inspecting the chassis, he also explains how and why we chose a Ford 9″ full-floating rear axle from Strange Engineering. 

Episode 16

The first supercharged Duramax camshaft!

At 4,200 RPM, the stock Duramax L5P intake valve is only open for nine-thousandths of a second. (That’s .009 of a second!) We want to run our supercharged engine over 6,000 RPM so the valve-open time will be further decreased. Gale explains how our new camshaft will open the valves higher and longer, allowing for more airflow, without contacting the piston. Sharpen your pencils, school is in session.  

Episode 17

Assembling the Allison transmission

Watch the assembly of thr custom-built Allison transmission. ATS Diesel’s Clint Cannon walks us through each step of the process and points out the upgrades. After the assembly, Clint will connect the transmission to the dyno where it’s filled with fluid, thoroughly saturating the clutch packs. It then runs for approximately 20 minutes, disengaged (neutral) to ensure proper lubrication before starting the test procedure. Since most transmission shops install the unit right onto the vehicle after assembly, it’s important to lube the clutches during assembly. That step isn’t required when you inject lubrication on the dyno.

Episode 18

Designing the Perfect Engine Bay 

Gale and Erik are joined by Sean Ramáge from Empire Fabrication. Be a fly-on-the-wall as the metal shaper dissects LokJaw, and walks through every step of the build; from engine bay to articulating bed. Having worked on AMBR (America’s Most Beautiful Roadster) Award-winning showstoppers to famous Fast & Furious muscle cars, Ramage has the skills to turn our rusty ’66 Chevy pickup into something special.

Episode 19

Unboxing parts that modernize our ’66 Chevy

Before we can drop off LokJaw at Empire Fabrication, we need to prep the engine bay and mock up as much of the truck as we can. Erik, Banks Prototype Engineer and the youngest member of the Mechanical Engineering Team, unboxes the Ridetech air suspension management, Aeromotive fuel system as well as the parts we’ll need to prepare for the Vintage Air installation.

Episode 20

GUTTED: Ripping apart the ’66 Chevy pickup

Ever seen a ’66 Chevy C20 pickup torn down to its chassis? The cab and bed need to be placed on the new Roadster Shop chassis so Erik and Jay get to work. The goal is to drive the truck to the SEMA Show in early November so it’s a race against time. The guys have to deliver the cab and bed, installed on the new chassis, to Empire Fabrication by July 1st. That gives them a month to get the supercharged Duramax engine mocked up and the dump bed structure welded into place. Step one, rip the cab and bed off the old chassis. 

Episode 21

Supercharging the Duramax. New intercooler design.

Erik, our prototype engineer introduces Matt Gamble, Bank’s newest team member. Matt heads up our turn-key engine program’s design and test group. Two areas that Matt is addressing in the early stages of engine development are the supercharger and intercooler design, both of which will be bespoke to Banks. Whipple Superchargers will manufacture various custom parts, including a dual front inlet, while Matt and the Engineering team are busy designing the intercooler. Watch as the guys explain the design process and packaging challenges.

Episode 22

Cold air intake wizardry

After Erik and Matt drop the cab of our ’66 Chevy C20 pickup onto the new Roadster Shop chassis, they’re joined by Gale who maps out the high-flow intake system using technology from the Banks’ GMC Type-R road race truck. His plan is to use two Big-Ass filters, found in our Ram-Air intake system for the 2017-19 Duramax L5P. The goal is to ram as much air into the nose of the truck as possible, ramming air into the intake system. But squeezing these massive filters into the engine bay will be no easy task.

Episode 23

3-D Laser Scans and Complicated Hinges

The Banks team 3-D scans the front end, wheels, tires, and chassis in the raised and lowered positions in order to model all components Solidworks. This will allow us to design the front engine accessory drive (FEAD), intake air system, and hood hinges in the computer, precisely. Although setup time is increased, designing these parts virtually will dramatically reduce fabrication time. It also ensures that everything will fit right the first time. We then scan the bed and merge the inner and outer sheet metal into one unit. In theory, this will allow us to cut the bed in half in the computer and design the dump bed structure, and know it’ll work before we even turn on a cutting tool.

Episode 24

Massive brakes for the Supercharged Duramax powered ’66 Chevy pickup.

Gale announces his top speed goal for the ’66 Chevy pickup. But getting to that speed isn’t the issue. It’s stopping power that we’ll need help with. That’s where Wilwood Engineering comes in. We need a TX6R big brake kit front and rear. Wait until you see the size of these calipers and rotors. Wilwood offers the TX6R big brake kit for 2011-19 GM 2500/3500 HD as well as Ford, and RAM full-size pickups.

Episode 25

Race Ready Steering in our Supercharged Duramax ’66 Chevy

Erik and Matt design bracketry for the Flaming River steering column, Wilwood brake pedal assembly, and master cylinder. We teamed up with Flaming River for LokJaw’s steering column, steering shaft, universal joints, and support bearings. The Berea, Ohio company was founded in 1987 and boasts numerous SEMA new product and design awards. Their tilt steering columns are second to none. And best of all, Flaming River equipment is designed and manufactured in the USA.

Episode 26

Engineering Ideal Access To Our Supercharged L5P Duramax

When Jeffrey Transou shared his concept art with us in Episode 4, we immediately fell in love with the way the hood and bed opened opposite of each other. But because this is unique and there are no off-the-shelf parts to make your hood open backward, the guys design custom hinges, brackets, and futuristic-looking hood supports to turn Jeffrey’s concept into a reality. Remember, if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right. Stay tuned while we convert our 1966 Chevy C-20 into a one-of-a-kind supercharged Duramax l5P diesel powered beast. Episodes released weekly as we work on the build.

Episode 27

We’re talkin’ a bunch of sheet…metal fabrication

The guys head out to drop off LokJaw, our 1966 Chevy C20 to be fitted with custom sheet metal, at Empire Fabrication in Ventura CA. Sean, the owner of Empire Fabrication, breaks down his strategy for finalizing the sheet metal work as the guys talk about placement and ideal aesthetic for LokJaws Supercharged Duramax engine bay.

Episode 28

Supercharged Duramax Swapped C20 Rust Repair, Kinda 

LokJaw is now in the hands of Sean Ramage, skilled fabricator, and owner of Empire Fabrication. While some viewers have commented that Sean may have bitten off more than he can chew, given the compressed timeline before November’s SEMA Show, he’s fully embraced the challenge. Sean’s creating a completely custom engine bay, transmission tunnel, and bed skin. But first, he has to repair rust that could leave the truck’s occupants wet during a rainstorm.

Episode 29

Engineering custom wheels for our SUPERCHARGED DIESEL Chevy

We’re working with Sparc Industries to design and manufacturing LokJaw’s custom wheels. Here’s why. Our ’66 Chevy C20 pickup will lay frame thanks to the Roadster Shop bagged chassis. But this presents a problem. We need special wheels that no one makes 8-lug wheels with our specs. The front wheels can’t exceed 8.5” wide if the guys intend to have any acceptable turning radius. And, the rear wheels must have the perfect offset or they’ll crash into the inside of the bed when it’s lowered. Back in 2012, Jonathan Peace, his father, and brother, approached Gale Banks to build a twin-turbo engine for their Thunderbird. But this was no ordinary Thunderbird. The car won the coveted Ridler Award. There is no higher honor in the custom car industry. Judges pour over every nut and bolt. No detail is too small. When you’ve won the Ridler, your car is the best of the best. After graduating from the prestigious Art Center College of Design, Jonathan Peace opened Sparc Industries, offering custom steering and road wheels for high-end builds. Today, his line of billet aluminum steering wheels is priced affordably so anyone with a vintage vehicle can own one. Most recently, Jonathan began offering road wheel design and manufacturing services which is where this video begins.

Episode 30

Engineering custom air boxes for our SUPERCHARGED DIESEL ’66 Chevy

LokJaw will be propelled by a Whipple supercharged 6.6L Duramax diesel power plant which requires an abundance of air. Watch as Erik and Matt modify radiator core support that houses two custom fabricated intake air boxes with massive Banks Big-Ass Filters. These air boxes will have an inlet through the grill that will ram air into the air boxes and into our Whipple Supercharger, then into our Duramax giving LokJaw the air it’ll need to reach our horsepower goal!

Episode 31

Designing the most advanced digital dashboard

If you’ve ever seen the dashboard in a ’66 Chevy pickup, you know how ugly it is. So, it’s time for an upgrade. We’re proud to announce we’ve partnered with MoTeC to display valuable data from LokJaw’s supercharged 6.6L Duramax and Allison 1000 6-speed transmission. Gale, Matt, and Quinn design and plan the new digital dashboard, complete with a MoTeC C127 and four iDash DataMonsters. The C127 has been designed with powerful functionality and an impressive, 7-inch high-resolution, full-color screen. Numerous selectable layouts are supplied with configurable channels, labels, and color schemes. One of the many reasons we chose the C127 is for its flexibility to treat our screen as a blank canvas and design our own layout with unique graphics that’ll match the iDashes as well as LokJaw’s rusty-meets-modern aesthetic. The MoTeC display will be fed data acquired by a MoTeC M142 ECM and a myriad of Banks pressure, temperature, and speed sensors.

Episode 32

Intake Manifold, Supercharger and NITROUS 

The supercharged Duramax swapped ’66 C20 pickup will be unveiled in AMSOIL’s booth at SEMA, November 2-5, and we’ve got a ton of work to do to get it there. While Erik’s cutting and welding the giant 5″ stainless steel intake tubes, Gale and Matt put the finishing touches on the intake manifold, including nitrous oxide (NOS) injector ports. Why? Because nitrous, of course!

Episode 33

Custom engine bay revealed!

Get a peek at the new engine bay! It matches the look of the Whipple 3.8L Supercharger. And, it’s time to slice the ’66 Chevy C20 pickup truck’s bed in half! Unlike a normal dump bed, where the entire bed tilts back, They only want the top half to tilt back while the bottom half stays in place. In this episode, Erik dismantles the bed, and Matt engineers a 6-bar hinge system, allowing the upper section to articulate up and back without crashing into the lower section. It’s not as easy as it looks.

Episode 34

An engineer’s nightmare

It’s not enough just to drop a Whipple SUPERCHARGED 2022 Duramax diesel engine into a slammed 1966 Chevy C20 pickup. Nope. The Banks crew wants to show off the engine, chassis, and other performance parts by uniquely opening the hood and bed. Unfortunately, turning the old truck into a Pagani-like supercar with an opposing hood and bed is turning out to be a bigger chore than we bargained for. Luckily, our engine bay is turning out to be a work of art.

Episode 35

This will be a crazy truck bed!

Splitting the 1966 Chevy C20 truck bed lengthwise to open like a dump bed turned out to be a massive endeavor. Late nights and long hours are starting to pay off when Gale stops by Matt’s office for a progress report. Erik unboxes a beautiful pair of Flo AirRide billet aluminum air tanks and Matt shows Gale his intricate underpinnings of the truck bed. Our Whipple SUPERCHARGED 2022 Duramax diesel-powered Chevy is scheduled to debut in AMSOIL’s exhibit at the SEMA Show in the first week of November. The video was recorded this week! This is no TV show build with a fake deadline. This is real.

Episode 36

The holes don’t line up. This could be bad. | BANKS BUILT Ep 36

The guys head back up to Empire Fabrication to test fit the lower bed assembly for our supercharged Duramax diesel-powered ’67 Chevy C20 pickup. The assembly is made of five pieces that will support the bedsides. If they don’t fit, we’ll be going to the SEMA show in November with no truck bed. Call this part—critical. As they bolt the complicated assembly together, they realize a couple of the measurements were wrong. Here’s how they fixed it.

Episode 37

If you think the supercharger is crazy, wait until you see our wheels

Feast your eyes on our billet aluminum 3.8-liter supercharger and billet 5″ twin-ram inlet which will feed air into the Banks R866SC engine. Cartier’s got nothing on this bling! Take a tour inside @Whipple Superchargers, meet Dustin Whipple, and watch the Gen 5 blower being made. Then, check in with Jonathan at Sparc Industries as he creates a very special set of 22″ wheels. Follow Erik, Eric, and Matt as they design and fabricate the most unique dump bed you’ll ever see. At this time of posting, the SEMA Show is 13 days away. Willthey make it?

Episode 38

Wild headers for the SUPERCHARGED DURAMAX C10

Ever seen a Duramax engine with custom long-tube headers? Well, here they are. We coupled our engineering team’s geometry with Dragos Toma’s artistic flair. Having honed his craft at Nelson Racing Engines, Dragos combines incredible craftsmanship and artistry into his headers while keeping the physics of a V8 diesel engine in mind.

Episode 39

Inside the Whipple 3.8L front-drive dual-inlet twin-screw SUPERCHARGER!

Gale Banks takes us inside this billet aluminum Whipple 3.8L front-drive twin-screw supercharger and custom-machined Twin-Ram 5″ inlet. He also explains our custom 12-rib crank pulley. Matt and Gale are like a pair of children on Christmas morning. The unit will feed our new Banks Duramax L5P 6.6L diesel turnkey crate engine, debuting at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas next week.

Episode 40

Inside Banks SUPERCHARGED DURAMAX engine.

Gale and Matt walk through all the things that make our new Banks R866SC supercharged 6.6L diesel crate engine different than every other Duramax. From the Whipple supercharger to the proprietary Comp Cam to the intake manifold, intercooler, injectors, Fluidampr, and more, this engine is unlike any other. And, a version of it will be available for you to purchase in 2022.

Episode 41

You’ve Never Seen Wheels Like This!

Our long-awaited one-of-a-kind wheels finally arrive! Gale and Matt are pleasantly surprised that not only did the rims make it to BANKS HQ, but so did Jonathan Peace of SPARK. Industries. Gale gets to view the rims for the first time and explains why he wanted the wheels for LokJaw, our ’66 Chevy pick-up with a blown Duramax. The wheels aren’t just aesthetically pleasing but highly functional. Constructed from 500 lb pieces of billet aluminum, the wheels are designed to draw air from the engine bay and facilitate less lag across the vehicle.

Episode 42

This is what #SEMAcrunch looks like

This is what happened in the final hours before LokJaw, our supercharged Duramax diesel-swapped Chevy C20, was to debut at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. All hands were on deck. Electrical Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, friends, family, fabricators… anyone who could turn a wrench was invited to join in. You may have heard of or seen the hashtag #semacrunch. This is what it looks like.

Episode 43

Revealing the supercharged Duramax swapped Chevy at the SEMA Show

With a massive group of fans, friends, and journalists gathered, Gale Banks unveils LokJaw, the ’66 Chevy pickup truck, at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. More than a year ago, the Banks team purchased a running ’66 Chevy C20 pickup truck from a fan for $1. Flash forward and that truck has been transformed into an incredible display of technology and horsepower. It’s the home for Banks’ prototype R866SC supercharged Duramax diesel engine. If you’ve followed the BANKS BUILT series, this is a must-watch.