Low Not Slow
Jeremy Roop's Stunning 2008 Chevy 3500 HD
Text and Photos by Chris Tobin
2008 Chevy 3500 HD interior seats
2008 Chevy 3500 HD sun roof
2008 Chevy 3500 HD display monitor

(left) Jeremy Roop’s low slung 2008 Chevrolet 3500 HD is a show-winning monster that he still uses and abuses for everything including hauling a 5th wheel trailer, drag racing and dyno pulling even with the highly polished 26-inch Forgiato Duro wheels! (top) Looking through the rear seems stock, but lifting the seat reveals a custom subwoofer enclosure for a 10-inch Kicker sub that helps blast out the tunes driven by a 250-watt Kicker amplifier. (middle) The factory sunroof and video screen help make the interior even more comfortable on long road trips.(lower) An Edge Products CTS2 display resides on the windshield mount near the driver side A-pillar to help Roop keep an eye on the truck’s vitals when he’s behind the wheel.

In the time of trailer-queen show trucks we regularly see at diesel performance shows and events across the country it is great to come across one that looks like a show truck, works like a farm truck and flies like a race truck. We found that elusive combination within Jeremy Roop’s low slung 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD two-wheel-drive dually.

Roop purchased the truck new in 2008 and has been customizing it in various ways throughout the years in an evolution that does not seem to show an end any time soon. Like most gearheads he says he is still working on his build and never expects it to be done. In the meantime, we will showcase his Silverado in its show winning 600hp trim.

It is hard to look beyond the 26-inch polished forged aluminum Forgiato Duro Drea-D 10-lug wheels with rubber band-like ultralow-profile 295/30ZR26 Lexani LX-Thirty tires. While six of the huge rollers set the tone for the truck, they are framed with a lowered chassis thanks to a DJM Suspension 3/5-inch lowering kit that Roop installed to give the truck an aggressive sport truck feel. In the rear a set of HSP Diesel traction bars powder-coated bright white prevent axle wrap under hard acceleration with that huge contact patch of four ultra-performance tires gripping the asphalt.

To complete the exterior look, Roop painted the front and rear bumpers in color-matched white and installed a slick grille shell with a black mesh grille with white frame and a matching white Bowtie. He then installed a BAK Industries RollBAK tonneau cover to protect cargo in the bed along with covering the Reece 5th wheel hitch mount when he is not towing his toy hauler RV. Improving both the looks and lighting, he replaced all the factory lights with smoked replacements from Recon and installed a set of 2015 model tow mirrors with LED accents. Speaking of LED accent lighting, he also installed accents inside each wheel as well as in the lower valence and even under the hood with a white LED Bowtie.

Low Not Slow
2008 Chevy 3500 HD tire and rim
2008 Chevy 3500 HD rear bumper and license plate
(lower left) Huge 26-inch Forgiato Duro Drea-D 10-lug wheels in a highly polished finish are sure to be noticed by any onlookers. The wheels are wrapped with low-profile 295/30ZR26 Lexani LX-Thirty tires on all four corners to keep the big truck planted to the ground while Roop is blasting down the highway or the dragstrip. (lower right) Peeking under the rear of the dually you can see the massive wheels and Lexani tires to grip the road along with the Jamo stainless steel 5-inch diameter exhaust and big 7-inch diameter polished stainless steel exhaust stack that is mounted horizontally to deliver the spent gases to the factory outlet location.

Under the hood Roop upgraded the LMM Duramax with bolt-on parts including an Industrial Injection dual CP3 kit to give plenty of #2 to the stock injectors without loosing rail pressure. He also replaced the factory boost tubes with upgraded tubes from HSP Diesel that are powder-coated white with black accents and match the fabricated coolant hose, coolant tank, air filter and housing as well as the intake tube to the Garrett Powermax Stage 2 turbo charger that replaced the stock unit. Spent exhaust gasses are sent out from the engine through a Jamo stainless steel 5-inch diameter exhaust system capped by a 7-inch diameter polished stainless steel stack that was turned horizontally to exit the truck in the factory position.

2008 Chevy 3500 HD engine
2008 Chevy 3500 HD engine belt closeup
2008 Chevy 3500 HD engine pump closeup
(top) Lifting the hood reveals the LMM Duramax heart of this great white beast sporting HSP Diesel upgraded intake, boost tubes, air filter and housing, coolant pipes and fabricated coolant tank all powder coated bright white with black accents to really pop under the hood. Also notice the LED Bowtie that glows under the hood to show off Roop’s Chevy pride. (left) An Industrial Injection dual CP3 kit works with the factory CP3 to supply plenty of fuel to the injectors keeping up with the demand from the Danville Performance EFILive tuning. (right) To provide the Duramax with additional boost Roop replaced the stock turbo with a Garrett Powermax Stage 2 turbo to deliver more power while maintaining drivability.

A FASS lift pump and filter system is used to deliver the fuel from the tank to the CP3s under the hood while EFILive tuning from Danville Performance was employed to tickle the 1s and 0s into making more than 600 horsepower with 1,100 lbs-ft of torque. Roop turned to the experts at SunCoast diesel to build his Allison transmission to hold up to the additional grunt from the upgraded Duramax engine. They are using a SunCoast billet flexplate along with a SunCoast 2,200 RPM stall speed billet torque converter and high-performance clutches and steels throughout the Allison. The combination has run a best ET of 13.18 seconds in the 1/4-mile which is very fast for a truck that tips the scales at nearly 8,000 pounds running the stock Duramax engine.

The interior of Roop’s Silverado is about the only area that isn’t highly modified, it features supple factory black leather upholstery that is comfortable if not custom. He installed an Edge Products CTS2 display to keep an eye on the engine and transmission vitals along with a custom sub enclosure with a 10-inch Kicker sub under the driver side rear seat driven by a 250-watt Kicker amplifier. While we were shooting the truck, he told us that he planned to upgrade the interior soon to make it stand out as well as the rest of the truck.

2008 Chevy 3500 HD side profile
2008 Chevy 3500 HD trunk with door open
2008 Chevy 3500 HD trunk with door closed
(top) The badge on the door says it all doesn’t it, Roop’s Silverado is certainly a unique machine especially when we are used to seeing so many lifted 4WD trucks it is great to see this lowered 2WD. The massive Forgiato Duro wheels are highlighted with LED accent lighting on all four corners. (lower left) Roop’s Silverado looks great from any angle, but this is the view most unsuspecting drivers will see when they line up alongside him on the dragstrip. (lower right) Looking at the truck from the rear you can see the color matched paint Roop laid down on the factory bumper along with the Recon lights and BAK Industries RollBAK tonneau cover used to secure the bed.

Roop drives the truck on a regular basis and is not afraid to travel from his home in Maryland all over the east, Midwest and southeast to attend shows and events. When he gets there, he typically enters and often wins the show-n-shine, but his truck is usually not stationary. More times than not you will see the truck blasting down the drag strip or spinning the rollers on the chassis dyno as he takes an active approach to showing off his Silverado.

In the time since we shot the truck Roop has not only completed his upgrade of the interior bringing white accents into the trim and upholstery he has also swapped out the stock LMM Duramax long block for a fully built Wagler Competition Products engine that is making around 1,200 horsepower with a Borg Warner S480 over S366 compound turbo setup. He hasn’t been able to get new track numbers with the new combination yet as the street tires, even with four of them trying, are no match for the Wagler grunt and they go up in smoke whenever he gets into the throttle. To see the latest on the rig look him up on his social media channels or better yet look for it in person at the next major diesel event, you’ll be able to find him in the show-n-shine, on the dragstrip, on the dyno or cruising around having fun with his friends!

Sources:
Allison Transmission
317-242-5000
www.allisontransmission.com

BorgWarner
www.borgwarner.com

Danville Performance
317-745-8587
www.danvilleperformance.com

DJM Suspension
310-538-1583
www.djmsuspension.com

Edge Products
888-360-3343
www.edgeproducts.com

EFILive
www.efilive.com

FASS Fuel Systems
www.fassride.com

Forgiato
747-271-7151
www.forgiato.com

Garrett Advanced Motion
www.garrettmotion.com

HSP Diesel
586-785-3110
www.hspdiesel.com

Industrial Injection
800-955-0476
www.industrialinjection.com

Jamo
702-649-1431
www.jamoperformance.com

Kicker
www.kicker.com

Lexani
800-833-9700
www.lexani.com

SunCoast Performance
800-868-0053
www.suncoastdiesel.com

Wagler Competition Products
812-636-0391
www.waglercompetition.com