Summit Racing Helps Deboss Garage Rebuild the Chummins Silverado

Boy meets truck. Boy rebuilds truck, drives the wheels off it, then rebuilds it again. It’s a story that never gets old, and one Rich Bosch of Deboss Garage lived. A 2005 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD was his  first 'nice' vehicle after years of driving beaters. He drove it everywhere, hauled stuff with it, took his kids camping in it. The Chevy was even part of his wedding procession.

The Silverado also had something else Rich loved—a 5.9L Dodge Cummins diesel conversion. Hooked to the truck’s 4L80E automatic, the 12-valve motor was an unknown quantity and never ran quite right. When the transmission decided it had enough of all that diesel torque, Rich parked the truck in 2012 with intentions of getting it back on the road.

Five years later…

Rich finally got the Silverado into the garage for a rehab. He replaced the ailing motor and transmission with another 5.9L 12V Cummins, an NV4500 five-speed manual transmission, and transfer case from a 1995 Ram pickup. Rich patched the cab corners and rockers, and replaced the front sheetmetal, tailgate, and rear bumper with parts from a rust-free 2006 Silverado. He also swapped over the fancy-schmancy interior from the 2006 to get power windows, seats, locks, and mirrors.

Christened Chummins 2.0, the Silverado was put back into service for daily driver duties, parts hauling, and race car towing. But with 550,000 kilometers on the truck itself and a guesstimated 700,00 kilometers on the engine (that’s 341,754 and 434,959 miles respectively), a complete overhaul was in the cards. Rich pulled a 5.9L Cummins 24-valve engine from a school bus to replace the ailing 12-valve. The 24-valve got a total rebuild and a compound turbo setup with the goal of making 600 horsepower with 60 pounds of boost.

The rest of the truck was also slated for an overhaul. Rich bough a 2006 Silverado in South Carolina to harvest its sheetmetal to replace the nasty bits on his before getting it painted. He also stripped the truck down to the bare frame, which is where Summit Racing enters the picture. Rich sandblasted the frame, painted it with a rust-inhibiting coating, and rebuilt the front suspension and brakes with parts from you-know-who.

Since a bunch of you own Silverados of this vintage, we made a reference list of the parts Rich used that you can use as a guide when you have to do the same job on your truck. You can watch Rich do the chassis rebuild in this Deboss Garage video.

Like all good buddy stories, the Chummins 2.0 saga is ongoing. Rich hopes to have it completed by mid-summer 2023. You can follow the build the Deboss Garage YouTube channel.

Parts List
Moog Inner Tie Rod Ends
Moog Outer Tie Rod Ends
Moog Lower Ball Joints
Moog Upper Ball Joints
Moog Idler Arm Bracket Assembly
Moog Idler Arm
Energy Suspension Sway Bar Bushings
Energy Suspension Leaf Spring Bushings
Energy Suspension Body Mount Bushings
Prothane Control Arm Bushings
Power Stop Z36 Truck and Tow Brake Upgrade Kit, rear
Power Stop Z36 Truck and Tow Brake Upgrade Kit, front
Dorman Stainless Steel Brake Line Kit