This LS Swapped LUV Belongs To One Of The Good Ones
Cole Reynolds runs CR23, and the LS swapped LUV he’s been building is already one of the coolest small trucks in the game. The latest step is a Boostline Performance 388 LS, dyno-tested on the stand before it ever saw the inside of the engine bay, and it’s already changed what the truck weighs and what it’s capable of.
We’ve known Cole for a few years now, and we’ll just say it straight: he’s one of the good ones. He’s a father, a husband, and about as humble as anyone running a truck this capable. His dad built a career in automotive media, and Cole’s carrying that same drive forward on his own terms with CR23. Every time we call him, he actually picks up, which says more about the guy than any dyno number does. We’re genuinely pumped to see this LUV on the track.
A Stock 5.3 Held The Fort
Cole didn’t start this build with the engine he wanted. He started with a mild, stock 5.3-liter LS pulled from something with 180,000 miles on the clock, dropped in just to keep the truck rolling while he reworked the chassis into a mid-engine layout. That’s a full re-architecture of where the weight sits, so it’s not a bolt-in job, and it ate up the time. Anyone who’s tackled a similar LS swap into an unlikely platform knows how much of that time disappears into mounts, brackets, and figuring out where everything actually fits.
Butt dyno says that tired 5.3 was making somewhere around 450 horsepower at the wheels. We say butt dyno on purpose, because it never saw a set of rollers, and Cole never claimed otherwise. It moved the truck while the real engine came together at Boostline Performance in Wichita Falls.
The Boostline Performance 388 LS Hits The Dyno First
Before the Boostline Performance 388 LS went anywhere near the LUV, Cole and the Boostline team strapped it to their in-house dyno and pulled it to 7,300 rpm, backing off from an earlier 7,500 rpm run once the power curve showed there was nothing left to gain higher in the band. The engine put down 556 horsepower and 502 lb-ft of torque, naturally aspirated, since no turbos were hung on it yet. Cole had guessed 525. He was low by more than 30 horsepower. For more on what a modern small-displacement LS can do on the dyno before boost enters the picture, the trend line has been climbing for years.
That number matters because this combination isn’t finished making power. It’s built to take boost, and once the turbos go on, Cole’s target is north of 1,000 horsepower, though he’s said himself he won’t run it that high in a truck this light. Even without boost, the engine was already making good torque low in the rev range, the kind of curve that matters more on an autocross course than a peak number ever will.
What’s Inside The Boostline Performance 388 LS
The short block that anchors the Boostline Performance 388 LS starts with a Gen 4 aluminum 5.3 block. Darton sleeves back it up, and CNC decking, CNC boring, and torque-plate honing keep the cylinders round and the deck true once real cylinder pressure gets involved. Inside sits a Brian Tooley Racing crank, Callies rods, and Wiseco pistons, with a BTR Stage 2 turbo cam and matching BTR valvetrain handling valve events.
Up top are AFR 1510 heads, a 205cc LS1-style casting that’s fully CNC ported through the combustion chambers, intake, and exhaust runners, with a competition five-angle valve job. If you want to see what an AFR head swap does to an LS on the flow bench and the dyno, the 270cc LS3 Mongoose write-up covers similar territory. Cole’s skipping the FAST intake that came with the kit in favor of a Holley Hi-Ram, run with a Tick Performance air-to-water intercooler sandwiched underneath for when the boost arrives. ARP hardware ties the whole thing together.
82 Pounds Lighter, Not Heavier
By the time the 388 was in the truck, Cole’s LUV weighed in at 2,550 pounds dry, 2,750 with him strapped in, down 82 pounds from the old combination. That’s not the usual direction for a swap like this, because more displacement and a turbo-ready bottom end tend to add weight, not shed it. A Gen 4 aluminum block helps, and so does building around what the truck needs instead of stacking on extra iron because it looks good on paper. This LS swapped LUV proves a build can gain capability without gaining mass.
He Actually Races The Thing
This isn’t a truck that sits under a canopy at car shows. Cole’s been running it through SCCA autocross events at Eagles Canyon Raceway, working on learning the truck at higher speeds one weekend at a time, not unlike the approach behind builds like the Cassar Performance & Design C10 SS/R, where durability choices get made because the truck actually sees a road course. He’s put the Falken Azenis 660+ tires through three events and more than 30 autocross laps and says they’re still grippy, with a few more test days planned before he swaps on a fresh set for Holley LS Fest East.
That’s the difference between a build that gets talked about and a build that gets driven. Cole’s out there logging laps on the same LS swapped LUV this article is about, so he’s finding out in real time what 82 pounds and a stouter bottom end actually do on course.
What’s Next: A 1970 Nova Is Already Underway
While the LUV keeps racking up autocross laps, Cole’s already deep into parts collection on a 1970 Nova, five months in and counting. It’s set to run a small block with Frankenstein Engine Dynamics heads, and a healthy list of Summit Racing Equipment, K&N Filters, PEAK Auto, and AMSOIL parts backing it up. We’ll be keeping an eye on that one as it comes together.
