Branden Abram isn't in the Army or Marine Corps. He doesn't own or drive an armored vehicle at all. He's not even American.
Actually, he's Canadian, and the artillery that I'm referring to is his single-turbo '00 GT. The stealth-grey-clad coupe may wear Terminator attire, but it carries more bite than your average Cobra.
Branden lives in Langley, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver. Being a Bow Tie fan most of his life, he bought this '00 GT in 2002 when his Monte Carlo was stolen. "It was supposed to be a daily driver," Brandon tells us. "That lasted about a year with minor bolt-ons."
It all went downhill from there, though. Branden first installed a nitrous kit. After tiring of that, he decided to build a naturally aspirated combination. Finally, he settled on a single-turbo system. The Precision 67mm impeller feeds 20 psi of air charge through an air-to-air intercooler through custom piping, and into the Trick Flow intake manifold via a 75mm BBK throttle body.
Once there, the pressurized air is permitted to enter the combustion chambers through the 1.84-inch intake valves of the Trick Flow Track Heat Two-Valve heads being opened by the Comp Cams bumpsticks. Once ignited, the spent exhaust gasses exit through 1.45-inch exhaust valves, and out through stock exhaust manifolds and a Magnaflow 3-inch after-cat system. The short-block is based on a stock block, with Manley pistons, Eagle rods, and an MMR crankshaft. It was built by Branden and Ken's Specialty of Langley, British Columbia; machine work was done by Coquitlam Automotive machine shop.
Power is transferred from the engine to the B&M-actuated Tremec T-56 through a Centerforce flywheel and McLeod clutch. It leaves the gearbox through an aluminum driveshaft and arrives at the 8.8-inch rearend, where it is transferred to the pavement through 3.55 gears, 31-spline Moser axles, and BBS wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson ET Street rubber.
Branden swapped the hood and front fascia for those off of an '03 Cobra. He also traded the stock sidescoops for those from an '01 Bullitt. Inside, Branden dressed the GT in '03 Cobra attire and added a full stereo system, with Kicker speakers and subwoofers, and Exile amplifiers.
With the help of his crew at Brown Brothers Ford, and the support of his wife Jerusha, Branden finally completed the build and had the combination tuned by Wayne Johnson of Brown Brothers Racing. On track, he competes in the street-legal class at his local dragstrip, where he's laid down a best of 10.87 at 128 mph.
Though not groundbreaking, Branden's GT outperforms the enemy with ease-and it does it with the stealth of a jet fighter and the fire-power of a tank.