A supercharged GMC pickup truck with 1,000 horsepower was built by Cleetus McFarland and his crew. It had 382 miles on it, 40 of which came from a test drive the night before to make sure everything was working as it should. The engine was a 7.4-liter normally aspirated ZR7.
Anthony from Mississippi won the giveaway and traveled from Florida with a trailer to collect his prize, as he couldn’t drive two pickup trucks simultaneously. Upon seeing the GMC supertruck, Anthony was instantly enamored, and the engine’s roar left him speechless.
Anthony previously owned a GMC Sierra, which was rear-ended with only 16,000 miles on it. “I’m glad I didn’t have this truck 20 years ago. I’d be in jail,” he joked. After signing the paperwork, Anthony took the truck for a test drive, grinning as wide as the state of Texas, with Cleetus in the passenger seat.
However, after a few donuts, smoke started coming from under the hood. Cleetus noticed it first and asked Anthony to pull over and open the hood. “Our worst nightmare,” Cleetus remarked. This was the first time a giveaway vehicle had failed on the new owner’s initial test drive. But they promised to fix the faulty engine and use it in another vehicle.
Anthony didn’t mind the extended stay in Florida due to the situation. The night before, Cleetus had test-driven the truck without any issues. The problem was traced to a coolant leak from the catch can, eventually found within the head casting. The new zero-mile engine arrived at the shop, and by 2:30 AM, the truck was running perfectly.
Cleetus took it for another test drive and concluded with a “Perfetto,” making the Italian hand gesture. This time, there was no coolant in the oil. Anthony arrived the next morning for delivery 2.0. The team watched anxiously as he did donuts again, but this time, all fluids remained in place.
