All You Need Is LUV: The Mullenix Racing Chevy Luv Pickup
It’s a truck well-recognized in the drag racing world prior to the S10. Mullenix just made it better with LS-power.
Mullenix Racing Engines in Simi Valley, California are well known for their high-quality engine builds for the off-road and street car markets. For 20-years, James Mullenix has been putting high-powered engines into anything you wanted. If your goal is over 1000-horsepower, you’re looking for a Mullenix build. They are also die-hard enthusiasts who aren’t afraid to build anything and when Holley called for them to build a secret project for LS Fest West, they had a wicked idea in mind.
What the hell is an LUV?
They went with a classic Chevrolet LUV pickup truck. If you were born after the 1980’s or possibly even the 1990’s, you’re probably unfamiliar with the Light Utility Vehicle. It’s the mini-truck that GM used before they created the S10. It’s based on the first-generation Isuzu Faster and was built from 1972 to 1980 and the one GM used only came with a 1.8-liter Single Over Head Cam (SOHC) I4 and only produced seventy-five-horsepower. It wasn’t a bad truck, either, as it was able to bring home Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year in 1979. However, we did get the second generation but for only the 1980 to 1982 model years when the S10 took over.
The regular cab, short bed looks tiny, but someone over six-feet is able to fit with some comfort. However, it’s a very light weight chassis and why it was a favorite to use in drag racing.
Mullenix meets LUV: what’s under the hood.
This version that Mullenix created uses their LS6 build with a Stage 3 camshaft kit. This is controlled with a Holley HP EFI System that also works with their Sniper intake manifold and fuel system. To allow the engine to breath out is a set of Hooker LS Swap headers.
The wheels and tires are a bit of a joke but it really won’t be a laughing matter when it passes you by. The wheels are a set of Procomp Off Road Truck Wheels with a set of Falken Tire 315/30R18 tires fitted to the stock axle and front suspension. Brakes, if you want to call them that, are all drum front and rear while the differential was welded by Evan Weller Racing. You’ll have no trouble spinning those tires, even with the fuel cell in the back.
This truck was made more as a fun project with a little joke on the side. However, considering that it was only built in a week before LS Fest West, it’s still a testimate to the capabilities of Mullenix Racing. Good luck even finding a LUV truck in that kind of speed, much less one built like this. Hopefully, we’ll see it again soon with some upgrades to the brakes and suspension but even in this form, it’s one fast truck.
