Automobiles ENYO: Ringbrothers F1-Inspired 1948 Chevy Loadmaster TruckThe Ringbrothers have created a race car inspired 'supertruck' based on a 1948 Chevrolet Loadmaster and it's insane.
- Words Gray Van Dyke
- Images Ringbrothers, & David Heller
If you’re at all familiar with Ringbrothers, then you’ll know that they regularly trade in the excess and the extraordinary. From kick-ass classic Camaros to outrageous Winnebago camper customs, the creativity of the Wisconsin-based outfit seemingly knows no bounds. With each project, they push the envelope, flexing their automotive imagination to the fullest.
Just take Ringbrothers’ latest creation, for instance.
They’re calling it ENYO, and it is – by far – the most incredible build to emerge from the minds of Mike and Jim Ring yet. When you first get eyes on the thing, you hardly know what to make of it. With its open wheels, sweeping carbon splitter, and exposed velocity stacks, it skews heavily towards retro-modded racecar. Hell, they even used CAD to design the custom trim and parts.
Underneath all of its F1-ready accouterments, though, you’ll find – would you believe it – a 1948 Chevy Loadmaster pickup. The product of many many years of planning and over 10,000 build hours, it’s a transformation that truly puts the “super” in super truck. It’s something that co-founder Mike Ring claims “brings together two vehicles that should never have met to deliver immense character combined with power and performance usually reserved for today’s most advanced racecars.”
What little remains of the donor can be seen in the hood, the cab, and the bed. (If you could still call it a bed – it’s been hollowed out to make room for the truck’s cooling fans, suspension, and roll bars). Elsewhere, Ringbrothers have had their way with the body, cutting, shaping, and sectioning it by as much as four inches so that it plays nice with its new bones. Of course, the truck is chock-full of carbon fiber; the custom panels are constructed from a 3k weave and the underside is protected by a single-piece belly pan.
That’s because, at the heart of ENYO is a state-of-the-art chassis designed by Scott Ahlman and Roadster Shop. Engineered with independent cantilever suspension front and rear, it rides on a set of custom Öhlins TTX shocks shod with Swift Springs. Stopping power is provided by some Brembo GTS M6 brakes with six piston calipers, and the stock wheels have been replaced by HRE centerlocks intended for a Porsche 911.
In other words – no matter if it’s on the track or on the street – the truck rips. Good thing Ringbrothers specced it with a Nuke Performance air jack system to allow for quick swaps.
And it only gets better. For the engine, Ringbrothers opted for a 510 cubic-inch tall-deck LS built by Todd Goodwin. Dressed with Kinsler eight-stack injection, fed by a Holley fuel management system, and mated to a Bowler Performance 4L80 automatic transaxle with a Corvette torque tube, it makes an astounding 1,000hp. We can only imagine the soundtrack such a combination makes when funneled through the truck’s trick side pipes – a setup made from 58 feet of titanium pie-cut welds.
By this point, most builders would have called it a day, hacked together some makeshift interior, and considered the car complete. Not Ringbrothers. In order to modernize the truck both inside and out, the team turned to Upholstery Unlimited and Gemini Technology Systems. Along with clothing the dash in carbon fiber and leather, they also gave ENYO conveniences like Dakota Digital gauges, power windows, and a Vintage Air Gen II compact air-conditioning system.
Rounded out by an eye-searing Mythic Battle Green paint job, the result is a truck that’s sure to steal the show. Suffice to say – with ENYO, Ringbrothers have even managed to outdo themselves.
RINGBROTHERS
Ringbrothers ENYO F1-Inspired 1948 Chevy Loadmaster Truck
- Engine 510 cubic-inch tall-deck LS engine from Goodwin Competition Racing Engines 1,000 horsepower on 110 race fuel
- Engine Extras Kinsler LS-Sprint eight-stack injection and Holley fuel management system
- Exhaust Custom-fabricated one-off stainless headers with titanium side pipes fabricated with 58 feet of titanium pie-cut welds
- Transmission Bowler Performance 4L80 automatic transaxle with torque tube
- Chassis One-off Roadster Shop and Ahlman Engineering chassis
- Suspension Cantilever Front and Rear independent suspension
- Shocks Custom Öhlins TTX coilovers with Swift Springs
- Wheels Two sets of bespoke HRE Wheels 911 centerlock wheels– street and race
- Brakes Brembo GTS M6 brakes with six-piston calipers
- Paint BASF Glasurit Mythic Battle Green
- Interior Steve Pearson at Upholstery Unlimited and Gemini Technology Systems
