What do you get your wife when her daily truck already has a custom cam and exhaust? For YouTuber Lonestar Hawaiian, the answer is a secret supercharger install.

The project began with a clever plan: to get his wife’s 2020 Silverado Trail Boss for a few days, the host pulled the ignition fuse, faking a breakdown. He then convinced his unsuspecting wife to take a loaner vehicle while he secretly took her truck to his father’s garage to begin the ambitious DIY project.

DIY Whipple Supercharger Install Challenge

With the truck hidden away, the multi-day installation of the 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger began. The process involved a complete teardown of the top end of the engine to remove the stock intake manifold.

Working with his father, he carefully followed the instructions, installing the new supercharger intake, plumbing the complex intercooler system, and preparing the massive head unit for its new home. The plan was to have it all done in a couple of days.

An Expensive Lesson

The project hit a major snag when the host realized he had ordered the wrong wiring harness for the new MAP sensor, a critical part for tuning a supercharged engine.

This mistake cost him hundreds of dollars in parts and overnight shipping fees, causing a multi-day delay.

The new harness also required him to drill and tap the brand-new Whipple intake manifold to install a sensor, a nerve-wracking task he had never performed before but successfully completed.

The Midnight Tune and Reveal

With the correct parts finally in hand, the race was on to finish the truck in time for LSFest Texas. The final tuning process was a marathon, requiring 17 different revisions from a remote tuner.

The host and his father finally finished the build at 12:30 a.m., just hours before they needed to leave for the event. The next morning, he revealed the finished truck to his wife, who was thrilled with the massive increase in power, even if she wasn’t fooled by his cover story.

The Supercharged Payoff

Despite the long nights, expensive mistakes, and the stress of lying to his wife, the project was a massive success.

The Silverado was transformed from a capable daily driver into a “violent” performance truck just in time to go racing.

It seems the old saying holds true: a 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger installation makes for a very happy wife, which, in turn, makes for a very happy life.