Rising From the Ashes – After a Fire Claimed His 8-Second Pick-up, David Cedoz BUILT aN UPDATED VERSION for His Return to Sick Week
After a period where cars were more about the styling and add-ons versus performance, the tables slowly started to turn in the 1980s, where multiple vehicles started to emerge from their smog handcuffed shackles.
Trucks also started to get a boost in these times, including the 1990s Chevrolet SS and Ford Lightning pick-ups, and for David Cedoz, this 1993 model got a modern boost of power to tow his boat, as well as participate in Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.
THE SUPER BOWL of drag-and-drive is less than 2 weeks away - Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive! Over 300 racers will battle in cool winter temps on four great tracks, and the result will be tons of single-digits runs, possible new records, and a truly awesome experience! It’s a week to not miss - January 27th through February 1st. To grab your discounted advance Sick Week tickets, CLICK HERE! For more details on Sick Week, CLICK HERE!
David got his first taste of the OBS (Old Body Style) Chevy pick-up when his father picked up a brand new 1990 SS model, and after his father enjoyed it for ten years, David purchased it. “He sold it to me in 2000, so I could tow my Bass boat for tournament fishing,” said David. During his tenure, the Chevy truck would see a little of everything for use, including race track laps.
After a while, David needed a bit more power than the factory’s level. That eventually led to a 383 cubic inch stroker small block engine, based on a World Products block, a mild hydraulic roller camshaft, AFR cylinder heads, and a decent-sized 91-millimeter turbocharger.
When David participated in his first drag-and-drive event, Sick Week 2023, this was the combination in the truck, back by a Turbo 400 transmission, a Dana 60 rear end, and a comfortable interior with air conditioning and sound system still intact.
Competing in the Sick Street Race class, David clocked his best run of the week on day one at Orlando ‘Sick’ World Dragway, an 8.77 at 151 mph. After a pair of 9-second runs at Bradenton and South Georgia Motorsports Park, David slowed to an 11.37 pass at Gainesville Raceway on day four. He discovered the reason on day five back in Orlando. “I must have cracked the bellhousing at Gainesville, and at Orlando it broke the housing completely off the engine,” said David. But David managed to make the final run at Orlando, a 9.65 at just 111 mph, to complete the event.
With the truck weighing close to 4700 pounds, David usually raced it in local test and tunes, grudge racing, and the popular World Street Nationals event. “It was hard to fit in heads up classes with a heavy truck, as it’s just not fast enough to compete,” David said. “It was a good grudge truck though. Nobody expected it to run what it did.”
The truck also continued to serve fun driving duty, including towing David’s Bass boat. But in November of 2023, a fire would claim the pick-up after nearly 34 years of service. The only thing salvageable was the engine, transmission, and rear end.
David was determined to build a new version of the truck he had created so many memories with. “The new truck is a ‘93 clone of the old truck,” said David. “The only thing salvageable was the engine, transmission, and rear end. Everything else was replaced as an exact replica of the old truck.”
While David was able to re-create the truck over again, he did make some changes. The old fuel system was a dual system based on pump gas and C-16 for track runs. David went the single system E-85 route this time, targeting 22 pounds of boost on the corn fuel.
After completing the new build by summer 2024, David put over 8,000 miles on the truck, and will return to Sick Week to once again conquer the week and try for single-digit runs. “Losing the truck was a gut punch, but I was determined to get this one in for 2025,” said David. “I like the drive-and-drag because I love to street drive the truck. I think I would rather be street driving than running at the track to be honest.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and David Cedoz.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com