It is small, bright, beautifully finished, and sitting on a tire just big enough to tell you it is not here for decoration. The stance is right. The details are right. The attitude is right. And once you hear what is under the hood, the whole thing gets even better.

Owned and raced by Kamaka Pocock, with his father Kirk close by, this little Toyota was one of those LS Fest West builds that people kept circling back to. It has the size and charm of an old import mini-truck, but the hardware underneath is pure drag car.

And at LS Fest West, it did exactly what it needed to do, taking home the Truck class win after attrition thinned out the field. In drag racing, looking good is nice. Being there at the end is better.

An LS-Powered Hilux On A Mission

The truck is a 1969 Toyota Hilux, but the original Toyota drivetrain is long gone. In its place is a 355-cubic-inch LS based around an iron 5.3-liter block. Kamaka said the engine uses K1 rods and crank, Diamond pistons, stock heads, a BTR turbo cam, and a Trinity intake manifold.

That is a pretty good reminder that “stock heads” does not always mean “small plans.”

A single 88/96 turbo feeds the combination, and the truck runs on methanol. Behind it is a Powerglide transmission with a Reid case, Sonnax internals, and a 1.58 first gear. Out back, the Hilux uses a four-link rear suspension with Menscer shocks, 28x10.5 Pro Bracket radials, Kaiser wheels, and TBM brakes.

The control side is all Holley. Kamaka runs a Holley Dominator ECU, Holley Smart Coils, and a Holley 7-inch digital dash. It is the kind of setup that fits the truck’s personality: small, clean, direct, and serious.

“It’s all ran by Holley Dominator, Holley Smart Coils, Holley Dash,” Kamaka said.

The truck has been 5.27 in the eighth-mile and has coasted through the quarter-mile at 8.60 at 121 mph. That last number tells you there is more left in it. It also tells you the Hilux is not just some neat old truck with a big turbo hanging off the front. It has already accomplished its mission.

Kamaka found the Hilux on Facebook Marketplace in Apple Valley, California. The previous owner had already started down the modified street-truck road, with a fuel cell, intercoolers, and a Powerglide. But Kamaka and Kirk took the concept much further.

“A gentleman had started it as a street truck,” Kamaka said. “We came through and just turned it into a full race truck.”

The paint and body were already nice when they got it. Kamaka said they did not do any bodywork or paint. They polished what was there, sorted the truck mechanically, and turned it loose.

The truck was built with class racing in mind, particularly the Little Gangsters-style 5.30 index format. That means a 28x10.5 tire, no wheelie bars, and a setup that has to work rather than just make power. Kamaka mentioned working with the rear suspension to get the truck to separate properly, which is one of those small statements that says a lot. In a little short-wheelbase truck with a turbo LS and no wheelie bar, power is only useful if the chassis is willing to take it.

Kamaka and Kirk are Hawaiian, with Kamaka born and raised in Hawaii before establishing himself in California. Today, Kamaka operates a hot rod shop in Bakersfield, where the work ranges from turnkey hot rods to street machines, pro-touring cars, trucks, C10s, and LS/LT-powered builds.

“Everything seems to be LS platform, LS, LT platform,” Kamaka said.

The father-son part matters, too. LS Fest has plenty of polished cars and plenty of fast cars, but the ones people remember usually have a little more story behind them. This Hilux has that. It is a Hawaiian father and son with a tiny Toyota pickup, a serious LS combination, and a race program that stretches well beyond one weekend in Las Vegas.

Shop the entire lineup of Holley LS/LT Swap Essentials Kits here.