Once upon a time in Baytown, Texas, there was a fellow named Paco who owned a blue Chevrolet Silverado. But it wasn’t any old pickup; it was an LS7 pickup. And it made Paco so very happy.

Paco’s pride and joy. Photo: Xerq.net

With his azure automobile, Paco was a local celebrity of Baytown for several years. His metallic soulmate slayed many an opponent on the blacktop with 826 dyno-tested 826 horsepower, allegedly even collecting a few pink slips along the way.

There’s a ZR1 Corvette out there somewhere still waiting on a transplant. Photo: Xerq.net

Aside from its Corvette engine, the pickup sported some pretty fresh internal features, judging by the featured article in Rides magazine. Apparently, Paco’s pickup had all the hardware one could expect: ported and polished heads, a custom camshaft, and, of course, nitrous oxide injection. Factory Corvette tech was also found in the disc brakes that used cross-drilled SSBC rotors.

Several firms had a hand in stylizing the truck: Marciano’s Paint and Body handled the façade by patchworking a Street Scene Chevy HD hood, a bumper from an HD series truck, and a grille from a 3500 dually. Ruben Munjos, Jr. gave the machine its Electron Metallic Blue paint job, and Jerry Collazo, Jr. airbrushed “SS” logos on the hood, tailgate, and doors.

Times were good for Paco and his Chevy. Everyone wanted to take on the “N2O LS7”-plated killer, but not a one could defeat her.

Did somebody order a blackened Silverado? Photo: LS1Tech.com

But all good things must come to an end, folks. Sometime in early July, the above video was taken of the truck as it essentially burned to a crisp; hopefully Paco’s insurance was good.

No details are available yet as to what caused the fire, nor is there an explanation for why Paco didn’t have a fire extinguisher handy. But boy, did that sucker burn–about four and a half minutes into the video, there’s an audible explosion, possibly a shock absorbers bursting, followed by another at 5:17.

In the end, though, it’s like Neil Young wrote: “It’s better to burn out than fade away.” Do you think this truck was dealt a cruel hand? Or was it a fitting, if premature Viking funeral for such a heavily modified vehicle? Let us know in the comments.