Caleb McClellan's Frankentruck
This truck was originally an '86 Chevy C20 two-wheel-drive longbed with a 454 and an automatic transmission. A month before Caleb McClellan's 21st birthday, he started building the truck. The bodywork included new cab corners and rocker panels, new doors, new fenders, shortening the frame to make it a shortbed, and putting on new bedsides. The frame was shortened 14 inches behind the cab and 6 inches were cut off the back. The engine and transmission are out of his '94 Dodge 2500 two-wheel drive. The drivetrain "only" had 402,000 miles on it when it was pulled out of the Dodge.
The injection pump has a custom fuel plate, 3,200-rpm governor springs, and the timing is advanced. The injectors are DDP 50 hp. Caleb dyno'd it when it was still in the Dodge and it made 300 hp and 800 lb-ft of torque, but it didn't pull all the way through the dyno run because it smoked the clutch, so he assumes it makes a little bit more power. Caleb fabricated all the engine mounts and transmission mounts himself. He had to modify the core support so the radiator and intercooler out of the Dodge would fit. He did not have a huge budget to use on the build of the truck, so 90 percent was built with used parts or parts he already had lying around. Very few things were bought brand-new for the truck. "It's not perfect," Caleb told us, "but I am very happy with how it turned out." Check out his burnout video on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J67FlNqZ_k.
Nick Tipsword'S Future Plans
Who said you have to have a totally tricked-out truck to be in Bragging Rights? Not us! Nick Tipsword of Windsor, Illinois, is a reader, and this is his truck. He has a basically stock truck with an AFE cold-air intake and straight pipes, but his future plans include an 8-inch Fabtech Dirt Logic lift, 40-inch Dick Cepek Crusher tires, 22-inch KMC black Rockstar rims, LED cab lights from Recon Truck Accessories ("everywhere"), Cervini ram air hood, projector headlights, twin ATS turbos, 6- or 8-inch stacks, and more.
New Skin For This Ram 2500
This truck was hit by a hailstorm and had to get new sheetmetal, along with a custom paintjob. Jamie Lent of East Millsboro, Pennsylvania, did all of the bodywork himself, as well as the paintwork. He sprayed sunset orange on top with gunmetal gray as a two-tone bottom. He installed an exhaust brake and a new turbo. Advanced Diesel Technology in Arthurdale, West Virginia, installed a new Cummins engine, O-ringed the head, and rebuilt the NV4500 tranny. Jamie's Ram 2500 also received a Southbend 3600 12cb DD clutch. He even installed the F1 Mach 5 injectors along with a Quadzilla Adrenaline, Blue Chip Redline box, and Mads Electronics Smarty tuner. Jamie built the truck in honor of his dad, who died of cancer in 2002. He knows his pop is proud.