First Impressions: Whacked Out Diesel Rat Rod

See full screen photo and videos at The Drive.

A rat rod is a custom car with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance, typically lacking paint, showing rust, and made from cheap or cast-off parts. In the rat rod scene the cars are as unique as snowflakes, each reflecting the eccentricities of its owner. That's what makes the rat pack so much fun. 

One other common denominator in this automotive genre: every vehicle has a story. 

Last week Caleb Jacobs of The Drive posted a story about a very cool Chevy drag truck named Burnie.  The name itself is a story, which we'll return to shortly. 

The truck's own, Robert Berry, has his sights set on becoming the fastest 2-wheel drive, street legal diesel truck in the world. Yes, that's an ambitious goal, but he's clearly marking a path to get there, learning the ins and outs of nitrous, and all the other tricks he can from others who have been in active pursuit of diesel drag records. 

The opening line in Caleb Jacobs' story on Burnie is clever. "Old trucks should never die—they should just be repurposed," he writes, and then admonishes us each to do our part to keep cool old trucks from being turned into scrap.

The aim of this story, besides highlighting features of a very cool truck, is to dissect what it takes to create a top-notch record-breaking drag truck. The world, Jacobs says, needs more eight-second trucks. Here is what Berry Builds has done with Burnie.

The power plant is a 5.9-liter Cummins built by Industrial Injection, a diesel shop located in Utah with a gold star reputation. "It runs a compound turbo setup with an 88-millimeter Garrett GT55 on one side and a BorgWarner 7378 on the other, helping it pull 1,283 horsepower on a dyno without nitrous." That's a pretty solid foundation as a starting point, but add in the Nitrous Express system with 46-136 and you've got a screamer. "Pair that with Burnie's dual FASS Fuel CP3 delivery systems," Jacobs adds, "and it's getting plenty of sauce to fly down the strip."

The name Burnie has a double meaning. Drag racers love doing the burn-out thing. Builders, however, dislike it when things catch fire inside the truck. Evidently there were rats nests in the truck that caught fire when Berry Builds first started working on it. (Remember, this was a 1945 Chev that must have had a stretch of downtime before its resurrection and renovation.)

One of the main obstacles to achieving record-setting paces on the track is traction. This rod has a Moser M88 rear end with 45-spline axles designed to harness the power which has been channeled through a Goerend-built 48RE tranny. Even so, they've had trouble getting their 17-inch-wide Hoosier drag slicks to hook up. Sigh. 

Burnie had a "best time" of 8.90 seconds at Tulsa Raceway. Jacobs says the time could have been better had the windshield not been sprayed with fuel while rocketing down the track. 

It's noteworthy that Burnie is street legal. Every effort is being made to get the truck down into the 7s, but whether successful or not, this rod is guaranteed to turn heads wherever it goes. 

Related Links

1,283 -HP Chevy Diesel Rat Rod Truck Runs 8s and Is Still Street Legal

More Stories by Caleb Jacobs

Page of Images Featuring Burnie  

The Silverado Trail Boss Steps Up to Diesel

Silverado Trail Boss now available in diesel.

Some people might be surprised at how long the Chevy Silverado half-ton went without a diesel engine. When you go to performance diesel competitions, the Big 3 are always well represented. But for a while the diesel option was absent in recent years. So it was that in 2020 that the Silverado stepped up its game with a turbo diesel inline six.

At the time, automotive columnist Len Ingrassia wrote last year, "The new turbo diesel inline six cylinder promotes high fuel economy, performance and a plethora of configurations to match your pocketbook and penchant for creature comforts." 

We find it interesting that GM is now adding a diesel option to the Chevy Silverado Trail Boss. As reported earlier this year, GM has its sights set on going all electric by the middle of this century. Needless to say, they obviously do not want to abandoned the diesel enthusiasts among us. Hence, GM Authority last week announced this new move for the 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 Limited LT Trail Boss.

According to a story by Caleb Jacobs in The Drive, the Trail Boss is currently considered the most off-road capable truck in Chevy's half-ton lineup. 

Jacobs notes that "the 3.0-liter Duramax diesel inline-six that hasn't been available on the Trail Boss to this point, and it'd be great to pair that 4x4 prowess with nearly 30 mpg on the road. Now, it seems like General Motors will make it happen."

The 3.0-liter Duramax produces 277 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. That's equal to GM's potent 6.2-liter gas V8. The V8 can't compete on fuel economy though. Off road in 4x4 mode, Duramax numbers are 25 mpg. Running down the highway you get 29 mpg.

We applaud the move, especially since Ford is discontinuing its half-ton diesel after this month. Ram will no doubt pick up the slack with its EcoDiesel V6-powered half-ton trucks, including the Rebel 1500.

Special thanks to the industry journalists who work at keeping us informed of all the latest developments in our industry as they happen.

Are These the Best Special Edition Pickup Trucks Ever?

2004-2006 International MXT 4x4

On Christmas Day most of us are getting stuffed with goodies, reading one of the books we got from Santa or playing games with the kids (or grandkids, depending on your age.) Caleb Jacobs offered this present to truck enthusiasts: an article in The Drive about "the Best Special Edition Pickup Trucks Ever Made." 

He doesn't actually declare these the best. Rather, he suggests they are among the best by asking readers the question, Are These the Best Special Edition Pickups? He then produces a set of suggestions for consideration, just the kind of thing truck enthusiasts love to debate over a lengthy, leisurely after-dinner conversation, favorite libations in hand. Here are the trucks he cites, but I'll make you jump to The Drive for the details as regards why they're special.

He begins with that nostalgic fave, the 1978-79 Dodge Ram Li'l Red Express/Midnite Express. Jacobs dives into the key differences between the Li' Red and the Midnite. Whereas there were ample Li' Reds, there were only about 200 Midnites produced, making them rare though not forgotten. The reputation Li'l Red garnered for itself was based on being the first "hot rod pickup" and who doesn't like that notion?

The second truck he cites is the 1989 Dodge Shelby Dakota,  a truck with several special editions, one of them being a convertible. It, too, was quick though not a Li'l Red Express.

The 1991 GMC Syclone comes in with a whirlwind introduction. Supposedly there are some who would suggest that there's nothing left to say after the Syclone. GMC only made 3000 of them, all black except the Marlboro edition.

The 1991 Chevrolet 454 SS gets the next citation. This was another truck with "a menacing black scheme." To establish its reputation they replaced the small block 350 cu. in. engine with a 454 big block with monster oomph.

There's actually an EV here on the list, the 1997-98 Chevrolet S-10 Electric. The battery-powered pickup was targeted at fleet operators who needed highly efficient vehicles for around-town driving. For what it's worth, this fellow was front-wheel drive.

Other vehicles on Jacobs' list include the 1999-2004 Ford Lightning, the 2004-2006 Dodge Ram SRT-10,  the 2019-20 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison, and (my favorite) the 2006-2008 International MXT 4x4. Of this latter, he points out that International hasn't produced pickup trucks since the 70's, being known for its medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which are reliable workhorses in our economy. 

"Clearly, the MXT rides higher than most factory pickups," Jacobs notes. "That's partially because it rides on 40-inch Pro Comp tires that are also 13.5 inches wide. Its 6.0-liter DT365 turbodiesel engine has no problems turning those, though, as it produces 300 hp and 530 pound-feet of torque." 

Just reading the names of these trucks makes your heart beat faster. What's your favorite?

Here's the link to the full Christmas story:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/38367/these-are-the-best-special-edition-pickup-trucks-ever-made

Diesel Super Truck Driver Fails to Outrun Police

 SOMETIMES YOU JUST CAN'T WIN DEPT.

The Drive is a rewarding site for followers of all categories of motorized distraction, from motorsports and motorcycles to collector cars and reviews on the latest releases from Detroit and elsewhere. There are also stories for the diesel crowd as well as interesting news items. This blog post is a blend of these latter two topics... diesels and news.

It's a story about a Ford Super Duty 6x6 SEMA Truck that tried to outrun police. After first trying to outrun the police, the driver soon discovered that the vehicle, purportedly built by the Diesel Brothers, had certain limitations. I should men here that it was a stolen Super Duty.

According to Peter Holderith, "After eluding capture for a few miles, the driver in the Ford Super Duty soon found that, as well as not being very fast, the six-wheeled monstrosity didn't corner very well either." While trying to turn around in a Taco Bell parking lot the truck had a dicy encounter with a telephone pole. 

The truck had been reported stolen from a dealership service bay in Malibu. According to a CBS news story the thief rode up to the truck on a bicycle, which he threw in the back, climbed into the driver's seat and sped off. 

It wasn't long before the police were in pursuit. It's not easy to "blend in with the traffic" when you're driving something like this. It's visual profile really does stand out. 

You can read the full story here at The Drive, where you will also find a video of the police chase in real time. Not quite the getaway this driver anticipated, no doubt.