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2021, Caterpillar, Peterbilt -

Drive What You Like

Drive What You Like

Drive what you like. Many times I get phone calls from owner-operators asking me what truck they should buy.  My answer is “What is your favorite truck, what would be your dream truck.”  Many of us still prefer the long hood trucks, 359, 379, 389 Peterbilts, W900 Kenworths, Western Stars, and the Freightliner Classic.  Yes, the fuel mileage is about ½  mile per gallon less than an aerodynamic truck, and that mileage can be made up by driving via the turbo boost gauge and slowing down slightly. However, if you’re like me, you want to love the truck, car, motorcycle,...

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2020, Caterpillar, Fuel Pump -

Pat Sharp, BigCams and 435-B Cats

Pat Sharp, BigCams and 435-B Cats

 HIGH PERFORMANCE DIESELS We love antique trucks. Everyday we get phone calls from owner operators rebuilding older trucks powered by Big Cam Cummins and 425-B Caterpillar Engines.  I am happy to tell you that our mechanic Dan is a 425-B Cat expert not only on the engine but the fuel system as well. He tells me he can rebuild the fuel pumps blindfolded. Fortunately, 425-B Cat parts are still available and we build 30% larger nozzles and high-performance turbochargers for this great engine along with rebuilding the timing advance and fuel pump governors. Please keep in mind that the timing...

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2020, Caterpillar -

Pete 379 and the new Engine Polygraph

Pete 379 and the new Engine Polygraph

With great pleasure I am introducing you to a very special old school owner operator from Mississippi.  JR Hillhouse’s beautiful black 2007 379 Peterbilt is powered by an NXS Caterpillar that JR’s gets his hands on every Saturday.  You see the old school way of trucking was to drive for 5 days and work on your truck the 6th day.  This is what JR does.  He changes his own oil (Mobil 15-40), greases, replaces the brakes, tires, washes and waxes the truck.  This Pete gets hand washed at home every Saturday, waxed every 2 months with McGuire’s and an F-11...

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2019, Catalyst, Caterpillar, Dyno Tuning -

32 Liter CAT V-12, Tuning, And More

32 Liter CAT V-12, Tuning, And More

        One amazing aspect of the diesel engine business is you never know what is coming through the door, or what the cat dragged in.  When you have the attitude, anything is possible. People with trucks and diesel-powered equipment know that you must be ready to accept the challenge. This week in the shop we have a Caterpillar C-32 V-12 equipped power washer.  This machine can pulverize concrete up to 18 inches thick using high pressure water. The reason the machine is in our shop is for vibrations. The V-12 Cat engine is solid mounted along with the water pump, which...

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2019, Catalyst, Caterpillar -

Build it right, it will last a lifetime!

Build it right, it will last a lifetime!

          HIGH PERFORMANCE DIESELS= If you build it right, maintain it, it just might last you a lifetime! 25 years ago, a young man from the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania came into my office and said he wanted to spec out a new Marmon tri-axle logging truck that would carry the loader behind the cab. This truck was to be a 25 year old Nathan Exley’s first new truck. I was 45 years old at the time and had been a Marmon Truck Dealer since 1990. Nathan and I were rookies at building a specialized log truck that will never...

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