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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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2021, Air Filter, Big Cam Cummins, Peterbilt -

Hot Rod '72 Skinny Windshield Peterbilt

Hot Rod '72 Skinny Windshield Peterbilt

Unusual phone calls from unusual people, or should I say unique people.  Bill McCammon from Emporia, Kansas called and was building a hot rod 1972 skinny windshield Peterbilt.  The skinny windshield Pete is 8inches lower than a 359 or 379 Peterbilt, thus the name skinny windshield.  Bill stated that the US Government ordered Peterbilt to quit building this style of truck because of the visibility out the windshield.  I remember Jay Bonanni of Volant, PA drove a skinny windshield Pete with a dropped sun visor and he had to keep the top of the hood clean to be able to...

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2020, Big Cam Cummins, Catalyst, Peterbilt -

Blast From the Past 359

Blast From the Past 359

A BLAST FROM THE PAST - Last week we had a 359 Pete in our shop with a Big Cam Cummins 700+ horsepower engine we built years ago. This engine had our High Lift Camshaft and MVT (mechanical variable timing) system so there is no smoke at idle and the timing retards at high power to increase the life of the pistons. The pistons are a high strength Cummins piston that were ceramic and Teflon coated, which we still do.  It also has our performance turbocharger and oversized gear pump on the fuel pump which measured 1.25 inches vs the...

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2019, Catalyst, Emissions, Peterbilt -

A Tale of Two Petes

A Tale of Two Petes

Fuel Borne Catalyst: To me it was just another chemical and the world is full of chemicals that promise to do everything.  I was to the point if it didn’t say Lucas Oil on the container, I paid no attention to it. I personally know Forrest Lucas, I’ve spent time with him at his plants, I use his products,  and sell them at our shop. It was hard for me to accept another chemical at Pittsburgh Power, however, we tested Max Mileage Fuel Borne Catalyst in April of 2018 for two days on the dyno utilizing emissions testing equipment and...

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2018, Caterpillar, Dyno Tuning, Peterbilt -

Building Trucks That Last

Building Trucks That Last

Welcome owner operators and students! I have never started an article like this, but I was recently informed that some vocational schools are now using these articles to teach their students my way of building diesel engines, which is very flattering. I guess I better clean up my act, so I don’t pollute the young minds reading these words of wisdom. The first two paragraphs of this article were written by our lead Electrical Engineer Ethan, and they pertain to the emissions systems used on the Detroit DD15 and DD13 exhaust systems, which are commonly referred to as “One Box”...

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