2009 SEMA Trend-Mega Torque Diesel Hot Rods

Cruising what I call the main hall of the SEMA show, it’s fantastic to see the great rides that make SEMA, the parts show, become SEMA the car show. Featuring the best built cars and timeless classics, it’s a mix of some of the best rides in the country. I stayed close to “Hot Rod Alley” to find the booths of manufacturers I used and wanted to check out. Seeing the Mustangs and Camaros that are no doubt classic SEMA favorites was cool and will be featured here, but I’ve always like something different.

Big power and stupid amounts of torque aren’t different to the folks at Duramax performance discussion forum TheDieselPlace.com, but what about in a 1970 Chevelle? This is one of two cars I spotted at SEMA running a diesel and starting a new trend in hot rodding?

Instead of choosing from from several small block Chevy’s you’ve already seen or even throwing cubic inches or the tech of LSX in, Mike Racke of Fullerton, CA stayed with the General, but in the form of a 403 cu. inch LLY Duramax.  This beast runs a mostly stock block with aftermarket turbos and heads to make an unbelievable 950 hp and 1,700 lb-ft of torque.  Just so you know diesel hot rodders as dedicated to tire shredding performance as their gasoline counterparts, there’s more performance to come when they add the nitrous system!

Finding a diesel under the hood makes this Chevelle worth stopping for in a SEMA hall littered with great rides, but the engine’s only part of a total package that makes you glad you noticed the “SS Duramax Diesel” badges discreetly revealing why this ultra clean street rod is in the PPE (Pacific Performance Engineering) booth at SEMA. The overall construction is top notch, as you’d expect from the incredible detail and plumbing under the hood. (Click on the pic to see it full size)

While not parked inside the show, I found another example of classic meets diesel power in this 1965 four door Caddy parked near unsuspecting tuner cars and lowered pickups.  The flat black paint might make you think “rat rod” but this was a clean ride.  Add contrasting red metallic paint on the roof with wide white walls and original style Cadillac hubcaps and this smoothed out more-door is already a great cruiser. With the power and, gulp, fuel economy of a Cummins diesel, now you’re talking about a truly unusual, but sweet long distance highway mofo.

I found a video on Youtube that shows this car in better light. Owned by Jason Livingston  and dubbed the “Poor Boy Cadillac” the 12 valve Cummins motor runs a slew of ATS parts including the intake (unfortunately requiring a big hole in the hood) and giant turbo.  The video shows the gnarly black smoke pouring out of the 4 inch or so exhaust exiting out of the passenger side fender. Check it out:

So is diesel plus hot rod the new thing? Or is it simply the continuation of hot rodders putting something that don’t belong into their rides simply to be different and go fast? Either way, I dig it.

Special thanks to Optima Batteries for the trip to SEMA.

1969 Chevelle After two decades….

…things are bound to change. Just about 20 years have passed (we’re about a month-and-a-half shy) since this photo was taken:

It’s my old Chevelle, and the pic was snapped as the car was being completed… this being roughly my Senior year in high school (note lack of tail pipes and trunk lock cylinder, among other important items). I bring this up on roughly the tenth anniversary of selling the car, after moving to CA in the late-90’s, and, surprisingly, after my father ran into the car once more in Pleasanton, the very grounds where the old girl was passed to a new owner. In any event, it’s kind of funny to look back at the changes. I bought the car (with help from my parents… I had a very cool and supportive, hot rod-oriented mom… how killer is THAT?!) as a near basket case (here it is in progress)

…and with a ton of guidance and help from my father and a few close friends, brought it back to life (in the form of the lead photo). Fast-forward a few years, and things were shaping up on it, with some new wheels and aggressive rubber, all setting the tone of a late-’60’s/early ’70’s street machine (OK, with updated wheels… hindsight yells “shoulda kept the slotted mags!!”). The tall stance and big meats were part of it, as was the period cool crushed velvet interior:

It was a fun car… not the fastest, by any stretch, but respectable enough. It was a clean car that had a classic look, and looking back on it, was an amazing car for a late-teens/early twenties-age guy going to school.

It packed attitude, and that black paint was a constant source of pride (and time-swallowing detailing), and the monster even saw the first snow on one notable occasion. It was a reliable, almost comfortable car, considering the ride height…

Fast-forward ten years after selling the car to head back to school, and I get a phone call from my dad, at the Pleasanton Goodguy’s event. “You’ll never guess what I’m standing in front of,” he says. “The disembodied, floating head of Elvis?!” I ask, really wanting a picture… “No, you (expletive), your old Chevelle.” Very cool indeed… The old girl is alive and well. Granted, like any personal project, the new owner has taken the car and personalized it, as anyone might make something their own, creating a vision they can be proud of. The car has a new life, yet continues its rebirth, which is an awesome thing. See if you can spot the changes:

Rally stripes, new wheels, a front valance…

New seats up front (the rear remains!), updated gauges, speakers, and so on….

…but most amazingly, the black paint that was laid upon the car in ‘88 is still looking deep, shiny and straight… Seeing that work live on made my day. It’s testimony to spending time in the right places, and taking pride in anything you do… a lesson I’ve been trying to teach my kids in all they do, and was illustrated perfectly in a car none of the three are old enough to recall. In any event, long post, I know… But I thought it was cool to share a project that spans two decade, two owners and two very distinct styles, but shares the same basic foundation.

May all your first projects carry on as long…

Written by: Brian Stupski of Problemchildkustoms.com