For most of us, we can tell you the reason we are hooked on what we love. For some of us, it was the first time we rode in a diesel truck, others can tell you stories about family outings or working on the truck with Dad. For Jeremiah Peek, it was in 2008 when he hooked up to a sled in De Leon, TX for the first time that he became hooked on pulling. From that moment on, he knew he wanted to build a pulling truck!
So, he took his daily driver, a 2006 Dodge 2500 and starting modifying it with the help of his friends; Buck Hyndman, Ritchie Shafter, Jason Cobb, Oscar Cardenas and his parents. Eventually the Tadpole Express was born!
It is really hard to miss the lime green color of the truck. Thanks to Mineral Wells Collision Center, the truck looks like it came that way. From the front, the other extremely hard to miss item is the pink custom weight box. Peek has lost family to Breast Cancer and he has been sporting the pink since day one.
As you walk around the 17” Pro Comp wheels wrapped in 305/70R17 TrXus STS tires give the truck the needed traction on the track. The Tadpole Express is one of the few trucks that pull with the TTTPA that run a single rear wheel.
Out back, the ladder bars hold the rear end in place and a custom hitch with lots of cross bracing help distribute the load to the frame. The rear suspension has been blocked off and everything is mounted solid.
The tailgate has been removed and the required kill switch is mounted in its place. With the tailgate removed, it is easy to see the custom fuel cell with two FASS fuel pumps that are mounted in the bed.
Once we opened the door, we can clearly see that this truck is all business inside. Most of the creature comforts have been removed and only the bare necessities are in place. Where the passenger’s seat would normally be mounted is a fire extinguisher. All of the AC has been removed and Peek installed an aluminum panel with the kill switch and a few auxiliary switches in its place.
From the driver’s seat, he has a 100 psi DiPricol boost gauge and he is using a Quadzilla EGT monitor to watch his exhaust gas temperatures as he fly’s down the track. The only non-business item that Peek has added is a Cummins shifter for the 4 wheel drive.
Under the hood, it is all business too. The engine was pulled out and the block sent to Fort Worth Machine. The rotating assembly starts with a factory crank, but Carrillo rods are used to hold the fly cut Mahle Motorsports pistons (12:1 compression). The camshaft was upgraded to a Hamilton Cams 200/220 and moves their lifters as well. The pushrods move the factory rockers that are working Hamilton’s 110lb springs.
The cylinder head started as a factory part but the intake was milled off and they ported the intake and exhaust runners. Once they were happy with the port job, a ZZ fabrications intake manifold was bolted to the head and ARP head studs hold the whole assembly down.
Peek runs a heavily modified BorgWarner S400 with a 2.6” inducer. Once compressed the air runs through an air to water intercooler and into the engine. When the EFILive tuning determines it is appropriate, the Industrial Injection 90LPM injectors feed by an ATS Diesel twin CP3 kit. After combustion, the exhaust is sent out through a Steed Speed T-6 exhaust manifold and then around the turbine housing and out the 5” hood stack.
This combination is estimated to make 900 horsepower at 4600 rpms and the power is transferred back through a Valair triple disk clutch and then through the factory manual transmission.
While this truck may not be one of the strongest trucks in the country, it does put on a good show for the crowd and Peek has a ball driving it.