When you put a wrench in a kid’s hand, the possibilities are endless. The vast majority of enthusiasts and businesses in the automotive aftermarket world can be traced back to time spent fixing, repairing and building as a kid. That is exactly the case for Ralph Lovell, of West Terre Haute, Indiana, a proud owner of a 2007 Ram 2500 XLT 4×4 with a Cummins powerplant.

I have a diesel addiction. – Ralph Lovell

Lovell directly credits his wrenching time as a kid to his passion now. Years of time spent in the garage him to work on heavy machinery as a career, and his passion continues to grow.

“I have a diesel addiction,” Lovell confesses. “I like to go fast in them.” Lovell started a growing business named God Blessed Performance where he could share his Cummins diesel and automotive expertise.

Lovell’s blacked-out Ram 2500 has a menacing presence even before the Cummins is fired up.

The truck was stock when Lovell purchased it three years ago. It wasn’t long before things started getting modified. The first addition was an AirDog Fuel Preporator, a solid first mod. This is where the addiction took hold. Next up was a six-speed 48RE automatic transmission swap. The transmission was rebuilt with a billet main shaft and a B&M full manual valve body and gets manually shifted through the gears using a B&M Pro Shifter.  Power from the engine is brought through a four-disc torque converter from Diesel Performance Converters. Both front and rear driveshafts were beefed up using Spicer U-joints. To keep the transmission as cool as possible, a BD Diesel dual-stack cooler was installed in the bed of the truck.

Under the hood of this 2007 Ram, Lovell went hog wild with power-adding modifications. The 5.9-liter Cummins was treated to a fair number of goodies including an R&D Fuel Injection system that utilizes an Industrial Injection Dual CP3 pump to keep it up to pressure and feeding on diesel fuel. Lovell took the cylinder head down to 1 Way Technologies in Washington, Indiana to have them work some magic on it.

While there, the head received a mild port and polish, dual valve springs, billet retainers, Rev Racing valves, a fire ring replacement, and a performance valve job. The bottom end of the engine was treated to a set of balanced 12-valve Cummins connecting rods with heavy-duty ARP rod bolts. Stronger ARP hardware was used in many other locations as well, including the main studs and girdle.

While at the show, Lovell was testing out a 2.5 Pulling Turbo. Since then, Lovell has swapped in a single GT55 94mm turbo to gain even more power. The exhaust gasses are pushed out of a custom-made carbon fiber stack made by Old Skool Fab that goes through an SRT fiberglass hood. A stack through the hood on any vehicle is the ultimate “I roll coal” statement.

The original grille and bumper were swapped in favor of units from a Ram with a Sport package to clean up the lines and add to the menacing look.

The exterior of the truck was kept fairly simple. Lovell removed the factory fender flares that came on the 4×4 truck and then swapped in a Ram Sport grille and front bumper. The units from a Sport truck have smoother lines and a little more style than the standard edition pieces. The headlights and taillights were smoked black to make the murdered-out Dodge even more menacing.

A roll pan was installed in place of the rear bumper to smooth out the lines. To balance weight distribution, the factory fuel tank was removed. A new 15-gallon fuel cell was added in a custom-built mount that goes through the bed of the truck. For ultimate traction, Lovell chose 305/50R20 Nitto 420S tires wrapped around 20×12 aluminum wheels made by Gear.

For the best traction and looks possible, 305/50R20 Nitto 420S tires were wrapped around 20×12 Gear alloy wheels.

The interior of the 2007 Ram is still mostly stock. An Autometer factory match gauge pod was added to house all the necessary performance gauges just above the factory gauges. Having an easy line of sight to the boost PSI, pyrometer, fuel rail pressure, and overall fuel pressure allows Lovell to know exactly what is going on with his truck while he works it. A single gauge A-pillar pod secures a transmission temperature gauge within easy view.

The B&M Pro Shifter is mounted to a custom mount that puts the shifter within easy reach of the driver, allowing him to have full control over the manual valve body transmission. No clutch to mess with speeds up shift times and ensures a solid shift every time.

Lovell says this is a project that is still gaining speed, literally and figuratively. Every mod he adds speeds up the truck and there is no end in sight. He plans to get the torque converter rebuilt to a 3,000 rpm stall speed as well as adding Industrial Injection Cobra injectors fed by dual Stroker CP3s. To up the ante even more, eventually, the truck will get a two-stage nitrous system. Along the way, Lovell plans to dyno-tune everything to make sure it is at its peak performance.

Angles like this show just how massive that stack coming through the hood is.

The future mods won’t stop with the powertrain, though. Currently, Lovell is in the process of gutting the bed so he can build a lightweight frame to support the bedsides. He also plans to build a lightweight substructure for the front bumper to help cut weight. The extra weight savings will help to balance things when the roll cage is fully fabricated and installed.

Overall, Lovell believes his 2007 Ram is just about there and just needs some bugs worked out. He plans to hit the dragstrip next season after he finishes up the build. For now, he will continue using the truck as his fun weekend driver while he modifies it to go faster and safer down the track.