It’s been a long six months since we have had Project DeadSpool running. Over the last half-year, it’s gone under the knife and even more so than we originally planned. Originally, the plan was to please the track tech crews by installing some needed safety parts and seal up the firewall to keep out gases and fluids in case of an emergency. Well, here we are, months later, and it’s much more than we anticipated.

All of this is done so we can compete in the Outlaw Diesel Super Series. The class we ran last year is the 6.70-index class. After doing some calculating on Wallace Calculator and a few others, it seems as if 911-horsepower is what it would take to run the dial at our weight of 5,550 pounds. The new 5.90-index class is gaining popularity and with that class in mind, we know we’re going to need more horsepower to run that number. So, the engine was going to need some tender loving care.

The engine was removed and completely tore down and gone through at a local machine shop in Southern Missouri. We hooked up with MAHLE, MAHLE Motorsports, Automotive Racing Products (ARP), and Wagler Competition Products, Fleece Performance, Hamilton Cams, and Banks Power, and now we have a pretty stout engine that will more than handle this racing season with plenty of confidence.

MAHLE supplied us with all of the engine bearings and the top and bottom end gasket kits that resealed this 15-year old Cummins engine. MAHLE’s motorsports division, MAHLE Motorsports, supplied us with a beautiful set of forged aluminum racing pistons. Hanging off of these pistons are a set of billet steel Wagler Competition Products connecting rods. With this combination, our Cummins engine should be able to withstand well over 1,000 horsepower and keep on chugging.

ARP, the industry’s leader in heavy-duty fasteners and bolts, supplied us with their head studs, main cap studs, and their flexplate bolts. It is important at this level of horsepower and torque that we use the best of the best products to ensure a long healthy life out of our Cummins.

Fleece Performance hooked us up with their T-style fuel distribution block that great for cleaning up those engine bays with fitted hoses and black anodized fittings. This fuel distribution block takes the fuel from our lift pump, Y’s into both R900 CP3 pumps, as well as a return port back to the fuel cell. All of this safely mounts in the engine bay for a much cleaner look and rids the old nasty steel lines.

Show And Go

Working in unison with new side draft intake, Wagler Competition Products also did their hot port and polish job on this head for even more power. Needless to say, this engine is not starving for air anymore.

Not only does this engine look good on the inside and outside, but it also shines too. Thanks to Patriotic Powder Coating, all of our turbo plumbing has been powdered in candy apple red. We’re running BD Diesel‘s S300-S400 compound kit using their 64.5-MM secondary turbocharger and an 80-MM atmosphere turbocharger. Combined, we should have plenty of air to match our fueling mods.

This cylinder head is unlike your normal Cummins head. The intake plenum that is normally on the driver side of the engine has been milled off and fitted for a side draft intake. The intake used is a Banks Power Big Hoss system. This removes the factory horn that fed only the front area of the head and uses this monster housing that feeds all of the cylinders equally which inevitably will make more power.

Working in unison with new side draft intake, Wagler Competition Products also did their hot port and polish job on this head for even more power. Needless to say, this engine is not starving for air anymore. As for other internal upgrades, we are utilizing Hamilton Cam’s 188/220 camshaft and a new set of their heavy-duty lifters, too.

We will be taking the truck out for testing soon and we will see where it stands. Who knows, we may end up in the Outlaw 5.90-index class. Stay tuned for the results of the testing and come back to Diesel Army for more on the latest parts and events around the industry.