It all started on the street. Then, after a little bit of work and time, it became a full-on sand drag demon. Jake Kaufold of Maximum Diesels isn’t shy about providing all the details as to how his 1996 Dodge truck became a sand drag monster. We ran into him and the rest of the crew at the 2019 Sand Sports Super Show. While there, he gave us the lowdown on the big horsepower build.
This 1996 was built by Jake Kaufold of Maximum Diesels.
The Basics
The ride started life as many projects do. It was driven daily and provided reliable transportation for the first decade of its life. Then one day, the idea came to Jake that what the truck really needed was a little more horsepower. Jake explained, “This was a daily driver, believe it or not. It went from a daily driver to boosted horsepower machine. It never stopped from there.”
After seven years of upgrades, the truck is now a full-time sand drag vehicle. Jake explained, “We started by running all four tires as slicks. Then we tried the sand drags and we’ve been doing that ever since. It’s been about seven years that we’ve been doing this. It’s something new or a different upgrade every year. That’s what racing is all about. You gotta break it and fix it.”
Too Much Is Never Enough
The power plant is a 5.9-liter Cummins. It spits out power like a bitter bite of arugula. The current horsepower output number for the truck is between 1,200 to 1,500 horsepower. Jake and the crew run a two-stage nitrous setup and a 75mm turbo. The internals were sourced from Hamilton, as well as Diesel Injection and installed by Jake and the Maximum Diesels crew at their shop. ARP head studs are utilized to keep things together. BD Diesel converter and shifters transfer all of that power to the paddle tires.
The current horsepower is high, between 1,200 to 1,500.
Two FASS fuel systems provide the go juice. Jake shared, “We have twice the pressure going to it. Each pump is probably running about 60 psi of fuel. It’s definitely pushing a lot of fuel. It’s also creating a whole lot of black smoke!” An eight-gallon racing fuel cell houses the fuel until it is needed.
The truck's interior puts focus on making sure the driver is aware of the engine's vitals.
Time To Get Sendy
Good times are had by anyone that puts this kind of time, effort, and resources into a build. The drag strip this truck runs is 300 feet long. Jake and the crew hurtle their ride down that 300 feet in 4-5 seconds. Speeds in excess of 70 miles an hour are common. If you have never been to a sand drag, it is definitely a sight to see. Jake said, “My favorite part of the truck is that it is clean and loud. It definitely brings in a lot of people!” We can see why.
