What The Truck: The Deutz-Powered Patriot Truck Was Turning Heads

Pretty, ugly, custom, never-before-seen, and off-the-wall. Those are the genre of vehicles you can expect at the SEMA Show and the 2019 Edition didn’t disappoint. Don’t believe me? Check out “The Patriot”. The Patriot is a 1937 Ford pickup truck with a stretched chassis to fit a probably not familiar powerplant. Not recognizing this engine?

Well, this engine is an air-cooled, twin-turbo, Deutz diesel engine is a monster. Weighing in at 780-cubic inches, this 380-horsepower and 1,300 lb-ft of torque machine trusts a TH400 transmission to rip down the road in style. Audie Maguire, owner of The Auto Clinic in El Paso, Texas, and close friends Shawn and Tony Petta built this unit over a nine-month period in preparation for the show.

The Patriot, in just nine months, accomplished a lot. The Patriot has won best of show at events and was an award winner for Rat Rod Magazine. 

Over the nine months, they designed and fabricated the chassis to perform and ride comfortably. After a long few months, it worked out as planned. We were told that this El Paso-based ride drives like a dream but doesn’t have much for a turning radius. “We’ve put about 2,000-miles on this truck in the three months since completion but we’re limited to 65-MPH with the 4:10 gear ratio in this GM 14-bolt rear differential,” Maguire said.

If you don’t think this looks cool, if you could hear it, you’d love it.

This is by far one of the wildest builds we found at this year’s SEMA show and look forward to what comes next from these ol’ boys’ from Texas. There was mention of The Patriot being used as a tow rig for another rat rod build. We’re excited to see that in the near future for sure. What are your thoughts on this thing? Let us know in the comments below.

About the author

Artie Maupin

Artie Maupin is from Southeast Missouri and has an extreme passion for anything diesel. He loves drag racing of all kinds, as well as sled pulling competitions.
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