Homicide Hunter: the Man with no Face (2023) Movie Script
You know, everyday I feel
blessed for our success
at Ekstensive.
The builds just keep getting
better and better,
bigger and bigger.
You know, a huge part
of Ekstensive's success
is being in the Houston area.
What can I say.
Houston is world headquarters
for customization.
I don't think there's another
place like this.
We got every kind of custom
vehicle being built out here.
You know, like 1 Way Diesel,
they've been down a couple
times to help us out.
This is gonna make some power?
This is gonna make some power?
1500 horsepower and about
2000 foot pounds of torque.
They've been cranking out
some cool stuff lately.
Wide Open Garage.
-What's happening man?
-Oh, you know, another day.
[Bill] You know, David
and Daniel, I've known
them guys...
I've known Daniel
his whole life.
You know, they're really deep
into the muddin', off roading.
[chuckles]
[Bill] They build some
really cool, impressive stuff.
And then,
there's the Mod Mafia guys.
You know, they're the Hummer,
Overlander guys,
and we've done some work
for 'em recently.
[man] Man, it looks nice.
[man] Man, it looks nice.
Cause I've never seen a cage
like that.
[Bill] And I really like
seeing everything just coming
out of their shop.
Seeing what everybody else
is building just helps us push
our creativity
just even higher.
You always wanna outdo
the next guy. You always wanna
one up your game.
And the speed and
aggressiveness some
of these shops are putting
out around here is just crazy.
[Chase] We got a call
from a buddy, Johnny Moore.
Come check out one
of his projects he wants
us to do.
So, I've actually done quite
a bit of work for Johnny.
You know, he's got several
diesel trucks and...
Man, we've got a great
relationship. I've known him
for several years so,
I'm ready to knock another one
out for him.
Whoo! What do we have here?
Cannot wait to get my hands
on this.
Cannot wait to get my hands
on this.
It's a 73 Road Runner.
A very iconic car.
Man this thing doesn't look
like it even needs anything.
Man this thing is super clean.
All it needs is a diesel swab,
throw about a 1000 horse
to it, he'll love this thing.
Forget American muscle.
We're all about those
Cummins diesels
at 1 Way Diesel, so
you know, getting that
in there,
that's gonna complete that
thing, it'll be perfect.
[Johnny] What's happening?
-[Chase] What's up Johnny?
-[Johnny] Not much man.
You found the place?
Yeah man, found it.
I am so excited about this.
Yeah man, found it.
I am so excited about this.
-Yeah!
-I can't wait to shove a 1000
horsepower Cummins in that.
That'd be awesome
but that's not the build man.
That's my car.
-[Chase] WHat do you mean?
-[Johnny] That car
is finished.
Your project's back here.
That's your project.
-That?
-[Johnny] Yeah.
[Chase] I mean this
is definitely a project.
What is this?
1979 Dodge Li'l Red Express.
Maybe it was Johnny,
but there's nothing there.
Of course, frame, cab,
few other bits.
[Chase] This isn't really
a build.
This is a build, like,
ground up, nothing there,
start fresh.
This is a build, like,
ground up, nothing there,
start fresh.
I might be able to find a few
more pieces over
in the other shop.
I hope you find another truck.
-Well--
-[Chase] I mean this is...
You got the frame here,
some of it.
Cab looks decent, okay,
I'll give you that.
Minus the invisible firewall
and the one pedal
but we'll make that work.
We've got the hood here.
And somewhat of a door.
So, what exactly are you
wanting to do with this,
Johnny?
You know, back in 1979
this was the fastest
production truck off the line.
But that was a long time ago.
But that was a long time ago.
But I want to recreate
it in today's times
and make it one of the fastest
on the road today.
Okay now, I hear fast.
-You got my attention.
-Yep.
How fast do you want it to be?
Maybe faster than that.
-That's easy.
-That's fast.
That's not a problem.
I can make it twice as fast
as that.
-I've got this.
-[laughs]
What I wanna end up
with is a fast Li'l Red
Express,
um, that's capable of towing
a car to the track,
that's capable of driving
everyday if I want to,
but also capable of being
cleaned up and taken to a show
and win the show itself.
You've given us one
of the biggest projects
we've ever tackled.
You've given us one
of the biggest projects
we've ever tackled.
-But I'm starting to get
excited about this.
-That's awesome.
Just to go over a few things,
big horsepower, red,
fast and a new truck
because there's not much here
to work with.
Pretty much, yeah.
-Okay, well--
-And the stacks, don't forget
about the stacks.
Of course, these are known
for that.
When you think of a Li'l Red
Express that's what comes
to my mind so.
Exactly.
The Li'l Red Express
had the chrome stacks.
It's gotta have the stacks.
Be able to blow a little black
smoke every now and then.
I gotta start loading
parts up. Pray for me, man.
I'll do it, man,
I appreciate it.
I'll do it, man,
I appreciate it.
[Chase] This would've
been perfect, guys. This--
That's too easy.
[Chase] You ain't lying.
The moment Johnny told me
that was a Li'l Red Express,
I started to feel a lot better
about this and feel
a little excited,
'cause that's a very iconic
truck.
Fact is, that was one
of the fastest production
trucks made.
We're gonna take
it to a whole other level
when we get done with it.
I know there's gonna
be a lot of work involved.
He wants it red,
he wants stacks,
He wants it red,
he wants stacks,
he wants it fast, he wants
to be able to tow
his Road Runner.
And I've got five pieces.
This is gonna definitely
test our capabilities.
[engine running]
Whoa!
Just let it down.
I created 1 Way Diesel
for my love for the diesel
engine.
The name came
from a Bible verse.
You know, John 14:6.
It says, "I am the way
and the truth and the life.
No one comes
to the Father
except through me."
[engine roars]
I've always loved cars.
But I really love
the diesel engine.
[man] Hit it.
[engine roars]
[Chase] Man, that thing
sounds awesome.
They're making a lot
of torque.
And torque moves mass.
[engine blaring]
Once you feel it,
you want more,
you want it to go faster.
It's addictive.
Me, my dad and my brother Clay
we started 1 Way Diesel
in a little dirt garage.
With no tools hardly.
With no tools hardly.
We've expanded the business
so much from just
building engines, tuning 'em,
modifying 'em...
Oh, yeah.
...to doing a full on build.
But it makes it even cooler
that I get to do this while
working with my family.
[Tommy] What in the world
have you got here?
You cleaning up?
This is our next project,
guys.
[Tommy] Okay, so where's
the rest of it?
[Chase] I'm working on that.
This is a 1979 Li'l Red
Express.
Oh, cool.
You know, the one cool thing
I always loved about
that truck
is it came factory
with those stacks.
-That was iconic.
-[Tommy] It was.
-That was iconic.
-[Tommy] It was.
So, we definitely want
to integrate that back
into it.
Does he have the stack?
Well, no.
No, but we're gonna make some.
-It's gotta have stacks.
-Yeah, it's gotta have
the stacks, yeah.
That's an iconic look.
[Tommy] So, when Dodge rolled
out in 1979, the Li'l Red
Express, they were awesome.
Stacks, had wood in the bed,
wood on the bedside.
These trucks were pretty fast.
I mean back in the day
a little over 200 horsepower
was a big deal then.
So, whose is it
and what all he want done?
All right, this
is Johnny Moore's.
-Y'all know Johnny Moore?
-Yeah.
So, I know he wants
to be able to outrun
his 1973 Road Runner.
So, I know he wants
to be able to outrun
his 1973 Road Runner.
-Oh, really?
-[Chase] And you know me.
And I might've talked this up.
-Oh, yeah.
-So, we're going to have to
come through with this guys.
He wants all
the meat and potatoes.
He wants it looking good,
he wants it fast,
-and you know, 800,
a 1000 horsepower.
-Okay.
He wants to be able to tow
with it, which I was, like...
What's he gonna tow with it?
He wants to tow
his 73 Road Runner.
Okay.
I mean we can make
that happen.
All we have to do is some
beefy coilover springs
in the rear,
four-link the 9 inch
back there.
Stance-wise,
what's he wanna go with?
Stance-wise,
what's he wanna go with?
Let's keep it low, let's keep
it fast, let's keep it classy.
We want this thing slick.
But still keep the originality
of the Li'l Red Express.
It is lacking...
-a firewall.
-[Clay chuckles]
[Chase] Uh, it's completely
gone.
But we can fix that.
Well that gives us
the opportunity to set that
engine back as far as we can.
-[Clay] Yeah, yeah.
-[Tommy] And get the weight
transfer to the rear.
So, we can put
this power down.
-Exactly.
-We would've had to modify
it anyway.
Yeah, we're gonna diesel
swap it.
[Tommy] We want to stay
old school?
I think we wanna keep
that plastic.
-[Tommy] Let's put a 12 valve,
48RE.
-[Clay] Yeah.
-Let's put that old dinosaur
in there.
-[Chase] You know, and then,
-Let's put that old dinosaur
in there.
-[Chase] You know, and then,
let's do a custom compound
turbo setup.
Once we get all that dialed
in, we're talking about
leaving something in the dust.
Oh, for sure dude,
I'm excited man.
That's gonna be sick.
First things first.
Let's get the frame
in the shop.
Start getting on the back half
and getting the engine
and the trans mocked up.
[Clay] Sounds like a good
gameplan.
[Chase] Let's get it done.
On ground up builds like this,
because we're engine guys,
we build from the engine out.
[clanging]
All right, let's get that
frame in here.
[Chase] So once we get
the frame under the truck
we can get the engine
and trans mocked up perfectly.
we can get the engine
and trans mocked up perfectly.
And then, we'll build
from there.
-[Clay] There you go.
-[Chase] All right, perfect.
[Chase] Man, I think
we're ready to start mocking
up our engine.
Yeah, man, let's do it.
All right. [grunts]
-Ain't that thing light?
-Oh, yeah.
-Right about there, huh.
-[man] Yeah.
[Chase] I got a foam block
here, that weighs
about 20 pounds.
It's an exact replica
of a 12-valve Cummins.
You know, we can bolt
all the accessories on to it,
and we can get all
our angles right.
So, we don't have to worry
about flattening
a 1000 pound engine.
One of the biggest thing when
we're mock up these engines
One of the biggest thing when
we're mock up these engines
is we gotta get
our degree right.
At this power level,
I mean, this thing
has to be perfect.
That's why we wanna get these
mock up motor mounts in here,
so that we can get our
drive line exactly where
we need it to be.
There it is.
-That looks great, man.
-Looks sharp, man.
Now we got our engine mocked
up, next thing to do is get
our trans in there.
You know we can't set up our
rear end, we can't set up
our drive line
till we get the transmission
bolted in.
So, basically you gotta work
from the front of the engine
So, basically you gotta work
from the front of the engine
all the way to the rear
of the transmission.
That all works together
with our suspension.
[Tommy] Okay now, let's get
our adapter plate bolted
on to the back of the block,
and then we can install
the transmission.
Perfect.
Now, we're gonna check
our clearances, we're gonna
check our angles,
make sure everything
is sitting where it should be.
[Chase] Okay, looks like
that clears right there.
We want about a half inch
clearance all the way around
on our transmission.
Because this engine
even though we got
semi solid mounts in it,
Because this engine
even though we got
semi solid mounts in it,
it's still gonna move some.
So, we gotta give enough room
for it to do that
without hitting anything.
Yes, it's a torquey beast.
[Daniel] Coming up.
[Daniel] What's Chris's truck
doing here?
-Well, he says the front diff
is messing up.
-Okay.
[David] But, uh, he wants
to compete.
So, we gotta figure out
what's wrong with it and turn
it into a bounty hole truck.
Ooh, these babies are big.
While I'm putting the bench
suspension together on
the Li'l Red Express,
Dad's picking out
an engine for it.
We each have our roles
at 1 Way Diesel.
My dad takes a lot of pride
in finding and building
the perfect engine.
We do have a 12-valve
over here that fit the bill
I believe.
We always try to keep,
you know, several engines
in stock,
core engines that we can
build for different
applications.
core engines that we can
build for different
applications.
We got a 6-7 Cummins here.
It's...
It would work but it's
electronic. I'm gonna stay
away from electronics on this.
In '79, there was no computers
there was no electric
fuel pumps.
There was...
You know, it was all manual.
So, that's, kind of, the theme
I wanna stay with.
Now we have a 12-valve here
that we could use.
It's got a manual injection
pump, a manual lift pump.
Basically you can get diesel
to this thing and it'll run.
Or we have a VP engine,
24 valve Cummins.
You can take the front
cover off,
You can take the front
cover off,
of a 12-valve and put it on
here and you can put
the P-pump on this,
and you'll have
a P-pump 24 valve.
That might be an option.
I really feel like
we just need to stay simple.
So, this engine right here,
I think this is the one
we need to go with.
I really do.
Just a regular old
12-valve Cummins.
It may not look like much
right now, but I promise you
when we're done with it,
it'll be so quality
and it's gonna be fast,
and we'll get a 1000
horsepower out of this,
no problem.
[Daniel] My name is Daniel.
Me and my dad Dave,
we own Wide Open Garage.
Whatever you wanna do offroad
related, if it's gotta go up,
over or through anything,
we got you covered.
You know, when I was younger,
I was racing four wheelers.
I actually ended up going pro.
I'm Googling myself here
to look up my... You can
actually see, you know,
what races I've won.
You know, in racing, you gotta
be able to work on your own
thing and build it.
Of course, you know, I had to.
Of course, you know, I had to.
I didn't have the money to pay
someone to do it so,
I learned building these mud
trucks basically
from my four wheeler.
You know, and it, kind of,
just grew from there.
And the next thing you know,
people are contacting me,
paying me to build 'em
a mud truck.
And it's just gotten crazy,
you know, and it turned
into a business.
You know, now I get paid
to work on mud trucks
with my best friend
and my dad.
You know, till this day
we still have people rolling
in with stuff
they just gotta have.
Hey, Chris,
what's going on, man?
Hey, Chris,
what's going on, man?
What's going on Dave?
-What you go tore up now?
-Man,
something in the differential,
axle, something making noise.
-She's broke, I need her
fixed up.
-Uh-huh.
Of course, we know you,
you tear up things.
I've known Chris since
he was a kid, a youngster.
He grew up on the next street
over there and started running
around with us and Daniel.
And he was ate up
with the four wheelers.
Then he went to mud trucks
and he's been ate up
with it ever since.
Me and the wife, you know,
we go running around up
and down at the park.
Hit a couple mud holes
here and there.
Hit a couple mud holes
here and there.
He's got a Samurai.
Samurais have been getting
pretty popular at the mud
park here lately.
They're short, they turn good,
and they look good.
There ain't no telling
what he did to the truck
this time.
But, you know,
we'll get 'em fixed up.
I'll bet it's probably full
of water, you know,
'cause you ain't on
no maintenance plan.
Oh, no, it ain't gonna
be that. I'll bet 100.
-[Dave] Really?
-It ain't that.
You know, I'mma get some tools
here later,
I'll take that bet.
Now that I'm bringing it in,
I mean, we might as well
do a big makeover.
Whatchu wanting to do to it?
I'm thinking
bounty hole killer.
I'm thinking
bounty hole killer.
-Oh, really? Okay.
-Wanna go through the hole.
In the mudding world,
a bounty hole is just
a really big hole.
Could be mud, water, rocks.
There's two ways to win it.
How far you went or how long
it took you to get there.
You have to have
a really light truck
or a really fast truck.
So either you need a lot
of motor or you need it lifted
very high.
-[Chris] I want the biggest,
baddest Samurai out there.
-[Dave] Definitely.
What's up with the pink, man?
-[Chris] Oh, man.
-[Dave] Come on.
You gotta be able to see me.
Man, we put some bigger wheels
on there, we'll see ya.
Man, we put some bigger wheels
on there, we'll see ya.
Oh, that's what I'm thinking
about.
We get these bigger wheels,
it's gonna be able
to go through anything.
Gonna have to
upgrade them axles,
'cause you know they break.
We can't have you out there
late at night broke down.
-I ain't coming to get you.
I'm busy.
-[Chris] No, no.
No, it ain't no problem.
We can upgrade axles.
I want something unbreakable.
[Dave] Definitely clean this
caliper and this rotor up.
I think that's
the one that's making noise.
Uh, looks like it might
be leaking a little oil.
Probably leaking
some water too.
Looks like oil to me.
-Okay.
-I still got that 100.
Everyone that comes here
don't have water.
[chuckles]
But they've been
at the mud park all day.
But they've been
at the mud park all day.
We'll get this thing unloaded
and get on it and
see what we gotta do.
You know, driving trucks
is fun but building trucks
is what we do for a living.
You ready? I'm going.
[Chris] Let me get some
of the water out of here.
[Dave] We're gonna build this
truck right for him,
where he can compete with it.
When he goes out into
the park, it's gonna
be the best.
We're gonna fix him up.
Looks like you've been
enjoying your afternoon.
Looks like you've been
enjoying your afternoon.
Oh, you know, gotta take
advantage of that rain.
Well, what's Chris's truck
doing here?
-Well, he says the front diff
is messing up.
-Okay.
But he's willing to change
up his game. He wants
to compete.
-Chris wants to compete?
-He said he wants to
get through that pond.
-No way.
-Yep.
So, we gotta figure out what's
wrong with it
-and turn it into
a bounty hole truck.
-We gotta fix it,
and then he wants us to make
it go faster.
But he pretty much just told
me, "Hey, tell Daniel y'all do
what you do."
[Daniel] I'm thinking like
a 60 to 72 inch top tire.
[Daniel] I'm thinking like
a 60 to 72 inch top tire.
-Let's just go crazy with it.
-Big tire. Big tires.
I know Chris, he likes
to show off.
Hey, if he can't go through
the bottom, he can float
across the top.
-[Daniel] Right.
-[Dave] Maybe we can lighten
it up a little bit.
I can see some stuff we need
to cut off in here.
[Daniel] We definitely have
to upgrade the axles,
'cause it sounds like
he's already got something
torn up.
Yes.
[Daniel] Either swap the axles
or we're gonna have to do some
custom hybrid axles,
probably Planetaries.
[Dave] Well,
that's your department there,
you know what to do,
-I'm just a helper
on that part.
-[Daniel] That's right.
Well, let's get in there,
man, I got a lot of work
to do it sounds like.
You know, the thing about
a lake crosser is,
it's gotta be able to go over
the water but it also
has to be a water tight.
There you go.
First thing we need to do
is pull apart the axle and see
if anything is broke.
And of course, see if
any water is getting in.
You know, the mudding world
is not about looking pretty.
-It's about getting
the job done.
-[grunts]
We're not in the business
of throwing away
any good parts.
We keep what we can
and replace what we can't.
All right, we got the wheels
off, we're gonna go in next
and get the caliper
off and the driveshaft off.
See if we can find
this problem.
Check it out, Robert,
look how bad this pin's
wore out.
Rotor's been hitting
into the pin.
The, uh, rotor was digging
into the caliper pin.
That's supposed to be smooth,
like the backside here.
There's definitely something
going on, so I'm gonna keep
tearing into it.
Oh, look at that.
[Daniel] Definitely got some
problems.
So, we got the break caliper
removed, the driveshaft
removed and the rotor.
And there's clearly something
going on in here.
And there's clearly something
going on in here.
It's not supposed to move
like that.
It looks like the whole
nut's coming loose
on the back side.
-[Robert] Yeah.
-[Daniel] Oh yeah,
it's all junk.
So these rockwells
are notorious for
pinion bearing problems.
You get water or mud
all in there
and it won't get the right
amount oil it needs
to the pinion bearing.
And if you're like Chris,
all no maintenance,
you're gonna run into this
problem all the time.
-There's a bearing
in that side?
-[Daniel] Yeah.
Mine don't have nothing.
-[Daniel] Really?
-[Robert] No.
Definitely where the noise
was coming from, huh?
Definitely where the noise
was coming from, huh?
So, you can see here that
the bearing is completely
gone.
There's supposed
to be a bearing here.
The race is left
in the inner part
of the bearing.
But that's all. [chuckles]
Go ahead and get this thing
pulled out of here.
We're gonna go ahead
and get both bearings replaced
on this.
The only bad thing is,
all that bearing material
is in here.
So, we have to make sure
we get it cleaned out.
[grunts] Okay.
Oh, yeah, I wanna see some
water come out of this thing.
[Daniel] Oh, I feel like
there's definitely gonna
be some water in there.
[Daniel] Oh, I feel like
there's definitely gonna
be some water in there.
-Oh, yeah.
-[Robert] Oh, yeah.
-It's already draining.
-[Robert] Water, water, water.
[Robert] Whoo, man!
Chris is buying us lunch.
He said there wasn't no water
in it. There's water.
-[Daniel] Yeah.
-[Robert] That says zero
maintenance.
[Daniel] Oh, oh, yeah, this
is what's making the noise
right here, look.
The cage is jammed up in there
from the bearing.
-Look at that.
-Look at this.
-It's all chewed up.
-[Robert] Oh, wow.
[Daniel] Basically you have
to go in here and make sure
you get every piece
of metal out.
One of those pieces of bearing
would jam up in between
the gear,
and knock a tooth off the gear
or just cause failure.
Now that we've cleaned up
the lake crosser's axles
we can get 'em sealed up
and water tight.
We'll go ahead and get
the pinion built, get the new
bearings on it.
We'll go ahead and get
the pinion built, get the new
bearings on it.
So, see here, I pulled
the shaft out.
You can clearly see here that
some of the material
from the bearing
has chipped a teeth.
If you were to continue
driving it like that
it would look like this
pinion gear which
is completely trashed.
So, we got a new pinion gear
here and we're gonna go ahead
and get this put on the shaft.
And also the races
and new bearings.
[Robert] Almost.
So, we just removed
the old bearing.
Obviously it's missing
a few things. This is what
it's supposed to look like.
Obviously it's missing
a few things. This is what
it's supposed to look like.
This is the inner part
of the bearing that's left.
The cage and the bearing part
is actually what we cleaned
out earlier.
[drilling]
There she goes.
All right, so we got
the old pinion removed.
And we're gonna go ahead
and get the new one installed.
And, uh,
throw this in the trash.
[Robert] Put a little grease
on it, you know.
They're oil bath, but a little
grease never hurt nobody.
That's for sure.
You don't wanna run it dry
when you first put it in.
No, you know Chris.
[Robert] It'll never see
oil again.
When you're using this tool
on this bearing,
it's very important
not to actually get this piece
into the actual cage
of the bearing. You only want
to hit it right here.
Okay, that's a hard metal
and this is all soft.
It'll just destroy it.
[Daniel] That's it,
there it is.
Center chunk all cleaned out.
All the bearing material
is all out of there.
You don't want it in there
because it'll chip
the pinion gear.
We'll go ahead and get
the races and get 'em in
and go ahead
and stab the pinion.
-Yeah.
-Okay.
So, going back together
we noticed,
you can clearly see
that the seal
has wore out from the bearing.
We're gonna go ahead
and get that seal knocked out,
we're gonna get a new one
installed.
And we see that it's got
a good seal.
So, no water will get in it.
[drilling]
Money.
All right, so we got
the pinion, new bearings,
new races, new seals.
No more shaft play, I mean,
it turns beautifully actually.
I mean, I'm real happy
with it.
Time to move on.
[Chase] My dad sourced these
old rear ends for
the Li'l Red Express.
So, this is a Ford
nine inch rear end.
These are very strong,
tough rear ends.
I'm not a Ford guy but they
made some good parts
and this is one of them.
We're gonna clean all these
old brackets off.
Then we're gonna get
it centered under the truck.
Pull our measurements
and start mocking up our
four-link bars.
I just cut off all this excess
metal
that we do not need
on this rear end.
Now it's time to grind these
welds clean,
that metal don't like to
stick to rust, so
I'm trying to scratch
it all off.
[Chase] You know, we're not
gonna keep these old drum
brakes.
We're gonna do a disc brake
conversion, so, we've gotta
get all this stuff off.
All right, let's do this.
-Oh, that ain't bad now?
-No.
You want to grab that
other jack and we can
put it on the driveshaft.
You want to grab that
other jack and we can
put it on the driveshaft.
All right, ease it down.
The next step is we've gotta
get the rear end level.
[Chaz] Come down.
[Chase] And then we're gonna
start to make sure that our
drive alignment was correct.
[Chaz] That's good.
All right. I'm gonna
just pull it off the
center off the top of it.
You know, half an inch off,
this thing is gonna look
terrible, you know.
When you hit a bump or
something, or this thing
makes power...
it's gonna hit the bed and
crack the wood or you know,
we just got to take our time
measuring out before we start
welding out our brackets
to the four-link.
That looks pretty good,
right here.
That's not good.
[Tommy] Now we've got our
12-valve Cummins
on our engine stand.
As you can see,
it's nasty, dirty...
it's had a few miles
put on it.
But, we're gonna
tear it all down, uh,
get it ready to go to the
machine shop and get our
cylinders looking good,
the crank looking good
and then replace it
with all new parts.
This was basically
a tractor engine.
One of the most durable, tough
engines that Cummins made.
Basically, you get diesel
to this thing, and it'll run.
Basically, you get diesel
to this thing, and it'll run.
You know, at Christmas like,
when you get a new toy
I would take it apart,
try to make it faster
or do some kind
of modification to it
and put it back together.
And that's kinda like these...
take it apart,
try to make it better.
We've got this engine
completely torn down.
It's ready to go
to the machine shop.
Let them do their
thing, get it back...
we'll start putting
this thing together.
[Chase] We got the
four-link mocked up
and installed
the new firewall.
Now that everything
is mocked up,
now we're gonna take
the cab and bed off,
so we can send
those off to paint.
Then we can break
this whole frame down...
weld everything out
and send it to powder coat.
Y'all ready?
[Chase] There's a lot of
little things we have left,
but man, we are making a ton
of progress on this project.
Man, this thing is gonna
look good, when she's done.
Back in 1979, this
Li'l Red Express
came with a V8 engine
from the factory, pushing
200 horsepower.
Dad's building
a 12-valve Cummins
that's gonna put
a lot of torque out
and at least 1000 horsepower.
So, we got our engine
back from paint shop
nice and red, just like the
Li'l Red Express.
Time to put
this thing together.
Get these main caps off.
Get ready to put our crank in.
Each one of 'em are numbered.
These were individually honed
for each portion of the block
so it's got to go back
exactly how you take it off.
So, I had my machinist,
line holing this block...
but just in the time
from the machine shop
to here, you see that little
bit of surface rust on here.
So, I'll take it over here
with some Scotch-Brite and
I'll buff these...
make sure there's no debris
and it's true.
These little steps right here,
will make your engine,
last a lot longer.
We got all our upper
main bearings in,
got 'em all clean.
I'll put some
lubricant on 'em.
We're gonna take the crank...
we're gonna clean the crank
set it in here.
And then we'll do our
lower main bearing,
fork it down
and this part will be done.
You know what this feels like?
This feels like horsepower.
Right here, we've
got our stock 12-valve cam
and there we've
got our new cam
that was custom-cut
for this engine.
Now, we've got to take
this gear off of the stock cam
and put it on our new cam.
I started, uh, my shop doing
classic cars,
Cobras, kit cars, Vipers,
and then Chase, his first
vehicle, he fixed it
and then he kept doing
modifications to it
and it got faster and faster
so then I had to learn
how to make a transmission
hold that much power.
so then I had to learn
how to make a transmission
hold that much power.
That's basically when
we got into diesels and
Chase has pushed
the envelope each time
and I've had to make
my stuff stay together,
so he wouldn't tear it up.
And then Clay, bless his heart
he's usually the test dummy.
He's the one that gets
to drive them first,
make sure nothing's
going to break or tear up.
And then ease Chase into it,
because we know Chase
is going to break it.
So, we have our piston here...
drizzle a little oil on here.
When we build these
engines and they turn
way more RPM than what
they were designed to,
we have to have
everything perfect.
So, as we add a part,
we're gonna rotate this
to make sure we don't have
any kind of binding,
'cause any little thing that
binds this engine
is gonna rob you horsepower
and it's gonna wear.
I really like this.
It feels good.
So anyway, we got one in
we've got to do this
five more times.
My dad and Robert are
gonna make one more repair
to the axle on
the lake crosser.
This one here, we just
pulled off this truck.
You see it's wore out.
Looks like the needles
fell out and you see
it's loose.
That was probably
making noise...
but they didn't care
as long as it keeps going.
We're gonna have to
replace this end for sure.
[grunts] All right.
-The die grinder.
-Yup.
Let me get the die grinder
in here and clean this up
a little bit.
[machine whirring]
-[David] Well, that's
bad right there.
-[Robert] Yup.
-[David] Look at that dent.
-[Robert] I see it.
[machine whirring]
[machine whirring]
All right, let's
see what we got.
-Ready?
-Yes, sir.
[David] See if we can
get the U-joint out.
-Oh.
-There we go.
[Robert] Okay.
[David] Have to get
these caps off here...
make sure all the
needles are in there.
See how we beat
the other one apart,
the needles fell apart
because it was no good.
This one here is still good.
All the needles need
to be in place.
If they fall over...
you can't get it together.
[Richard] Here's some grease
to help hold them together.
[David] Right there.
Come on.
-[Robert] All right.
-[David] See if it'll
take a clip.
You haven't tried doing
this at the mud park,
when you don't have
the good tools.
-[Robert] Been there, buddy.
-[David] Mmm-hmm.
This one's good to go.
It's nice... it's high...
not making no noise.
All right. This is ready
for our Planetary. Oh, yeah.
[Daniel] You know, this
Samurai it only came with
this baby little
four-cylinder engine.
Man, that sucker looks heavy.
[Daniel] There was
absolutely no way
it has the power to
turn these giant wheels
and drive across the lake.
turn these giant wheels
and drive across the lake.
And that's why we're
installing Planetaries
to increase the
gear ratio and strength.
I'll use my fat
gut to hold it.
[Robert] Ready?
All right.
Good? Oh, yeah, she's turning.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah. That's gonna work.
[Robert] What we've
done here now is,
essentially this
is a 670 gear.
So basically, this drive
shaft turns 6.7 times
for every one time
this axle spins.
But then we multiply
that again times three.
So now our gear ratio
is almost 20:1.
So now our gear ratio
is almost 20:1.
This drive shaft
is going to spin 20 times
for every one time
the wheel spins.
That's gonna give us
all the gear ratio
and reduction we need
for this little four cylinder
to turn a monster tire.
So Daniel, he put me
on a little mission
to find some R-2 tires.
They have a better bite
in the mud than the R-1's.
A lot of places
like up in Florida,
Louisiana, that area...
they run this type of tire
because of the swamp land.
they run this type of tire
because of the swamp land.
But, we're gonna give it a try
right here in this Texas mud.
I'm headed back to the
shop with them right now
and see how they fit.
What do you think of them,
Daniel? Them thick enough?
[Daniel] Man, I think
those will work.
I tell you what,
going from that tire...
to that...
I mean, he's probably
going to gain...
4 to 5 foot of ground
clearance with these.
Ooh, these babies are big.
How about that?
How about that?
-A little more.
-It's all I got, buddy.
Whoo. Look at that.
Look how much bigger that is.
That looks
pretty cool. [laughs]
[Daniel] Now you
can clearly see why we
needed these Planetaries.
I mean, these tires
are ridiculous.
They're over 6 feet tall.
There is no way it
would've been able to
turn 'em without these.
[Daniel] We finished up
the axle on the lake crosser
and we got one thing left.
We're gonna go ahead
and give those old wheels
a little bit of style
and protection.
We're gonna go ahead
and cut 'em a rock ring...
with the name of his
truck in which is called
"Pocket Change."
The rock ring will protect
the bead of the wheel
because if you bend the
bead of the wheel
then the tire's coming off,
the air is coming out...
then the tire's coming off,
the air is coming out...
just creates problems.
So, we're making one for
each wheel well
and then we're sending
them off to powder coat
and this truck is done.
[grunts]
[David] Today is a big day.
We're bringing out
Chris' Samurai
and we're going to try it out.
-What up Chris?
-What's going on Dave?
How you doing, man?
-Hey, the day has come.
-We got you ready, man.
We got you ready.
-Is that so?
-Oh, yeah.
-Big tires?
-Big tires.
Oh, probably this big.
Like, I can run you
over big tires?
Yes, you run me over
and never even know it.
-Let me see it then,
I'm ready.
-She's good to go.
-Let me see it then,
I'm ready.
-She's good to go.
-[chuckles] Let me
see the thing.
-[yells] All right, Daniel.
Bring it on.
[engine roaring]
-[David] Look at them tires.
-Man, that is insane.
-[David] Oh, yeah.
-[Chris] That is crazy.
Look how big the thing is.
Look at those tires.
Man, I can't believe it.
[laughs] Man, that thing
look like a Tonka toy.
I couldn't believe
it was my truck.
It's bigger than my camper.
-What's up, Chris?
-What's goin' on, Daniel?
What do you think, man?
[Chris] Man, that
thing is big, Daniel.
[Chris] Man, that
thing is big, Daniel.
-[grunts]
-[Chris] You need a ladder?
You weren't expecting
that, were you?
-I did not expect that.
-What's up bro,
how you doing, huh?
Good, what's up, Dave?
'Sup!
I like it.
I really like it.
I figured you know,
you like to do it big
so we gave you the
biggest Samurai I know of.
[Daniel]
Of course we did these
massive wheels and tires.
I'm gonna say it measured
around 70 to 74 inches tall,
which is ridiculous.
About 1200 pounds apiece
it blows people's minds
that it even fit on a Samurai.
I know you're
wondering how that
-four-cylinder is going
to spin these things.
-Yeah.
[Daniel] We had to
go ahead and upgrade.
[Daniel] We had to
go ahead and upgrade.
Went ahead and put you a 5-ton
Planetary on the outer...
...kept your same 2.5 ton
in the center here.
You know, these things kinda
have a reputation.
People call 'em "Hater Kits."
So I'm gonna
have haters now?
Yeah, they're gonna be jealous
they see this. [chuckles]
Man, we also did a little
custom for you,
'cause I know you like to call
this thing "Pocket Change."
-Oh, man.
-So, we cut you out a
custom rock ring here.
We've cut these out
in our plasma table.
[Dave] Them wheels was ugly.
Now, check that out.
[Daniel] You look good while
you're competing, you know?
Oh, man. Well let's test it.
David and Daniel
killed it on this build.
David and Daniel
killed it on this build.
I asked for the biggest
and baddest Samurai
and they did that.
This is a complete different
truck than what I had before.
Man, this thing
drives like a dream.
Big tires. We love the
rock rings on there,
"Pocket Change".
I mean, we got plenty
of pocket change around here.
David and Dan better watch out
'cause next competition,
I'm taking first.
You know, all in all,
I think we gave Chris,
exactly what he wanted.
Man, that's a whole
lot of truck.
You know it don't
weigh nothing.
If there's water,
it's gonna float.
If there's water,
it's gonna float.
And I'll tell you what, that
Samurai is gonna go places.
We built Chris one of
the biggest Samurai's
we've ever seen.
I think he'll be able to
take anything we throw at him.
But hey, you got to
let Chris know though
-water is not a lubricant.
-[Daniel chuckles]
[Chase] We're gonna set it
on the ground.
Bring the cab in over
so we don't trip over it...
and then pick the cab up then
put it on the jack stands.
[Chase] So today, we got
the frame coming back
from powder coat,
we got the cab coming
back from painting.
[grunting]
I need you to
work for it, son.
[Chase] This is one of my
favorite days, you know?
You get to see the vision
become reality.
And man, it really
gets me excited.
We want the black frame
a red cab to give it that pop.
Now that we got everything
back... I mean, we just start
rocking and rolling and...
[chuckles] I cannot wait
to put that engine in there.
All right, let's do it.
Roll it over.
[Clay] Okay.
You can never have
this thing too clean.
[Chase] Clay, you know
he's my little brother
[Chase] Clay, you know
he's my little brother
and we've been
working side by side
since we started this company.
Went from holding
the flashlight...
now he can put an
engine together, you know.
Just being around this stuff,
you know, it rubs off.
And it's addictive.
Building a diesel truck,
you know once you feel it
you want more,
you want it to go faster.
And Clay definitely
caught on to that.
[engine whirring]
All right.
I'm about to put on
our billet tappet cover.
This is a breather for the
crank case basically.
I got a tappet cover
hot and ready here.
Whenever your cylinders
are going up and down
they create pressure.
Whenever your cylinders
are going up and down
they create pressure.
That pressure doesn't always
go out where it needs to go.
Sometimes it builds up
in the crank.
So, this helps relieve
that pressure.
This also is gonna
add a little strength.
We're installing our
billet freeze plugs.
These are designed for
high horsepower applications.
Whenever the coolant
in the truck, if it ever froze
it has a way to escape,
so it doesn't bust the block.
Right here, we have
our engine mounts.
These are custom-made
with a neoprene bushing in 'em
so they dampen it
and keep it from being
an unpleasant ride.
so they dampen it
and keep it from being
an unpleasant ride.
Whoa.
-Careful.
-Push it over, brah.
And they handle the power
we're gonna throw at 'em
and keep it from
moving too much.
[Chase] Man, this
thing looks killer.
It's like a puzzle
going together, you see
each piece being put back on.
I'm so excited to see the
next step, you know and
that's going to be us
putting this transmission in.
All right, so,
now we've got our
47RE transmission
for the Li'l Red Express.
This is going to be
so quality.
These were aluminum cast,
aluminum cases.
These were aluminum cast,
aluminum cases.
And we'll polish 'em.
They turned out really nice.
Uh, with that said,
we're going to start
putting this together.
When we first got into diesels
these transmissions were
you know, $15,000 to $20,000.
So, I had to learn how to
build 'em and make 'em stay.
Just got ahold
of 1000 horsepower
so I better be
on point. [chuckles]
I enjoy it. I've done it
my whole life
and I'll never get
tired of doing it.
Especially now, I get to do it
with my sons, it's rewarding.
Special delivery.
Special delivery.
Heck yeah.
[Chase straining]
[motor whirring]
[Chase] She's home.
-This thing looks good, man.
-Yeah, doesn't it.
I love the way
this thing is looking.
[Tommy] Looks fast already.
[Chase] What the heck?
So today, we're putting our
compound turbos on
the Li'l Red Express.
So today, we're putting our
compound turbos on
the Li'l Red Express.
So, our compound turbo setup
is two turbos
but it's not like your typical
twin turbos setup
where they're both
the same size.
Compound turbo setup has
a small turbo and a big turbo.
So, this is our
high pressure turbo.
This is the turbo that
starts to spool first
air comes out of the exhaust
side, drives it through here,
and spools this turbo up.
This is big daddy.
This one here is gonna
make all the horsepower
once it takes over
from this one.
once it takes over
from this one.
But if you mounted it
straight on the manifold
it would be really
slow to spool.
It would have
terrible street manner.
It would be smokey, lazy
but when you combine
the two together
that's when the magic happens.
That's when you have a real
quick spooling setup...
drivable...
and super, super torquey.
They're just
a lot of fun to drive.
So, basically, 1 Way Diesel
got a start from...
my first truck.
Ol' funky monkey.
When I was about 11 or 12,
my dad had a Cummins,
and I told him that I want
a truck just like this.
Fast forward
five or six years later
I came to my dad,
he said, "Hey,
if you figure out how
to fix that truck
that can be your first truck"
and I said, "Deal."
I got the truck running.
[engine starts]
Immediately, I start
building jack drills,
massive turbo
custom one off block
huge injectors,
lots of nitrous.
huge injectors,
lots of nitrous.
I started 235 horsepower
and it's making a
whopping 2703 horsepower.
The sound this
thing makes is insane
and when it turns 6000 rpms
there is nothing like it.
And the crazy thing is it
makes that kind of power
has AC, still street drivable.
I can take, you know
my wife and kids out
to Dairy Queen and
go through the drive-through.
Wax the old dude in his
supercar, drive it back home.
I love this truck.
It's what I did with
my first truck that gave me
the notoriety
to start this business.
Everything's coming together
on the '79 Li'l Red Express.
The bed...
the interior...
and we got the custom
air brushing on the doors
with the old logo.
And of course,
as a final piece
we're fabricating the stacks.
Back in the 1970s
when these came out
the most iconic thing
about 'em was the stacks.
A red pickup that was a Dodge
they knew instantly it was
a Li'l Red Express.
they knew instantly it was
a Li'l Red Express.
We're gonna give it
a custom flare, you know,
kind of give it that
raw, mean,
"I make a lot of power" look.
-[Chase] Today's a big day.
-Yes, it is.
We get to reveal the
Li'l Red Express to Johnny.
I can't wait to see
his face when he
sees it for the first time.
I can't wait to see his face
after you hammer on it
for the first time.
That's my favorite part.
That's my favorite part.
Let him feel the power,
'cause this is not something
you get to drive every day.
[David] We didn't put no
old crap handles in there.
-No, yeah we got to
keep it clean, you know.
-Yeah.
-You're here early. Not bad.
-I'm excited.
So, I've had this truck
for such a long time...
it just blows my mind that
today is the day that
I actually get to see it.
I'm gonna tell you this,
you gave us very little
to work with on this thing,
but we pulled it off.
-You ready to look at it?
-I'm ready man, I'm ready.
-Well, let's go look at it.
-Let's go.
[Johnny] Tell me when.
What do you think?
What do you think?
[laughs] Oh, my goodness.
That is freaking amazing.
When I walked around
the corner seeing that
truck for the first time
it was beyond my expectations.
I couldn't believe that,
that was what came out
of all those parts
that I gave 'em.
A hunk of junk
turned into that.
You all did a great job.
[Chase] We started off
with a bare frame.
You know, we
had to four-link it
coilovers in the front
all new suspension.
Then the fun part.
We got to the engines.
[Johnny exclaims]
[Johnny exclaims]
That is insane.
-[Tommy] We went with the
12-valve Cummins.
-[Johnny] Oh wow.
You know this is old school.
Completely rebuilt.
We've got valve springs,
cam, new pistons
-with my little
secret sauce on the rings.
-[laughs]
[Tommy] You know,
this thing is gonna make
tons of horsepower.
We did a custom
compound turbo setup.
This thing is making
around 1100 horsepower.
Holy cow.
1100 horses in a
1000-pound truck.
[all laughing]
-It is going to be
a rocket, man.
-Oh, my God.
They nailed it
with the 12-valve
no computerized
anything on it
and those big compound turbos.
and those big compound turbos.
We got a 1000 horsepower
there, baby.
Oh, my goodness,
that is clean.
Slick black on black
with red accents.
That is exactly
what I wanted, dude.
-Clean, simple.
-Yeah.
-[Chase] Little details that
just take it a long way.
-[Johnny] Pop, pop.
[Johnny] Man, that
steering wheel looks
amazing. That is perfect.
One of the other cool
things we did on this truck.
I had a friend of mine
air brush the original decal
-for the Li'l Red Express.
-[Johnny] Wow.
-[Chase] You know the problem
with these is...
-[Johnny] Really?
-[Chase] they would
just peel off, you know.
-[Johnny] Right.
-[Chase] they would
just peel off, you know.
-[Johnny] Right.
We wanted to fix all the
problems they had, bring it
back to the modern times
but still keep the originality
of the Li'l Red Express.
[Tommy] And
speaking of originality
-you can't not have
these on here.
-Uh-huh, that's for sure.
[Tommy] Back in the day,
when these were new
everybody wanted them
-because they had stacks.
-[Johnny] Yup.
[Tommy] As a young kid
-we wanted to be loud
and proud, you know.
-[Johnny laughs] Yeah.
-So now, we're gonna be
loud and proud with a diesel.
-[Johnny] There you go.
One more thing...
-This custom-wood bed.
-Holy cow, man.
-That is neat.
-[Chase] Yeah.
We actually burnt the wood
to give it that look.
We actually burnt the wood
to give it that look.
Man, that gas tank lid
looks cool as well
just blends in perfectly
with the chrome in there.
That's exactly right, you know
just little touches
-there and there,
just to give it--
-[Johnny] Better tone, yeah.
That is killer, man.
That is cool.
It is pristine.
They did an awesome job.
I want to thank
every one of them.
I came to the right place.
I trusted the guys and they
came through for me.
Can't wait to see how
fast this joker is.
-Why don't you ride
with me one time.
-No problem.
I'll show you what it can do.
-Then I'll hand you the keys.
-No problem.
-You ready?
-I'm ready.
You ain't never experienced
this before.
Oh, I can't wait.
Oh, I can't wait.
[engine starts]
You know, it's one thing to
tell a customer it's making
this kind of horsepower.
[laughing]
Oh, boy.
It's another to let them
experience it and be there
to witness it.
-You ready for this?
-Yeah.
[engine accelerating]
-[laughing]
-That sucker's bad, ain't it?
Definitely want to thank
our team though, Dad.
We couldn't have
done it without 'em.
[Tommy] You know, Clay and
the guys, everybody
[Tommy] You know, Clay and
the guys, everybody
blessed for our success
at Ekstensive.
The builds just keep getting
better and better,
bigger and bigger.
You know, a huge part
of Ekstensive's success
is being in the Houston area.
What can I say.
Houston is world headquarters
for customization.
I don't think there's another
place like this.
We got every kind of custom
vehicle being built out here.
You know, like 1 Way Diesel,
they've been down a couple
times to help us out.
This is gonna make some power?
This is gonna make some power?
1500 horsepower and about
2000 foot pounds of torque.
They've been cranking out
some cool stuff lately.
Wide Open Garage.
-What's happening man?
-Oh, you know, another day.
[Bill] You know, David
and Daniel, I've known
them guys...
I've known Daniel
his whole life.
You know, they're really deep
into the muddin', off roading.
[chuckles]
[Bill] They build some
really cool, impressive stuff.
And then,
there's the Mod Mafia guys.
You know, they're the Hummer,
Overlander guys,
and we've done some work
for 'em recently.
[man] Man, it looks nice.
[man] Man, it looks nice.
Cause I've never seen a cage
like that.
[Bill] And I really like
seeing everything just coming
out of their shop.
Seeing what everybody else
is building just helps us push
our creativity
just even higher.
You always wanna outdo
the next guy. You always wanna
one up your game.
And the speed and
aggressiveness some
of these shops are putting
out around here is just crazy.
[Chase] We got a call
from a buddy, Johnny Moore.
Come check out one
of his projects he wants
us to do.
So, I've actually done quite
a bit of work for Johnny.
You know, he's got several
diesel trucks and...
Man, we've got a great
relationship. I've known him
for several years so,
I'm ready to knock another one
out for him.
Whoo! What do we have here?
Cannot wait to get my hands
on this.
Cannot wait to get my hands
on this.
It's a 73 Road Runner.
A very iconic car.
Man this thing doesn't look
like it even needs anything.
Man this thing is super clean.
All it needs is a diesel swab,
throw about a 1000 horse
to it, he'll love this thing.
Forget American muscle.
We're all about those
Cummins diesels
at 1 Way Diesel, so
you know, getting that
in there,
that's gonna complete that
thing, it'll be perfect.
[Johnny] What's happening?
-[Chase] What's up Johnny?
-[Johnny] Not much man.
You found the place?
Yeah man, found it.
I am so excited about this.
Yeah man, found it.
I am so excited about this.
-Yeah!
-I can't wait to shove a 1000
horsepower Cummins in that.
That'd be awesome
but that's not the build man.
That's my car.
-[Chase] WHat do you mean?
-[Johnny] That car
is finished.
Your project's back here.
That's your project.
-That?
-[Johnny] Yeah.
[Chase] I mean this
is definitely a project.
What is this?
1979 Dodge Li'l Red Express.
Maybe it was Johnny,
but there's nothing there.
Of course, frame, cab,
few other bits.
[Chase] This isn't really
a build.
This is a build, like,
ground up, nothing there,
start fresh.
This is a build, like,
ground up, nothing there,
start fresh.
I might be able to find a few
more pieces over
in the other shop.
I hope you find another truck.
-Well--
-[Chase] I mean this is...
You got the frame here,
some of it.
Cab looks decent, okay,
I'll give you that.
Minus the invisible firewall
and the one pedal
but we'll make that work.
We've got the hood here.
And somewhat of a door.
So, what exactly are you
wanting to do with this,
Johnny?
You know, back in 1979
this was the fastest
production truck off the line.
But that was a long time ago.
But that was a long time ago.
But I want to recreate
it in today's times
and make it one of the fastest
on the road today.
Okay now, I hear fast.
-You got my attention.
-Yep.
How fast do you want it to be?
Maybe faster than that.
-That's easy.
-That's fast.
That's not a problem.
I can make it twice as fast
as that.
-I've got this.
-[laughs]
What I wanna end up
with is a fast Li'l Red
Express,
um, that's capable of towing
a car to the track,
that's capable of driving
everyday if I want to,
but also capable of being
cleaned up and taken to a show
and win the show itself.
You've given us one
of the biggest projects
we've ever tackled.
You've given us one
of the biggest projects
we've ever tackled.
-But I'm starting to get
excited about this.
-That's awesome.
Just to go over a few things,
big horsepower, red,
fast and a new truck
because there's not much here
to work with.
Pretty much, yeah.
-Okay, well--
-And the stacks, don't forget
about the stacks.
Of course, these are known
for that.
When you think of a Li'l Red
Express that's what comes
to my mind so.
Exactly.
The Li'l Red Express
had the chrome stacks.
It's gotta have the stacks.
Be able to blow a little black
smoke every now and then.
I gotta start loading
parts up. Pray for me, man.
I'll do it, man,
I appreciate it.
I'll do it, man,
I appreciate it.
[Chase] This would've
been perfect, guys. This--
That's too easy.
[Chase] You ain't lying.
The moment Johnny told me
that was a Li'l Red Express,
I started to feel a lot better
about this and feel
a little excited,
'cause that's a very iconic
truck.
Fact is, that was one
of the fastest production
trucks made.
We're gonna take
it to a whole other level
when we get done with it.
I know there's gonna
be a lot of work involved.
He wants it red,
he wants stacks,
He wants it red,
he wants stacks,
he wants it fast, he wants
to be able to tow
his Road Runner.
And I've got five pieces.
This is gonna definitely
test our capabilities.
[engine running]
Whoa!
Just let it down.
I created 1 Way Diesel
for my love for the diesel
engine.
The name came
from a Bible verse.
You know, John 14:6.
It says, "I am the way
and the truth and the life.
No one comes
to the Father
except through me."
[engine roars]
I've always loved cars.
But I really love
the diesel engine.
[man] Hit it.
[engine roars]
[Chase] Man, that thing
sounds awesome.
They're making a lot
of torque.
And torque moves mass.
[engine blaring]
Once you feel it,
you want more,
you want it to go faster.
It's addictive.
Me, my dad and my brother Clay
we started 1 Way Diesel
in a little dirt garage.
With no tools hardly.
With no tools hardly.
We've expanded the business
so much from just
building engines, tuning 'em,
modifying 'em...
Oh, yeah.
...to doing a full on build.
But it makes it even cooler
that I get to do this while
working with my family.
[Tommy] What in the world
have you got here?
You cleaning up?
This is our next project,
guys.
[Tommy] Okay, so where's
the rest of it?
[Chase] I'm working on that.
This is a 1979 Li'l Red
Express.
Oh, cool.
You know, the one cool thing
I always loved about
that truck
is it came factory
with those stacks.
-That was iconic.
-[Tommy] It was.
-That was iconic.
-[Tommy] It was.
So, we definitely want
to integrate that back
into it.
Does he have the stack?
Well, no.
No, but we're gonna make some.
-It's gotta have stacks.
-Yeah, it's gotta have
the stacks, yeah.
That's an iconic look.
[Tommy] So, when Dodge rolled
out in 1979, the Li'l Red
Express, they were awesome.
Stacks, had wood in the bed,
wood on the bedside.
These trucks were pretty fast.
I mean back in the day
a little over 200 horsepower
was a big deal then.
So, whose is it
and what all he want done?
All right, this
is Johnny Moore's.
-Y'all know Johnny Moore?
-Yeah.
So, I know he wants
to be able to outrun
his 1973 Road Runner.
So, I know he wants
to be able to outrun
his 1973 Road Runner.
-Oh, really?
-[Chase] And you know me.
And I might've talked this up.
-Oh, yeah.
-So, we're going to have to
come through with this guys.
He wants all
the meat and potatoes.
He wants it looking good,
he wants it fast,
-and you know, 800,
a 1000 horsepower.
-Okay.
He wants to be able to tow
with it, which I was, like...
What's he gonna tow with it?
He wants to tow
his 73 Road Runner.
Okay.
I mean we can make
that happen.
All we have to do is some
beefy coilover springs
in the rear,
four-link the 9 inch
back there.
Stance-wise,
what's he wanna go with?
Stance-wise,
what's he wanna go with?
Let's keep it low, let's keep
it fast, let's keep it classy.
We want this thing slick.
But still keep the originality
of the Li'l Red Express.
It is lacking...
-a firewall.
-[Clay chuckles]
[Chase] Uh, it's completely
gone.
But we can fix that.
Well that gives us
the opportunity to set that
engine back as far as we can.
-[Clay] Yeah, yeah.
-[Tommy] And get the weight
transfer to the rear.
So, we can put
this power down.
-Exactly.
-We would've had to modify
it anyway.
Yeah, we're gonna diesel
swap it.
[Tommy] We want to stay
old school?
I think we wanna keep
that plastic.
-[Tommy] Let's put a 12 valve,
48RE.
-[Clay] Yeah.
-Let's put that old dinosaur
in there.
-[Chase] You know, and then,
-Let's put that old dinosaur
in there.
-[Chase] You know, and then,
let's do a custom compound
turbo setup.
Once we get all that dialed
in, we're talking about
leaving something in the dust.
Oh, for sure dude,
I'm excited man.
That's gonna be sick.
First things first.
Let's get the frame
in the shop.
Start getting on the back half
and getting the engine
and the trans mocked up.
[Clay] Sounds like a good
gameplan.
[Chase] Let's get it done.
On ground up builds like this,
because we're engine guys,
we build from the engine out.
[clanging]
All right, let's get that
frame in here.
[Chase] So once we get
the frame under the truck
we can get the engine
and trans mocked up perfectly.
we can get the engine
and trans mocked up perfectly.
And then, we'll build
from there.
-[Clay] There you go.
-[Chase] All right, perfect.
[Chase] Man, I think
we're ready to start mocking
up our engine.
Yeah, man, let's do it.
All right. [grunts]
-Ain't that thing light?
-Oh, yeah.
-Right about there, huh.
-[man] Yeah.
[Chase] I got a foam block
here, that weighs
about 20 pounds.
It's an exact replica
of a 12-valve Cummins.
You know, we can bolt
all the accessories on to it,
and we can get all
our angles right.
So, we don't have to worry
about flattening
a 1000 pound engine.
One of the biggest thing when
we're mock up these engines
One of the biggest thing when
we're mock up these engines
is we gotta get
our degree right.
At this power level,
I mean, this thing
has to be perfect.
That's why we wanna get these
mock up motor mounts in here,
so that we can get our
drive line exactly where
we need it to be.
There it is.
-That looks great, man.
-Looks sharp, man.
Now we got our engine mocked
up, next thing to do is get
our trans in there.
You know we can't set up our
rear end, we can't set up
our drive line
till we get the transmission
bolted in.
So, basically you gotta work
from the front of the engine
So, basically you gotta work
from the front of the engine
all the way to the rear
of the transmission.
That all works together
with our suspension.
[Tommy] Okay now, let's get
our adapter plate bolted
on to the back of the block,
and then we can install
the transmission.
Perfect.
Now, we're gonna check
our clearances, we're gonna
check our angles,
make sure everything
is sitting where it should be.
[Chase] Okay, looks like
that clears right there.
We want about a half inch
clearance all the way around
on our transmission.
Because this engine
even though we got
semi solid mounts in it,
Because this engine
even though we got
semi solid mounts in it,
it's still gonna move some.
So, we gotta give enough room
for it to do that
without hitting anything.
Yes, it's a torquey beast.
[Daniel] Coming up.
[Daniel] What's Chris's truck
doing here?
-Well, he says the front diff
is messing up.
-Okay.
[David] But, uh, he wants
to compete.
So, we gotta figure out
what's wrong with it and turn
it into a bounty hole truck.
Ooh, these babies are big.
While I'm putting the bench
suspension together on
the Li'l Red Express,
Dad's picking out
an engine for it.
We each have our roles
at 1 Way Diesel.
My dad takes a lot of pride
in finding and building
the perfect engine.
We do have a 12-valve
over here that fit the bill
I believe.
We always try to keep,
you know, several engines
in stock,
core engines that we can
build for different
applications.
core engines that we can
build for different
applications.
We got a 6-7 Cummins here.
It's...
It would work but it's
electronic. I'm gonna stay
away from electronics on this.
In '79, there was no computers
there was no electric
fuel pumps.
There was...
You know, it was all manual.
So, that's, kind of, the theme
I wanna stay with.
Now we have a 12-valve here
that we could use.
It's got a manual injection
pump, a manual lift pump.
Basically you can get diesel
to this thing and it'll run.
Or we have a VP engine,
24 valve Cummins.
You can take the front
cover off,
You can take the front
cover off,
of a 12-valve and put it on
here and you can put
the P-pump on this,
and you'll have
a P-pump 24 valve.
That might be an option.
I really feel like
we just need to stay simple.
So, this engine right here,
I think this is the one
we need to go with.
I really do.
Just a regular old
12-valve Cummins.
It may not look like much
right now, but I promise you
when we're done with it,
it'll be so quality
and it's gonna be fast,
and we'll get a 1000
horsepower out of this,
no problem.
[Daniel] My name is Daniel.
Me and my dad Dave,
we own Wide Open Garage.
Whatever you wanna do offroad
related, if it's gotta go up,
over or through anything,
we got you covered.
You know, when I was younger,
I was racing four wheelers.
I actually ended up going pro.
I'm Googling myself here
to look up my... You can
actually see, you know,
what races I've won.
You know, in racing, you gotta
be able to work on your own
thing and build it.
Of course, you know, I had to.
Of course, you know, I had to.
I didn't have the money to pay
someone to do it so,
I learned building these mud
trucks basically
from my four wheeler.
You know, and it, kind of,
just grew from there.
And the next thing you know,
people are contacting me,
paying me to build 'em
a mud truck.
And it's just gotten crazy,
you know, and it turned
into a business.
You know, now I get paid
to work on mud trucks
with my best friend
and my dad.
You know, till this day
we still have people rolling
in with stuff
they just gotta have.
Hey, Chris,
what's going on, man?
Hey, Chris,
what's going on, man?
What's going on Dave?
-What you go tore up now?
-Man,
something in the differential,
axle, something making noise.
-She's broke, I need her
fixed up.
-Uh-huh.
Of course, we know you,
you tear up things.
I've known Chris since
he was a kid, a youngster.
He grew up on the next street
over there and started running
around with us and Daniel.
And he was ate up
with the four wheelers.
Then he went to mud trucks
and he's been ate up
with it ever since.
Me and the wife, you know,
we go running around up
and down at the park.
Hit a couple mud holes
here and there.
Hit a couple mud holes
here and there.
He's got a Samurai.
Samurais have been getting
pretty popular at the mud
park here lately.
They're short, they turn good,
and they look good.
There ain't no telling
what he did to the truck
this time.
But, you know,
we'll get 'em fixed up.
I'll bet it's probably full
of water, you know,
'cause you ain't on
no maintenance plan.
Oh, no, it ain't gonna
be that. I'll bet 100.
-[Dave] Really?
-It ain't that.
You know, I'mma get some tools
here later,
I'll take that bet.
Now that I'm bringing it in,
I mean, we might as well
do a big makeover.
Whatchu wanting to do to it?
I'm thinking
bounty hole killer.
I'm thinking
bounty hole killer.
-Oh, really? Okay.
-Wanna go through the hole.
In the mudding world,
a bounty hole is just
a really big hole.
Could be mud, water, rocks.
There's two ways to win it.
How far you went or how long
it took you to get there.
You have to have
a really light truck
or a really fast truck.
So either you need a lot
of motor or you need it lifted
very high.
-[Chris] I want the biggest,
baddest Samurai out there.
-[Dave] Definitely.
What's up with the pink, man?
-[Chris] Oh, man.
-[Dave] Come on.
You gotta be able to see me.
Man, we put some bigger wheels
on there, we'll see ya.
Man, we put some bigger wheels
on there, we'll see ya.
Oh, that's what I'm thinking
about.
We get these bigger wheels,
it's gonna be able
to go through anything.
Gonna have to
upgrade them axles,
'cause you know they break.
We can't have you out there
late at night broke down.
-I ain't coming to get you.
I'm busy.
-[Chris] No, no.
No, it ain't no problem.
We can upgrade axles.
I want something unbreakable.
[Dave] Definitely clean this
caliper and this rotor up.
I think that's
the one that's making noise.
Uh, looks like it might
be leaking a little oil.
Probably leaking
some water too.
Looks like oil to me.
-Okay.
-I still got that 100.
Everyone that comes here
don't have water.
[chuckles]
But they've been
at the mud park all day.
But they've been
at the mud park all day.
We'll get this thing unloaded
and get on it and
see what we gotta do.
You know, driving trucks
is fun but building trucks
is what we do for a living.
You ready? I'm going.
[Chris] Let me get some
of the water out of here.
[Dave] We're gonna build this
truck right for him,
where he can compete with it.
When he goes out into
the park, it's gonna
be the best.
We're gonna fix him up.
Looks like you've been
enjoying your afternoon.
Looks like you've been
enjoying your afternoon.
Oh, you know, gotta take
advantage of that rain.
Well, what's Chris's truck
doing here?
-Well, he says the front diff
is messing up.
-Okay.
But he's willing to change
up his game. He wants
to compete.
-Chris wants to compete?
-He said he wants to
get through that pond.
-No way.
-Yep.
So, we gotta figure out what's
wrong with it
-and turn it into
a bounty hole truck.
-We gotta fix it,
and then he wants us to make
it go faster.
But he pretty much just told
me, "Hey, tell Daniel y'all do
what you do."
[Daniel] I'm thinking like
a 60 to 72 inch top tire.
[Daniel] I'm thinking like
a 60 to 72 inch top tire.
-Let's just go crazy with it.
-Big tire. Big tires.
I know Chris, he likes
to show off.
Hey, if he can't go through
the bottom, he can float
across the top.
-[Daniel] Right.
-[Dave] Maybe we can lighten
it up a little bit.
I can see some stuff we need
to cut off in here.
[Daniel] We definitely have
to upgrade the axles,
'cause it sounds like
he's already got something
torn up.
Yes.
[Daniel] Either swap the axles
or we're gonna have to do some
custom hybrid axles,
probably Planetaries.
[Dave] Well,
that's your department there,
you know what to do,
-I'm just a helper
on that part.
-[Daniel] That's right.
Well, let's get in there,
man, I got a lot of work
to do it sounds like.
You know, the thing about
a lake crosser is,
it's gotta be able to go over
the water but it also
has to be a water tight.
There you go.
First thing we need to do
is pull apart the axle and see
if anything is broke.
And of course, see if
any water is getting in.
You know, the mudding world
is not about looking pretty.
-It's about getting
the job done.
-[grunts]
We're not in the business
of throwing away
any good parts.
We keep what we can
and replace what we can't.
All right, we got the wheels
off, we're gonna go in next
and get the caliper
off and the driveshaft off.
See if we can find
this problem.
Check it out, Robert,
look how bad this pin's
wore out.
Rotor's been hitting
into the pin.
The, uh, rotor was digging
into the caliper pin.
That's supposed to be smooth,
like the backside here.
There's definitely something
going on, so I'm gonna keep
tearing into it.
Oh, look at that.
[Daniel] Definitely got some
problems.
So, we got the break caliper
removed, the driveshaft
removed and the rotor.
And there's clearly something
going on in here.
And there's clearly something
going on in here.
It's not supposed to move
like that.
It looks like the whole
nut's coming loose
on the back side.
-[Robert] Yeah.
-[Daniel] Oh yeah,
it's all junk.
So these rockwells
are notorious for
pinion bearing problems.
You get water or mud
all in there
and it won't get the right
amount oil it needs
to the pinion bearing.
And if you're like Chris,
all no maintenance,
you're gonna run into this
problem all the time.
-There's a bearing
in that side?
-[Daniel] Yeah.
Mine don't have nothing.
-[Daniel] Really?
-[Robert] No.
Definitely where the noise
was coming from, huh?
Definitely where the noise
was coming from, huh?
So, you can see here that
the bearing is completely
gone.
There's supposed
to be a bearing here.
The race is left
in the inner part
of the bearing.
But that's all. [chuckles]
Go ahead and get this thing
pulled out of here.
We're gonna go ahead
and get both bearings replaced
on this.
The only bad thing is,
all that bearing material
is in here.
So, we have to make sure
we get it cleaned out.
[grunts] Okay.
Oh, yeah, I wanna see some
water come out of this thing.
[Daniel] Oh, I feel like
there's definitely gonna
be some water in there.
[Daniel] Oh, I feel like
there's definitely gonna
be some water in there.
-Oh, yeah.
-[Robert] Oh, yeah.
-It's already draining.
-[Robert] Water, water, water.
[Robert] Whoo, man!
Chris is buying us lunch.
He said there wasn't no water
in it. There's water.
-[Daniel] Yeah.
-[Robert] That says zero
maintenance.
[Daniel] Oh, oh, yeah, this
is what's making the noise
right here, look.
The cage is jammed up in there
from the bearing.
-Look at that.
-Look at this.
-It's all chewed up.
-[Robert] Oh, wow.
[Daniel] Basically you have
to go in here and make sure
you get every piece
of metal out.
One of those pieces of bearing
would jam up in between
the gear,
and knock a tooth off the gear
or just cause failure.
Now that we've cleaned up
the lake crosser's axles
we can get 'em sealed up
and water tight.
We'll go ahead and get
the pinion built, get the new
bearings on it.
We'll go ahead and get
the pinion built, get the new
bearings on it.
So, see here, I pulled
the shaft out.
You can clearly see here that
some of the material
from the bearing
has chipped a teeth.
If you were to continue
driving it like that
it would look like this
pinion gear which
is completely trashed.
So, we got a new pinion gear
here and we're gonna go ahead
and get this put on the shaft.
And also the races
and new bearings.
[Robert] Almost.
So, we just removed
the old bearing.
Obviously it's missing
a few things. This is what
it's supposed to look like.
Obviously it's missing
a few things. This is what
it's supposed to look like.
This is the inner part
of the bearing that's left.
The cage and the bearing part
is actually what we cleaned
out earlier.
[drilling]
There she goes.
All right, so we got
the old pinion removed.
And we're gonna go ahead
and get the new one installed.
And, uh,
throw this in the trash.
[Robert] Put a little grease
on it, you know.
They're oil bath, but a little
grease never hurt nobody.
That's for sure.
You don't wanna run it dry
when you first put it in.
No, you know Chris.
[Robert] It'll never see
oil again.
When you're using this tool
on this bearing,
it's very important
not to actually get this piece
into the actual cage
of the bearing. You only want
to hit it right here.
Okay, that's a hard metal
and this is all soft.
It'll just destroy it.
[Daniel] That's it,
there it is.
Center chunk all cleaned out.
All the bearing material
is all out of there.
You don't want it in there
because it'll chip
the pinion gear.
We'll go ahead and get
the races and get 'em in
and go ahead
and stab the pinion.
-Yeah.
-Okay.
So, going back together
we noticed,
you can clearly see
that the seal
has wore out from the bearing.
We're gonna go ahead
and get that seal knocked out,
we're gonna get a new one
installed.
And we see that it's got
a good seal.
So, no water will get in it.
[drilling]
Money.
All right, so we got
the pinion, new bearings,
new races, new seals.
No more shaft play, I mean,
it turns beautifully actually.
I mean, I'm real happy
with it.
Time to move on.
[Chase] My dad sourced these
old rear ends for
the Li'l Red Express.
So, this is a Ford
nine inch rear end.
These are very strong,
tough rear ends.
I'm not a Ford guy but they
made some good parts
and this is one of them.
We're gonna clean all these
old brackets off.
Then we're gonna get
it centered under the truck.
Pull our measurements
and start mocking up our
four-link bars.
I just cut off all this excess
metal
that we do not need
on this rear end.
Now it's time to grind these
welds clean,
that metal don't like to
stick to rust, so
I'm trying to scratch
it all off.
[Chase] You know, we're not
gonna keep these old drum
brakes.
We're gonna do a disc brake
conversion, so, we've gotta
get all this stuff off.
All right, let's do this.
-Oh, that ain't bad now?
-No.
You want to grab that
other jack and we can
put it on the driveshaft.
You want to grab that
other jack and we can
put it on the driveshaft.
All right, ease it down.
The next step is we've gotta
get the rear end level.
[Chaz] Come down.
[Chase] And then we're gonna
start to make sure that our
drive alignment was correct.
[Chaz] That's good.
All right. I'm gonna
just pull it off the
center off the top of it.
You know, half an inch off,
this thing is gonna look
terrible, you know.
When you hit a bump or
something, or this thing
makes power...
it's gonna hit the bed and
crack the wood or you know,
we just got to take our time
measuring out before we start
welding out our brackets
to the four-link.
That looks pretty good,
right here.
That's not good.
[Tommy] Now we've got our
12-valve Cummins
on our engine stand.
As you can see,
it's nasty, dirty...
it's had a few miles
put on it.
But, we're gonna
tear it all down, uh,
get it ready to go to the
machine shop and get our
cylinders looking good,
the crank looking good
and then replace it
with all new parts.
This was basically
a tractor engine.
One of the most durable, tough
engines that Cummins made.
Basically, you get diesel
to this thing, and it'll run.
Basically, you get diesel
to this thing, and it'll run.
You know, at Christmas like,
when you get a new toy
I would take it apart,
try to make it faster
or do some kind
of modification to it
and put it back together.
And that's kinda like these...
take it apart,
try to make it better.
We've got this engine
completely torn down.
It's ready to go
to the machine shop.
Let them do their
thing, get it back...
we'll start putting
this thing together.
[Chase] We got the
four-link mocked up
and installed
the new firewall.
Now that everything
is mocked up,
now we're gonna take
the cab and bed off,
so we can send
those off to paint.
Then we can break
this whole frame down...
weld everything out
and send it to powder coat.
Y'all ready?
[Chase] There's a lot of
little things we have left,
but man, we are making a ton
of progress on this project.
Man, this thing is gonna
look good, when she's done.
Back in 1979, this
Li'l Red Express
came with a V8 engine
from the factory, pushing
200 horsepower.
Dad's building
a 12-valve Cummins
that's gonna put
a lot of torque out
and at least 1000 horsepower.
So, we got our engine
back from paint shop
nice and red, just like the
Li'l Red Express.
Time to put
this thing together.
Get these main caps off.
Get ready to put our crank in.
Each one of 'em are numbered.
These were individually honed
for each portion of the block
so it's got to go back
exactly how you take it off.
So, I had my machinist,
line holing this block...
but just in the time
from the machine shop
to here, you see that little
bit of surface rust on here.
So, I'll take it over here
with some Scotch-Brite and
I'll buff these...
make sure there's no debris
and it's true.
These little steps right here,
will make your engine,
last a lot longer.
We got all our upper
main bearings in,
got 'em all clean.
I'll put some
lubricant on 'em.
We're gonna take the crank...
we're gonna clean the crank
set it in here.
And then we'll do our
lower main bearing,
fork it down
and this part will be done.
You know what this feels like?
This feels like horsepower.
Right here, we've
got our stock 12-valve cam
and there we've
got our new cam
that was custom-cut
for this engine.
Now, we've got to take
this gear off of the stock cam
and put it on our new cam.
I started, uh, my shop doing
classic cars,
Cobras, kit cars, Vipers,
and then Chase, his first
vehicle, he fixed it
and then he kept doing
modifications to it
and it got faster and faster
so then I had to learn
how to make a transmission
hold that much power.
so then I had to learn
how to make a transmission
hold that much power.
That's basically when
we got into diesels and
Chase has pushed
the envelope each time
and I've had to make
my stuff stay together,
so he wouldn't tear it up.
And then Clay, bless his heart
he's usually the test dummy.
He's the one that gets
to drive them first,
make sure nothing's
going to break or tear up.
And then ease Chase into it,
because we know Chase
is going to break it.
So, we have our piston here...
drizzle a little oil on here.
When we build these
engines and they turn
way more RPM than what
they were designed to,
we have to have
everything perfect.
So, as we add a part,
we're gonna rotate this
to make sure we don't have
any kind of binding,
'cause any little thing that
binds this engine
is gonna rob you horsepower
and it's gonna wear.
I really like this.
It feels good.
So anyway, we got one in
we've got to do this
five more times.
My dad and Robert are
gonna make one more repair
to the axle on
the lake crosser.
This one here, we just
pulled off this truck.
You see it's wore out.
Looks like the needles
fell out and you see
it's loose.
That was probably
making noise...
but they didn't care
as long as it keeps going.
We're gonna have to
replace this end for sure.
[grunts] All right.
-The die grinder.
-Yup.
Let me get the die grinder
in here and clean this up
a little bit.
[machine whirring]
-[David] Well, that's
bad right there.
-[Robert] Yup.
-[David] Look at that dent.
-[Robert] I see it.
[machine whirring]
[machine whirring]
All right, let's
see what we got.
-Ready?
-Yes, sir.
[David] See if we can
get the U-joint out.
-Oh.
-There we go.
[Robert] Okay.
[David] Have to get
these caps off here...
make sure all the
needles are in there.
See how we beat
the other one apart,
the needles fell apart
because it was no good.
This one here is still good.
All the needles need
to be in place.
If they fall over...
you can't get it together.
[Richard] Here's some grease
to help hold them together.
[David] Right there.
Come on.
-[Robert] All right.
-[David] See if it'll
take a clip.
You haven't tried doing
this at the mud park,
when you don't have
the good tools.
-[Robert] Been there, buddy.
-[David] Mmm-hmm.
This one's good to go.
It's nice... it's high...
not making no noise.
All right. This is ready
for our Planetary. Oh, yeah.
[Daniel] You know, this
Samurai it only came with
this baby little
four-cylinder engine.
Man, that sucker looks heavy.
[Daniel] There was
absolutely no way
it has the power to
turn these giant wheels
and drive across the lake.
turn these giant wheels
and drive across the lake.
And that's why we're
installing Planetaries
to increase the
gear ratio and strength.
I'll use my fat
gut to hold it.
[Robert] Ready?
All right.
Good? Oh, yeah, she's turning.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah. That's gonna work.
[Robert] What we've
done here now is,
essentially this
is a 670 gear.
So basically, this drive
shaft turns 6.7 times
for every one time
this axle spins.
But then we multiply
that again times three.
So now our gear ratio
is almost 20:1.
So now our gear ratio
is almost 20:1.
This drive shaft
is going to spin 20 times
for every one time
the wheel spins.
That's gonna give us
all the gear ratio
and reduction we need
for this little four cylinder
to turn a monster tire.
So Daniel, he put me
on a little mission
to find some R-2 tires.
They have a better bite
in the mud than the R-1's.
A lot of places
like up in Florida,
Louisiana, that area...
they run this type of tire
because of the swamp land.
they run this type of tire
because of the swamp land.
But, we're gonna give it a try
right here in this Texas mud.
I'm headed back to the
shop with them right now
and see how they fit.
What do you think of them,
Daniel? Them thick enough?
[Daniel] Man, I think
those will work.
I tell you what,
going from that tire...
to that...
I mean, he's probably
going to gain...
4 to 5 foot of ground
clearance with these.
Ooh, these babies are big.
How about that?
How about that?
-A little more.
-It's all I got, buddy.
Whoo. Look at that.
Look how much bigger that is.
That looks
pretty cool. [laughs]
[Daniel] Now you
can clearly see why we
needed these Planetaries.
I mean, these tires
are ridiculous.
They're over 6 feet tall.
There is no way it
would've been able to
turn 'em without these.
[Daniel] We finished up
the axle on the lake crosser
and we got one thing left.
We're gonna go ahead
and give those old wheels
a little bit of style
and protection.
We're gonna go ahead
and cut 'em a rock ring...
with the name of his
truck in which is called
"Pocket Change."
The rock ring will protect
the bead of the wheel
because if you bend the
bead of the wheel
then the tire's coming off,
the air is coming out...
then the tire's coming off,
the air is coming out...
just creates problems.
So, we're making one for
each wheel well
and then we're sending
them off to powder coat
and this truck is done.
[grunts]
[David] Today is a big day.
We're bringing out
Chris' Samurai
and we're going to try it out.
-What up Chris?
-What's going on Dave?
How you doing, man?
-Hey, the day has come.
-We got you ready, man.
We got you ready.
-Is that so?
-Oh, yeah.
-Big tires?
-Big tires.
Oh, probably this big.
Like, I can run you
over big tires?
Yes, you run me over
and never even know it.
-Let me see it then,
I'm ready.
-She's good to go.
-Let me see it then,
I'm ready.
-She's good to go.
-[chuckles] Let me
see the thing.
-[yells] All right, Daniel.
Bring it on.
[engine roaring]
-[David] Look at them tires.
-Man, that is insane.
-[David] Oh, yeah.
-[Chris] That is crazy.
Look how big the thing is.
Look at those tires.
Man, I can't believe it.
[laughs] Man, that thing
look like a Tonka toy.
I couldn't believe
it was my truck.
It's bigger than my camper.
-What's up, Chris?
-What's goin' on, Daniel?
What do you think, man?
[Chris] Man, that
thing is big, Daniel.
[Chris] Man, that
thing is big, Daniel.
-[grunts]
-[Chris] You need a ladder?
You weren't expecting
that, were you?
-I did not expect that.
-What's up bro,
how you doing, huh?
Good, what's up, Dave?
'Sup!
I like it.
I really like it.
I figured you know,
you like to do it big
so we gave you the
biggest Samurai I know of.
[Daniel]
Of course we did these
massive wheels and tires.
I'm gonna say it measured
around 70 to 74 inches tall,
which is ridiculous.
About 1200 pounds apiece
it blows people's minds
that it even fit on a Samurai.
I know you're
wondering how that
-four-cylinder is going
to spin these things.
-Yeah.
[Daniel] We had to
go ahead and upgrade.
[Daniel] We had to
go ahead and upgrade.
Went ahead and put you a 5-ton
Planetary on the outer...
...kept your same 2.5 ton
in the center here.
You know, these things kinda
have a reputation.
People call 'em "Hater Kits."
So I'm gonna
have haters now?
Yeah, they're gonna be jealous
they see this. [chuckles]
Man, we also did a little
custom for you,
'cause I know you like to call
this thing "Pocket Change."
-Oh, man.
-So, we cut you out a
custom rock ring here.
We've cut these out
in our plasma table.
[Dave] Them wheels was ugly.
Now, check that out.
[Daniel] You look good while
you're competing, you know?
Oh, man. Well let's test it.
David and Daniel
killed it on this build.
David and Daniel
killed it on this build.
I asked for the biggest
and baddest Samurai
and they did that.
This is a complete different
truck than what I had before.
Man, this thing
drives like a dream.
Big tires. We love the
rock rings on there,
"Pocket Change".
I mean, we got plenty
of pocket change around here.
David and Dan better watch out
'cause next competition,
I'm taking first.
You know, all in all,
I think we gave Chris,
exactly what he wanted.
Man, that's a whole
lot of truck.
You know it don't
weigh nothing.
If there's water,
it's gonna float.
If there's water,
it's gonna float.
And I'll tell you what, that
Samurai is gonna go places.
We built Chris one of
the biggest Samurai's
we've ever seen.
I think he'll be able to
take anything we throw at him.
But hey, you got to
let Chris know though
-water is not a lubricant.
-[Daniel chuckles]
[Chase] We're gonna set it
on the ground.
Bring the cab in over
so we don't trip over it...
and then pick the cab up then
put it on the jack stands.
[Chase] So today, we got
the frame coming back
from powder coat,
we got the cab coming
back from painting.
[grunting]
I need you to
work for it, son.
[Chase] This is one of my
favorite days, you know?
You get to see the vision
become reality.
And man, it really
gets me excited.
We want the black frame
a red cab to give it that pop.
Now that we got everything
back... I mean, we just start
rocking and rolling and...
[chuckles] I cannot wait
to put that engine in there.
All right, let's do it.
Roll it over.
[Clay] Okay.
You can never have
this thing too clean.
[Chase] Clay, you know
he's my little brother
[Chase] Clay, you know
he's my little brother
and we've been
working side by side
since we started this company.
Went from holding
the flashlight...
now he can put an
engine together, you know.
Just being around this stuff,
you know, it rubs off.
And it's addictive.
Building a diesel truck,
you know once you feel it
you want more,
you want it to go faster.
And Clay definitely
caught on to that.
[engine whirring]
All right.
I'm about to put on
our billet tappet cover.
This is a breather for the
crank case basically.
I got a tappet cover
hot and ready here.
Whenever your cylinders
are going up and down
they create pressure.
Whenever your cylinders
are going up and down
they create pressure.
That pressure doesn't always
go out where it needs to go.
Sometimes it builds up
in the crank.
So, this helps relieve
that pressure.
This also is gonna
add a little strength.
We're installing our
billet freeze plugs.
These are designed for
high horsepower applications.
Whenever the coolant
in the truck, if it ever froze
it has a way to escape,
so it doesn't bust the block.
Right here, we have
our engine mounts.
These are custom-made
with a neoprene bushing in 'em
so they dampen it
and keep it from being
an unpleasant ride.
so they dampen it
and keep it from being
an unpleasant ride.
Whoa.
-Careful.
-Push it over, brah.
And they handle the power
we're gonna throw at 'em
and keep it from
moving too much.
[Chase] Man, this
thing looks killer.
It's like a puzzle
going together, you see
each piece being put back on.
I'm so excited to see the
next step, you know and
that's going to be us
putting this transmission in.
All right, so,
now we've got our
47RE transmission
for the Li'l Red Express.
This is going to be
so quality.
These were aluminum cast,
aluminum cases.
These were aluminum cast,
aluminum cases.
And we'll polish 'em.
They turned out really nice.
Uh, with that said,
we're going to start
putting this together.
When we first got into diesels
these transmissions were
you know, $15,000 to $20,000.
So, I had to learn how to
build 'em and make 'em stay.
Just got ahold
of 1000 horsepower
so I better be
on point. [chuckles]
I enjoy it. I've done it
my whole life
and I'll never get
tired of doing it.
Especially now, I get to do it
with my sons, it's rewarding.
Special delivery.
Special delivery.
Heck yeah.
[Chase straining]
[motor whirring]
[Chase] She's home.
-This thing looks good, man.
-Yeah, doesn't it.
I love the way
this thing is looking.
[Tommy] Looks fast already.
[Chase] What the heck?
So today, we're putting our
compound turbos on
the Li'l Red Express.
So today, we're putting our
compound turbos on
the Li'l Red Express.
So, our compound turbo setup
is two turbos
but it's not like your typical
twin turbos setup
where they're both
the same size.
Compound turbo setup has
a small turbo and a big turbo.
So, this is our
high pressure turbo.
This is the turbo that
starts to spool first
air comes out of the exhaust
side, drives it through here,
and spools this turbo up.
This is big daddy.
This one here is gonna
make all the horsepower
once it takes over
from this one.
once it takes over
from this one.
But if you mounted it
straight on the manifold
it would be really
slow to spool.
It would have
terrible street manner.
It would be smokey, lazy
but when you combine
the two together
that's when the magic happens.
That's when you have a real
quick spooling setup...
drivable...
and super, super torquey.
They're just
a lot of fun to drive.
So, basically, 1 Way Diesel
got a start from...
my first truck.
Ol' funky monkey.
When I was about 11 or 12,
my dad had a Cummins,
and I told him that I want
a truck just like this.
Fast forward
five or six years later
I came to my dad,
he said, "Hey,
if you figure out how
to fix that truck
that can be your first truck"
and I said, "Deal."
I got the truck running.
[engine starts]
Immediately, I start
building jack drills,
massive turbo
custom one off block
huge injectors,
lots of nitrous.
huge injectors,
lots of nitrous.
I started 235 horsepower
and it's making a
whopping 2703 horsepower.
The sound this
thing makes is insane
and when it turns 6000 rpms
there is nothing like it.
And the crazy thing is it
makes that kind of power
has AC, still street drivable.
I can take, you know
my wife and kids out
to Dairy Queen and
go through the drive-through.
Wax the old dude in his
supercar, drive it back home.
I love this truck.
It's what I did with
my first truck that gave me
the notoriety
to start this business.
Everything's coming together
on the '79 Li'l Red Express.
The bed...
the interior...
and we got the custom
air brushing on the doors
with the old logo.
And of course,
as a final piece
we're fabricating the stacks.
Back in the 1970s
when these came out
the most iconic thing
about 'em was the stacks.
A red pickup that was a Dodge
they knew instantly it was
a Li'l Red Express.
they knew instantly it was
a Li'l Red Express.
We're gonna give it
a custom flare, you know,
kind of give it that
raw, mean,
"I make a lot of power" look.
-[Chase] Today's a big day.
-Yes, it is.
We get to reveal the
Li'l Red Express to Johnny.
I can't wait to see
his face when he
sees it for the first time.
I can't wait to see his face
after you hammer on it
for the first time.
That's my favorite part.
That's my favorite part.
Let him feel the power,
'cause this is not something
you get to drive every day.
[David] We didn't put no
old crap handles in there.
-No, yeah we got to
keep it clean, you know.
-Yeah.
-You're here early. Not bad.
-I'm excited.
So, I've had this truck
for such a long time...
it just blows my mind that
today is the day that
I actually get to see it.
I'm gonna tell you this,
you gave us very little
to work with on this thing,
but we pulled it off.
-You ready to look at it?
-I'm ready man, I'm ready.
-Well, let's go look at it.
-Let's go.
[Johnny] Tell me when.
What do you think?
What do you think?
[laughs] Oh, my goodness.
That is freaking amazing.
When I walked around
the corner seeing that
truck for the first time
it was beyond my expectations.
I couldn't believe that,
that was what came out
of all those parts
that I gave 'em.
A hunk of junk
turned into that.
You all did a great job.
[Chase] We started off
with a bare frame.
You know, we
had to four-link it
coilovers in the front
all new suspension.
Then the fun part.
We got to the engines.
[Johnny exclaims]
[Johnny exclaims]
That is insane.
-[Tommy] We went with the
12-valve Cummins.
-[Johnny] Oh wow.
You know this is old school.
Completely rebuilt.
We've got valve springs,
cam, new pistons
-with my little
secret sauce on the rings.
-[laughs]
[Tommy] You know,
this thing is gonna make
tons of horsepower.
We did a custom
compound turbo setup.
This thing is making
around 1100 horsepower.
Holy cow.
1100 horses in a
1000-pound truck.
[all laughing]
-It is going to be
a rocket, man.
-Oh, my God.
They nailed it
with the 12-valve
no computerized
anything on it
and those big compound turbos.
and those big compound turbos.
We got a 1000 horsepower
there, baby.
Oh, my goodness,
that is clean.
Slick black on black
with red accents.
That is exactly
what I wanted, dude.
-Clean, simple.
-Yeah.
-[Chase] Little details that
just take it a long way.
-[Johnny] Pop, pop.
[Johnny] Man, that
steering wheel looks
amazing. That is perfect.
One of the other cool
things we did on this truck.
I had a friend of mine
air brush the original decal
-for the Li'l Red Express.
-[Johnny] Wow.
-[Chase] You know the problem
with these is...
-[Johnny] Really?
-[Chase] they would
just peel off, you know.
-[Johnny] Right.
-[Chase] they would
just peel off, you know.
-[Johnny] Right.
We wanted to fix all the
problems they had, bring it
back to the modern times
but still keep the originality
of the Li'l Red Express.
[Tommy] And
speaking of originality
-you can't not have
these on here.
-Uh-huh, that's for sure.
[Tommy] Back in the day,
when these were new
everybody wanted them
-because they had stacks.
-[Johnny] Yup.
[Tommy] As a young kid
-we wanted to be loud
and proud, you know.
-[Johnny laughs] Yeah.
-So now, we're gonna be
loud and proud with a diesel.
-[Johnny] There you go.
One more thing...
-This custom-wood bed.
-Holy cow, man.
-That is neat.
-[Chase] Yeah.
We actually burnt the wood
to give it that look.
We actually burnt the wood
to give it that look.
Man, that gas tank lid
looks cool as well
just blends in perfectly
with the chrome in there.
That's exactly right, you know
just little touches
-there and there,
just to give it--
-[Johnny] Better tone, yeah.
That is killer, man.
That is cool.
It is pristine.
They did an awesome job.
I want to thank
every one of them.
I came to the right place.
I trusted the guys and they
came through for me.
Can't wait to see how
fast this joker is.
-Why don't you ride
with me one time.
-No problem.
I'll show you what it can do.
-Then I'll hand you the keys.
-No problem.
-You ready?
-I'm ready.
You ain't never experienced
this before.
Oh, I can't wait.
Oh, I can't wait.
[engine starts]
You know, it's one thing to
tell a customer it's making
this kind of horsepower.
[laughing]
Oh, boy.
It's another to let them
experience it and be there
to witness it.
-You ready for this?
-Yeah.
[engine accelerating]
-[laughing]
-That sucker's bad, ain't it?
Definitely want to thank
our team though, Dad.
We couldn't have
done it without 'em.
[Tommy] You know, Clay and
the guys, everybody
[Tommy] You know, Clay and
the guys, everybody