Brandon Miller from Unionville Center, Ohio, thinks a little differently than most. Not many people will take a look at a '94 Chevy S-10 and think that installing a 1,000-pound diesel engine is a good idea. But Brandon did, and we congratulate him on his effort. It took a lot of work, but in the end, he has a quick, 4,000-pound truck that has already run 11s in the quarter-mile and should soon run down in the 9s with the addition of a secondary turbo and some nitrous.
The engine that Brandon chose to inflict upon the poor little S-10 is quite the piece of work. A 5.9L Cummins out of a wrecked '01 Dodge Ram was the basis for this build and was bored 0.020 inches over and fitted for O-rings. Common-rail connecting rods were used, as well as custom F1 Diesel pistons that net a 13.5:1 compression ratio.
A stock 12-valve head from a '97 Dodge was fitted with 60-pound springs but is otherwise untouched. Compressed air enters the cylinders via a modified 2.8-inch inducer (71mm) K31 turbocharger, which is regulated at about 55 psi of boost using a 50mm Synapse wastegate.
Since space is limited, Brandon also went for a crazy water injection system instead of an intercooler, which uses a hydraulic pump from an industrial application. The pump requires 108 amps to run and is capable of 3,000 psi of pressure.
On the fuel side of the coin, F1 Diesel injectors are used in conjunction with a 13mm-plunger-equipped Bosch P7100 pump that allows the engine to spin almost 5,000 rpm, produce 500 hp, and create 1,000 lb-ft of torque.