21-YEAR OLD STUDIES DIESEL TECHNOLOGY (with Hands-on Approach)

Levi Krech lives in Gillette, Wyoming, a place where diesel rules and it isn’t hard to find a job if you’re talented in the oil burning arena. At 21-years old, Krech is currently studying diesel technology while also working part time as a mechanic. You might say that he is fully immersed in the craft. How did he get there? While a freshman in high school, he saw Pat Mc-Creery’s truck, and it inspired him. Soon after, Krech found an ‘02 Dodge Ram 2500 after a long search for just the right truck. It was owned by an elderly gentleman, who took very good care of the truck and kept it completely stock and parked inside of a garage. The truck was in nearly brand new condition, and when Krech took it off the old timer’s hands, it was the perfect blank canvas. Thus began the two-year process of turning the truck into a head turner with some friends teaming up to work on the build.

What he now calls Assassin SRT (Street Race Truck) was a completely home built project that consumed Krech’s free time. The only thing he J Color under the hood is always a good way to spice things up. Industrial Injection helped Krech plan out the compound turbo system that helps deliver just over 600-horse-power on the dyno. didn’t get involved in was the paint. And he gives credit to McCreery for teaching him nearly everything he needed to know to do the work. What little information McCreery didn’t know was supplied by Krech’s college instructor, Travis Grubb. The beautiful Flame Red Sherwin-Williams paint is the work of Marlin and Joey Doop at Marlins Auto Body. The mirrors were color matched, and a thin black pin stripe was added down the side.

The list of friends that helped Krech includes: Brandon Davis, Dylon Lara, Aaron Lounsberry, Dillon Matthews, Ty McCortney, Pat McCreery, Coltin Mortson and Dalton Starbuck. He says he couldn’t have built the truck without the help of all these guys—and that more mod’s are on the way. Krech has plans to open up a shop in a few years, and he already has a name for it: Unique Perform- ance. Building this truck was part of the plan to show that a VP44 truck can be strong and reliable. He feels like he can drive the truck anywhere across the country with no worries of breaking down.

When people ask Krech how much horse-power or torque the rig offers, he says it has been dynoed at 601 hp and 1,350 lbs.-ft of torque. The 5.9-liter Cummins engine has a Hamilton camshaft actuating the valves through a set of Maxspool billet chromoly pushrods. Internally, Toxic Diesel pistons are wrapped with Mahle rings while the Cummins cylinder head is held firmly in place by a set of ARP head studs. The compound turbochargers were spec’d by Brandon Leary at Industrial Injection and provide about 75 to 80 psi of boost using a PhatShaft 62 over a PhatShaft 78.

A CPP tunnel ram intake makes sure there’s enough air for the amount of fuel the CPP 7×14 injectors deliver. An Air Dog II lift pump contributes to the power package with plenty of clean #2. The exhaust manifold is a three-piece unit from DPS, and the five-inch exhaust is from Unique Performance. An Edge comp box pulls everything together and is the brains of the operation. The NV4500 transmission has a billet input shaft and the fifth gear nut has been fixed. A South Bend dual disc clutch transfers the power from the engine to the transmission.

The chassis is pretty much stock, but he added Bilstein 5100 shocks all the way around for a better ride and Hawk brake pads for better braking performance. The truck rolls on a set of 305/50R20 Nitto NT420S tires wrapped around black Moto Metal MO962 20X12-inch wheels to stick to the pavement while looking stylish at the same time. For body mod’s, Krech had Rhino Liner sprayed on the lower portion of the body and added a fiber-glass tonneau cover on the bed to keep tools and gear secure and away from prying eyes. He also installed a sport front bumper and had it painted along with the grille for a bold front end look. Krech added Spyder Eagle Eye projector headlights and LED taillights to give the ’02 Dodge a modern touch. A pair of Rigid Industries Dually LED lights were also installed in the fog light openings in the sport bumper.

Inside the cab, Krech built a custom console to house a 12-inch Pioneer sub between the front seats. Kicker speakers are located in the factory door positions, while a Pioneer head unit sends the audio signals to the system. Gauges add visual impact and keep him up to date on what’s going on with the truck. An A-pillar pod holds Optix and Auto Meter gauges to monitor boost pressure, EGT and fuel pressure.

We have no doubt his efforts at school and in the shop will pay off very soon with his own shop; at the very least, he has a great little red Dodge to show for it. UDBG

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