Industrial Injection VP Brett Williams: Duramax Drag Truck

Brett Williams is one of the VPs of Industrial Injection at Salt Lake City, Utah. If you haven’t heard of Industrial Injection, they are one of the leading diesel performance companies in the industry today. However, this story is about Williams’ diesel, a Duramax drag truck. While it’s not the first diesel he’s ever driven, it is the first Duramax he’s owned.

An A-pillar gauge mount houses ISSPRO gauges. These are, top to bottom, Turbo Boost, Turbo Boost and Exhaust backpressure. The twin turbos each have their own gauge. Also you may notice the Edge CTS on the roll cage cross bar.

BACK UP

The story behind this truck is that the previous owner brought it into the shop for repair work. That owner then abandoned the rig, as the needed repairs were more than he wanted to spend. An offer was made to buy the truck, and a project was born.

Originally this 2001 was slated to be a shop truck, but on tear down it was discovered that the trouble went deeper than just a new set of injectors. A broken head bolt made it clear that the engine needed to get pulled. One thing lead to another and this former daily driver was on it its path of transformation.

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The turbo system is a custom setup with Industrial Injection S480/S510 compound turbo combo.

The stock rear end is retained, but a Grizzly locker was installed, and a Mag Hi-Tech cover allows for more oil and better cooling. A pair of FASS 260 gmp pumps feed the fuel to the triple CP3 pumps that feed the engine. — The stock rear end is retained, but a Grizzly locker was installed, and a Mag-Hytec cover allows for more oil and better cooling. A pair of FASS 260 gmp pumps feed the fuel to the triple CP3 pumps that feed the engine.

The current 6.6L Duramax features a Winburg billet crank, Carillo rods, forged pistons and is blueprinted and balanced. Industrial Injection race ported heads and alternate firing order cam also help it make big power and survive. Notice the triple Dragon fire CP3 pumps at the front to feed fuel to this hungry monster.

To lighten the truck, the interior was stripped out. A cage from Rollover Motorsports was installed for safety. The stock seats were replaced with a pair of Corbeau seats with 5-point belts.

METAMORPHOSIS

The first order of business was performing full race build on the engine. This included a Winburg billet crank, Carrilo Rods, forged pistons and some Industrial Injection ported heads and their alternate firing order camshaft. The engine was mated to a 48RE automatic conversion, and a Sun Coast torque converter with a 3,000 rpm stall speed was utilized; a Precision air shifter was added to control the gear selection.

On the body side, the original 2001 extended cab was retained, but it was stripped of everything but the dash. A cage from Rollover Motorsports was installed, as well as a set of Corbeau seats with 5-point belts. The bed was also removed, but the truck retained its original look, with a set of fiberglass bed sides. Other weight-saving measures include the use of a fiberglass hood and front fenders.

The story behind this truck is that the previous owner brought it into the shop for repair work. That owner then abandoned the rig, as the needed repairs were more than he wanted to spend. An offer was made to buy the truck, and a project was born.

Other upgrades to the suspension and driveline include Rancho 9000 shocks, Stainless Steel Brakes Tri-Power brake setup, Yukon Grizzly rear locker, Cal Trac traction bars, PPE Center Link, Cognito front A-arms, Flex-a-Lite cooling fans and Twin FASS 260 GPM lift pumps. On the fuel side, the team also installed triple Dragon Fire injection pumps, Cobre 1100cc injectors, and a Nitrous Express system NO² system. The tuning is handled with an Edge CST with ESA data logger and EFI Live, and a custom tune was made by Starlite Diesel. On the exhaust side, we find PPE exhaust manifolds and up-pipes, with custom piping into the 5-inch MBRP hood stack.

The triple Dragon fire CP3 pumps at the front of the engine feed fuel to a distribution/accumulation block. The fuel is then passed on to the injectors to meet this engine’s needs at full power.

Between the frame rails, in the back of what was the bed space, you’ll find a 15-gallon fuel cell, nitrous tank, transmission cooler with fan and the battery box. This weight is strategically placed over the rear axle to improve traction.

HOW DOES IT STACK UP?

This truck pumps out an estimated 2,000 hp and 3,000 lb-ft at 5,000 rpm. (These figures are an estimation based on the diesel routinely maxing out the in-house dyno at Industrial Injection, these numbers being the highest they can accurately record.)

It took a little over three years to build, but it was worth the effort. Many helped Brett with the build: Dallas Hunt, Chavis Fryer and many of the Industrial Injection employees. Now the team can proudly kick back as the truck roars down the track, often racing competitively and stealing the win. With 158 mph as the top speed, ¼ mile E.T.s at a consistent 9.63 seconds, this truck is a winner. DW

CalTracs traction bars are essential to reducing axle wrap and increasing traction. Of course, the race slicks are a big part of the traction equation too.

While this Duramax rig may have started off as a working rig, it now has a new life as a high-powered, race winning diesel drag truck.