Nothing says "bang for the buck" like the
'94 to '98 12-valve Cummins. Gaining horsepower can cost next to nothing, and even if the project takes a turn toward the extreme, big power can still be had without breaking the bank.
| 1009dp 1994 To 1998 Cummins Big Power Small Budget rear Passenger Garage View
Recently, we hooked up with Russ Kennel of Maximum Diesels in San Jacinto, California. He's a diesel shop owner who's becoming more and more involved in the old-school diesel aftermarket-mainly due to how fun and affordable it is. When we bumped into him, he'd transformed a $3,000 '94 Dodge Ram 2500 into a 12-second quarter-mile performer-and had done so on a very tight budget. But he wanted more.
With plenty of fuel on tap, Kennel recently upgraded to a set of twin turbos. By retaining his quick-spooling Tech 64 unit from Diesel Power Source and using it as the high-pressure charger, Kennel threw an S480 (also from Diesel Power Source) into the mix. Still within budget, the addition of the low-pressure charger and new plumbing propelled his standard cab Dodge into the 11s in the quarter-mile, and the truck picked up 145 hp on the dyno.
Is the 12-valve still the king of cheap diesel power? You betcha! Follow along as we give you Kennel's power recipe, dyno results, and elapsed time improvement from adding twins.
BUDGET PARTS LIST:
ITEM:
DETAILS:
PRICE:
4,000-rpm governor springs
Taken from donor 160hp P-pump
Free
Bosch 024 delivery valves
DDP, more power less smoke
$260
Injectors from local pump shop
5x18, EDM'd
$750
FASS fuel system
95 series, 180-gph
$589
Tech 64 turbo from Diesel Power Source
64/65/12 for quick spooling
$1,295
BD torque converter
1,700-rpm stall, triple disc
$1,695
46RH automatic rebuild
Local transmission shop
$1,500
*$6,089 = 515 hp at the wheels and 12-second quarter-mile times
Twin turbo (added to 64mm)
S480 and all twin-turbo hardware
$3,395
*$9,484 = 660 hp at the wheels and 11-second quarter-mile times
