L5P Duramax-powered, Allison 10L1000-shifted and MoTeC controlled. Keith Porter’s tire-shredding, 2,800-pound hot-rod proves anything is possible in the diesel industry.
Parked across the street from his church, it was a truck Keith Porter saw every Sunday. And even though he’d undertaken a 1950 Chevrolet Advance-Design project with a compound turbo 24-valve Cummins and built a Duramax-powered ’54 GMC COE in the past, Keith had no plans to buy it. But all of that changed when his wife took a keen interest in the truck’s tailgate—believing it would make the perfect foundation for a bench at their home. After the truck’s owner affirmed he would not be parting out the old Chevrolet, the Porter’s became the new owners of a rusty ’52 Chevy 3100.
Constructing steel buildings by day and bringing his new hot-rod project to life in the evenings and on weekends, Keith put his extensive welding and self-taught auto body skills to work. Given the previous Chevy’s he’d built, Keith made it a personal goal to go “overboard” on this one. So not only is the truck’s cab chopped, its bed shortened, and the doors stretched, but it rides on independent front and rear suspension (robbed from a donor C4 Corvette) and benefits from a Bluetooth-controlled air-ride system. Most importantly, it’s powered by an L5P Duramax and equipped with a fully functional 10-speed Allison. This is the rags to riches story of Keith’s ’52 Chevy.
Sourcing the L5P Duramax is a story in and of itself with Keith’s ’52. When one of GM’s new vehicle transport trucks rolled over leaving Detroit, several 2020 (albeit totaled) Chevrolet HD’s were scattered along the highway. The trucks were bought by a Chicago salvager Keith had had prior dealings with, and when he inquired about one of the brand-new L5P’s he was able to pick one up for an unbeatable price. Brand-new at the time and still untouched at this point, the 6.6L V-8 retains its factory rods, pistons, heads (and head bolts), and injection system, despite the fact that the truck is belting out north of 600-rwhp.Things are tight under the hood, but previous experience with Advance-Design engine compartments reminded Keith that fitting a Duramax in one could definitely be done. Once Keith figured out exactly where he wanted the engine, he set to work measuring and then cutting. “I was off only ½-inch on my [height] calculations,” he told us. The lone clearance issue he encountered was with the turbo, but was nothing a little notching (and then reinforcing) of the hood support couldn’t solve. With input from Merchant Automotive’s Eric Merchant, Keith also built his own motor mounts. And with limited width available in front of the L5P, a compact yet efficient intercooler and radiator were chosen. The four-core, triple-pass aluminum radiator can be seen here.A B&M shifter is positioned over the 10L1000 Allison’s tail housing. And although Keith can’t yet manually shift through all 10 gears, future tuning will allow him to. However, there is a usable line-lock button on the other side of it, which Keith puts to good use in the burnout box and drag strip. As for the Allison itself, its short list of mods includes the installation of a shift kit. The converter, clutches, and everything else inside the 10-speed’s case has gone untouched so far. The truck’s feather-like, 2,800-pound race weight has certainly helped keep the big automatic alive while harnessing what likely amounts to 1,200 lb-ft of torque (if not more).Tire-shredding torque comes online instantly thanks to a factory variable geometry turbo. The 61mm BorgWarner unit produces as much as 46-psi of boost under load, a pressure Keith admits probably takes the stock VGT well out of its map. However, Keith tells us EGT remains well within check, rarely cresting 1,200 degrees F, thanks in part to the 4-inch diameter intercooler piping built by Wehrli Custom Fabrication. WC Fab also supplied the 5-inch cold air intake, upper coolant pipe, and all silicone boots and T-bolt clamps.Now for the real magic behind the build. Working extensively with S&S Diesel Motorsport, and the company’s renowned design and development engineer, Andre Dusek, the L5P Duramax and 10-speed Allison are controlled via a MoTeC M142 stand-alone ECU. After Keith installed all the MoTeC hardware, S&S handled the custom wiring harness, the Lambda to CAN control module, and the calibrating. According to Andre, it took roughly a year to work all of the kinks out of the transmission. The MoTeC C127 digital display shown here serves as Keith’s gauge cluster, but also provides for in-depth data logging—something that was vital in getting the powertrain fine-tuned.Inside the chopped cab, you’ll find even more of Keith’s self-taught craftsmanship. The dash, door panels, floor, and transmission tunnel were all homegrown in his Loyal, Wisconsin garage. All of it was built using mild steel, made to look like stainless by grinding every panel in one direction, and then hit with a rust inhibiting sealer. Keith also fabricated the mounts that accommodate a pair of Corbeau race seats, complete with 5-point safety harnesses from 50 Caliber Racing. The quick-release, flat-bottom NRG Innovations steering wheel retains horn functionality thanks to its built-in pickups for horn contacts.Peering into the bed, you can see how busy (and interesting) things get on Keith’s ’52 Chevy. First and foremost, notice the rear end. Plucked out of his 36,000-mile, ’84 Corvette, the Dana 44 batwing—complete with the C4’s independent rear suspension—is tasked with harnessing the L5P’s four-digit torque output. An adjustable four-link system, made from 1-inch chromoly tubing, rules out wheel hop and maximizes traction. As for fuel economy, the combination of the rear-end’s 2.56:1 ring and pinion with the 10-speed Allison hanging out in triple overdrive often culminates in 46-mpg. Also notice the 5-gallon tank behind the cab. It’s part of a Ridetech dual compressor air ride system, which is controlled by way of a Pro X air suspension leveling system.Thanks to having a 290-gph FASS system onboard, Keith’s classic Chevy is prepped for when a set of bigger injectors and a stroker high-pressure fuel pump enter the picture. The high-flow lift pump pulls fuel from a 17-gallon fuel cell mounted aft of the rear axle. With that much capacity, Keith spends very little time at filling stations. “I only have to put fuel in it once a month, and that’s if I drive it a lot,” he told us. Visible here, as well as in the previous photo, you can see a portion of the truck’s frame, built with 2×4-inch main rails and 2×3-inch inner sections.Keith’s Chevy is loaded with character, both vintage and contemporary, but this fender-exit exhaust might just be our favorite part. The 5-inch section ties in with a downpipe Keith fabbed up himself. Cosmetically, he was able to preserve the sheet metal’s aged look using Patina Sauce from Sweet Patina. It’s a surface-protecting, water-repellant product that inhibits rust and can be wiped on or off. After trying it once, Keith now has complete faith in it. “With that stuff, you can basically make rust go away,” he told us.Wheel selection can make or break the aesthetics of any project. Luckily for Keith, he’s owned more than his fair share of hot-rods and knows how to make them look the part. The old-fashioned appearance of Foose F104 Custom Legend gloss black wheels certainly do the trick. The 18×8.5-inch wheels up front are wrapped in 255/45ZR18 Fullway all seasons while each rear 20×10.5 wears a Fullway measuring 315/35ZR20. And although Keith says the current tread out back has held its own so far, he admitted he’ll soon be switching to a set of Nitto NT555 RII drag radials.At 2,800 pounds (and with a VGT in the mix and an ECU calibration set on kill), it doesn’t take much to get Keith’s classic repower up to speed—or kicked off the track. Running at his local drag strip shortly after dialing in the Allison, Keith told us the truck trapped 138 mph. With no roll cage inside the cab, he was quickly shown the exit. With it being the first time he’d been to the track, Keith was surprised with how well the truck ran. “I did a good burnout and used the line-lock to bring boost up to 30-psi,” he told us. “It spun the first 10-feet and then hooked. But it also felt like it was on the edge of what the tires could hold the whole way down the track. I never imagined it would run so good.”Far from finished, Keith has big plans for his ’52 in the future, including 200-percent over injectors, an upgraded high-pressure fuel pump, and a bigger turbo. We wouldn’t be surprised if a roll cage was on the list, too, as may be a lot of other things. “It’ll never be done, it’s a hot-rod,” he told us. And, with 15,000 miles already racked up on the truck since it became road-ready, you can bet that Keith plans to continue to drive it anywhere and everywhere in the summer months.
