Where normal people would have given up long ago, Buck still wanted his truck to be one of the fastest diesels out there, even if it meant switching brand loyalty a little. "I called Ron Wolverton up at Sun Coast Transmissions, and asked him if he was interested in helping me out. He thought about it for a day, then called me and asked when he could have the truck." Three weeks later, it was ready.
When the truck arrived back home to Roper, North Carolina, it had a Sun Coast full metal jacket Dodge 47RE transmission installed where the Allison used to reside. Nicknamed the Duraflite, the transmission was surprisingly easy to adapt to the Chevy. A special engine plate, flexplate, and torque converter were used, but the stock driveshafts and crossmember were retained, making for a pretty simple swap. With billet input, output, and intermediate shafts, this transmission has proved extremely reliable through a full year of racing.
All of Buck's hard work paid off last year when he made his first few trips down the dragstrip with his new engine and transmission. We're starting to get used to street-legal 11-second trucks, but this thing is in a league of its own. Buck has driven his hot rod Chevy to the track, then flashed down the quarter-mile in 9.70 seconds-and that's lifting at 1,000 feet. Buck's perseverance paid off, and his hard work has made this nitrous-equipped, Dodge-transmissioned, Duramax-powered Chevy one of the quickest 4x4s on the planet. DP
 To lower the truck and aid...  To lower the truck and aid in tuning, the front suspension was switched to coilover shocks. |  The rear has clamped leaf...  The rear has clamped leaf springs, but that's about it. Somehow this all adds up to 60-ft times in the 1.30-second range during Buck's four-wheel-drive launches. |  One of the quickest 4x4s on...  One of the quickest 4x4s on the planet. |
 The interior of the truck...  The interior of the truck is all business. A full rollcage built by DAE Motorsports out of Williamston, North Carolina, protects Buck on his 9-second quarter-mile passes. Racing seats and five-point seatbelts are also important safety features in a truck this quick. |  The floor of the interior...  The floor of the interior houses two very important items: a TS Performance data acquisition system, and a programmable transmission control module from Sun Coast. The data acquisition system allows Buck to monitor the truck's real-time performance, then he can adjust transmission shifts as needed in order to keep the Duramax engine in its peak power range. |  To transfer an estimated 1,300...  To transfer an estimated 1,300 horsepower to the ground, Buck relies on a Dodge 47RE transmission built by Sun Coast. Nicknamed the Duraflite, it has proven to be very reliable. |