Until recently, Mike Drever's '04 ram had a secret. For a long time, it looked like an everyday diesel truck, suitable for tooling around town with his wife, Charr, and young daughter, Karleigh. When Mike stomped the throttle, though, this Ram bared its horns, barreling down the dragstrip at a ferocious clip. Some might call it a sleeper; others a Q ship. The latter reference is particularly apt because Mike has dropped his work-truck disguise and now wears war paint.
In its previous life, this Dodge 4x4 had just a champagne color-coating, hiding the kick of tequila under its hood. Yet, when menacing diesel rigs surfaced on the dragstrip, Mike exposed his true intent, blasting off quarter-mile runs in the 11s. And that was just the beginning of his war campaign. Eventually, this battlewagon would demolish the 11-second barrier, making it the fastest common-rail diesel pickup in the country, he asserts.
Going Fast Means Breaking Lots Of Parts
Before digging into the latest high-caliber weapons in Mike's arsenal, though, we should back up a bit. When he bought the pickup in October of 2003, it was just a work truck for his job running an oilfield company based in Medicine Hat, Alberta. He initially stacked a couple of boxes, and the truck began making some healthy horsepower, especially when he decided to put on a 62mm turbo and 100hp injectors. But after toasting six transmissions, he began experimenting with aftermarket solutions.
Mike ran into even more setbacks, such blowing up the original engine with an improper application of propane. He forged ahead, though, using the time-honored trial-and-error method, which led to a number of other broken parts. Realizing he needed to take a more methodical approach, Mike sought some assistance from North American Diesel Performance, which agreed to supply several prototype parts.