#rearended by a truck whose driver was 'adjusting his radio'

[alaricseer]

Got in my first car accident today. Okay as in not in the hospital, but def neck and shoulder issues starting.

[itsworn]

This Compound-Turbocharged Cummins-Powered Ford F1 Makes 1,200 HP and 2,000 LB-FT at the Wheels

Whatever you do, do not call this pickup a rat rod—let’s clear that up from the start. Owner/builder Scotty Birdsall hates the term because it implies shoddy construction, either on purpose or due to a lack of skill. To call Scotty’s handbuilt, tube-chassis, 1,200hp 1949 Ford F1 a rat rod, well, nothing could be further from the truth. The only thing rough-looking about this pickup is the weathered exterior. Peer past the faded paint, and you’ll see incredible fab work, top-shelf parts, and meticulous attention to detail.

Scotty calls his F1 “Old Smokey,” a pretty obvious nod to its outrageous powerplant. In what must be a first for Car Craft, we’re prominently featuring a compound-turbocharged diesel pickup in these pages. “I did it to be different—to stand out,” Scotty told us. Mission accomplished. The pickup made its first major appearance in the AutoMeter booth at the 2016 SEMA Show, and between the multicolored exterior, menacing stance, and gleaming inlet plumbing, Old Smokey drew a crowd like Puritans to a witch burning. What most of the crowd at SEMA missed was the thrill of witnessing the 5.9 Cummins as it spools up. Even the starting procedure is a fascinating sequence of switches and buttons. The inline-six’s droning idle is oddly pleasant, made even more delicious with the chopping whine of the two Garrett turbochargers. Under full boost at the top of the rev range, it sounds like a chorus of angry weed eaters—certainly not what we’re used to hearing, but definitely cool in its own right. Those Garretts only take a second to spool up, and under even partial boost, it’s virtually impossible for the rear tires to maintain any sort of traction with the road. At full song, the engine will see more than 100 psi of boost and be making more than 2,000 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. During our shoot, Scotty was seeing rear-wheel speeds of nearly 180 mph while letting the smoke out of the set of “burner” tires he has mounted on a set of steel wheels for just such shenanigans.

Old Smokey is much more than a tire-burning smoke machine, however. Scotty built it to compete in standing-mile events, drifting, and open-track events. He’s been a professional driver for more than 20 years and is currently an instructor for Driving Connections. He knows how to get a car around a racetrack, and he built the chassis for this F1 with all the knowledge he’s gained through years of driving experience. The massive brakes, wide tires, premium coilovers, aggressive suspension geometry, and Winters quick-change rear axle aren’t there to show off. Everything has a purpose.

Scotty is a self-taught fabricator and chassis builder who left a corporate life behind to build cars full time. The shop is named after his father, Charles, a lifelong police officer whose handle on the police radio was Chuckles. Among his goals for the pickup, Scotty wants to hit 200 mph in a standing-mile event. Considering the weight-to-power ratio, that shouldn’t be a problem, and it’s an impressive feat, considering this whole project started with a $225 Craigslist buy.

“I bought it to flip it,” Scotty told us, but the truck grew on him, and as these things inevitably happen, once he started working on it, the build snowballed into what it is today. We can all relate.

Tech Notes

Who: Scott Birdsall What: 1949 Ford F1 Where: Santa Rosa, CA Engine: Scotty began with 5.9L Cummins engine from a 2005 Freightliner, making significant internal upgrades to handle the power he wanted to make. ALC Racing Engines, in Santa Rosa built the engine with Mahle pistons, Carrillo connecting rods, ARP head studs, a Hamilton camshaft, and Hamilton pushrods. Scotty installed the engine completely behind the front axle centerline for optimum weight balance. Induction: Yes, there are two turbochargers breathing into the engine, but don’t call this a twin-turbo system. In a compound-turbocharging system like what Scotty built for Old Smokey, one turbocharger feeds the other. The result is more boost than you’d get from a single turbocharger and quicker spool-up times than you’d otherwise have with a really large single turbocharger. Here’s how the system works: exhaust gases exit the engine, passing through the exhaust housing of the smaller turbo first, then the larger turbo’s exhaust housing, then into the downpipe and out the back of the car. Air enters the engine in the opposite direction: pulled in through the bigger turbo, compressed and sent to the smaller turbo, where it’s squeezed even more; in Old Smokey’s case, 100 psi of boost at the intake manifold. You read that correctly—that’s nearly 7 atmospheres of pressure! The turbochargers are Garrett’s GTX series and measure 96mm and 80mm. The inlet air is cooled twice, first through an air-to-liquid intercooler positioned between the two turbochargers and a large Mishimoto air-to-air intercooler between the 80mm turbo and the intake manifold. What’s the result of all this boost? Power output levels of 1,230 hp and more than 2,000 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. Electronics: Scotty is using a stock Dodge ECM to monitor and control the engine functions, including boost levels based on wheel speed and what gear the transmission is in. Hardway Performance did the programming using HP Tuners software, with an emphasis on power with minimal black smoke. A complement of AutoMeter Z-series gauges was installed in and around the dash so Scotty can quickly monitor all of the pickup’s vital functions. Fuel: Compared to a gasoline engine with port fuel injection, diesel engines are direct-injected and need a lot more fuel pressure in the system to overcome cylinder pressure, especially under boost. Performance diesel engines can see more than 25,000 psi of pressure in the fuel rail, and the pumps need to maintain that much volume and pressure. Scotty has a pair of Industrial Injection’s XP series CP3 fuel pumps, supported by a PureFlow Technologies’ AirDog 200-gph lift pump. Transmission: Harnessing more than 2,000 lb-ft of torque is a challenge for even the best transmission builders in the country. Scotty turned to ATS Diesel Performance for one of its 47RE transmissions with billet internal components. Rearend: Wanting the ability to change axle ratios easily to suit the type of event he’s competing in, Scotty chose a Winters Performance Pro Mod 10-inch ring-gear Quick Change rear axle. Chassis/Suspension: The front suspension includes SPC’s adjustable upper A-arms, custom-built lower A-arms, and remote-reservoir Afco coilover shocks. Scotty built the rear suspension from scratch. It’s a four-link design with an adjustable Panhard bar and Afco coilovers. He also built the chassis, which is modeled after a NASCAR cup car. Brakes: It’s hard to miss the big 13-inch Wilwood rotors on all four corners. There are six-piston calipers up front and a pair of four-piston calipers on the rear. One pair of rear calipers is actuated by the big lever next to the driver seat, meaning Scotty can initiate a drift anytime he wants. Wheels/Tires: We love the sinister look of the CCW wheels, which offset the pickup’s mottled and faded brushed enamel paint job. Scotty uses Toyo Proxes R8R tires, with the rears being a massive 335/30ZR18. For our burnout pictures, he installed a pair of Cragar steel wheels and cheapo “burner” tires on the back. Thanks: Scotty wants to thank the community of Santa Rosa. His was one of the of homes destroyed in a series of wildfires that ravaged Sonoma County in early October 2017. The fire consumed more than 137 square miles, leveled more than 5,000 homes, and killed 24 people. “We had no warning,” Scott says. “We barely got out with the clothes on our backs.” Fortunately, he and his family are safe and on the road to recovery. The outpouring of relief from the community has been overwhelming, and Scott has been directing any further aid to local charitable organizations helping with the rebuilding efforts. Donate: If you would like to help Sonoma County in the aftermath of the fires, please search “North Bay Fire Relief” and go to the Redwood Credit Union’s website to make a donation.

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