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Common Cents

Tim Tuttle’s 1,500 HP Cummins Ram Limited Pro Stock Puller

There is something to be said about a battle-tested chassis in truck pulling. Once a given truck has proven itself a winner, rarely is it ever retired. Case in point, Tim Tuttle’s ’05 Dodge Ram first took to the dirt more than a decade ago. Since its debut, the truck has spent time at big name shops like Fleece Performance Engineering and O’Bryant Diesel Services, along with changing owners on several occasions. When the third-gen came up for sale as a rolling chassis, Tim—a seasoned puller who was eager to break into the ultra-competitive Limited Pro Stock class—pounced.

A homecoming of sorts, Tim dropped the truck off at Fleece’s Pittsboro, Indiana headquarters, where the guys in the truck shop would update the chassis, fabricate a dash, handle all wiring, install Lexan windows, and re-mount the body when it returned from the body shop. Meanwhile, a 1,500hp-capable Cummins was being built over in Freedom Racing Engines’ clean room. The build would be capped off with a trip to the company’s state-of-the-art dyno cell.

Deck-Plated 6.7L Cummins

For utmost durability, a 6.7L block—its water jackets filled, cylinder sleeves added, and its head bolt bores machined to accept 14mm fasteners—serves as the foundation of Tim’s battle-ready Cummins. All seven main bearing caps are tied together through the use of a girdle, while a factory crank, forged Carrillo rods, and forged Diamond Racing pistons make up the rotating assembly. To accommodate the cylinder liners and keep the bores from distorting, a deck-plate is employed up top. As for the head, you’ll find one of Freedom’s filled competition units, which has been treated to CNC porting, oversize valves, hardened valve seats, Manley valve springs, and 14mm ARP Custom Age 625+ head studs.

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S&S CP3’s, DDP Injectors, DSR Lift Pump

Well-known for putting common-rail trucks in the winner’s circle, the folks at Fleece put together a recipe they knew would make Tim’s truck a front-runner. Two 12mm CP3’s were sourced from S&S Diesel Motorsport, and mount via Fleece’s dual pump kit. Dynomite Diesel Products supplied the Super Mental injectors that were built to Fleece’s specifications. Low-pressure fuel supply and regulation are handled via D&J Precision Machine’s direct drive kit, complete with a gear-driven DSR fuel pump, and Fleece’s regulated return fuel distribution block.

3.0-inch Smoothbore Turbo & Air-to-Water Intercooling

Even though the rules for Limited Pro Stock haven’t changed much over the years, engine builders and turbo suppliers have still managed to find a way to squeeze more horsepower out of these air-restricted power plants. With Freedom and Fleece on top of the engine build and fuel side of things, Tim turned to JEB Modern Machines for his 3.0-inch smoothbore turbo needs. The Garrett GT50-based charger sports a billet, 4-blade compressor, mounts to a T6 flange Steed Speed exhaust manifold, and has produced as much as 58 psi of boost in the past. A 4-core air-to-water intercooler from Chiseled Performance keeps air intake temps on ice, literally.

Built For Abuse

The job of sending as much of the Cummins’ power to the wheels as possible is left to a four-disc clutch from Kenny’s Pulling Parts & Machine. A one-speed reverser transmission from SCS Gearbox takes over from there, while a quick-change transfer case (also from SCS) distributes power to both axles. The AAM 925 up front survives the abuse it sees thanks to upgraded axleshafts and a Detroit Truetrac limited slip. The rear axle is the same stout SQHD/20-145 you’ll find underneath Pro Stock and even Super Stock trucks. Both axles employ 4.88 gears.

A Top Contender—And Here To Stay

So how has Tim’s reborn third-gen performed so far? Right out of the gate, he grabbed a win some 300 miles from home and has rarely finished outside the top five at any event since. This includes a Fifth Place finish at the 2020 Scheid Diesel Extravaganza—against 25 of the strongest running Limited Pro Stocks in the country. But don’t take his late summer success as some type of fluke…it’s a testament to a great chassis, a solid driver, and the right power plant all performing at their full potential. Look for Tim and his “Common Cents” Dodge to terrorize the Limited Pro Stock circuit throughout 2021.

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Since debuting the truck in late summer, Tim Tuttle’s Limited Pro Stock common-rail Dodge has only finished outside of the top five on one occasion. Thanks to O’Bryant Diesel Services’ chassis work, Fleece Performance Engineering’s fine-tuning and updates, and Freedom Racing Engine’s nasty Cummins, Tim should be competitive for years to come. On this qualifying hook at the 2020 Scheid Diesel Extravaganza, Tim’s “Common Cents” Dodge took the sled for a 331.28-foot ride—good enough for Second Place out of 31 trucks.
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The common-rail Cummins under the hood of Tim’s Limited Pro Stock third-gen was born and bred at Freedom Racing Engines. Its filled and sleeved 6.7L block was machined to accept 14mm head studs and employs a girdle to tie all the mains together. The rotating assembly consists of a factory crankshaft swinging a set of Carrillo forged rods attached to forged Diamond Racing pistons. A Hamilton-based cam, treated to a re-grind at Freedom, handles valvetrain operation. Once the Cummins was assembled, it spent time on Freedom’s in-house engine dyno—where it wasn’t allowed to leave until it was making class-leading horsepower.
04
A Competition cylinder head from Freedom Racing Engines means that the 24-valve unit has been treated to CNC porting, fire-rings, larger intake and exhaust valves, hardened and oversized valve seats, and Manley valve springs. Like the block, it’s also been filled with concrete, so the engine has no cooling system to speak of, other than its intercooler system. To free up incoming airflow as much as possible, the factory intake shelf was milled off in order to accommodate one of Fleece Performance Engineering’s billet side-draft intakes.
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Breaking away from some of the bigger names in the turbo business, Tim runs a 3.0-inch smoothbore charger from JEB Modern Machines at the present time. Based on a Garrett GT50 frame, it features one of the more unique compressor profiles we’ve seen, the compressor itself having just four blades. The T6 flange GT50 bolts to a Steed Speed exhaust manifold and averages 50-psi of boost going down the track.
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Before boost makes its way into the high-flow head, it passes through this 4-core air-to-water intercooler from Chiseled Performance. Scheid Diesel’s Kent Crowder had a helping hand in sourcing the agriculture-style, belt-driven water pump to make the water-to-air system as efficient as possible, while the truck shop side of Fleece Performance Engineering built the icebox, weight box, and all the plumbing. The fact that the Cummins’ air intake temps stay below ambient during the course of a pull means each party did their job.
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Just like what you’ll find in street truck applications, Fleece’s dual pump kit is employed on Tim’s engine. A pair of 12mm stroker CP3’s from S&S Diesel Motorsport send fuel to a ported rail, where it’s stored until the Super Mental injectors from Dynomite Diesel Products call for it. We’re told the solenoid valve injectors, built to Fleece’s specs, are equipped with nozzles that measure 500-percent over stock.
09
Power transfer begins with a four-disc clutch from Kenny’s Pulling Parts & Machine. Downwind of that you’ll find a one-speed reverser from SCS Gearbox wrapped in a Kevlar transmission blanket. A quick-change drop box, also from SCS, is tasked with sending power to both axles.
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While a lot of the parts bolted to Tim’s third-gen are overkill, this component might just take the cake. The SQHD/20-145 axle from Kenny’s Pulling Parts & Machine packs SCS axleshafts, a 4.88:1 ring and pinion, and a spool. Also notice the unique diff cover, which no doubt helped shed some weight.
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Believe it or not, that’s the factory-based AAM 925 front axle the truck came with. To survive 1,500 hp, it’s been fitted with SCS axleshafts and a Detroit Truetrac limited slip differential, and also sports 4.88 gears. The hydraulic-assist steering system was built using PSC Motorsports components.
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Similar to what you’d find on Pro Stock and even Super Stock engines, Tim’s Cummins benefits from a mechanical lift pump that’s driven off the front of the engine. D&J Precision Machine’s direct drive kit made it possible, and the high-flow fuel pump from Fa ensures supply pressure delivered to the CP3’s never drops.
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Double-adjustable AFCO coil overs dwell inside the front coil springs, and offer near-infinite tuneability. Another vital piece to the chassis-tuning puzzle checks in in the form of the travel sensor you see right behind the coil spring. When you combine the adjustability of the AFCO’s with the critical information this sensor collects, front suspension travel can be dialed in to a “T.”
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Tim’s Dodge claws its way to the front using six Trxus STS’s from Interco, a long-favored tread pattern for competitive truck pullers. Each all-terrain measures 35×12.50R16 and rides on a lightweight aluminum wheel from Real Racing Wheels (16×12’s up front and 16×10’s out back).
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In the cab, gutted doors, a bare floor, and a Kirkey racing seat lend themselves to an all-business atmosphere, with only fuel pressure, oil pressure, voltage and a tach present in analog gauge form on the fabricated dash. On the center console, the time-tested EFI Live FlashScan V2 that Chase Fleece uses to tune the truck’s CM849 (5.9L) ECM is along for each and every ride, and doubles as Tim’s data logger.
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Bodyworks of Paris, Illinois—and specifically the owner, Keith Rice—is credited with handling all of the truck’s auto body work. In addition to the factory Delmonico Red paint, Bodyworks is the reason a pair of long-bed bedsides were seamlessly integrated to accommodate the truck’s stretched (158-inch) wheelbase. As for mounting the body, fabricating the dash, wiring everything up, installing the Lexan windows, and building the weight box, those tasks were performed by the seasoned crew at Fleece Performance Engineering.

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