(tense music)
- This is "American Tuned".
(truck engine roaring)
That's "American Tuned".
Well, we are at Willow Springs and I brought my baby,
the 3 rotor RX7 to see how she does around the track,
but that's not the most interesting thing
about this episode,
we also have my good friend with Old Smokey, the F1,
here to really show how it's done, Scott Birdsall.
(exciting music)
- What's up Rob?
- Hey man, how's your baby?
- Not bad, not bad, I brought her out
so you could try her out
and see what the most unconventional race truck
in the world is about.
- Yeah, I'm very excited.
You know it's wild
because we've crossed paths so many times,
we have the same sheer passion,
but we choose to do things a little differently.
- Right.
- And this is finally my opportunity
to see what this thing's all about.
So, what's inside of these holes.
- So these are just holes to let all the heat out
but in here is a 6.7 Cummins Turbo Diesel
built by Freedom Racing Engines
and maximum power around 1400 horse
and 2100 pound feet of torque.
- Whoa, wait, the torque is way more than the horsepower.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- So, the opposite of what you have,
you know, all the horsepower and little torque,
so it's probably the worst race engine for road racing
but like you, I like to take stuff that's out of the norm
and make it work.
- Yeah, that's why we have our mutual respect,
is that, you could just go get an LS,
I could just go get LS,
but- - It's easy.
- This is our challenge and what we enjoy doing,
but not all the magic's up here?
- Not all the magic's up here,
like all the fun is in the back.
- Let's check that out.
(bright music)
This does not look like the bed of my tow truck.
- No, no, it's hauling a lot of payload
but it is for a different purpose.
So the engine on Old Smokey weighs 1200 pounds.
- The engine,
just the engine alone. - Just the engine alone.
So to make this thing have proper weight distribution
for road racing, everything had to go on the back.
- And if I understand correctly,
I don't know enough about this, it's not twin turbo,
this is the words, compound?
- Compound turbo, yeah,
so a lot of people call it twin turbo, it's not,
there are two turbos but they're not twins,
they're different.
So in this setup you have a high pressure, low volume turbo,
and you have a low pressure, high volume turbo.
- Okay.
- And they kinda work together to create the perfect turbo
which would be high pressure, high volume.
- [Rob] This sort of setup as I understand
is meant also, like you said, high pressure,
what sort of pressures are we talking?
- Yeah, so the fun part about Old Smokey is,
not only have you got the Freedom Racing Engine
making over 18 to 1 on compression,
but you've also got 100 PSI of boost.
- 100 PSI boost?
That's wow, and then how much does this thing weigh roughly?
- [Scott] Smokey weighs around 4,200 pounds.
- [Rob] That's not a lot for how much truck there is.
- No, it's heavy for a race car but like your average,
you know, 6 Series BMW, Mustang, Camaro,
they're all 4,000 pounds.
This is the first time I'll ever have this on track
to test it so you get to be a guinea pig of sorts.
- Yeah, it's just the fun part of tuning, right?
(truck engine roaring)
(calm music)
- [Scott] It's time to party.
- I am excited now, I know,
but I want everybody else to know
that this is a Pikes Peak record holder,
so, that's a first, a number one,
and then this is also a first,
you're letting me drive it. - Yeah.
First gear, all the way forward,
it's a straight, sequential row,
so, one, two, three, you won't use fourth gear on this track
but other than that, you're ready to party.
- Awesome, okay, I'm ready.
(Scott chuckling)
I think.
- You say that with some, with a little bit of a-
- I'm ready.
(both laughing)
(tense music)
(truck engine starting)
(truck engine roaring)
Thank you so much man. - Have fun buddy.
(truck engine roaring)
(door banging)
- Oh my God, this is a once in a lifetime experience,
I did not expect I'd be doing this.
I'm just gonna, I'm gonna take it nice and easy
as if it's my dog.
(Rob chuckling)
(truck engine roaring)
(Rob chuckling)
This is so fun ride.
(Rob chuckling)
This is one hell of an experience.
(exciting music)
It's exactly what you think it looks like,
very distinct, very weird, I'm driving a truck on a track.
- Go get it buddy.
(truck engine roaring)
I've never heard that thing go by, that's so cool.
(exciting music)
(truck engine roaring)
- Okay, I see you.
That's a lot more predictable than you'd think
when you see it from the outside.
(truck engine roaring)
- I never let anybody drive it
because most of my friends are professional drivers
and they'll drive it like I do
which is beating it like a race car and I don't want,
like, that's my race car, like if anybody's gonna beat it,
it's gonna be me, so I know Rob will respect it,
so that's why he's driving it.
- The steering is very, very manual,
it's very raw, but I can feel it,
I get what the car is trying to tell me.
(truck engine roaring)
- There we go.
(truck engine roaring)
Sounds like a helicopter, huh?
I think he's getting the sea legs.
(truck engine roaring)
(exciting music)
- That is action, I can't say it's way more tame,
that is not what I mean but it's way more predictable.
(truck engine roaring)
I'm very impressed, this thing actually handles way better
than I thought it would.
(truck engine roaring)
Temperatures are cool,
everything's really stable in this thing.
- It's a real hard truck to get used to
because it's really intimidating.
Like it doesn't feel like it should turn in
as hard as it will, so anybody that gets in it
is gonna...
You have to trust it.
- I am definitely not going to win any races
driving somebody else's car,
I'm too gentle even when it's not.
But look at this, this is just so much fun.
- Yeah, this thing's a tractor.
(exciting music)
What'd you think?
- I'm in a truck, I'm in a very tall,
I'm way away from the road, I'm in a very tall vehicle
and somehow I'm pulling lateral G.
- So that's the hardest part about this thing,
you're really in like a GT car level, performing race car.
- Yeah, my mind was going, "I'm back in my tow truck,
my Dodge Ram."
- Essentially, yeah.
- And I'm like,
I know that I cannot pull that hard on that turn.
- Yeah, you can, this thing on fast corners,
it'll pull 1.7 Gs.
- Oh my God, what a cool machine you've built, it is so fun
and I almost feel bad that that's how good yours is.
(Rob chuckling)
Have you tried driving mine?
- We'll see, I'll bet I'll have fun in it.
- This is not what I thought this show would be about,
letting somebody else drive my car,
so this is a very awkward and uncomfortable moment for me
but if I was gonna let anybody do it,
it's you. - So do we have a safe word?
(Rob laughing)
I'm used to torque and horsepower down low.
- Yeah.
- But this is gonna be the opposite,
it's gonna be nothing. - Way up here.
- And then everything.
- Yeah, I finally have a dash.
(exciting music)
(door thumping)
(exciting music)
(car engine roaring)
He started it.
(Rob chuckling)
You gotta count your blessings.
(car engine roaring)
This is, oh (beep) that sounds so cool.
(exciting music)
It actually was pretty nimble,
oh, it looks so good there.
Oh, she sounds good though.
(car engine revving)
Oh, that sounds so good, I never get to experience this.
(exciting music)
Watching somebody else beat on it makes me learn more,
I've got the whole thing logging,
so that way we can make sure we know exactly what did he do?
So this thing's on drag radials,
so drag radials have very soft absorbed launch,
but the problem is that means that they have no sidewall,
so turning, the whole car does this
without the tires even leaving the track,
it'll move half an inch side to side.
(car engine revving)
(Rob laughing)
(car engine revving)
(exciting music)
(calm music)
These cars could not be more opposite,
mine's a gas-powered, 90s, Japanese sports car
and Scott's is a diesel-fueled monster from the 1940s.
At the same time, these two cars could not be more similar,
both are an act of rebellion,
a middle finger to the face of the status quo.
We found a path diverged in a yellow wood
and we've both taken the road less traveled,
a road admittedly filled with blown motors
and bloody knuckles,
but I don't think either of us would have it any other way.
(logo thundering)