Dependable Daily Driver

Scheid Diesel Extravaganza is one of the most important events of the year in the diesel industry. With its growing fame, SDX in August is a beacon for the coming year and foretells numerous trucks that SEMA will feature later in the year. With plans to upgrade and modify into new behemoths of performance, trucks are bought and sold for the track, as either pullers or racers.

This was the central idea behind Complete Performance’s plans to create a dependable daily driver. The Ford F350 was bought at SDX in Terra Haute, Ind., and Complete Performance wanted to design and build a truck that would perform on the track, but also retain the utility of a daily driver and work truck. With all the flashy lights and the incredible times being posted at SDX, the idea blossomed, but the realization of the dream, as always, was fraught with more difficultly than expected.

The Rutledge family, Paul and Chris, own Complete Performance in Jasper, Texas. As the largest continental state in the nation, Texas is over 265,000 square miles, with more than 3,200 miles of interstate. Complete Performance specializes in building performance trucks, especially intake, exhaust, injectors and turbos upgrades. In business for over five years, Paul and Chris are willing to do anything on a truck from repair work to modifications designed to increase horsepower.

Growing from the humble beginnings of just the two brothers, Chris and Paul, Complete Performance now employs five certified diesel mechanics, described by Paul as, “One grunt, one certified sales manager, one owner—Chris, and entrepreneur—Paul. And while they are open to any and all work, nothing is as fulfilling as getting their elbows deep into a build truck, especially when compared to repair work.

The Build

The F350 was the shop’s first attempt at building a drag truck. While at SDX, they found a gem of a truck that they believed would be ideal for their vision. This dependable daily driver was a ’97 F350 Power Stroke. This OBS first generation was relatively cheap, which was important for their vision. This F350 was different from other trucks, sporting a 16-inch shortened F150 bed after a conversion from a service bed, creating a unique fusion of an F350 body and the F150 bed hybrid. The brothers bought the truck on the spot, making plans to drive it the 700 miles home. The previous owner had used the diesel for a service truck.  

The F350 was a most unusual and unremarkable truck when it caught the eyes of Paul and Chris. With the roar of trucks revving atop dynos, and the spectacular events of the pulls in the near distance, they purchased the truck. After acquiring it, they inspected the engine and installed Stage 2 injectors from Full Force Diesel before leaving Indiana after the SDX event.

Upon purchase and inspection, the brothers did not immediately decide everything they wanted to upgrade and modify. However, they did have a vision and a dream of a truck that was readily available and not too expensive that others could look to as an example. They made rough plans to add an exhaust pipe and a cold air intake once home, and they realized that the suspension needed some work as well. The brothers wanted to return the truck to its original stance, and then draft plans afterward.

Strike One

Problems for the dependable daily driver started as they left SDX. While driving along the idyllic I-40 near Little Rock, Ark., the transmission blew. Being in the middle of Arkansas without a shop around, but confident in their own abilities, they drove the F350 at a five mph crawl to the nearest truck stop to inspect the truck. There, other diesel enthusiasts returning from SDX greeted them and together they were able to cobble new life into the Power Stroke. Not wanting to risk another breakdown, they hauled the truck home. Little did they know this was as sign of things to come.

Strike Two

The truck was in considerably worse shape than they had realized. After completing corrections to the truck, including rebuilding a new transmission, they realized it would require more than expected to fulfill their dream. However, they still needed a dependable work truck, and once operational, they quickly put it to work running parts and errands for the shop. They couldn’t shake the feeling that the truck would be more work than it was worth … and they were right.

Strike Out

Not two weeks after purchasing the F350, the fledging dependable daily driver met its demise. While picking up parts for the shop, the truck’s seal blew out and the brake master cylinder failed. The driver, with the wherewithal of a professional driver, and accounting for the public’s safety, swerved the truck off-road, and into a telephone pole. The incident injured no one, except perhaps the driver’s ego, thanks in large part to his skill and finesse.

The Dream Lives On

Complete Performance has not given up entirely on the dependable daily driver. In their favor, replacement parts and upgrades for first generation Power Strokes are readily available and cost efficient. Moreover, they own the shop and can pay the labor for all repairs. Currently, the dependable daily driver, which was never dependable nor a daily driver, sits in the body shop of Complete Performance where the dream dwindles, but isn’t dead.

Sources

Complete Performance
409-383-4766
www.cptrucks.com

Full Force Diesel
615-962-8291
www.fullforcediesel.com

Scheid Diesel
800-669-1593
www.scheiddiesel.com