I know that I am weird but I absolutely love watching big rigs on the chassis dyno. Places like Pittsburgh Power, Antrim Diesel, and others have very active businesses working on, fixing, and tuning large trucks for their customers. The chassis dyno numbers are the same type of rolling lie detector test for these trucks as they are for anyone with a hot rodded car. Yes, the machines are bigger and heavier but at the end of the day, everyone wants to see a number to know exactly what they are working with.
This video is doubly cool because it features one of the more rare engines that anyone in a big rig would be using in today’s world, a 1983 vintage Caterpillar 3408 V8. This is an 18-liter engine, displacing 1,098ci. These engines were pretty expensive for their day and they were heavy when compared to their smaller 3406 (six cylinder) brethren. We’re guessing more of them ended up in marine applications or settings than did lugging trailers down the highway.
This particular truck asocial because you have a 1990s glider kit Peterbilt 379 and this early 1980s 3408 powering it. The chassis of the truck has 1.8 million miles and we’re guessing that the well serviced Caterpillar has a lot more than that! The truck makes pretty stout power for a piece that is not hot rodded but for some tweaking on the fuel side. How about nearly 700 at the crank! Also the torque at the wheels is just brutally big. Thinking about what it is coming right off the engine makes us giggle with delight.
We’re not going to give you all the numbers, you need to watch this video to get those. If you like big trucks and cool engines, you’ll love this!
