1954 COE with 450HP Cummins at 2013 SEMA Show   This is the 6th installment of Best of SEMA Show 2013... Why not something totally unexpected?     First of all, what the heck is this? Well, if you're not familiar with Welderup, then this custom 1954 GMC COE (stands for cab over engine) might come as a bit of a shock. Then again, if this is shocking to you... you probably haven't ever been to SEMA!   Trucks like this... Yes TRUCKS... hammered on the ground rocking engines with grunt-enough to to rip your neighbor's Dodge a brand-new-one... That's really what SEMA showcases most! Filthy as the VIP salon of "Glitter's" in Las Vegas, over-the-top power and excess. Yep. WE LOVE THAT!     Plus, COE's are just cool. My buddy Rob built a long bed COE shown here in a keyless ignition how-to. I rode in Rob's COE. It cruises low and comfortable on air, A/C on, with plenty of power from a gutsy small block Chevy. Rob's COE turns heads like this one does, even without the bright green Cummins diesel out back!     Here it is... a...

Diesel Hot Rod MyRideisMe.com featured this bad Cummins powered hot rod before: Diesel Rat Rod: Blowin’ Smoke Photo by Swanee Now check out this crazy video of the "Welderup" turbo diesel rat rod doin' it's thing... [youtube width="575"...

Cruising what I call the main hall of the SEMA show, it's fantastic to see the great rides that make SEMA, the parts show, become SEMA the car show. Featuring the best built cars and timeless classics, it's a mix of some of the best rides in the country. I stayed close to "Hot Rod Alley" to find the booths of manufacturers I used and wanted to check out. Seeing the Mustangs and Camaros that are no doubt classic SEMA favorites was cool and will be featured here, but I've always like something different. Big power and stupid amounts of torque aren't different to the folks at Duramax performance discussion forum TheDieselPlace.com, but what about in a 1970 Chevelle? This is one of two cars I spotted at SEMA running a diesel and starting a new trend in hot rodding? Instead of choosing from from several small block Chevy's you've already seen or even throwing cubic inches or the tech of LSX in, Mike Racke of Fullerton, CA stayed with the General, but in the form of a 403 cu. inch LLY Duramax.  This beast runs a mostly stock...

Hot Rod Semi - More than a Rat Rod Imagine yourself at a traditional hot rod show like Billetproof, enjoying Antioch California’s cool morning breeze when you smell diesel fumes. Billetproof isn’t the kind of show where you can trailer your baby in, so something’s not right. Then you hear the whine of a giant turbo just as this beast rounds the corner: Behold the 1950 Peterbilt owned by Michael Leeds. The name for this Hot Rod Semi is up in the air, but “Sneaky Pete” is the front runner. Michael comfortably cruised about 100 miles from Santa Cruz, CA thanks to the inline 6 Cummins turbo-diesel hooked to a 12 speed automatic transmission spinning highway friendly 2.92 gears. Michael guesses 12 to 20 mpg but driving range is no problem since he’s hauling 105 gallons in the polished aluminum fuel tank out back. This baby’s read to travel, even weighing in at about 7000 lbs. Michael’s no stranger to giant scale projects. Ever heard of Blastolene? Michael designed Blastolene which was later purchased by legendary car collector Jay Leno. Blastolene’s got an M47 Patton Tank engine that’s 1800...