BLACK MAGIC

FROM WORK TRUCK TO 942 REAR WHEEL HORSEPOWER BEAST

Alot of people buy diesel trucks knowing that they’re going to load them up with aftermarket parts as soon as they leave the lot. Looking at Daniel Dillon’s outrageously powerful Duramax, which has put down 942 rear-wheel horsepower and 1,858 lb-ft of torque, we figured he was one of those all-out kinds of guys. But that wasn’t actually the case. A couple years ago Dillon ordered a brand-new Duramax straight from the dealer with the intent of leaving it alone and using it as a normal work truck.

In December 2012, after finding the exact Lml-powered Duramax that he wanted at a dealership in northwestern Illinois, he jumped in with a buddy to go pick up his new ride. “I found myself going home empty-handed,” he says. When Dillon showed up at the dealership to pick up the nearly new truck, he found out that it had thrown a check engine light for low DEF and couldn’t even be driven. “The dealership replaced the sensor and delivered it to me the next day,” he adds. “But by then I was already online looking.”

Addicted to Modifying

Since Dillon had experienced emissions gremlins earlier than most owners (in fact, before he owned the truck), he scoured the Internet high and low for parts that would make his truck stronger, faster and more reliable. Within weeks the 2011 had an H&S Mini Maxx, an MBRP 5-inch exhaust and an all-important FASS 150 lift pump.

“I was happy with it for a while, but the more I drove it, the more I wanted it to go even faster,” Dillon admits. He was on the prowl for even more power and soon had an upgraded transmission, along with a Borgwarner 75mm S400 out in front of the stock turbo. Since the truck was pulling plenty of air he also put on dual CP3S to keep up with the fuel demand, running on what he calls a “risky 3,000 pulse width tune.” Dillon put a couple thousand miles more on his truck before he decided to go with a full build.

“I noticed that Wehrli Custom Fabrication was introducing some pretty cool parts for the LML platform, so I decided to give them