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1 Way Diesel Performance was born from a simple idea – to make diesel trucks drive fast. This is what Chase Wells had in mind when he first started with diesel engines. Chase and his family built vintage cars 15 years ago and shipped them to Germany. They used diesel trucks to pull the trailers for the cars, and then Chase had his revelation.

“I told my dad one day that I was going to get a truck and make this fool quick,” Wells says. “My mother had a Dodge in 2001 that she used to pull horse trailers and one day it stopped walking. My dad told me that if I could get the truck running he would give it to me. I think I was 14 years old at the time. I fixed it in 30 minutes.

“From there I started to build injectors and turbos for it. People would try to run me in a Camaro or something and I would just destroy them. From there it just started. I took some online courses to get more knowledge and certifications so that I can do this full time. From there it was blown up and now we have a full-fledged business. “

Chase, his wife, and parents run 1 Way Diesel Performance in Nacogdoches, TX along with about eight other technicians. 1 Way Diesel consists of two buildings – one for the shop’s show trucks and high-end builds and the other for gearbox work and other engines.

“We’re actually working on building a whole new building with a test bench,” Wells says. “We’re starting to work out some papers and plans. It will start here soon. “

The business started general repair work around 2010 and quickly switched to heavy duty diesel work which is the bread and butter of the business today, but general repairs are still in the mix too. If Chase had their way, the store would only work on Cummins engines as this is his personal favorite, but 1 Way Diesel works on Duramax and Powerstroke too.

With the ability to handle all of these different tasks, 1 Way Diesel does about 50% of its machine work in-house and 50% is sent to a local machine shop.

“Today performance is the main thing,” he says. “We probably started turning our attention to the performance industry five years ago. We built some drag trucks and made our name known and we grew up in the performance industry. After that, a lot of work poured in. We still do the drag trucks and drag cars and repairs. “

The shop’s performance work over the years prompted 1 Way Diesel to develop its own line of engines under the name True Street, available in various options.

“We have a line of engines with an output of 1,300 to 1,400 horsepower, the True Street engine,” he says. “It comes as either a 5.9L or 6.7L Cummins. Then we have a True Street Comp engine that is rated for 1,500 to 2,000 horsepower. “

While the engine line is taking off, Chase’s favorite engine is a 6.7-liter Cummins in his ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air Pro Mod car, which Chase admits makes crazy horsepower and is something he’d like to add to the engine line in the near future.

“At first we looked at how much the factory 6.7L pistons and block could hold,” says Wells. “We wrapped the block and wanted to see where the end of the road is for these components. We started splitting blocks and melting pistons at around 2,100 horsepower and that’s impressive.

“It’s not a stick butt, it’s just a factory butt. We wanted this engine to be able to drive on the road. When we broke that we put something up along with a deck plate that we still have water on and we can drive it but keep the integrity of the block without having to walk with a solid block. “

With the goal of creating 2,500 to 3,000 roadworthy horsepower, 1 Way Diesel was busy building the ultimate 6.7L Cummins wet block.

“That was our goal,” he says. “On this particular build we used a custom made Hamilton cam, Hamilton pistons, pushrods, valve springs, Apex rods, an Apex belt, a lightweight Hamilton crank, our custom top coated block with 14mm main and Head bolts as well as one of our hand-ported heads. We learned that with a smaller valve they get more power. Lots of people would go to the big valve, but we’re only going up 1mm from factory size by running a 1.5mm valve instead of a 2mm valve.

“We only operate S&S for anything that delivers great performance. They are best suited for injectors and pumps. They never go wrong, they are super clean and super precise. It’s just crazy how far people have come and what injector data you can get from S&S. We have 500% more than 6.7 lS&S injectors, two 14mm S&S pumps, a 98mm Midwest GT55 turbocharger, two 45mm wastegates, and a steed speed distributor. “

In addition, the 6.7L has a Fluidampr, a Waterman mechanical drive pump and a Bosch control unit that S&S set up to run the engine. The motor is connected to a TH400 gearbox. All in all, the ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air Pro Mod weighs 2,700 pounds. with a driver in there.

“This engine has an output of 2,200 to 2,500 horsepower,” says Wells. It has enough air for 2,700 horsepower, but we’re not going to use all of that. It’s a beast. It’s crazy what we walk in here.

“We took it to the Street Outlaws event last year and won the Diesel division with the car. Hardway Performance’s Ryan Milliken actually drove it. I didn’t have a competition ticket at the time, but I do now, so I’m going to drive it. “

We’re excited to see where 1 Way Diesel Performance goes with this new 6.7L Cummins deck.

Diesel of the Week is sponsored by AMSOIL.

If you have an engine you’d like to highlight in this series, please email the editor of Engine Builder magazine, Greg Jones, at [email protected]

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