August 4nd, 2024 – Wendover, UT – A new diesel-powered missile has just hit the Bonneville Salt Flats and it’s a modern take on a dry lake classic. While the aerodynamic body of the Pilgrim and Stubbs Streamliner is more akin to a modern jet fighter, the outboard wheels pay tribute to the WWII aircraft belly tank cars that pioneered the Lakester category.
The term “modern take” is an understatement considering the technology behind the carbon fiber shell. This new Duramax-powered Streamliner is the latest creation by Steve Watt of Maxwell Industries, the renowned streamliner builder and creator of the legendary Speed Demon. Inside of the 4130 chrome moly tube chassis is a collection of custom-fabricated light-weight parts, a modern turbocharged EFI diesel engine, and an obscene number of sensors and solenoids to keep the car flying straight and fast. The four Diamond Racing wheels sitting on Goodyear tires are connected to the body via a custom Maxwell Industries coil-over suspension system. Meziere water pumps keep fluid moving via Brown & Miller braided lines throughout the robust cooling system needed for 5 miles of all-out engine performance. When hunting for speed on the salt, more is better, yet stopping is important too. That’s why owner/driver, David Pilgrim, trusts his life with Wildwood disc brakes, Simpson parachutes and safety equipment, and a DJ Safety fire suppression system. A car of this caliber is the closest to aerospace grade that one will find firmly planted on the earth and it’s no surprise that Watt used ARP fasteners to hold it all together.
The sleek body by Metalcrafters is an aerodynamic masterpiece of 100% carbon fiber by “Carbon Kenny” Koldsbaek which will give the Automotive Specialists Racing Engines-built LBZ Duramax a fighting chance against the wind. The 441 cubic inch V8 sports a factory GM block and ported GM heads with a SoCal Diesel billet crank, Carrillo rods, and Diamond pistons, all locked in by a SoCal main girdle and ARP fasteners. A Comp Cams camshaft opens the Manton pushrods and valves to accommodate the copious amount of air supplied by a pair of Precision Turbo mirror image Next Gen 6870 turbochargers. A Wagler Competition Products liquid-to-air intercooler and intake manifold combo ensures that there’s plenty of cold air waiting behind the intake valves ready to feed the flames created by a set of S&S Diesel Motorsport +250% LBZ Duramax fuel injectors. The injectors are supplied with up to 2400 bar (34,809 psi) of fuel pressure thanks to a pair of S&S Diesel Motorsport 12mm High Speed CP3 high-pressure pumps and a Waterman low-pressure supply pump, all driven off the front of a Wagler billet front cover.
The brain that controls the engine, and all other vehicle systems, is a MoTeC M142 standalone ECU with custom S&S firmware that is specific to common rail diesel direct injection. Supporting the MoTeC brain is a vast nervous system of 615 data channels all interconnected by a custom S&S-built wiring harness. S&S engineers Andre Dusek and Luke Langellier are tasked with managing the expansive vehicle control system, interpreting data, and making calibration changes to increase top speed on a somewhat loose surface, with the added help of traction control developed by S&S.
The Streamliner’s 1,333 wheel horsepower is transferred from the engine to the salt through an air-shifted 7-speed Liberty transmission, Mark Williams driveshaft, and then into a BJ Holt quick change rear end that sends torque to the axles. The team’s goal is to go as fast as possible, and as with all new cars it’s hard to predict just how fast that will be. One thing’s for certain: Crew Chief Carl Stubbs, Brent Bartlett, Craig Schkade, and Channing Hammond will be sweating all week to give it their best shot!