Diesel of the Week is presented by
MB Diesel Performance has built a reputation in Gold Hill, NC for building and servicing dependable Powerstroke and Cummins engines in the Southeast. We featured the shop in a past Diesel of the Week, highlighting a sleeved and turbocharged 6.7L Cummins the team worked on. That build went on to win our Diesel of the Year in 2021.
Now, the team is back with another standout – this time a 24-valve 5.9L Cummins engine that powers a rat rod revival, blending old-school flavor with updated performance.
McCoy Black founded MB Diesel Performance in 2017. He turned a personal hobby into a thriving business that now operates out of a 6,800-sq.-ft. facility. With a five-person team and constant demand, MB Diesel handles everything from routine diesel repairs to full engine builds.
The shop built its name on 6.4L Powerstroke as well as the 5.9L and 6.7L Cummins platforms. They complete their own cylinder head work in-house. Although performance builds were once their main focus, MB Diesel has expanded to include more service and repair jobs to meet changing customer needs.
That level of versatility made MB Diesel the right team to take on this recent 24-valve 5.9L Cummins rat rod project. This ride has lots of show presence, street cred and plenty of power under the hood.
“We recently got into the rat rod world with my dad building one with a 12-valve in it,” McCoy Black says. That interest naturally led them to this well-worn, but well-known rig, originally built by Kingspeed Diesel.
The 10-year-old engine passed through a few different people before it landed with its current owner. “It swapped hands a few times and ended up with a customer out of South Carolina,” Black says. “[This was] not really a build per se, but more of a refresh of an old build.”
The current owner still drives it regularly and has no hesitation about hammering on it. “The customer drives it to shows 3–4 hours away regularly and likes to do burnouts in it,” Black adds.
Kingspeed originally assembled it as a P-pumped 24-valve 5.9L Cummins. It had all the right bones. It just needed some extra attention.
MB Diesel approached the project with preservation and performance in mind. They kept the stock bottom end and sealed it with Scheid Diesel fire rings and a fresh Scheid gasket. They installed covers from Keating Machine and Kingspeed to preserve its original visual signature.
They also outfitted the 24-valve 5.9L Cummins with a compound-turbo setup. It spools quickly and hits hard enough to back the burnout reputation. The system includes a stock-style turbo feeding into a low-pressure charger in the 467–468 range.
This engine also features fuel injectors (size unknown) big enough to support the power goals for the engine. Further, Pierce Diesel Performance rebuilt the transmission to handle the abuse.
Black estimates the 24-valve 5.9L Cummins makes around 450–500 horsepower, with an estimated 1,000-lb.-ft. of torque. That gives it more than enough grunt to light up the tires, roll into a show and drive back home without skipping a beat.
This 24-valve Cummins rat rod brings together street toughness, vintage flair and proven diesel power. MB Diesel didn’t just revive an old engine; they gave it a second life. With the shop growing fast, this won’t be their last blend of diesel heritage and modern performance.
Diesel of the Week is sponsored by AMSOIL. If you have an engine you’d like to highlight in this series, please email Engine Builder Editor Greg Jones at [email protected].
