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Earlier this year, the 10th anniversary of Rudy’s Spring Truck Jam drew some of the best diesel racers in the country. Among them is Ryan Reiser, a rising competitor in the Outlaw Diesel Super Series (ODSS), representing S&S Diesel with his potent 6.7L Powerstroke-powered Ford truck.
Reiser’s engine build has evolved steadily over the last few years, combining careful component selection with extensive fabrication and tuning experience.
“This engine I built about three years ago now,” Reiser told us. “It’s got Kill Devil Diesel ported heads, CP-Carrillo rods, coated pistons, a bigger cam, ARP studs throughout, and an 83mm Precision turbo on board.”
To keep up with the boost demands of the big single, Reiser relies on proven fueling solutions – from S&S of course.
“I’ve got an S&S CP3 pump and the DCR pump in the valley,” he adds, noting the benefits of the dual-pump configuration in maintaining consistent rail pressure under race conditions.
The setup has served him well. Reiser started campaigning the truck in the 6.70 index class two years ago.
“Last year, we made the jump to the 5.90 index, and then that class evolved into 5.70, so we’re going fast,” he says. “Last year, we finished fourth in points. Obviously, the goal is to have a championship.”
That goal may be within reach. At Rudy’s Spring Truck Jam, Reiser laid down a 5.72 in the first qualifier, setting the tone for a competitive weekend. “The plan is to travel to all the races, run the entire ODSS circuit, and have a good time.”
Built From the Ground Up
Reiser’s journey into diesel performance started with a broken engine and a passion to build. “I used to work for a shop, and while I was there, I got the itch to buy a diesel,” he says. “I had a diesel truck in high school. I found a little engine shop that had a blown-up 6.7L, so I bought the whole thing. It had dumped a valve, so I had to sleeve it and put the engine all back together.”
The rebuild quickly snowballed into a full-blown race truck project. “When it was all done, it ended up being too nice to put in my regular pickup,” Reiser says. “So, I found this truck in Ohio. At the time, I was still in college. The project was going to be a simple engine and transmission swap so I could go racing. But that turned into three years of fab work and redoing the whole truck to make it lighter.”
The truck originally ran on factory electronics, but things took a turn when Reiser joined the team at S&S Diesel two years ago. “Since then, we’ve had some serious success,” he says.
The Grassroots Diesel Scene
For Reiser, racing in ODSS is as much about community and innovation as it is about results. “Coming to events like this and seeing all the new builds, new inspirations, new ideas – that’s the whole thing about this grassroots level,” he says. “The brackets are such that there’s really no rules that put you in a box. You can show up with whatever you want and you have to run a number. That’s the fun part. Everyone’s got different ideas on how to do this and how to do that.”
And while Cummins-powered trucks dominate the competition scene, Reiser is proudly flying the Powerstroke flag. “I’d love to see more Fords in competition,” he says. “I feel like a lonely soldier in a field of Cummins.”
If Ryan’s 6.7L Powerstroke continues to see quick ETs and top-finishing success, we have little doubt that more Ford guys will be looking to Reiser as inspiration, and getting their builds out on the track as well.
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].
