 Shot for the 9th issue of ShowTime Magazine, Leon Carstens' Isuzu KB tops my list for most mental car shot in 2019. A few things have changed since the shoot, some piping, electronics and the setup is now complete. At the time of the shoot, the KB could start and rev, but wasn't ready to drive. It's undergone almost tuning and the bump in and staging things have also been dialled in, you may have seen some vids of the setup and practice at Midvaal Raceway. Loving dubbed The Turd, this shit is the real deal, and I cannot wait to snap pics of it in action during this 2020 drag season. In my 20 years of scribbling things about cars, there’s only been a handful of builds that have almost had me at a loss for words, and this faded-patina Isuzu KB has moved to the top of the list. What you’re essentially looking at is an old bakkie that’s got some paint “issues”, fat tyres and things sticking out of the bonnet. Obviously it’s a helluva lot more than that though, in fact this here retro-looking bakkie has the most in-depth engine build out of all the V8s I’ve ever seen for myself, and I’ve seen way too many to be able to even chuck a number at you. Leon has set a new benchmark for spec lists; this Chevy lump has been showered with the best of the best parts from many of the world’s best drag racing outfits. If you know what the prices of top quality race parts is like, and then of course doubling up because it’s a V8 and you need two of everything, you can trust me when I say I’ve never seen more put into a motor – I’m talking not only money, but research and effort too.  I know for a fact you looked at the pics before reading this, so by now you know that this Isuzu is destined for the drag strip thanks to those fat 29.5” MTs, the parachute mounted on the load bin and TWO FAT TURBOS STARING YOU IN THE FACE! Seriously, that shit is properly impressive, and that’s before you notice that the massive centre boost pipe also has a pair of nitrous foggers tapped in, because as the saying goes… Go big or go home. Leon ain’t heading home. So that V8 centerpiece is of the 6-litre variety with a GM Performance O-ringed truck block as the anchor for all the race-spec parts. There’s literally too much to mention here, so I’ll only mention the bigger stuff. Filling the block is a billet DragonSlayer crank from Callies, and this is connected to a set of aluminium rods from R&R and in turn, they’re connected to custom Wiseco pistons. The Clevite bearings in play hail from Mahle and we have the best fastening bits from ARP piece everything together. With solid mounts from Joe’s Racing, the massive V8 is staying in place as intended. The setup will handle just about any punishment Leon can throw at it, and Leon isn’t gonna hold back.
While the bottom end is impressive, it’s the parts bolted on that make this setup a work of art. Up top there’s a pair of worked turbo-spec aluminium cylinder heads with race-spec seats by Camshaft Dynamics, and these heads are home to Inconel-coated stainless valves with double valve springs, custom chromoly pushrods and titanium retainers (all from BTR), while there’s also Moran Racing lifters and Harland Sharp roller tip rockers mixed in. Why these parts? Well because a similar kind of setup with a camshaft from Brian Tooley Racing currently holds the world record in these platforms. For the intake side, there’s a Holley Hi-Ram intake and a 105mm Holley throttle, which is juuuust big enough to accept all the boost and nitrous that Leon plans on pumping in to make power. The fuelling is big league stuff, starting with the flow that comes from dual Magnafuel 750 pumps on the load bin, a 4-port fuel pressure regulator and a set of 2400cc Siemens Deka injectors on Holley fuel rails. Controlling everything in this setup is a complete Haltech Elite 2500T management system, but I mean COM-PLETE! Leon has every single add on and accessory that Haltech makes for this setup because he didn’t want to get to a stage where he’d need to get the extras to improve things. This way no matter what changes he makes to the setup, the management will be able to handle it perfectly. When you have a gap, read up on what this management system is capable of, especially when it has all the extra controllers and sensors added on. There’s a reason it’s regarded as the best system on the market by many drag racers that know way more than I do. As you’d expect, this thing’s gonna have a serious thirst for ethanol, but Leon is super lucky to be sponsored by 24-7 Race Fuels – SCORE!
 The main talking point of this Isuzu is the fact that there’s a pair of turbos staring you in the face, very large turbos. These boost makers are custom SRS Turbos; Stage 3-spec Borg Warner S300 tractor turbos with modified billet wheels, complete with the John Deere logo in the casting. These turbos are mounted to the motor with locally produced ceramic gold-coated J7 Fabrication turbo manifolds, and when you take a close look at that weld porn, you can see SA talent can easily equal what we see Stateside. Keeping boost pressures in check mechanically, we find a pair of Turbosmart 60mm Racegate wastegates (with boost sensors) and 50mm race-spec blow-off valves. For cooling, charged air runs through a billet cooler from Shearer Performance, aided by a Craig Davis 120 l/min water/ice pump cooler while the liquid is stored in a 20-litre J7 fuel cooler cell and ice tank. So far it looks like there will be no issues then the Turd is driven in anger, so far low RPM testing sees temps stay nice and low. Not for cooling, even though it does help, is a dual stage ZEX nitrous system that will throw in 500 horses at a time to make sure competitors get to see that awesome parachute when Turd crosses the line. As you’d imagine, this motor is going to be kicking out some 4-figure power readings, which means the drivetrain needed as much attention as the engine bay.
The OEM Isuzu bakkie suspension is no longer, as expected. There’s a custom setup on the leaf suspension with CalTrac leaf sliders and traction bars added in to the mix. Up front there’s double-adjustable drag shocks, which are also found in the rear setup. Added in to help with data logging is a Racepak shock travel system in the front/rear that can relay vital information to use in getting that holeshot dialed in perfectly. The Turd rolls on 15-inch lightweight Compomotive wheels featuring 29.5-inch Mickey Thompson ET Drag slicks, and even on this rubber it’s perfectly capable of kicking to the shops on a bread run if needed, which is something I would totally expect Leon to do, he’s that kind of awesome. To stop the Turd there’s BMW discs and calipers up front replacing the OEM clamps, while the slicks hide Toyota Quantum brakes, chosen because if they can stop a taxi with 200 people on board, then they’ll reign in a dragster with no problem. It does of course help that there’s a Meziere electrical vacuum pump fitted for some serious brake assist. To screw with physics a little more, there’s a Simpson parachute on a custom billet mount that’s activated via a lever on the ceiling of the cabin. This is the least you need to stop something as fast as the Turd is aiming to be. 
You see what I mean yet? There’s nothing but awesomeness packed into this retro-looking Isuzu bakkie. If you take a closer look at the bodywork, you’ll notice that there’s been some brilliant work done on the sides of the load bin to make sure it still sits wider than those fat MT slicks. It’s one of my favourite parts of the Turd, well that and that old patina that’s going to stay as is thanks to a special clear coat mix. Climbing into the pilot’s seat is awesome, almost claustrophobic because it’s so busy, but in a good way. Safety is a non-compromise, so your butt slides into a Sparco Evo race seat with an ATS 4-point harness, both MSA-approved bits. There’s a comprehensive roll cage in play too for the same reason and it’s been left unpainted to go with the Turd’s theme. It’s hard to pinpoint the best feature inside the cabin, for me it’s a close one between the MandM shift lever, all the Haltech controller boxes with the crisscrossing wires or that brilliant Joe’s Racing clip-off aluminium steering wheel. To monitor everything the Turd is doing, there’s that Haltech Racepak Logger Screen with Racepak module replacing the OEM instrument cluster. Sure, the cabin could be neatened here and there but I seriously hope Leon never decides to do that; this look works so well with the overall theme of the old-school Isuzu. It’s not built to be pretty, it’s built to be fast. 
As said, the Turd wasn’t quite battle ready on the day of the shoot, the chromoly propshaft was still being manufactured at the time, but it’s in now. Mechanically everything is sorted. I’m sure you’ve figured out that this isn’t just some weekend toy, it’s a 100% kick-ass dragster built with 400m records in mind. Even Leon isn’t sure what the end power figure will be, but the short-term goal is to put the Turd into the mid to low 8-second bracket, and long term to crack 7s. This build doesn’t only have the right recipe; it’s been put together by the right people and has an absolute fanatic at the wheel. There’s no reason we can think of that the Turd won’t achieve all it’s set out to do. Of course you can count on ShowTime keeping a keen eye on the team when they hit the track for some shakedown runs and their first event. Can. Not. Wait. Lemme know your thoughts. A full gallery will be uploaded to the CWM Facebook page soon, keep an eye out. You can also catch it in Issue 9 of ShowTime Magazine. Spec List *At time of shootEngine Specs GM Performance truck block, O-ringed 6.0 classified bore & stroke combo DragonSlayer billet crank by Callies Race-spec big end and main bearings by Clevite Billet LS electric water pump by Meziere High volume, high-pressure race-spec oil pump by Melling Aluminium billet rods by R&R with ARP 625 upgrade ARP L19 head bolts, ½” upgrade with ARP L19 mains bolts Dual Turbosmart 60mm Racegate wastegates with boost sensors Dual Turbosmart 50mm race-spec blow-off valves Custom Wiseco pistons with upgraded tool steel gudgeon pin SRS Turbos Stage 3 turbos (Borg Warner S300 Tractor turbos with modified billet wheels) Worked turbo-spec aluminium cylinder heads by Camshaft Dynamics Uprated Inconel-coated stainless inlet valves with exhaust valves Bran Tooley Racing Twin Turbo stage 3 camshaft Brian Tooley Racing double valve springs Brian Tooley Racing custom chromoly pushrods Brian Tooley Racing titanium retainers Moran Racing lifters with bigger bosses Harland Sharp roller tip rockers LS9 head gaskets Siemens Deka 2400cc injectors Dual J7 turbo manifolds with ceramic gold coating Dual J7 100mm short exhaust Holley Hi-Ram intake Holley fuel rails Holley 105mm throttle Meziere Brake assist vacuum pump Billet charge cooler by Shearer Performance Craig Davis 120 l/min water/ice pump cooler Dual stage nitrous via ZEX kit (two 500hp stages) MSD wires + NGK race plugs Dedenbear RPM module Daytona / Racepak sensors Dedenbear 5kg C02 tank with C02 control Haltech 2500T Haltech terminated harness for LS Haltech WBC 2 (x2) Haltech 12 i/o Haltech hub (x2) Haltech Racepak Logger Screen with Racepak module Haltech C02 boost control Haltech drag traction control FTF fittings with Teflon-braided pipes Dual Magnafuel 750 pumps (2500 per pump) Magnafuel 4-port fuel pressure regulator Davis technology module J7 fuel cooler cell and ice tank (20-litres) Joe’s Racing solid mounts Drivetrain MandMtransmission Air-shifted drag gearbox MandM Transmission billet shifter and transbrake with Bump In / Crawl function - billet mount JW Performance Billet flex plate with ARP L19 bolts JW billet spacers for LS JW Performance billet torque converter with pressure switch JW Performance transfer case Dedenbear 2kg C02 tank airshifter Strange solid spool Strange Pro casing Fullrace chromoly bolt-in shafts Fullrace chromoly propshaft Rhodes Pro Drag anti-roll bar Rhodes-fabricated drag chromoly diff housing Derail gearbox oil cooler Redline Diff Heavy Shock Oil Redline Racing ATF Jegs Ballistic gearbox blanket Rolling Stock CalTrac bars traction CalTrac leaf sliders Special leaf setup Double-adjustable drag shocks all around 29.5 Mickey Thompson slicks Compomotive lightweight wheels Racepak shock travel systems in front/rear Simpson parachute with billet parachute bracket Competition Engineering add ons Body Isuzu patina with custom clear coat Widened rear bin Roll cage Joe’s Racing clip-off aluminium steering wheel Sparco race seat ATS harness          Shoutouts
To God first. My wife and best friend Bianca, my Popsie Chiara, my Little Squish Caden – family is everything. Then everyone that helped with the build; PW Pretorius, my mad friend who’s more a car fanatic than me. Ian’s Welding and Automotive for the awesome engine build, Riaan Stander at SRS turbos, JP Annandale from J7 Fabrication (watch this oke’s work in the future), Arno Dictator for the Haltech system, Tyron and Kyle from Fullrace and Dirk at Camshaft Dynamics and Ultrawater. Also Ludi Schnelle, my Crew Chief, Willie Britz, Daantjies Towing (Michiel) for always transporting the Turd, Oom Daan, Corrie and the very important Sosten Botha for all the hours of welding and helping out, Petrolheads Services for all the support and Barend, Gerrie and Buks at ShowTime Magazine. Not forgetting Brian’s Motor Spares for the use of the yard for the shoot, much appreciated. You ain’t seen nothing yet…..be prepared |
