Courtesy of Engine Builder by Evan Laux
It’s always a treat to see the range of engines that can be built by a single machine shop. Some guys opt to revolve their builds around a particular engine platform or even within a particular horsepower range, and others tend to put out something different each and every time an order comes in the door. Jared Alderson and Kill Devil Diesel fall somewhere in the middle of those two.
Alderson, owner of Kill Devil Diesel, a diesel engine and machine shop based in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina in Poplar Branch, does everything from manufacturing their own parts to machining services, powder coating, and complete engine builds. We’ve worked with Kill Devil a few times over the years for various Diesel of the Week articles and other diesel content, as well as an Instagram Takeover inside the shop.
Alderson and the team do all sorts of builds, including Cummins, Duramax and Powerstroke. However, a major portion of Kill Devil’s business comes from their 6.0L, 6.4L, and 7.3L Powerstroke builds. They create complete packages for all sorts of applications, though their most popular 6.0L “workhorse” options make for around 425 horsepower and a solid setup for a work/tow vehicle.
Way nastier engines have come out of Alderson’s shop too, and we were able to check out a serious competition-level, billet aluminum 6.0L Powerstroke engine build when we visited the shop last month.
“This is actually for the KC Turbo race truck,” Alderson says. “They’ve been a part of the Ultimate Callout Challenge and other diesel events that really continue to push the boundary for what’s possible with diesel engines, so we wanted to be a part of that.”
With the limitations of a factory cast iron block, a billet aluminum block was sourced from Warren Diesel Injection. Then, Kill Devil Diesel handled all the final machine work, including adding the sleeves and line boring and honing to fit their particular tolerances. This engine uses forged Mahle pistons that are bored to 4.055 and take gapless Total Seal rings.
