This article is courtesy of Engine Builder.
Diesel truck owners often show extreme loyalty to a particular brand. Decisions often get made based on whether a truck has a Duramax, a Cummins or a Powerstroke engine. We get it – everyone has their niche – and the engine building world is no different.
Many engine builders devote their full time and attention to one particular engine brand. Some love Duramax engines, while others (many others) like to utilize the Cummins platform when building a powerhouse racing or pulling machine. Whether that be through a hobby or full-fledged business, these focused builders often become experts in their respective platform.
Brian Jelich is a prime example of someone who’s stayed consistent with his interests for years and proved his expertise in the craft. For 18 years, Jelich has been tooling on the same 2000 model year F-350 that he bought when he was just 18 years old, slowly upgrading and improving the truck. As we often see in the industry, man becomes attached to machine.
“I don’t think I’ll ever sell this truck,” Brian Jelich says. “I’ve had it for half my life, so it’s definitely become extremely important to me.”
Jelich got serious with the truck’s performance a few years after purchasing it in 2004. He started making a name for himself in 2010 when he began running mid-10s in the 1/4 mile and most notably, was the first 7.3L Powerstroke to break 1,000 horsepower on a chassis dyno.
After more and more racing in the 5.90 index class and personal tuning, Jelich’s passion led him to start JeliBuilt Performance LLC in 2017. Despite being a small, two-man operation, JeliBuilt Performance offers several services to its customer base. Most notably, Jelich provides reliable and quality tunes for Powerstroke trucks using Power Hungry Performance Minotaur Software. In fact, Jelich personally tuned a Hydra Chip that the late Brian Gray of Gray’s Diesel Performance relied on to dial in his 1,700-plus horsepower Pro Mod which was the fastest 7.3L truck in the world.
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].
