Archive for the ‘Banks Power’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

My Weekend Romance

by Tim Gavern
Tuesday, April 26th, 2005

So my pal, Peter Treydte comes into the office this past Monday morning and loudly declares, “Hey Tim, you’re no longer a diesel virgin.” We all laughed. It’s true though. I drove a bone-stock cherry red 2005 Ford F-250 crew cab 4×4 Power Stroke turbodiesel over three hundred miles last weekend. It was a great experience and one that truly changed any preconceived notions I had that modern diesels were still big, klunky and slow.

As I stated in a previous blog, I’m a hot rodder. I build street machines. Cars. Not trucks. In fact, the only trucks I’ve ever owned were two $500 trucks that helped me move and each time, I sold the truck right after.

I’ve been at Banks since last September and the diesel bug already bit me, but it wasn’t until this past weekend that I got infected. That Ford I drove was a blast! I had a permanent smile all weekend. The truck’s powerband was sweeeeet and it’s automatic transmission’s shifts came quickly and were just firm enough. Bam-Bam-Bam-Bam. I’ve heard praises about Allison’s automatics and can’t wait to test one myself, but Ford’s TorqShift felt perfect to me.

My overall reaction to the F-250 was one of complete surprise. I’m amazed at how powerful and fast the truck was both around town and on the freeway. Flooring it up the big hills on the freeway out of Los Angeles to the North, the truck was astonising. I hit over 100 m.p.h. several times and it loved it. When cruising at 85, its 6-liter turbodiesel was just loafing.

I love powerful vehicles. If you didn’t need to tow or haul anything or you weren’t a power freak (like myself) you could easily live with this truck in stock form. It’s that good. But of course, I can’t wait to see how well it performs with a Banks Big Hoss Bundle installed on it.

The goal for my trip was to experience the unmodified truck and then do the same Los Angeles to Santa Barbara to L.A. loop after it gets the full Banks Sidewinder All-Terrain treatment. It should be finished in the next few weeks. I’ll post my comments after I do the second loop.

Once fitted with its Banks Sidewinder All-Terrain modifications, the F-250 will join its recently completed Chevy and Dodge Sidewinder All-Terrain siblings for the long haul on Hot Rod Magazine’s Power Tour this coming June. If you get the opportunity, you have to come out and see them!

Well, I no longer think diesels are too big, klunky and slow. Yeah, they’re still big, but with its new coil-spring front suspension, the Ford wasn’t at all klunky. In fact, it actually handled very well. And it certainly wasn’t slow. Now, if it was just faster. Oh wait, it’s going to be. Well, I’m off to buy a radar detector.
Sincerely,
Your faithful,
“Corporate Blogger”

Posted in Banks Power | No Comments »

Power Touring

by Tim Gavern
Thursday, April 21st, 2005

A few of us here at Banks are stoked to be going on Hot Rod’s Power Tour (http://www.hotrod.com/powertour) this coming June. I’ve been threatening to go on Power Tour since they started it. What is it nine years already? Anyway, this was the year I was going to do the long haul in my ‘63 Biscayne. Of course, I’d need to change its 4.56 gears to something a little more highway friendly. But, that’s easy.

Well that isn’t happening this year — because I opened my big mouth. Allow me to ’splain. I worked as a graphic designer at Edelbrock a few years ago and saw how much exposure and good PR doin’ the tour returned to them. It was incredible. So, a few months ago, I suggested that we go on Power Tour. I was sure it would be a good venue for Gale to “meet the public”, make some new friends, and hopefully, some new customers.

Well, talk about something gaining momentum. At first, we decided that we weren’t going to go at all. We talked about just providing a hot rodded diesel for the Hot Rod editors to carry their photo equipment in. Then, we decided that maybe one or two of us would go to take photos.

From there, Gale got involved and as of right now, we’re taking five (okay, six including a chase truck) hot rodded trucks on Hot Rod’s Power Tour and we’re feeding the tour at the Indianapolis stop. Yep, we’re in it for the long haul - Wisconsin to Florida in:
1.) Banks twin-turbocharged small block Chevrolet-powered 1990 Chevy shortbed pickup truck
2.) Banks Chevy Duramax Sidewinder All-Terrain turbodiesel (from the TV show, Trucks! http://www.truckstv.com)
3.) Banks Dodge Cummins Sidewinder All-Terrain turbodiesel (from the TV show, XTreme4X4 http://www.xtreme4×4tv.com)
4.) Banks Ford Power Stroke Sidewinder All-Terrain (being built now)
5.) Banks land speed record holding 222-m.p.h. Dodge Dakota Cummins Sidewinder turbodiesel
6.) last, but not least, Banks workhorse Ford F-450 Power Stroke pulling a trailer full of display booth, spares, etc.
Of course the number of trucks we actually bring may go up or down by then, but any way it goes — look out. There’s a squadron of Banks hot rod trucks going on Power Tour.

Yea, so much for driving my Biscayne on the tour. It’s cool though, because at least, I’m going. My function is to chronicle the tour. Every day, I’ll be in a different truck shooting photos and writing stories. How much fun is this going to be? If you go on tour or if it stops in your hometown, please stop by our booth and introduce yourself or pull up a chair next to us at our dinner in Indy and just start talking. We’d like to meet you.
Sincerely,
Your faithful,
“Corporate Blogger”

Posted in Banks Power, Hot Rod Power Tour | No Comments »

Diesel Hot Rods

by Tim Gavern
Tuesday, April 19th, 2005

I’m a typical hot rodder. I build hot car after hot car. And of course, every one of them has been gasoline-powered. What else is there?

Well, how about diesel? After coming to work at Banks, my old ideas about high performance changed. All you have to do is drive one hot rodded turbodiesel pickup truck and you’ll understand. Turbodiesels can really haul $%&! In fact, I’ve been in some daily-driven trucks lately that could beat many so-called musclecars. And these trucks typically weigh 7,000 lbs.!

If you want a fast hot rod, arguably, the benchmark performance gasoline engine is a turbocharged engine. The problem with turbocharged gas engines is they demand higher and higher-octane gasoline as you turn up the boost. Without lots of octane to prevent preignition and slow the burn rate, a turbocharged gas engine will quickly detonate itself to death. Race gas can cost anywhere from $4.00-17.00 per gallon, depending on how much octane it contains. Ouch.

Turbocharged diesel engines, on the other hand, do three things better than gasoline engines: First, a race-prepared turbocharged diesel engine can use the same fuel that powers every cross-country big rig (#2 diesel fuel). At the moment, #2 diesel costs around $2.60 per gallon. Diesel fuel costs less than racing gas. That’s one.

A diesel can handle tremendous amounts of turbo boost. In fact, a diesel’s only limitation to the amount of boost it can handle is it’s own physical strength. As Gale says, “…you can boost a diesel until the crank hits the street or the heads hit the hood.” Diesels can handle higher boost levels. That’s two.

Diesels inherently get 20-40 percent higher mileage than gasoline engines. Higher mileage. That’s three good arguments for turbodiesels.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I still dig 60s gassers and street machines from the 1970s and 80s. Okay, I like anything that goes fast, but I also like diesels now. And one of the best things about a diesel is, it makes its torque down low. And it makes lots of it. Typically, a 300 h.p. V-8 turbodiesel will produce 600 lb.-ft. torque at under 3500 R.P.M. Think of the acceleration in a car.

So, I find myself wishing I had a small 300 h.p./600 lb.-ft. turbodiesel V-8 that I could swap into my ‘71 Camaro that would bolt up to a 4L-80E or Turbo 400 automatic. Now, that would be a hot rod. Are you listening, GM?
Sincerely,
Your faithful,
“Corporate Blogger”

Tags:
Posted in Banks Power | No Comments »

Pay the Piper…or Hire Another Band

by CJ Baker
Tuesday, April 19th, 2005

Just the other day, I was fueling my vehicle at a service station. While I was there, the station attendant emerged with a handful of numbers to change the posted fuel prices. He didn’t change the gasoline prices, only the #2 diesel. It went up 4 cents per gallon. At that station, #2 diesel was then selling for 6 cents a gallon more than 91-octane premium gasoline, and 22 cents a gallon more than 87-octane regular gasoline. I remember thinking, that’s nuts!

Of course, with diesels typically getting 20 to 40 percent better fuel economy than similar gasoline engine vehicles, a diesel still operates more economically, but where is all this headed? Why are diesel fuel prices outpacing gasoline? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t the state governments be reducing fuel taxes on the more fuel-efficient diesels? And isn’t the current price of diesel fuel getting high enough to make alternate sources of diesel fuel, such as biodiesel ( http://www.bankspower.com/techarticles/show/18-The-Biodiesel-Alternative), and synthetic diesel ( http://www.bankspower.com/techarticles/show/19-Synthetic-Diesel-Fuel ) more feasible and attractive? And isn’t it time for legislators at all levels to get their heads out the sand and learn about the advantages and efficiencies of modern light-duty diesels? I think so.

Just a few short months ago, diesel fuel prices were typically between the price of 87-octane gasoline and 89-octane middle grade gas. Go back a little further and diesel was cheaper than regular gasoline. So while most people have been worrying about the increase in gasoline prices, diesel prices have been climbing even faster. I have read that this is due in part to an increased demand for diesel fuel in China. Do we export diesel fuel to China? I hope not. And if we are exporting diesel fuel, should we be? Or is it simply that the oil companies are refining fewer gallons of diesel from each barrel of crude? After all, with diesel fuel prices going up, truckers have no alternative but to pass along the increases as higher freight prices, and that drives up the price of virtually everything that moves by truck. Have you thought about that?

Maybe what I saw happening was that service station attendant raising the price of every loaf of bread and every gallon of milk in America. Now that’s scary.

Tags: ,
Posted in Banks Power | No Comments »

Blue Oval Fever

by Peter Treydte
Friday, April 15th, 2005

I’m a Ford guy. I can’t explain why, except to say that from the time I was a young kid I have always felt more partial to the Blue Oval brand than others. It could be because my dad owned more Fords than other brands. I was one of 6 kids, so we always had large vehicles. I remember going to church in an early 70’s blue Econoline with a 3-on-the-tree shifter. I never got to drive that one, but I remember logging a lot of miles in it. It was replaced by a 1982 brown Econoline powered by a 289 V-8 with a variable venturi carburetor… not one of Ford’s better ideas. This one I did get to drive. When I was a junior higher I convinced my dad to let me move the van from the street to the driveway to put it away for the evening. This became a ritual for me. My dad took me to get my learner’s permit in that van and I went on my first real date in it. It was not what I would call a cool van either, at least not in the sense that van’s were cool at some point in Americana. (Whoa, did I just admit that I was a “van guy”?!?) I also learned the importance of engine oil with that van. Did you know that the engine stops running after a while if it doesn’t have oil?

It could be because my grandfather drove a beat up green 70’s F-100 Ranger (full-size truck, but that was the badging then), and we went everywhere in that truck as well, most notably to the dairy farm to pick up fertilizer (read manure) for my grandparent’s expansive yard. To a young kid, that was an exciting trip. I rebuilt the engine in that truck for an engine class in college. I also inherited it for a while after my grandfather passed away, and had every intention of completely restoring it, but you know how those projects go and the beat-up green hulk didn’t fit my wife’s idea of a good look for the front of our house. It’s still in the family, now parked in front of my cousin’s house.

It could be because the first vehicle that I ever bought with my own money was a 1983 Ranger. I bought it from a friend who was a manager of a local pest company. When I got it both front fenders had been banged up and the brakes were shot. I did a lot to that truck, my favorite being the installation of a turbo 2.3L from a T-Bird Turbo Coupe of the same year.

It could be because my first job in the automotive world was with a company that built Ford 4-cylinder racing engines. I started by sweeping the floors, and learned everything there was to know about the Ford Pinto engines, both the 2.0L and the 2.3L. By the time I left I was building the engines and running them on the dyno. We could get 300 horsepower out of a normally aspirated 2.3, bored and stroked to around 3 liters. I got to experience all forms of racing from off-road to circle track to boats. I still tinker with those engines on occasion.

There have been many Fords in my life including 3 Mustangs, 3 Explorers, 3 Rangers, one Escort, a Tempo, the two vans I mentioned earlier and the F-150 that I drive now. But that doesn’t mean that I have avoided GMs altogether. The first car that I ever owned as my own was a 76 Nova 4-door (cream exterior with plaid interior) which was given to me by my aunt. I drove my other grandfather’s 72 2-door Nova a lot (another 3-on-the-tree), my dad had an S-10 for a while that was kind of fun, and the high school boat of all times was the 76 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagon… remember the rear facing seat?

I say all this, and I am going to leave today driving my friend’s 2004 LLY GMC Duramax pickup truck, in my opinion one of the best diesel packages available. In my job I have the distinct benefit of driving numerous brand’s and types of vehicles. There are many impressive vehicles under the GM, Dodge and, dare I say, import banners that I deal with on a regular basis. So am I still a Ford guy? Deep down, I guess I am, but I can’t explain why.

Tags:
Posted in Banks Power | No Comments »

Giving Something Back

by Gale Banks
Friday, April 15th, 2005

I’m sitting in my office waiting for the guys from WyoTech to arrive. This morning, I get to put something back into the diesel industry. I volunteered to work with WyoTech on the development of a light-duty diesel curriculum (with a high-performance overlay, of course).

We’re talking diesel pickups. There are now millions of them. The opportunity is huge for a young student as the demand is only going to get larger.

Diesel in Europe is over 51% of new vehicle sales, in the U.S., it’s about 4%. So, you see the opportunity facing U.S. engine and vehicle manufacturers. We just need to design and build diesels for the light pickup and SUV market and for passenger car market with performance in mind. Done properly, light-duty diesel can kick gas. And if you want a hybrid, a diesel hybrid also kicks gas — and that includes hydrogen.

Tags:
Posted in Banks Power | No Comments »

Why a Blog?

by Tim Gavern
Thursday, April 14th, 2005

My job title at Banks is, “Corporate Journalist.” Pretty high falutin, huh? Not really. I’m just a scribe. I record a lot of what goes on around here. I document projects and vehicle buildups for corporate sponsors, provide info for magazine editors, write blogs, Blah, blah, blah.

I’m swamped trying to keep up with all that is going on at Banks. I remember thinking recently that we need to get the information I collect to the public faster. Then, out of the blue a few weeks ago, Gale asked me what I thought of the idea of launching a blog about Banks. I couldn’t get “yes” out fast enough. Of course, I had no idea what a blog was at the time. I’m kidding, but it did give me a chance to do a lot of research before putting the wheels into motion to launch BanksBlog.

Let me back up a little. Some of you might have found BanksBlog by accident or clicked on a link from BanksPower.com and you might not even know what a blog is. So, I’ve taken the liberty to include Merriam-Webster’s definition here: Blog noun (short for Weblog) (1999): a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.

While I was trying to get a better handle on the blogosphere, I read hundreds of corporate, political and personal blogs. It was an interesting new world that I didn’t realize was so big. I also read one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, “Blog”, by Hugh Hewitt (http://www.hughhewitt.com). Hugh’s book really clued me in on the power of blogs. Did you know that Blogs have already had a hand in changing several huge social and political events in recent history? Read Hugh’s book for some amazing examples.

Most importantly though, blogs are now providing credible information that main stream media (MSM) is finally picking up on. Or, at the very least, MSM is using blog authors as credible sources for its stories - especially in the business world. Blogs can actually present first-hand accounts of news while it’s happening. When that information gets linked to larger and more widely read blogs, this first-hand information flow becomes a very powerful tool. There isn’t much time for the filtering of this information. It’s just truthful news - without the politics or agenda. Very refreshing.

When used properly in the corporate world, blogs can provide customers with “inside” information into not only what the company is doing, but into what its CEO is thinking. Never before in history has the average Joe been able to get inside the heads of corporate leaders. Now that’s exciting. Needless to say, we’re really looking forward to providing information to you in this fast, fact-filled manner. So, keep on readin’.
Sincerely,
Your faithful,
“Corporate Blogger”

Posted in Banks Power | No Comments »

Beware the Blog!

by John Espino
Thursday, April 14th, 2005

“The Blog!” Blog this and blog that — that’s all I’ve been hearing for the past month. Up until recently I thought folks were talking about the anamorphic amoeba with the voracious appetite that terrorized a small town back in the ’50s flick. They tried to stop it by burning it, shooting it and then blowing it up. Just about the only thing that’d stop it was freezing it. After all was said and done the thing grew from about the size of a pea to a giant glob.

Turns out that blogs actually aren’t going to eat anyone up, just gobble up bandwidth. Blogs have become a way that folks can communicate thoughts and views on things that are important to them, whether it be about business in general or the kind of coffee they like. Our plan is to give a little insight into what’s going on in the industry and what’s going on here at Banks, especially the Engineering and Race Shop departments. Up until now we’ve kept most of this stuff a secret, which doesn’t make too much sense. Some of the projects and products we work on range from technically “cool” to “way out there.” The name of the place is Gale Banks Engineering after all, not “Gale’s Diesel Go-Fast Shack.” We’re an honest to goodness engineering facility first — one that just so happens to be run by gearheads. Think of it as a mixture of NASA meets Q’s workshop from the James Bond films meets Disney Imagineering meets Muppet Labs and you’ll get the picture. As you might guess we’ve got a bunch to talk about, and who knows — you might end up knowing what kind of coffee we like.

So please check back here often. With all the things we’ve got to say, this blog will grow to titanic proportions. Who knows — maybe the only way to stop it will be to freeze it.

Posted in Banks Power | No Comments »

The Race Shop

by Pat Ganahl
Friday, January 24th, 2003

Most companies call it Research and Development. Here at Banks, we call it the Race Shop. I think of it as the toy room.

But calling it the Race Shop is not a bit far-fetched. This shop has not only turned out several true-blood race cars, but it has also produced several world record holders. That is a pregnant statement. The emphasis, here, is on several.

There are plenty of corporations, around the world, that sponsor winning race vehicles. There are a few that actually produce them. But I can’t think of many that have produced as many record-setters as Gale Banks, and this goes back to the days of endurance racing boats, as well as cars.

The most recent, of course, is the Sidewinder Dodge Dakota sport truck, which is officially the World’s Fastest Pickup. This truck—engine, driveline, chassis, body, electricals, everything—was built, tuned, and tested right in the Banks Race Shop by our own in-house crew. The same can be said for the previous World’s Fastest Pickup, the GMC Syclone, which was built in the Banks Race Shop and which topped 210 mph with an unblown V-6 engine in ‘89-’90. And our Banks-built, twin turbo, stock-block 454-powered Trans Am still holds the A/Blown Gas Coupe record at Bonneville at 268+ mph, with a top speed of 283 mph, set way back in 1987. And then there are the multi-record holding Geisler, Vail & Banks ‘53 Studebaker, the Kehoe-McKinney-Banks “Sundowner” ‘68 Corvette, and the amazing 432 mph Al Teague single-engine streamliner. This last multi-record holder was certainly not built in the Banks Race Shop, but Gale Banks is a partner in the effort.

But to call the Race Shop a “toy room” is really highly unfair. It actually is the Research and Development center of Gale Banks Engineering. The nine employees who work there range from draftsmen, to machinists, to engine builders, to expert welders, to sheet metal fabricators, to clay modelers. More than one of them can do all of that. Just about every product produced at Banks, short of electronics, is designed and prototyped in this shop. If it has three dimensions, these guys can very likely make it.

In short, what we call the Race Shop does everything from new product design and prototyping to the wildest special projects (race vehicles or otherwise) that Gale can dream up. When I asked Race Shop Manager John Espino what exactly this department does, his quick reply was, “Rapid prototyping and proof of concepts.” Well put.

Posted in Banks Power | No Comments »

Winning Dodge

by Pat Ganahl
Friday, January 17th, 2003

Well, here’s one for you Dodge boys (and girls). Specifically, I’m talking about the members of Turbo Diesel Register, otherwise known as TDR.

The TDR is actually based on a quarterly publication that started in 1993 with a stated purpose to be “an open forum for the exchange of information from the manufacturers to the owners,” and “to give Dodge diesel owners more satisfaction in the ownership of their truck.” The TDR magazine is a collection of regular columns written by a variety of authors, two of whom are John and Polly Holmes. John’s “Ranch Dressing” column refers to their 2JP (John and Polly) Ranch in Silver Springs, NV, about an hour east of Reno, where they raise goats and other animals with exotic “coats” for Polly’s hobby/business of producing “fiber” for spinning into yarns for knitting or weaving. John is retired, but still spends one day a week (Wednesdays) at Carson Dodge in Carson City, doing “special projects.” TDR members know he’s there, and bring in their trucks when they want something “special” done to them.

Polly’s column, “Polly’s Pickup,” is a chatty, feminine-side take on diesel trucking with multi-topics that can range from trailer-towing to her new Dodge Viper (”Snake”), to a recipe for sweet and sour chicken. They’re both gearheads, with a small collection of show-winning vintage cars and trucks. Plus they were both heavy into NHRA drag racing in the ’60s (Polly drove a G/SA ‘67 AMC Marlin). Between them, they’ve had a succession of hard-working diesel Dodge pickups, which tow a variety of trailers to haul animals, hay, and other ranch necessities. And both of them have an insatiable accessory habit. Gotta have those accessories—lots of ‘em!

Last summer they were trying to sell Polly’s ‘97 pickup, but the neighbors wanted John’s ‘00 Quad-Cab instead, so he replaced it with a white 2002, Quad-Cab, 4×4 with an automatic trans. He immediately began to accessorize it with things like custom mudflaps, cab lights, trailer hitch, rear lighting, a custom trans pan and differential covers, and little touches like painting the taillight housings body color. That’s just the short list.

About this time we had contacted TDR to see if we could get some coverage in the magazine on Banks power and braking products for Dodge diesels. They directed us to John and his new 2002. I’ve talked about prototyping new products here at Banks a couple of times, and how we need a guinea pig truck for every model year to fit our new parts to. John’s new truck was just what we needed to test-fit our products on ‘02 Dodges. He was happy to oblige. Installing a complete PowerPack and Banks Brake, with SmartLock, on John’s ‘02 was relatively simple, primarily requiring reworking some of the wiring harness to match changes in the new Dodge’s wire circuits.

But remember the new Computerized Brake Controller (CBC) I told you about on 12/13/02? John’s truck was the guinea pig for that, too. The first prototype CBC was installed on John’s truck, and getting all those little black boxes (including the Ottomind, SmartLock, and CBC, not to mention the ones that come on the truck) talking to each other politely and intelligibly took some doing. But they did. We also did some prototype upgrading to John’s torque converter and automatic transmission, but that will be Banks News for a future Friday.

If you are a TDR member, you read John’s first report on his ‘02 Dodge, including his own modifications and Banks’, in the Nov/Dec/Jan ‘02-’03 issue (#38). With the Banks PowerPack installed and working properly at that point, John reported “it ran like a scalded dog!” The next issue will have a follow-up.

But here’s the punch line for this week’s news. In Polly’s column in that issue, she’ll report on a relatively new TDR event, called Diesels in the Desert. Held last October 25th, this is a Show-N-Shine for turbo-diesel Dodge trucks co-sponsored by the Antelope Valley Chapter of TDR and Hunter Dodge in the high desert town of Lancaster, CA, northeast of Los Angeles. A total of 60 TDR member trucks descended on the dealer’s lot for the 2nd annual event, carrying 180 people, though only 18 tricked-out trucks entered the Show-N-Shine. But some of these trucks were very tricked out. The event also included vendor booths and seminars, and was followed by a barbeque for TDR members.

John and Polly, accompanied by another TDR couple in their own pickup, drove down from northern Nevada the day before, taking the Montgomery Pass over the Sierras and stopping in Bishop for lunch. The next morning John and Polly parked their new 2002 Dodge, complete with Banks PowerPack and Brake and all of John’s owner-installed accessories, in the Show-N-Shine area, and then wandered off to look at the other trucks and enjoy the show. Judging was of the “People’s Choice” variety, with trophies being given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, overall, in the show. When the votes were tallied and the trophies were presented at 2:00, guess who got handed the big one? Yep, John and Polly. You can bet they enjoyed that day. And that’s not at all shabby for a truck that drives on dirt roads on the ranch and traveled hundreds of miles to get to the show. Yes, John, I guess your new Dodge is a “magnificent manure mover,” as you say.

Tags: ,
Posted in Banks Power | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »