Slammed 1948 Kenworth Truck Rides Lower Than a Supercar, Flaunts Massive Pipes

Yup, you can now Tesla-swap a 1960 Chevrolet Impala, you can strap a jet engine to a bike, and you can stuff 34-inch wheels under any car. But how about slamming a semi truck? Not a problem! And this 1948 Kenworth is the perfect proof.

But this build is an old semi only on the surface. While the cab, fenders, and grille are all-original 1948 Kenworth bits, almost everything that hides under the shell has nothing to do with the 70-year-old semi. That's because the original frame was swapped with the underpinnings of a 1970s Chevrolet C30.

And I'm not talking about your regular C30 pickup. The frame was taken from a camper truck and modified to handle the extra length of a full-blown hauler. It also rides on low-profile wheels, an unusual upgrade for a semi, but the main thing that sets this truck apart is the incredibly low ride height.

This thing runs so close to the ground that you can barely slip your hand under the front bumper. Not that I'd recommend that. Heck, this truck rides lower than a supercar and glues itself to the ground better than the Chaparral 2J. Yes, I'm overreacting, but you should definitely check out Jim Hall's Can-Am-spec contraption.

But what about oomph? This truck must have something really juicy under the hood, right? Well, that's the thing. It doesn't. While it may sound mean and look fast, this truck relies on a 12-valve Cummins diesel that cranks out 212 horsepower at the wheels. You'll see it dyno that figure in the video below.

That's not a lot of oomph for a slammed show truck, but the owner is planning to change that soon. The goal is to stuff a pair of turbochargers behind that massive grille and force the Cummins to deliver 500 to 800 horsepower. Or enough for the Kenworth to roll some serious coal. Speaking of which, have you seen the pipes? Are they like 13 feet (about four meters) tall? Damn, I've seen shorter stove pipes.

But just because it has an oil burner that packs a little more than 200 horses doesn't mean that this truck can't pull. The owner claims it can haul up to 40,000 pounds (20 tons). And don't let the polished, show-car look fool you, this Kenworth is a workhorse. Because it's being used to haul vehicles to and from car shows.

Now that's a cool way to put an old semi truck to good use. At least until it gets that turbocharged upgrade. Hit play to check it out.