Hot Wheels Legends Tour: Real Life Cummins-Powered Hot Wheels Truck!

For the most part, we’re seeing these top-of-the-line builds at events or on social media, but with all of the buzz around the 2019 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, we heard about the Hot Wheels Legends Tour. The Hot Wheels Legend Tour takes over 3,600 car and truck entries from around the nation in search of a vehicle worthy of becoming a Hot Wheels die-cast car. One finalist from each of the 18 cities the Legends Tour visited were at SEMA with their build, where an official winner was crowned.
After I saw this cool hot-rod truck, I naturally looked into all of the winners from around the country and this one stood out to me. I thought this thing had to have a diesel engine in it. So, I reached out. On the other end of the phone was Chad Martin with Chad’s Custom Dreams. Martin, a Saluda, South Carolina native has been into the customization scene for quite some time, but this is a big deal.

Custom building things like this is what Martin does, but this one is his so it’s special.

The Build
Coined Brutally Sexy, this 1936 Chevrolet Crew Cab Dually is literally one of a kind. I seriously doubt if it can be duplicated. This ’36 is coated with Matrix Green Dream paint and stands out at any car show. It’s taken some time to get to this point. In fact, Martin told us that he’s been working on this build for two years, and it was just completed in October 2018.

“I have been into diesel engines since I was a kid. I used to go to truck and tractor pulls because I love the power and torque a diesel engine offers,” said Martin. “I knew I wanted to associate one of my builds with a diesel engine, and here we are. The reason behind this build specifically, was because of my love for Hot Wheels.”
Martin continued, “I would line up the cars through my house and have my own car shows. Hot Wheels gave me that imagination. I dreamt of this exact truck and I came up with a few ideas that I haven’t seen before. In 1999, I decided to put it down on paper. This was long before I had started working in the industry. Now, years later, that drawing runs and drives.”
Chassis
Front Suspension: Fatman Fabrications Extreme Cross-Member Stage 4 IFS Package, AccuAir E-level Air Ride with 3/8-inch lines, Twin ViAir compressors, five-gallon reserve tank, Firestone Ride-Rite airbags, and heavy-duty shocks.
Rear Suspension: RideTech four-Link, Panhard bar, Firestone Ride Rite airbags, and heavy-duty shocks.
Drivetrain

“Brutally Sexy” is riding on a set of 24-inch American Force Combat Series, 10-lug Semi wheels wrapped in four 285/40R24 Toyo Proxies PXST111 tires.

Engine/Transmission: 5.9-liter Cummins 24-valve engine, NV4500 five-Speed manual transmission
Engine/Transmission Mods: BD Diesel Performance RT700 compound turbo kit, Bell Intercooler, aluminum radiator, custom driveline with Spicer yoke and u-joints, and Richard’s Automotive wiring and tuning.
Rear Differential: Narrowed Dana 70, custom disc brakes.
Body
1936 Chevrolet Master Four-Door Sedan,widened 12-inches, four suicide doors, 1940 International 1-ton truck fenders, 1930’s Diamond-T rear fenders with custom running boards, hand fabricated grille, scratch-built, Seville-style bed grafted to the sedan body with black walnut bed flooring, vintage headlights and taillights, and Matrix Green Dream and Off-White paint. The entire truck is steel and not a single inch of this truck is fiberglass.
Interior
Painted Matrix Satin Brown, the interior uses four Toyota Camry bucket seats and door panels covered in Espresso Brown leather, Dakota Digital VHX-1016-S-S analog-gauge package, Flaming River column, Billet Specialties wheel, tall Lokar shifter fitted with a unique Chad’s Custom Dreams Logo knob, Smoked single-pane window glass, Diamond Audio 8-inch subs in the back, 6.5-inch component sets in each door, and its powered by 1,100-watt Diamond Audio Amplifier.
Wheels And Tires

As a kid, Martin had this dream. You mix his love for hot wheels, his love for the torque of a diesel engine, the know-how of the industry, and this is what you get. “She is 93-inches wide in the back, 71-inches wide in the front, and 20-feet long,” Martin says. “The grill was hand-made from almost 300-feet of aluminum. It took the hides from seven cows to do the inside of this truck.”
Any build generally takes time. A build like this takes an army of support, and Martin wanted to thank and list every one of his sponsors that is on board to make this possible. Matrix, USChemical, American Force Wheels, Toyo Tires, Accuair, Lexington Auto Paint, Diamond Auto, Sturgess Customs, Douglass Interior Products, Forced Injection, Bell Intercoolers, Dakota Digital, Will Forrest Cockrell Construction, Kirks Kustom Upholstery, BedWood, Lokar, Fat Man Fabrication, BD Diesel Performance, Vintage Glass, Octane Custom Trailers, Factory Customs, Ravens Glide 3D Design, and Truck Supply of South Carolina.
On top of the sponsors, Martin also wanted to thank a few people that helped as well. This included George Duke, Volney Smith, BJ Broxton, Tom Wakeland, Keith Werts, Rob Tansey, Ansel and Creighton Price, Rodney Graham, David and Judy Lawson, Ricky and Dori Miracle, Freddie and Debbie Mays, Billy and Bobby martin, Mrs. Granny, and his wife and children.
For more information about the Hot Wheels Legends Tour, be sure and check out the website. To stay up to date with Chad Martin’s build, check out his Instagram page here.

About the author

Artie Maupin

Artie Maupin is from Southeast Missouri and has an extreme passion for anything diesel. He loves drag racing of all kinds, as well as sled pulling competitions.
Read My Articles