We all know Jay Leno is a car enthusiast and collector to the nth power. His collection ranges from the old and antique to the rare and exotic. In his series of videos, television appearances and media sneak peeks we get a look into his toy room, and the creations of others he deems worthy of his celebrity. In this episode we see a wild Peterbilt based hot rod creation coined “Piss’d Off Pete.”

The brainchild of custom car designer and builder Randy Grubb, this all aluminum beauty features classic art-deco styling and a powerplant to turn heads. According to Randy, “powering this particular vehicle is a Detroit diesel 12V71, two-stroke diesel. It’s a very unique motor, 12V71, meaning each cylinder is 71 cubic inches.” He continues to explain “Those two 671 superchargers inline are stock.” Despite the massive displacement, and forced induction systems, Randy clarifies that this is the lower horsepower version of this Detroit engine, at around 500 hp, and 1,000 lb-ft of torque. The uprated version featured turbochargers feeding the superchargers.

A four-speed Allison transmission, from a tour bus, transfers the power to the ground. The 351 Peterbilt cab, was chopped and sectioned five inches in the B-pilar, and eight inches in the A-pilar to give that classic raked look. The seats are custom upholstered in saddle leather, and demonstrate old-world craftsmanship with ornate designs and stitching.

Spread over 15 months, Randy spent around 3,000 hours completing this custom diesel. But this is certainly not his first endeavor, having built multiple other wild hot rods. Reflecting the aesthetic of old-school Top-Fuel altered dragsters, Randy describes his design, “This is my version of one of the old Top-Fuel altereds, remember the short wheelbase altereds? The altereds had certain design elements like the bug-catcher intake, the zoomy tubes, and the 12-spoke spindle mounts.”

The rear leaf springs are mounted to the frame rather than the axles for un-sprung weight.

The suspension of this Peterbilt is far from original. “Well the springs are a rather unique approach, they would be termed a quarter-elliptical. We’ve got it mounted on the frame which is kinda unique, rather than putting the spring on the axle which would be carrying it in an unsprung-weight situation, we’ve moved it up onto the frame so that it is part of the sprung-weight now, which makes the car handle a little better.” The front axle is a GMC 7000 series beam that Randy cut nine inches out of to narrow the track width and keep the sleek stance. Sleek and Peterbilt are rarely found in the same thought but in this case it has been achieved.

Hand tailored saddle leather seats bring more hand-made touches to this truck.

Out on the road this truck almost looks reasonably streetable. Due to the two-stroke engine cycle the exhaust note bellows a deceptive tone. Onlookers may misjudge this low-RPM engine for a high-RPM screamer but the low powerband scarcely sees above 2,800 rpm. Randy makes these creations out of autmotive inspiration, and crafts his sculptures with great care. Check out his other machines on his website www.blastolene.com