Over a month

Wow, it's been a month since I have posted on this blog deal. As you can see I have been extremely busy. I have some stuff coming up, ministry things. If you read this be praying for me that I will always stand in the shadow of the Cross.

As far as man stuff, looks like the last thing I blogged about was the stats on the ole' White Stallion. I have a few things that I have planned for this beast that many of you might be interested in. I don't have a time line on this project, but I do have some points in my scope of work. Let me give you a few things to tickle you readers with.

Engine Swap:
What a way to revive a vehicle! Now there is nothing wrong with the ole' Chevy 350. It's still a strong motor with thousands of miles left in her. Here is the kicker... I have always been a Diesel fan! Now you may wonder why I capitalize Diesel... It's because I pay my respects to the man who created the engine in the beginning, Rudolph Diesel. He was a German engineer who loved to tinker with machines. Sounds like my kinda guy. I love the 350, but I have to say I am all for trucks having Diesel engines in them from the factory and thats including 1/2 ton trucks such as the Stallion.

So now your probably wondering which engine am I thinking of. Well there was a couple of engines in mind.

GM 6.5L Turbocharged Diesel
Of course being a Chevy guy I thought of the ole' 6.5 which would be a direct bolt in swap. Well the 6.5L is an OK engine, by far no where near what the modern engines are. Its OK for light duty stuff which might be good for the Stallion. Some people don't know this but this engine was an option for the 88-98 1/2 ton trucks. Problems with it is that it is a light weight engine that lacked a beefy casting. It's good if you want to stay at stock power levels. This would be the easiest swap.

GM 6.6L Duramax Diesel
My favorite V8 light truck Diesel! Who can deny that this engine shot GM in the lead with Diesel powered HD pickups! And exciting news is the new 4.5L baby Duramax coming out for the 1/2 ton trucks. All I can say is it's about time!! The big 6.6L though is the one I am interested in. I can get the detuned version that was used in the Chevy vans that have the 4L85E. This engine is a non-intercooled motor with 250hp and 460lbft of torque. Not too bad at all. Yeah its not the ultra powerful LMM with 365hp and 660lbft of torque, but remember the Stallion is a half ton truck and I don't want to have to carry the Allison over to my truck. Allison 1000 is awesome and all, but it weights a ton! I want good power and economy!
The only drawback I have with this engine is that its a common rail fully electronic motor. I would also have to find an early model without all the emissions junk. The thing is I don't want to be spending a lot of time tuning the engine electronically. I am a welding engineer, not an electrical engineer and the way these more modern Diesel engines are you have to have a degree in computer engineering just to know what is going on! So I thought of the expense and unfortunately say "no" to this engine. I would have been a good choice though. If I had to buy a new truck I think I would go for a 3/4 4x4 with the Duramax/Allison combo!

CUMMINS POWER!
Unless you have been under a rock you whole life, then you should be familiar with the C that is hung on the side of those loud noisy and awesome sounding Dodge trucks! I believe that the Cummins engine is the creme de la creme of Diesel engines. Now I know that there are those who will argue with me on this, but all I have to say is look at the specs of the engine and compare with the Duramax and Powerstroke. There is no comparison, the Cummins has beefier parts, simpler design, rock solid reliability and can go for miles on end.
I will say this and I believe that this would end any argument. If the "other engines" were better than the Cummins B Series, then why do all those Pro Stock Diesel trucks run Cummins? Not only that but they are using for the most part stock Cummins parts! Why is that the Super Duty Cummins swap is becoming so popular. Go and look at www.fordcummins.com or www.destroked.com for more information.

Well to continue on, I originally thought that the ole 5.9 B Series Cummins would be the engine for me. This swap has been done many times, especially the 12v version. Now I like the newer 24vISB, but I want to avoid any complicated electronics. Well OK, so its not really the electronics that is holding me back as these engines from what I have researched are pretty easy to get up and running. My issue is the weight of the engine. This thing nearly weights in at 1,200lbs wet. Now you know why this engine is pretty much indestructable!

My final Engine Choice..... You will have to wait for that one as I am looking for some data/cut sheets for it to post.

Until the next post,
God Bless y'all!

In Christ,
PK

My Ride, The "White Stallion"

So about my truck. It is a 1995 Chevrolet C/K 1/2 ton with the RPO #Z71 off road package. Some of the stats:

Leather Interior with all the bells and whistles that 95 year model had to offer
TBI 5.7L (350) V8... I will refer to this engine as a 350
4l80E 4-speed automatic
NVG 241 Transfer case
9.5" AAM 14-bolt aka "baby 14-bolt" rear axle with 3.73 Eaton locker aka "Gov-Lok"
8.25" AAM front IFS with 3.73

Modifications:

6" Rancho suspension lift w/ProComp rear full arch leaf springs
16x10 Eagle Alloy 589 wheels
305/70R16 Cooper Discover AT
Custom front grill guard... future fabrication project will be a full steel bumper
Aftermarket off road lights that need to be replaced
Smitty built nerf bars... I cut and rewelded them closer to the body for a more clean look
Vortec heads... my buddy and I did the head swap with the GM Performance Parts intake.
Pace Setter headers
Gibson 3" single cat-back exhaust... I fully welded it, no stinkin' sissy exhaust clamps!

My buddy and I named the truck Project White Stallion in honor of Power Block TV since they always have a name for their projects. I like it!

The truck has 167K miles on it... I can't wait to get to 200K so I can join the Silverado 200K Club sponsored by GM.

So that is my truck in a nutshell. It's a great running strong truck. I can call it truly mine since I have done all the work on the truck and all the modifications with the help of a few people. I hope to document a few projects here and there as I get the new house later on this year.

My first project I was thinking about doing was an engine swap, but as of right now I would like to finish running this engine out. I have a couple of ideas that I will post about later on.

Well this if for y'all to get to know the "White Stallion" and why I have named this blog The Tailgate. We can "sit" on the cyber tailgate and talk about things men talk about on tailgates.

Happy Truckin' and don't forget to let Jesus take the wheel!

Beauty of the Resurrection

To add to my previous post presenting the Gospel, I wanted to add that Christ is ALIVE! He is seated at the right hand of God! Christ was crucified and died for our sins, but 3 days later He rose from the tomb with all glory and power! Christ has conquered death for us so we now no longer have to fear death. The power of the resurrection is the cornerstone to the Gospel. The resurrection revealed Christ's power and Himself fulfilling Biblical prophesy! So my fellow men, I will say that MY SAVIOR LIVES!!! Christ is my LIVING King! HE IS THE SON OF GOD! No one else but JESUS!

JESUS IS MY KING! My question to every man out there, who is your king?

PK <><

The Gospel

So I figured I would get the blog started with stating some truth. What is the Gospel? Well it's God's Amazing Grace! See we are all sinners, born into sin from our mother's womb. Our sin nature has separated us from God and destined us for eternal separation in hell. This is where some people say, "I am a good person, God would never send me there". Well how do you know you are a good person? How does God measure our goodness? That's straight forward, its the 10 commandments! Lets review them shall we:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Wow, these commandments represent God's holy character. To be found righteous we must keep these commandments and we will be judged by them when we face God one day after we die. You might say, "well I haven't broken any of these commandments, so I have nothing to worry about" Well I have news for you, we all have, I have too many times. Jesus states in Matthew that if you even look upon a woman with lustful eyes, you have committed adultry in your heart. WOW! thats raising the standards high. Have you ever stolen something? Now let's be honest. Have you ever told a lie? I think everyone is guilty here. Some people might say "Well God loves us and He would never punish us?" Well that is creating a false god in your mind and breaking commandment #2. Because God is a perfect judge He will punish sin where sin is found! What good judge would let a criminal act go unpunished? Because God is Holy and perfect, He will punish sin. If you have broken a single commandment in the slightest you have broken them all and are guilty to be sent to hell. So your asking the question, "you mean all of us deserve to be sent to hell?" That is correct. All of us deserve it justly. No man has kept the 10 commandments, but Christ.

So now that we know the bad news, let me tell you the GOOD NEWS! God knew that man could not possibly keep the 10 commandments so He sent His son Jesus to take the punishment we deserve. It is much like standing in front of a judge with a long list of crimes and someone then came and payed all of the debt that you owed for those crimes. This person is JESUS my friends. He payed the price as the perfect sacrifice. He is the ONLY way to the Father! He fulfilled the Law by keeping the 10 commandments. Now I am not going to go deep into theology on the fulfillment of the Law, that is for future discussion. Jesus is sinless and was crucified on the cross for our sins, the sins of the world. He died so that we may be saved! All we have to do is ask Jesus into our hearts! I will say that if you give you life to Jesus, your sins are payed for! God will no long see you as a criminal, but an innocent man! He will then bring you into His Kingdom!

For those of you who read this who are saved, I hope the Lord has encouraged you! If you are not a believe, I will say that I am not talking about religion here... I am talking about a relationship. Religion is man made rules and nothing more. Christ said that He is knocking on the door of the hearts of man that He may come in and dine with us! He desires fellowship, deep fellowship. Now Christ is not just a man, He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe! He payed this price because He loves us! Accepting Jesus as your Savior means all of your sins are forgiven, past sins, present sins, and future sins.

I will say that I hope this long, broken, poorly written post will penetrate readers hearts and that the Lord will speak to those who need this message desperately.

PK <><

Welcome to The Tailgate!

So I was looking at my wife's blog and got inspired to create my own. I wanted to document my experiences as a Christian man. I want it open so that others can see and read the Gospel. My first passion among many passions(hobbies) is evangelism and serving the Lord. My hobbies range from welding/fabrication to fishing and anything involving an engine and that is big or goes fast! I am so Blessed to be in a field that involves what I enjoy doing on my own time and that is welding! I am a welding engineer for an EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) company. I am a degreed engineer (BS Mechanical Engineering and MS Industrial Engineering with and emphasis on systems). I also have a math minor. I grew up welding since I was a young man on various projects from bumpers and custom truck beds to farm equipment on my grand fathers ranch. I am a blue collar man at heart. I love the outdoors. I love working with my hands and I love to create and build stuff!

With all of this said, I am first and foremost passionate about the Gospel and ministry as mentioned before. My desire and prayer is that this blog will reach and encourage other Christian men. Along with posting on my feelings towards cars, trucks, tools, fishing equipment, welding equipment, fabrication, and general topics related to men, I hope to discuss real issues that Christian men face along with good discussion on some theology, faith, and application of Biblical principles. I will say to those who read my blog that I am not perfect by any means, but by the blood of Jesus I am saved by His Amazing Grace and nothing else. I am simply a man whom desires to serve God and may He be Glorified in all I do. So stay tuned and pay attention to Christ and keep Him in your hearts.