and 3-axle 379s, 389s, and a few 362 cabovers. The truck on the cover this month (and these pages here) is one of those non-working rigs, but it didn’t start out that way. Purchased as a glider kit from a dealership in Pennsylvania in 2015, the Peterbilt 389 truck, with a 36” sleeper, sat there for a few years because Jason did not have an engine for it. Way back when, you could buy a glider (a complete truck with no powertrain) and just take it home, but as time went on and the emissions standards tightened, this was no longer the case. Peterbilt completely halted glider kit sales in 2019, but in the last few years leading up to that decision, they put stricter rules on glider kit sales. A glider kit, after purchase, could not be taken home until the drivetrain was installed, by a certified installer, and then the truck had to be taken back to the dealer to be inspected and certified. Then, it could be put into the system and titled. An engine was built in-house by one of Jason’s mechanics in 2018, and this was no “regular” engine. Every internal part of the 6NZ CAT that could be, including the pistons and bearings, were ceramic coated, twin turbos were installed, and other power upgrades were made, as well. This painted-to-match green engine is now pushing 1,000+ horsepower! After it was built, the engine was shipped back to Hoover’s in Pennsylvania, and once the drivetrain was installed and certified, the truck was finally titled as a 2018 and brought home. But it didn’t go home – it went straight to Pickett Custom Trucks (PCT) in Arizona to be customized. Rod Pickett and his team have built many trucks for Jason over the years, but this one was 10-4 Magazine / April 2025 11
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA1MjUy