Page 18 - Issue 35

fl ies into certain danger to save
hurt soldiers in order to take them
to care. Air ambulance drivers are
the most liked guys in the business
and should NEVER buy a drink!)
Back stateside, Dietze became
a Maintenance Test Pilot. After
aircraft are torn down and serviced
at different hourly levels, they must
be certifi ed for airworthiness. He
was the guy who took them up
fi rst. Kevin also managed several
fl eets of military aircraft over the
years. He achieved the Master of
Readiness award for two years
(consecutively) while supporting
President Bush during his visits
home in Crawford TX. After retiring,
he and his wife decided to make a
home in Texas and build cars.
The Heli Rat pays homage to
US ARMY Aviation Test Pilots with
the only two painted areas of the
truck-the fi rewall and the mural
dashboard. The entire cockpit is
laid out like a helicopter with fully
functioning everything. The gear
selector is an actual cyclic, there
is a collective, and an overhead
comm console. The aircraft seats
and seatbelts are necessary
because this little bird fl ies! The
powerplant is a 2006 5.3liter LS
with a Comp Cam Mutha Thumper
and a killer Edelbrock intake,
capped off by Kevin built ceramic
headers. The T-56 six speed puts
down 400 rear wheel horses
thanks to the dyno tuning from
Michael Dietze.
It is hard to believe that the
truck is still riding on the original
frame rails! While they have been
boxed and cross members have
been added, it is still an 80 year old
frame. The bed was shortened 13"
for proportion, and looks awesome.
Kevin swapped in Mustang II with
power rack and pinion, also a nice
triangulated four link out back.

18 RAT ROD MAGAZINE ISSUE THIRTY-FIVE

16x20 Pork Report.indd 18 12/21/15 12:59 PM