After Missing His Goal of a Sick Summer Appearance, Tom Kuepper Finishing Up Twin-Turbo Ford Pick-Up Refinements for Sick Michigan Miles
Sometimes, a good build gets a bit quicker than expected, and rather than continue on, an enthusiast may choose to take a step back to plot out the future use, and the changes necessary.
That was the case for Tom Kuepper, and although it caused his first Sick Summer event absence in three years, he’s honing in on quick times at the upcoming Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil.
Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil, is coming on August 10-17th, 2025! An entire week in the great state of Michigan, with over 1,000 street miles on tap, and four race tracks - PLUS a visit to Woodward Dream Cruise! Don’t miss out on your chance to join us - CLICK HERE for more info on Sick Michigan Miles!!
When we first saw Kuepper’s Ford F-150, he had done a lot of work to convert it for drag and drive duty from its previous life as a farm truck. That work was completed less than two weeks before the first Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes, which Kuepper completed with a 10.77 average.
“I did Sick Summer with my dad, and it was one of the best times I've had,” he said. The truck completed the week with mostly high 10-second passes because Tom didn’t want to run too fast.
One year later, Kuepper returned with his father for a case of “second verse, same as the first” at Sick Summer. This time, he turned up the boost on the twin turbos, clocking a best of 10.02 on day one, and a week-long average of 10.21 to finish fifth in the new Heavy Metal class.
Kuepper knew the truck had easy single-digit potential, but he had to know just how quick it could go. He upgraded the fuel system, and turned up the boost on the 438 cubic inch Ford small block some more, to see what would result.
The pair of 78/75-millimeter turbochargers delivered 21 pounds of boost, and the two-ton pick-up delivered an 8.94 at 152 mph run. That excited Kuepper, but he knew some changes would be necessary going forward.
“It’s not fun to turn the truck back down to 10.0s,” Kuepper laughed. He already had considered plans for an upgrade from roll bar to an 8.50-second legal roll cage, and after some time to reflect on it this spring, Kuepper’s ‘to-do’ list got a bit longer.
To give him some more room for a pair of upgraded turbochargers, as well as a relocation, plus some more shock travel, Kuepper replaces the factory I-beam front with a custom tubular front end with Viking Performance 9-inch stroke coil-overs.
With the extra room, Kuepper dropped the trusty small block Ford engine back into place, with a pair of Gen 3 turbos in the same size as before for some more power potential. A new intercooler was added, and new piping to route the cold and hot air done up.
To take a few more pounds off the nose, Kuepper mounted up a fiberglass bumper in place of the heavy factory piece.
This would be enough changes for most people, but Kuepper decided the wiring in the truck needed an upgrade as well. So, a new custom switch panel was ordered up, and with just a month to go before Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil event, the truck sits without a single stitch of wiring.
“It ran good, but the wiring was a bit rougher than I liked,” said Kuepper. “The same deal with the turbo kit. So, I just wanted to clean it up and make things nicer and update the safety side as well.”
Can Tom Kuepper’s Ford pick-up contend for the Overall Quickest Sick The Mag helmet, or maybe Quickest Ford or Quickest Small Block title?
Come join us for a week of fun and racing action, plus the Woodward Dream Cruise, as we invade Michigan for the Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil event, August 10-17th! CLICK HERE for more details!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Tom Kuepper.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com