Gingersnap Customs

05/31/2026

It’s been a long time since I’ve put a 6.5 on the track. Today we took Sherman to Deerfield community days and made a hook. It upshifted to second even with the lever in “1” and it killed our momentum in an otherwise solid start to a pass. It was a great time for us and it was great getting back in the seat in a dinosaur diesel. If we can sort this shift issue out I think we have a chance for some decent hooks in its future.

Roll the footage! GSC: 6.5L diesel goes sled pulling!
https://youtu.be/uAN0tZYwwx4

Photos from Sinclair’s Snapshots, videos from he and my wife Elizabeth!

05/29/2026

The ole 55 Farmall 400 diesel put in some hours today knocking down our two hay fields. Now to let it dry and bale it all up!

05/28/2026

It’s that time of year for killer sunset views and getting tractors around to knock hay down. Tonight the bine repairs were completed and we did a short test run with the 44 M. Tomorrow I’ll swap it into the 400 and drag it down to GSC to cut here first. That M needs some rear tires before it’s ready to go between fields but, it did a solid job as the test mule tonight!

05/27/2026

Sherman left the barn yard on an adventure to get fuel, hydraulic lines and tractor parts. This was its first adventure after the hours of revival. The truck isn’t perfect yet but it starts up and goes down the road! Now to get some miles on it and start seeing what other bugs pop up…

05/24/2026

The turbo drain is mocked up and we test fit the turbo and pedestal in the truck today! It was definitely great seeing it will fit and the hood will close. Now to keep plugging away making pieces!

05/22/2026

Thanks to our friend Chris Southwell Sherman and the Farmall M have some new rubber on the wheels! Thanks again for the mount and balance job!

05/21/2026

Progress is slow right now on Sherman but we finally are on the home stretch. Two new tires showed up to replace the bald passenger duals and I have a few more things to clean up. Will we take Sherman sled pulling next week? There’s a solid chance!

05/15/2026

For the first time since I started this project the manifolds are officially tied to the turbine housing on the turbo. I’ve had to walk away from this a couple of times and regroup. But tonight I finished tacking the first set together in what I hope to be their final form. I’ll be working on Pat’s set tomorrow night. Once everything is tacked up it’s pedestal test time in Sherman. If that all fits and the hood and everything is cleared. I’ll make those out of steel from the 3D printed prototype shape and get these ready to go in a truck after we finish the oil system lines. It’s nice to be back making progress on these unique setups.

05/13/2026

It’s been a learning curve. I’ve had a lot of 6.5L diesels and worked on a lot of them since 2011/12. I learned a lot in the early days and it took until this dually to really have to dig deep and learn more about the electrical systems/diagnostics. This truck has taught me every step of the way since we picked it up from Urbana Ohio last November. Today the list before it goes on the road is passenger rear tires, harmonic balance replacement and a deep clean of the inside. Then Sherman the dually will be ready to head back to work.

05/10/2026