Darcy Brownell has always had the grit to put the sweat down to the grindstone. She started wrestling when she was 7 years old and competed in the sport all throughout high school, amassing more than 100 wins against her boy competitors! And the hard work converted over into her professional life, helping her earn a manager position at a cheese plant. And she’s also never had a fear of getting dirty with her adventurous spirit, loving all sorts of outdoor activities such as fishing trout, hunting deer, blazing dirt trails on side-by-sides, snowmobiling—she loves it all! She has a spirit of self-reliance and sustainability, and all of this has translated right over to her passion for diesel trucks.

Where It Began

Darcy’s whole family loves Mopars, and her dad had numerous muscle cars while she was growing up. She practically has burnout smoke in her lungs.

“Growing up, my dad had a ’71 Dodge Demon with a 440 in it. Now he has a Hellcat and a Viper truck,” she said.

When she was a teenager she started seeing first gens and fell in love with the looks of them, and that’s when she knew she wanted one. When she turned 16 she bought an ’89 Dodge W250 Cummins. But it was a dark navy blue and completely stock which reminded her of a grandpa truck. Aesthetically, she had to take the truck back to her roots.

“My goal was to have a lime green truck because that was the color of my dad’s demon he had while I was growing up,” Darcy explained.

Now, it may seem like a bit of a jump from being raised around classic American muscle cars to having an interest in diesel trucks. It seems more likely Darcy would have inherited an interest in the glory cars of the 20th century. But that’s never been Darcy’s style; she’s always preferred doing her own thing. So when she started looking into automotive hobbies for herself, she discovered the reliability and longevity of diesel trucks, and she knew she wanted one.

“When I was 16 and went and bought seats for my truck I saw a million-mile first gen Cummins and thought it was so awesome!” Darcy recalled.

And besides, as amazing as classic muscle cars are… they aren’t diesels.

“I love diesels over gas mostly because when you hear that turbo spool up out of a big ol’ 10-inch stack it’s like no other sound in the world.”

Modifications

Darcy has put a lot of money into her truck, much like she’s put a lot of literal blood and sweat into the build as well.

“All the work besides the paint job have all come from me,” she said.

And she’s added 22×14 American Force wheels with 33-inch Fury off-road tires, a 10-inch stack, a custom stack cover and custom traction bars, Hungry Diesel fuel pin and governor spring as well as some Hungry Diesel 5×13 injectors, Vixen train horns, a GEN-Y hitch, a Smeding Diesel S362 turbo, and a 4-inch Skyjacker lift kit and steering stabilizer.

“I did the lift kit myself with my dad’s help. It took us three days and lots of blood and sweat but we got it done. Something I will never forget,” Darcy remembered.

But the list keeps going. She’s also added drilled and slotted brakes, green filters, a CXRACING intercooler, Max Tow gauges, an Airbagit roll pan, Klearz side markers, a Mishimoto transmission cooler, a Mag Hytec front and back diff covers and tranny pan, Truck Lite LED headlights, a Red Head steering box, G&R Diesel polished valve covers, NRG Innovations steering wheel and quick release, and a Far From Stock brake conversion and radiator cover.

And lastly, to add the finishing touch, Darcy has added a .50 bullet antenna.

Results

Not only is Darcy’s ’89 W250 her daily driver, but she also takes it to shows on a routine basis. And no, she isn’t someone who has a truck to tow her truck; Darcy has made the 18-hour drive from New York where she lives to Florida three times to attend the annual Daytona Truck Meet.

“The truck never missed a beat. My first truck show I picked it up from the paint shop and won two trophies. I was so happy and proud of all the work.”

And that was before she put a lot more money into the truck and added the Skyjacker lift. She has also earned second and third place wins from the 2021 Carlisle Truck Nationals, as well as some other car show trophies.

But what Darcy considers her greatest experience was the one year she went to Carlisle and saw the American Force wheels sitting on the rack, and she knew that someday she would have her own set. The next year, after working and saving some money, she bought a set of new wheels and American Force did a photo shoot with her truck.

“It was a dream come true to have that happen.”

After all of the devotion and effort he put into her truck, Darcy has taken to calling it Envy Gen because being a girl in a small town, she says there are many jealous guys who make rude comments and run their mouths. But she sits confident in her national award-winning truck knowing everything special about it was made entirely by her own two hands.

What’s Next?

“Most of the parts were on since ’89 and it sure was obvious getting them off.”

She added her Hungry Diesel injectors and Smeding Diesel turbo recently. But she is thinking about a transmission upgrade, but thinks the 727 is reliable for now. Darcy says her truck is by far the most important thing in her life.

“I’ve worked my butt off to have it the way it is. And I wouldn’t trade it for any amount of money in this world.”