Even though I don't own the car anymore I wanted to describe the build for everyone since I took some crap in Columbus last June. I spoke with Chris so this is all cool.To start the car has the very first Pro-Torque converter(2800) ever installed on an SRT8..... it was the test bed,and it has performed flawless over 2 years of abuse.February of 07' the first set of FRI Street heads went on along with a Comp 268 cam and a B&G Stage 3 pcm which yielded consistent 12.4's with 1.80 60' times on street tires.That got old very quick and the spray was installed....now here's where I have to say I have a very tight budget to work with....almost non existent so ZEX it was. The car was immediately in the 11's still on 1.80 60'.....Next to go in was a Tomahawk cam(still say there is nothing better for a cam/head car on spray)and a set of Kooks headers.I also need to point out without the help I received from Frank Racing this car would have never gotten built.I started looking for Drag radials in the fall of 07 which brought me into the high 1.7's for 60' and 11.7's for times.Now I was afraid of breaking axles so those went in next.....by the end of the season with a CMR tune the car had managed to get me in trouble at the race track for running to fast without a cage. I parked the car for the winter and started planning out the next season.I made a ton of calls for a shortblock and finally settled on HHP for multiple reasons....one of them being that aside from Josh having a genuine interest in these cars he is also a friend.So a BES built 6.1, yes I said 6.1...370 cubic inches......stock displacement bottom end,Eagle rods,diamond pistons and Stage 4 cam was installed in one day by Bruce and I at HHP.From there all the trouble started.Bruce and I took it for a test drive and the car felt incredibly strong, unfortunately that was the last time I ever felt it that strong.Josh wanted me to pull the motor and send it back...he felt the pistons were too heavy....I kept telling him no there nothing wrong with the motor.....theres something stupid going on.....well....it was a BIG stupid cause the car was a full second slower than the previous year.....I started thinking the cats were plugged but shrugged it off as they only had about 4k miles on them....but it was so aggravating I had the car back on the trailer at a track rental by 10am. Fast forward to May 07'......I was fortunate enough to fall into a used GSM Supercharger kit(thanks Risky)...I started throwing bits of it in the garbage and modifying others.I used SRT4 stage 3 injectors,SRT4 2 bar map,and got Lafrad to start tuning on it.We were both pretty excited at the possibility of what I had put together.The cam had a small overlap and huge exhaust side so it would make crazy boost and then get rid of the exhaust quick.....revved so damn quick we couldn't keep it off the limiter......it was so cool....everything but the intake charge was cool.I didn't want to use the GSM intercooler since I knew it was too small for the boost so I left it off till I could do an Air to Air.I relied on meth to cool the charge.Well the night before Columbus the Meth controller burnt up due to a faulty harness from the factory.That nearly kept me from going.It flooded the intake with meth and ruined a Map sensor......but since the car was on the trailer anyway I decided I would fix it in Ohio. Cam was nice enough to pick up a Map sensor his dealer had in stock and bring it with him,and I hardwired the meth to the nitrous button.Andy from PPP brought me a Boost-A-Pump so I could keep up with the fuel but all of this was for nothing.....the only thing we got to see was the car go down the track.....slowly.12.4's on a boosted car with this much work SUCKS!I had problems.....we had a knock retard issue that was driving Mike and I nuts!Mike kept blaming it on the ACT's and Compression and I in my heart knew it had to be the cats and just never had the time to drop them and look. Fast forward again to July and I take the car to the M&G@6000'...blew the A/C line when the oil return for the blower rubbed through.......that was it....the beginning of the end...the car spent a month on jackstands..combined with some issues at home I decided to sell the car.....had some interest but wasn't going to sell it to just anyone....so when Hemi~C wanted to buy the car it was a no brainer.....a no brainer that was on again off again 4 times(sorry Chris)I don't think anyone has ever applied for the same car loan that many times before. So anyway....Chris is driving the car and talking to me on the phone when it happens.....the exhaust goes super loud.....now he has to drop the cats. Lo and behold plugged solid!I knew it....the whole time!Chris also mounted the Water to air intercooler I sent to bring the ACT's down which made a huge difference as well. So I am sitting here ecstatic that the car is running the times I told everyone it would!I heard all kinds of whispers in the background of how crappy the car runs and I shouldn't have built it with those parts......so to all who didn't believe look at the number on spot on the timeslip database!And something I always thought you guys should know is aside from the cost of buying the car.... I had $12k in the actual build.Congrats on the 10.68 Chris.....I am very happy for you and a little sad it wasn't me.:yahoo::rock:
Erik your Maggie was an animal to say the least and having see it run numerous times I can attest to it. Im sure your next ride will be an beast as well, keep your head up my friend.
Always new that car was gonna bust out, Never Doubted it for a second, and for those that did? Better ask somebody!!!
amazing times for a car with that little invested. people ive seen have almost twice that into theirs and not close to your maggies numbers.
great write up eric!!!! i never knew enough to doubt anything!!! ahahahahahahaha btw - not to go off topic......but would have been nice to seeyou when you were down here!!!!!! :thongue2: lol
Great write-up Erik, and an awsome feet with these heavy cars!! Did you ever find out why the cats were plugged?, or was it just a flawed set of cats?
You make Maggie owners proud. As I always say "If the Devil wanted a station wagon this is the one he would be driving"...bitches! LOL!
What a cool write-up. I really don't know if anyone else out there deserves the title more Erik...even though it's CHris's car now, you built it and I followed the progress the whole way....I did get a little lost right around the s/c stage.
