1999 Dodge Cummins 4x4 Diesel on 2040-cars

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Watching a 2010 Dodge Challenger become a Plymouth GTX is a restomod education

We cover a lot of restomods, many of them one-off SEMA show cars and low-volume builds from professional shops that sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Autoevolution tells the story of Steve Mirabelli, who creates Mopar restomods as a hobby when home from his day job as a NASCAR Sprint Cup car builder for Hendrick Motorsports. Working on his own, the stuff we've seen from Mirabelli so far deserves to sit at the same table as Kore and Ring Brothers. First he spent four years turning a 2006 Dodge Charger SRT8 into a 1968 Dodge Charger, the cardinal feat being the proportions; many builds leave the modern Charger's thick sides uniting a nosecone and high Daytona wing. Mirabelli didn't let himself off so easy, finding a '68 Charger abandoned in a field to lay over the '06 chassis, then working the proportions — such as adding 11 inches to the wheelbase — so that the 20-inch wheels look like they could have been stock fitment in '68.    His current build is recasting a 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T into a thid-gen Plymouth GTX, May 6 representing two years since the first video documenting the process. These videos are another highlight. For anyone who's ever wanted to see every step in how the professionals turn classic cars into modern monsters, Mirabelli's criminally under-watched YouTube channel is the place to go. There are 43 videos so far on the GTX transformation, with Mirabelli taking time to explain and demonstrate his thought process and methods every step of the way. It's an online course in restomodding, maybe the perfect final binge before returning to our outdoor lives.  Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.    

Dodge Challenger SRT Demon TransBrake eliminates the need for brake torquing

Performing the perfect launch is key to drag racing. In order to get consistent starts, the engineers behind the Dodge Demon developed TransBrake, a system that holds the output shaft of the automatic transmission to keep the vehicle stationary until launch. Rather than the traditional method of two-foot brake torquing, the system is triggered by pulling the shift paddle for quick and consistent launches. According to Dodge, the main benefit of TransBrake versus a two-foot setup is a quicker power delivery and higher engine launch torque potential. The system gives brake-free launches up to 2,350 RPM, a 105-percent increase in launch boost pressures, and a 120-percent increase in engine launch torque. Dodge also claims that using the paddle provides a 30-percent better reaction when compared to using your feet. In addition to shifting duties from your feet to your hands, the Demon's TransBrake will preload the driveline. Torque is loaded at the wheels, not the transmission. That means full torque delivery 150 milliseconds after the shift paddle is released. It should also help reduce the driveline shock that occurs when those 315 section rear tires get near-instant grip. The reveal is coming near. Continue checking out Autoblog and ifyouknowyouknow.com every Thursday until the New York Auto Show. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. New York Auto Show Dodge Coupe Performance drag racing dodge demon dodge hellcat drag strip

Junkyard Gem: 1990 Dodge Daytona Shelby

Once Lee Iacocca took the helm at Chrysler and shifted nearly all car models to front-wheel-drive platforms — either members of the convoluted K family or descendants of the Simca-derived Omnirizon platform — he called up his pal Carroll Shelby and made a deal to help with the design of some Shelby-ized, turbocharged Dodges. This relationship resulted in the Shelby Charger starting in 1983 and the Omni GLH in 1984. For 1987, the K-based Dodge Shadow and Daytona got the Shelby treatment, and suddenly the roads of North America were awash in Shelby-badged turbocharged machinery. Most are long gone by now, but I managed to unearth this tattered and rusty '90 Shelby Daytona at a Denver yard. The Shelby Daytona stayed in production through the 1991 model year (when the car got both Shelby and IROC badging, and does anybody remember the IROC Daytona today?), but most of the examples I've found during my wrecking-yard explorations have been earlier models. You won't find many '90 or '91 Daytona Shelbys. Some junkyard shopper pulled the cylinder head and all the turbo-related goodness before I reached this car. That makes sense, because the 1990 Daytona Shelby's turbocharged 2.2-liter engine made 174 horsepower— way more than most previous turbo Chryslers. Maybe someone hot-rodded their Plymouth Caravelle with those parts. This car has the five-speed manual transmission, as it should. Note the New Car Scent Little Tree, which is the second-most common junkyard-found air freshener (after Black Ice). It's not hard to identify the main reason this car got discarded: catastrophic (by Colorado standards) body rot. 171,349 miles is pretty decent for a nervous turbocharged car from 30 years ago. I don't see many Colorado junkyard cars with brewery and/or skiing-related stickers that don't also have stickers from cannabis dispensaries, but here's one. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Pretty much just as good as the Porsche 911 Turbo, and $70,000 cheaper! Featured Gallery Junked 1990 Dodge Daytona Shelby View 21 Photos Auto News Dodge Automotive History Coupe Carroll Shelby shelby Junkyard Gems