The scene is a cluttered back shop behind a major new car dealership in Salt Lake City. Grumpy’s friend and former co-worker, Dave has his dream job. The picture at right is just one of the projects Dave is working on. Mr H. (the boss) has a Dodge Charger that will be receiving this brute of a crate motor from the Mopar Performance Catalog.
Dave, Phil and Craig are all long term employees of Mr H. Craig is a body and paint guy, Phil comes from the parts department and has a long time passion for drag racing. Dave was the dealer’s Viper tech and one of the most knowledgeable Master technicians in the west. All are fans of just about any kind of motorsports available. Dave was on the guest list with Grumpy on our last trip to Martinsville. It was Dave’s first cup race experience. I remember the time…. oh, never mind.
This whole project began a few years ago when the folks at Detroit called and asked if the Mr. H would like to help set some new world records at the Bonneville Salt Flats using a new 4 cyl. motor (basically a souped up Neon). Mr. H thought it would be kinda fun and where he had previously declined to get involved in motorsports, he said yes. Then, he asked Dave to take it on. What began with a commitment to a year of design, build and run a car to become the fastest 4 banger on the planet has evolved.
The first motor was built and installed in a ‘32 Ford bodied roadster that had been running on the salt for decades. Passed from one owner to another with a variety of engine combinations. that old car has several entries in the record books over the years. The Detroit boys came out and saw it run. It was fast and set some records. The boys from Motor City were not impressed. How could they use records set in a Ford bodied car? They went back to Detroit and found a test mule in the fleet. A Neon SRT/4. It was an ugly blue. It was shipped to Salt Lake City to become a race car. Over the next winter, with Dave and Phil working countless days, nights and weekends the test mule was gutted, fitted with a roll cage and emerged with a nifty red/white and black paint scheme. Mopar motor guru, Darrell Cox came to Utah to help with the build.
The rest is history. The fastest 4 cylinder car on planet earth rests in Salt Lake City, having smashed speed records that stood for decades unchallenged. If you read Mopar magazine, you have seen it featured on the cover and complete stories of its records.
There I go off subject again. So today, I stopped in to see my friends. I asked Dave; “Don’t you just fly out of bed in the morning?” His little outlaw shop in the back has several projects going on. The Charger for Mr. H, a ‘70 Challenger 440 six pack for the fleet manager. A purple hemi ‘cuda convert sits in another stall. Even an old Chevy guy like me has to be impressed.
I hope you enjoy my little story of my friends and their projects. I used to work with them. I kinda wish I could again. Thats who we are, it is what we do. Some are lucky enough to get a regular paycheck too.
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