HeavyHitter - SMOTY 2014

STORY andrew broadley PHOTOS jordan leist & kirsten nutting hey charger!

Heavy Hitter
042 street machine

Meet the 2500hp two-tonne seven-second Aussie that took on America
043street machine

E HAVE put the good folk Chrysler makes 2500hp through a full exhaust and wake of its two consecutive Drag Week campaigns,
at the Street Machine fits entirely beneath the bonnet. Massive rubber it has a long history of being one of the fastest street
mailroom on high alert, aside, the car still boasts the outward appearance cars in Western Australia.
because if there’s one topic of a neat old RT Charger. And what’s more, it’s not
that generates a flurry of just a façade – beneath the surface, a surprisingly “I bought it 24 years ago from a young guy for
high percentage of Valiant DNA remains. $500,” said John of the car’s humble beginnings.
Wcorrespondence from our “The front left guard was green, the front right guard
readers, it’s the question of Sure, the car has a rear clip and a comprehensive was blue and the driver’s door was black. One of
what constitutes a real street car. To some, a street funny car-style rollcage in order to comply with the studs for the front seat was being held up with a
car has to be 100 per cent street legal, while to NHRA tech regulations, but other than that, its body brick, so it was a bit of a roughie.”
others it simply has to see regular road miles to and chassis remains 1972-issue Val hardware. The
qualify for the tag. floorpan, firewall and front chassis are standard, and John had a 12-second 265ci E38 Charger at the
factory steel panels and wind-up glass windows are time, and through building a series of tough V8s for
No matter which way you slice it, after West Aussie retained. The interior trim is stock with the exception his mates and customers, he developed an interest
John Faraone hauled his stunning Charger halfway of a set of Scheel seats, and it was only begrudgingly in building a 10-second streeter for himself. He
across the planet to prove its mettle at Hot Rod Drag that John let go of the rear seat. rebuilt his new acquisition, sprayed it orange and
Week and succeeded, it’s very difficult to argue that assembled a 440ci Chrysler with alloy heads and a
it’s anything but. The 4185lb (1.9-tonne) monster “The car is NHRA-licensed down to 6.5 seconds, small roller cam.
ate up the hundreds of miles between each track at and the chassis builder said there’s no way we could
Drag Week 2013 with aplomb. It also ran as fast as achieve that and still hang onto the rear bench,” said “In 1993 it was regularly running 10.7s at
7.85sec@182mph, just two one-hundredths shy of John. “It’s a very fast street car that races, not a race Ravenswood at 3850lb weight, and by 1994 I
the fastest time for its class. car that drives on the street.” stroked it to 494ci and got it into the 10.4s, still
on leaf springs and with a 29x9in tyre,” said John.
At 18psi, the Charger’s twin-turbo big-block While the Charger’s notoriety has grown in the He continued to develop the car, and in 1996 he

The Charger has a long history of being one of the fastest street cars in WA

044 street machine

ENGINE: The 572ci engine is based on
a Keith Black aluminium block with
Predator heads, Bryant crank, Oliver
rods and Ross pistons, managed by
a Big Stuff 3 ECU. Rather than use an
intercooler, the engine runs pump
fuel on the street and methanol at the
track. No intercooler means maximum
radiator frontal area. Important stuff for
the Drag Week torture test!

INTERIOR: There are no aluminium
race buckets, sheetmetal dashboards
or carbon composite switch panels
in sight. What you will find is a half
decent stereo which saw plenty of
action during Drag Week, and a 12V
fridge mounted in the centre console!

MAIN: Brilliant silver duco and RT
Charger livery, laid on by Vulcan Paint
and Panel, keeps things classy and
understated. Weld wheels measure
15x4.5in up front and 15x16in out back,
wearing Mickey Thompson 26inx4.5in
front runners and Hoosier 33inx18in
radials respectively

045street machine

built a 512ci engine which would eventually power I’d always maintained that if I couldn’t drive it on the sevens, with a best of 7.79@184mph, full weight
it to a 9.5@146mph on a 31x10in tyre, naturally street then it’s useless. and on radial tyres.
aspirated.
“I never wanted a drag car, I wanted a credible “I was happy, but it’s being going to run a seven
“It was Perth’s first nine-second street car, and street car with a lot of power. There’s nowhere in since 2009, and it was frustrating that it took
it did really well in dyno comps too,” said John. “It Australia to prove that you have a quick and reliable so long to get there because of transmission
was the first car in WA to make 500rwhp, 600rwhp, 2500hp street car. Drag Week is the only place you problems. But it’s great that that the car has
700rwhp and 750rwhp naturally aspirated, and the can do it, so that’s what I decided to do.” achieved what it achieved in America and at Drag
first to make 1000rwhp on nitrous.” Week. You’re rubbing shoulders with people that
Unfortunately John’s transmission woes followed have good resources and fast cars.”
In 2000 John took it off the road to work on other him across the Pacific, and over the course of Drag
cars and, before he knew it, nine years had passed. Week 2012 he managed to junk another five top- That 7.85 not only made the Charger the fastest
In January 2009 he made the call to do something of-the-range Powerglides from a number of leading Mopar at Drag Week for the second year running,
and seven short months later, it was ready to race. transmission shops. In fact, he had the transmission but also the fastest Mopar in the nine-year history
Completely reborn with stunning silver duco and in and out of the car a phenomenal eight times of the event.
a mental 572ci Chrysler big-block fed by a pair of over the course of the week, and paid $1500 for
Garrett GT5518 88mm turbos, the car was a hit hotel rooms he never slept in because he spent Having owned this car for 24 years and an E38
with the punters at Powercruise, where John beat each evening crawling around on his back under even longer, we asked if John was a dyed-in-the-
on it all weekend. the Charger in the car park. When you consider that wool Mopar man. “I love Chryslers, but I’m a car
you have to perform all work without any outside enthusiast across the board. I’m not really a Mopar
“It wasn’t until October 2010 that I got time man; I’m an engine guy. I like seeing the results on

The 7.85 made the Charger the fastest Mopar in the history of Drag Week

to take it to Kwinana to make a pass, and that’s assistance, that’s a marathon effort. But John a dyno, reading a number and seeing how efficient
when the Powerglide transmission nightmare persisted, running a best time of 8.2@170mph and the combination is.
became apparent,” he said. “On 18psi the car ran clawing his way through the event to be declared
8.60@170mph and broke the trans on the next run. a finisher. “The Charger weighed 4185lbs at Bowling
Fifteen ’Glides later, I still hadn’t done a real pass.” Green with me in it and a quarter of a tank of fuel,
American transmission guru Carl Rossler and it’s that heavy because that’s the way I want it
Considerable R&D was invested in the then prescribed one of his Pro Mod XHD 210 – a full steel street car. Nobody is making me race
transmission, and with John hoping that he’d transmissions and a Pro Torque stall converter, a car that weighs almost two tonnes, and I guess it
finally found a gearbox that would cop the brunt and John faced Drag Week 2013 with renewed will always be handicapped because of that, but I
of 2500hp overcoming the considerable inertia of confidence. You can read all about his campaign don’t want a fibreglass race car.
a full steel street car, he made the call to head to in our big Drag Week feature on page 74, but in
Drag Week 2012. short, the Charger’s best time of 7.85@182mph “It was perfect in between tracks at Drag Week;
set on day five was lineball with the class leader. you wouldn’t believe how comfortable and quiet
“The motivation to go to Drag Week came from Not yet content, John drove it back to the track it was on the highway, and it sat on 85mph at
the fact that I’d had the Charger for so many years in Kentucky the very next day and ran three more 2400rpm with the trailer on the back. Flick the Gear
and, while it had evolved and got faster in that time, Vendor on and it’d happily cruise at 100mph – that

046 street machine

curveballs!

DRAG Week never fails to challenge competitors. Here’s a brief
rundown on some of the curveballs John had to contend with:.
• Arrived in the US and noticed the car was idling funny -
the result of a jammed injector. Replacement injectors were
freighted overnight to the hotel and changed in the car park.
• New injectors meant starting from scratch with fuel
mapping. No dyno meant tuning the car on the street, and
trying not to get locked up in the process!
• The regulator in the alternator packed it in. MSD alternator
freighted overnight to the hotel and changed it in the car park
• More road tuning, noticed that the transmission oil smelt
burnt and the trans was getting hot. Changed converter.
• A TV interview caused lengthy delays, which meant John
arrived at Collinsville late. The car then broke the overdrive unit
on the first pass and had to be replaced.
• John drove to Memphis, ran 8.7sec, then broke it again on
the second pass. He replaced the overdrive unit with the stock
extension housing, then departed for Bowling Green.
• Noticing a noisy roller lifter 70 miles out of Memphis, John
replaced a full set of lifters.
• “When I broke the first overdrive, it was a mission to
change it in the heat with only the tools you bring to the track.
I was pumping out sweat and covered in transmission fluid.
Then, when we broke another one, it was a big blow. Then I
heard a noisy lifter and knew that the top had to come off the
motor. I was thrashing on the car ’til 3am, then had to drive
through the night to make Bowling Green and finish the event.
But that’s what Drag Week is about and that’s what makes it
so cool. It’s a challenge, and if it went smoothly it wouldn’t be
anywhere near as much fun”

If things are a little low in the rear, it could be the
immense weight of that trailer which, among other
things, contains 800 litres of methanol, plus tools
and spares. The car was getting 16 miles to the gallon
on pump gas in between tracks towing the trailer

AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE!
Download the new and improved
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over the page and check out the Charger in
action at Hot Rod Drag Week

John’s goal is to run 7.50sec on 18psi and then start JOHN FARAONE
winding some boost in it. He built it to cop 50psi 1972 VALIANT CHARGER
Colour: Medium metallic silver
thing made the drive between tracks so much easier. has always been people making snide remarks on the ENGINE
We left the track at St Louis pretty late and hit a whole Internet or doubting my claims, so building this car, Brand: Faraone Engines 572ci Chrysler
heap of peak hour traffic in pretty intense heat, and the taking it to America, driving it all week and racing it Block: Aluminium Keith Black
water temp just sat on 185 degrees on pump gas; it against the best guys in the world was a good way to Induction: 105mm Wilson throttle
loved it.” put my money where my mouth is. Drag Week is the body
proving ground for legitimately fast street cars and it Turbos: Garrett GT5518 88mm
The car is due back in Australia in late November. raises a lot of challenges. Wastegates: Tial 60mm wastegates,
When it lands, John plans to do some preventative Tial 50mm blow-off valves
maintenance to the diff, fix his boost control issue, “Because I built the car and I drive and maintain it at Heads: Predator
perfect the tune on 18psi and hit the track. The goal is Drag Week, the thought of breaking down on some Camshaft: Crower .800in lift, solid
to run 7.50 on 18psi, and then start winding some boost pitch black road in the middle of nowhere in America roller
into it. John built the motor to cop a heady 50psi, so in doesn’t bother me. Aside from the rear end, the cage, Conrods: Oliver
terms of horsepower, there’s plenty more to be had. the paint, the transmission and some welding, I built Pistons: Ross
the car at home in the shed. My mate Jason’s job was Crank: Bryant
Will he be returning to the States for a third to wire up the stereo and the fridge and mix my Johnny Oil pump: System 1
consecutive crack at Drag Week? Walkers, and he got pretty good at it by the end of the Sump: Dan Olsen
Fuel: Pump and methanol
“Yeah, I’m definitely heading back. To be honest, a build!” s Injectors: 8x225cc and 8x550cc
big part of why I do it is to prove people wrong. There Precision
ECU: Big Stuff 3
Fuel system: Waterman 30gal/min
Cooling: Alloy radiator, twin thermos
Exhaust: Twin 4in system, twin
Magnaflow mufflers
Ignition: MSD 8, MSD leads, MSD
distributor
TRANSMISSION
Gearbox: Rossler Pro Mod XHD 210
Converter: Pro Torque
Diff: 9in, Strange Ultra 40-spline axles,
3.7:1 gears
SUSPENSION & BRAKES
Springs: 1.025 torsion bars (f);
Santhuff coilovers, 160lb springs (r)
Shocks: QA1 double adjustable (f);
Santhuff Pro Mod coilovers (r)
Brakes: Standard with Race Brakes
custom pads (f); Strange disc brakes,
twin-piston calipers (r)
Master cylinder: RRS
WHEELS & TYRES
Rims: Weld 15x4.5in (f) 15x16in (r)
Rubber: Mickey Thompson 26in X 4.5in
(f); Hoosier radial 33in X 18in (r)
THANKS
Faraone Engines/Dyno Centre for all
mechanical work and tuning, Carl
Rossler for building the transmission,
Precision injectors, Mike at Turbos
Direct, Dave and Greg Hight for storing
the car and supplying the VP M1
methanol, Claude Dragan for panel
beating the rear quarters, Vulcan Panel
and Paint for some panel beating and
the paint job, Ranch Auto Machining for
some machine work, Harris Machining
for more machine work and pressure
testing, Keith ‘Rooman’ Burgan and my
mate Jason for his help.

048 street machine