An army of cool modified Chargers congregate at a Texas tuning shop, including this not-so-mellow yellow Charger Daytona.
Have you gone to a place for the first time and thought to yourself, “This is my kind of spot. These are my people”? Judging by the cars in this Youtube video from BigBee TV, especially one particular sedan with a 426-cubic-inch Hemi in it, there’s a shop down in the Houston, Texas area where Mopar owners can feel at home.
It’s called ModFX Customs and judging by the footage, it’s full of and surrounded by Dodge Challengers and Chargers. When BigBee TV shows up, one of the techs is in the process of changing the brake pads on a Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody. Another Challenger with a Shaker hood is getting a front end swap. A Charger up on a lift sports an eye-catching wrap that goes from metallic yellow up front to yellowish green in the middle to darker green at the rear.
A little later, Jose Rosado, one of the co-founders of Mod FX pulls up in his camo-wrapped Challenger Hellcat, then drops it low on its air suspension.
Chargers get a lot of love around Mod FX, too. One owner made a bold choice and had their muscle sedan wrapped in a beautiful shade of metallic turquoise, which looks even better above a set of bronze wheels. As the host of BigBee TV points out, “the beautiful whip” also sports “the Scat Pack … aftermarket logo.”
Look at its front fenders. Those three numbers tell you exactly what’s under the flat black hood.
Yeah, that’s right. There’s a 426-cubic-inch Hemi in the engine bay.
The exhaust it’s connected to does, too. As the man behind BigBee TV says, “Man, that thing sounds good.” That’s accurate – and a complete understatement. The giant V8 sounds foaming-at-the-mouth rageful at idle and absolutely murderous under heavy throttle.
Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to take a road trip out to southeast Texas…
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
