$10,000 will go very quickly on a race car/truck, even in the lower gas classes. I raced a pro gas Harley and even with the support from the magazine I worked for, the H-D company and a number of advertisers, we barely managed to afford to hit 5 races in a 14 race series. I can think of better ways to put that money into a vehicle, but some people have to learn things for themselves.

 

Best advice here so far, don't listen to these people telling you to buy a ford. A 408 will keep you happy for a very long time without FI, but even if you want more power it wouldn't be that hard to add a procharger. And a procharged 408 stroker is bad ****in ***.

And its alittle off topic but I just watched an episode of pass time with a 98 grand cherokee with a procharged 408 and nitrous that ran 10.48 in the 1/4! And yes he ran it in 4wd.

 

Alright...I am reading everyones replies and I appreciate everyones comments. I did a little more research and I guess it would be better off to go with a cummins, 360, or stroked 318 or something along those lines Also, I forgot to mention but I wasn't doing the labor, I have a mechanic who is a very good friend helping me.

Thanks everyone for the input! I shall do my research about what people said I really do appreciate everyones opinion here..you guys never fail to lead me in the right direction!

Thanks,

Chad

 

I have been saving for years to do this lol...I guess I should have mentioned what I wanted to do a long time ago and someone could have knocked the sense into me Even though I am young, I do understand what you are talking about "I can think of better ways to put that money into a vehicle, but some people have to learn things for themselves" I am here to learn What would you do? I am trying to get everyones advice

Chad

 

Since you asked...the best way to go racing is on someone elses dime. Try to get in good with an existing race team by offering to be an unpaid helper. Be a sponge and soak up everything you can. Then, when you are ready to race on your own you won't just be throwing money in a hole experimenting with trying to find what works. This is not a sport for neophytes.

If you must start on your own from scratch, start slow. Find a dragstrip near you and go see what kind of vehicles are running in the stock classes, your competition. No sense building up an engine that will force you to be classified among seasoned competitors who will blow your doors off with experience. You don't need a built motor to go out and start learning the basics.

Personally, at your age you should be thinking about how much education you could buy with that money. Unless you plan to make a career out of racing, it's a bad investment. Even then, there's an old saying in racing, "How do you make a million dollars racing? Start with 2 million."

Not trying to discourage you, but from someone who's been there, it should be thought out. I wouldn't trade my racing experiences (besides drag racing I have also been involved in motorcycle road racing, desert racing and I still race motocross), but I know how much they've cost me over the years. Good luck.

 

Racing isn't cheap. Not at all. BUT, I don't get the impression that the OP plans on doing competitive bracket racing. Even if he was, lol, I've seen more people win brackets with stock vehicles than I have built ones, but I digress.

STS offers remote mount turbos, but to get a decent setup from them is going to run you about $4,000 off the bat with their most basic universal package. IIRC, that stage one kit basically contains the turbo, some plumbing and that's it. Then you have to concern yourself with the rest of the plumbing you're going to need, the tuning, the install, and all the other little odds and ends that make everything work out right.


The typical install, meh, it's not going to be that bad. Ok, the tuning, STS provides that for extra, but it's basic and lets face it, you're going to need at least two different tunes to deal with climate changes. The same tune that you run in the summer time will not work near as well in the winter time.

My other issues with boost on a motor like this is the fact that most if not all people can't leave them be. People feel like they can get that extra 1PSI out of it, and as a result, they keep cranking things up until they blow a part off the truck.

I'm speaking with a little more experience here than I might be showing, but I've dealt with STS in the past on a 454 GM motor for our trans AM. Once you get them put in correctly, they are a complete blast, but it's the countless hours of fine tuning and odds and ends that you have to worry about. Consider, that's usually when people start tearing parts up.

Now, I know people have thrown boost at a stock motor in the past. I've been called out more than once by a few dak heads that did it. I can't see one bone in my body recommending to anyone that they start to throw boost at a stock motor. ESPECIALLY OUR MAGNUMS! They aren't designed to run boost. Not one bit. The physical components simply do not allow for this.

So lets say that you bought the stage three kit which includes most everything you would need. Including tuning, plugs, and various other goodies. The last time I priced that kit out, it was a cool $6,000. That leaves you $4,000. Well, to do it right, we need to build the motor. Most people on here that I've watched build their motors themselves put about 7-8K in the motor alone. Then we have to look at a transmission. That alone is going to be $4-10K alone.

Now you see that you don't have enough, and I am truly sorry that we have blown your idea into the dirt. It doesn't feel good at all, but at least we are providing some other ideas.

If I were you, I would do one of two things. The first being that you lower your sights for the moment and do some other little things leading up to the big idea of "my truck whistles", OR you do what I'm doing. As of right now, I have a savings account at one of our various banks that we do business with. When ever I have a spare $50.00 or $100.00, I throw it into said account. My plans are similar to you in the fact that we both want extreme power only I realize that my rig is going to need to be completely redone inside and out before I'm truly happy with it. Keep your cash in a safe place and lay the rig down low for awhile. Get yourself another daily driver and start adding to that roll you got already.

Good luck either way you go.

 

Miami, I love the fact that you said save it for school :P I am 20 years old and I work full time and go to school full time and I am 2 years from getting my Bachelors in Computer Science That is why I have been saving for years...all my money goes to my schooling but thanks for the advice!

Laramie,

You have a good point and I have two options here...I eventually want to learn all the mechanical stuff and how to do it on my own so I will take your advice and try...but time is an issue going to school full time and working full time >.<

Here is my other option....

My brother started driving and my parents are looking for a vehicle for him...I was thinking of giving him mine (which he loves) and going halves with my parents on a 4wheel drive truck (Dodge) and wait for the race truck until I start my salary job as a programmer (My job I am with is going to hire me on once I graduate) so I will have the money and I could invest into a project truck. I have always loved mudding and going off road...so I am thinking of this path as an option too.

What do you guys think?

Chad (I am young and can't make my mind up!)

 

I don't know that I would turn over my baby to a younger sibling like that. We all know what kinds of hell a 16 year old can cause to a vehicle, and I know it would tear me up to watch it happen. In my opinion, I would rather take my truck down to a crusher and have it put into a little cube before I could deal with seeing it out on the road everyday. Family driven or not.

As for the mudding idea, it all comes down to what "scene" you fall into. Do you see yourself staying in the lift em up high and nothing gets in your way, or do you see yourself staying in the I'm too damn fast area?

Personally, I like both, but sheer speed means more to me than high and mighty. Contrary to what people on this forum think, you can't really have both. Sure, you can have lift and tires and some power to go along with it, but you can't make the same power as what you're wanting to go for. Not reliably at least.

As a side note, it's always good to see another geek on here. I'm a Networking major myself.

 

Heh, I was going to go into networking but I decided not to. This sounds stupid but...eventually I want to make my truck a drag truck and do charity racing (all my winings go to some sort of fund or church) and that would mean bigger engine and all new stuff...so me wanting to put a turbo and a new engine and tranny would be only for two years until I find something bigger and faster...sounds stupid but I kind of thought of the whole process and how stupid it sounded.

Also, I want to get it lifted but so I can go in the mud and stuff with my sisters boyfriend....he has a brand new jk or something....it's a beast lol. In the future, I will have two trucks...a fast one and a lifted one

My fiancee asked me what was my ideal family vehicle...I said a dodge ram 2500 crew cab with a 7inch lift and 40inch boggers

Chad

 

Go Cummins. Still get the Mopar/Chrysler name, the legendary reliability of the Cummins Engine, and they can easily pop 500+ HP and 750 ft/lb of torque with simple bolt-on parts. Exhaust, air intake, tuners. If you get a P-Pumped you can manually tune the fuel plate and cheaply punch 350-425 horses with an exhaust.

Plus 10000 and your truck and you can easily afford a nice VP44 98-02.5 Ram 2500.