General Challenger

The origin of the lowly Phillips screw is an interesting one. The history of metal fasteners go back to the 15th century. British toolmaker Joseph Whitworth devised the first screw in 1841 and American engineer produced the same in 1864. Screws were very hard to produce, however, and required the manufacture of a conical helix.. The brothers Job and William Wyatt found a way to produce a screw on a novel machine that first cut the slotted head, and then cut the helix. Though their business...

Pro Stock quarter mile drag racing times have dramatically decreased over the decades, since the class was established in 1970. This has been the result of tremendous advances in technology. To determine who is the fastest competitor, forty-nine years ago, NHRA instituted the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The champion is determined by a point system where points are given according to finishing placement and qualifying effort. The season is divided into two segments. After the first 18...

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PULL #2 FUSE (older Challengers) Pulling Fuse F2 resets: All PCM DTCs erased. All OBD2 monitor results erased. All "long term fuel trim adaptive" values reset to Zero. Long term Fuel Adaptive trim will now start over the next 100 engine start cycles. Cycle the headlights as described above will create a Short Term Fuel Adaptive trim table over the next 50 start cycles. Driver Adaptive? Driver Adaptive and related fuel table trim is probably the least...

Mopar enthusiasts owe the fantastic array of performance models to Ralph Gilles, Head of Design for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. We are truly fortunate to have a cool car guy in charge. Gilles, as a boy living in Quebec, was drawing concept vehicles at the age of eight. When he was fourteen years old, his aunt sent one of his sketches to Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca. A reply came from K. Neil Walling, Chrysler's design chief at the time, suggesting he attend one of three design schools....

A backup camera (also called a reversing camera or rear view camera) is a special type of video camera that is attached to the rear of a vehicle to alleviate the rear blind spot and avoid a backup collision. The area directly behind vehicles has been described as a "killing zone" due to associated accidents. Backup cameras are usually connected to the vehicle’s head unit display. The first backup camera was used in the 1956 Buick Centurion concept car, presented in January 1956, at the...

Richard Lee Petty is aptly named "The King." Over a racing career spanning 34 years, from 1958 to 1992, he was the first driver to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship seven times, while also winning a record 200 races, including the Daytona 500 a record seven times. Incredibly, he won a record 27 races (10 of them consecutively) in the 1967 season, alone. Statistically,he is the most accomplished driver in the history of the sport, and is one of the most respected figures in motor...

Many have heard the term rocker arm ratio mentioned when talking about an engine. But, do you know what rocker-arm ratios are, and how different ratios can affect an engine’s performance? To start with, an engine is just a sophisticated air pump. The amount of power this “pump” delivers is directly affected by the amount of air ingested and expelled by the engine. Increase the amount of air flowing through the pump, and you can increase power output. While an engine is running, air is pulled...

Ronnie Sox is one of the greatest Mopar drag racers. Like many who eventually became professional racers, "The Boss," grew up around cars, raised in the shadow of his family’s Sinclair service station. As soon as he was old enough to drive, Sox began competing in drag races, sponsored by the Police Club of Burlington, NC, at a local airport. In the early days, Sox didn’t even own a car and used his father’s 1949 Olds. From these humble beginnings, Sox would go on to become what many...

If you plan to enter your vehicle in any competition sanctioned by the NHRA, your Challenger is going to have to pass a series of pre-race inspections for the required safety equipment. These requirements get more stringent as the expected horsepower and speeds increase.The SFI Foundation sets the standard for quality assurance in the vast majority of aftermarket and performance products. Basic Safety The basic safety stuff for the street legal classes is pretty simple. You’ve got to have...

As you know, there has been an ongoing problem concerning the theft of high performance Dodge cars, notably Hellcat and Scat Pack Challengers and Chargers. Security devices are now more important than ever. They can be categorized as follows deterrent devices, anti-theft devices and tracking devices. Deterrent Devices Alarm System Alarm systems are only effective in areas where they will attract immediate attention. And unless the alarm is unique, it will be ignored. If you want to add...

An automobile shock absorber is basically a hydraulic piston that absorbs and dissipates vibration using spring-loaded check valves and orifices to control the flow of oil. The first production hydraulic dampers, to act on the main leaf spring movement, were probably those based on an original 1908 concept by Maurice Houdaille. One design consideration, when designing or choosing a shock absorber, is where that energy will go. In most shock absorbers, energy is converted to heat inside the...

Drag radial street-legal tires had their origin in racing. Originally, race cars used “racing slicks”- a type of tire with a smooth tread. The first production "slicks” were developed by M&H Tires in the early 1950s for use in contact patch to the track and maximized traction for any given tire dimension. Slicks were also used on road and oval track racing where steering and braking require maximum traction from each wheel. Slicks, however, are not suitable for use on street cars which...