Written by Deuce:

Fontana – SCC members attended the 4th of July Red, White, and Cruise celebration at the Auto Club Speedway. The all-day event included a car show, motorcycle ride, concerts, vendor booths, a parade, and nighttime fireworks. Metal Mulisha also performed their motorcycle magic for the crowd. Taylor Hicks and Jimmy Wayne headlined the concerts that night. All proceeds went to benefit the Vietnam Veterans of California.

After meeting at Subway Sandwich in Ontario, Chris, James, and I headed for Gate 6 of the Auto Club Speedway to get placed for the car show. After waiting for the gate to open (only 45 minutes behind schedule), we were placed in the very front row of the car show. It was a race to set up the easy-up before we boiled. Even though it was still early morning, it was getting hot quickly. We got our shade up and cleaned up our cars for the show and waited anxiously for our time on the track. Eventually someone came by and told us we were in Group three and would be called to the track shortly. When group one came back, they told us to go get in line. Isn’t there a number two, before number three? It was a recurring theme throughout the day; nothing happened on schedule. The track was supposed to open for us at 9a.m. It opened at 10a.m. We went from Group one to Group three. As we got in line for the track we filled out waivers and lined up in three lines. The pace car led us out single file out onto the track. The banking is very steep. You don’t notice that from the stands or television. At slow speeds you could feel gravity pulling the car down towards the inside of the track. Put your hands at 10 and 4 and you’re good. Once you got above 40mph or so, that feeling went away. As the laps went on, people got out of their single file line and started passing others; on the inside, on the outside. It got a little nutty at that point. Nothing was done to keep everyone in line. We were taking pics and watching out for the random hot rod flying by us. I moved up to the wall to protect my right side from the “Hot Rod Nascar Wanna Be’s.” When I moved up there I actually used my turn signal. “Hey all you numb nuts, I’m going up here, k?”  I wanted everyone behind me to know what I was doing. Chris was behind me and got a kick out of seeing a car on a professional race track signaling and moving up against the wall. I guess it looked pretty silly from back there. Hey, no one hit me so I’m good with lookin’ silly all day long.

When we got back we had a couple of hours to kill before the show opened to the public. It was James’ birthday and Heather had gotten him a cake and a coffee table book on muscle cars. When James hit the boy’s room, we sprung into action. I went into the bathroom with James to stall him a bit. When we came back Heather was trying to light the candles, but it was too windy. Nothing like getting a cake with unlit candles on it. It looked silly, but so are we so it didn’t matter. Hopefully James enjoyed his cake and book and had a good B-day. He had several family members join us throughout the day as well. As the public came in we were mobbed by people, absolutely mobbed. They came in waves. There were none, and then there was a dozen. They were asking lots of questions, and taking lots of pictures. And it didn’t stop, all day long. It’s the most attention we’ve ever received. They were very touchy-feely as well. Lots of hand prints on the windows. A couple in their mid-twenties came up to me at one point. The gal asked, ”Can we look inside your car?” Being relieved and appreciating the respect that hadn’t been shown by a lot of others that day, I said, ”Sure” and opened the door. She looked in and just looked in the back seat which I thought was a little odd. She looked back there pretty intently for a bit and then pulled her head out and said to her husband, ”Oh, a car seat will fit back there just fine, we need one of these(Challengers).” Usually it’s the guy working the wife to get the car. Cracked me up.

Eventually it was time for concerts, a parade, and for the finale, fireworks. It was a long, long day. We got there at seven a.m. and left about ten-fifteen or so. We all had a great time. Next year it would be great to have a bigger turnout. E Street Cruisers had fifteen or so cars there. It would be nice to take that club plaque next year. Hopefully we’ve enticed you to join us next time!!!

Written by: Deuce

Anaheim – Techco’s monthly “Show and Shine” at their 150,000 square ft. facility in Anaheim was attended by SoCalChallengers this past Saturday. Techco has this show on the third Saturday of every month. A total of nineteen Challengers led by an SRT-8 Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled in and took up quite a bit of parking space. Hello!

Techco had invited us to their show the month before and because of late notice most of our group had previous commitments that day. We decided to skip it. The blessing of that was that we had over a month to promote and plan to be at the event for June and show up in force. I had been in touch with Carlos Duran at Techco in the days before the show and he was excited about how many members we were planning on having there. He and Ned were leaving great posts on ChallengerTalk about us coming. Some of our members had been to this show already and spoke highly of it so the rest of us were excited to go.

The meeting place was set to be at Stack Performance which was literally two blocks away from the Techco facility. Quite a few members had arranged to have breakfast together at one of two Arthur’s Restaurants before meeting at Stack. As I needed to be at Stack to receive the early birds and newcomers, I was unable to partake of Arthur’s cuisine that morning. I did see all the full faces pulling up one after another though. Arthur’s was good. I could tell. Since Dan’s Challenger was some several feet up in the air being worked on, he brought his SRT-8 Jeep Grand Cherokee to this event. He had an idea to lead the group in to keep continuity with the lineup when we parked. I thought that was a great idea. I proposed then that Chris should be the first Challenger in line as he has a Techco Supercharger on his Challenger. I thought this was a nice way to show props to Techco. Dan also had a great idea to “color up”. All the Hemi-Orange together in line, all the Silver, all the Stone White, etc. etc. It ended up looking really good when we were parked. If someone else has a great idea, I will use it. I will steal it. I have no shame when it comes to great ideas. I know I don’t have them all. But I do give credit where it’s due, so thank you Dan for the great suggestions for this event.

Once we parked it was time to enjoy the show. A group of Porsches were there as well as a group of Ferraris and a group of Corvettes. There was a beautifully restored BMW 2002 there. I loved that car the most of any that were there. Inside the facility were cars that were in progress and a collection of very sharp cars for sale. A surprise came when Ned and Carlos told us we were getting a “behind the scenes” tour of the facility. Their Chief Engineer took us around to their many pieces of C&C equipment and then back to their blower assembly room. Lots of moolah worth of equipment in that place. It’s a very clean and sharp looking facility. I think most of the members enjoyed the tour. For the kids there was a bounce house so they could bounce their brains into oblivion. For the adults there was a very cool driving simulator as well as vendors scattered about marketing everything from insurance to handbags. Bill was kind enough to take some of his free time that day and install ‘shirtless’ Kevin’s throttle body on his R/T for him. How cool is it to have a Chrysler/Dodge Technician in our group. Bill also noticed one of our members had a belt that was out of adjustment. That was a quick fix. Thanks to Bill for lending his expertise to our fellow members. We are excited to have you and Macy aboard!

This was a quick show and was over at noon. I’d like to thank Carlos and Ned for inviting us to their show and giving us the tour behind the tape. The guys and guyettes really enjoyed it. Since this is a recurring show I’m sure we can plan to see this facility and their cars more times in the future.  

Written by: Deuce

Anaheim – Stack Performance hosted their first lunch cruise with SCC May 30th which began from their state-of-the-art performance shop in Anaheim, California. A total of twenty-two cars attended this event, which covered a nearly eighty-mile cruise route with two stops along the way, and culminated with lunch at Tom’s Farms in Corona.

Other than driving together to roll into the various car shows we attend, this was an actual opportunity for our members to drive our cars together over distance. Other than our track day in Nevada, this has never happened for SCC as a group. Ryan and I had pre-run the route three weeks before and had come up with what we thought was great scenery and stops with as little traffic lights as possible. As we gathered at Stack that morning, my mind was racing on all the details. Car after car began showing up. Although I was ecstatic to see everyone, the bigger the group the more difficult the logistics would be. Nevertheless, Ryan and I were on the same page and ready for the challenge. To help with the logistical issues I had divided us into two groups for the cruise. One would be led by Ryan with Dan as a spotter and the other lead by me with Dave as a spotter. This would minimize having the group cut up into pieces by traffic lights. We still had almost a dozen cars in each group so it was going to happen, but with two groups it would happen a lot less. After going over the booklets and handing out some club shirts to new members, it was time to hit the road.

Our first stop, after a twenty-four-mile jaunt through Villa Park , Orange Park Acres, and Santiago Canyon, was Cook’s Corner. It’s an old biker bar that’s been there since the twenties nestled way back in Trabuco Canyon. The fun began immediately after we finished parking all of our cars. Seems Cook’s has an old guy, a real old guy, that lives on the property and calls himself the security guard of the place. He wanted us to move all of our cars to another lot that was full of mud and debris (Our cars? Really?). As my wife made the point to him that we were coming into see Cook’s he initially was fine with us being where we were; however, in some “Sybil”-like moment he then decided a few seconds later that it wasn’t going to be ok. The conversation eventually turned into one where we just had to leave all together or we would be towed. I tried being nice. He was more of an ass. He came over and had several “interesting” conversations with a few of us and then as he walked back to Cook’s he pushed one of our members who was simply standing in front of his car. What a class act Cook’s Corner is. We took a few pics and left to spend our time and money elsewhere. I was particularly steamed as I had talked to Cook’s earlier in the month about us stopping there and they were fine with us coming that day. I can promise you this; as a group we will never stop at Cook’s Corner again. Several members had talked to me about getting shirts there and food. Cook’s lost that business that day and any future business from us as well. Cook’s Corner…You’re fired.

After leaving Cook’s we made an unscheduled stop behind a strip mall in Rancho Santa Margarita to finish taking the pics we were going to take at Cook’s. The delivery drivers behind Albertson’s flipped as we all came back there. One was taking pics with his phone, then video. We were able to get some great group shots and also individual shots for our website member profiles.

We got back on our original route after the picture-fest and headed up to Hell’s Kitchen on Ortega Highway. It was a great scenic drive for everyone getting up there. Once we all parked at Hell’s Kitchen, I met Neal, the owner’s son. He told me we were welcome to park in their parking lot, stay as long as we wanted, and could come back anytime. That was refreshing to hear after the treatment we received at Cook’s Corner. Members got a kick out of the coffin condiment station inside and the Harleys parked around the lot. We took many more pics and after some restroom and munchie time, we left for Tom’s Farms.

As we went down the hill we had a great view off to our left of Lake Elsinore. The corners on the way down the hill were handled beautifully by my KW’s. Garber was behind me and enjoyed those corners as well. Once at Tom’s Farms we parked across the street on a dirt parking lot. We parked, twenty-two wide in that lot, side by side. To date, that was the most impressive thing I’ve seen at any of our events; standing across the street and looking at that lot with our cars in it. Amazing. We partook of chow at Senor Toms and had lots of laughs and great conversation.

I’d like to thank Ryan for sponsoring the event and planning it with me. Ryan is a huge asset to SCC. He’s also a been a great friend. I think I can say officially without any reservation that Stack Performance is our official Performance Shop. It’s SCC approved. I’d also like to thank Dan and Dave for being spotters that day. They helped out immensely.  See you on the road next time….

Written by Deuce

Riverside- SCC made its first appearance in the Inland Empire May 17^th at the CSDR Mopar Show in Riverside, Ca. which was sponsored by Inland Mopars. SoCal Challengers took home five awards that day sweeping the Challenger and Special interest classes. For the fourth show in a row, the Group Participation Trophy was awarded to SCC.

I had seen the flyer for this show the day before we were in the Spring Fling in Woodley Park. I gave it to Chris(SparkChicken) in Woodley Park and told him that I’d go if he’d go. I wanted to be at a show out in the Inland Empire to do something for those members of ours that have travelled from Riverside and San Bernardino counties out to our shows in Orange County and Los Angeles. Chris and I got all the info and posted the show a little over two weeks before it was to happen. I certainly wasn’t expecting a huge turnout with that late of notice.

As I stood in the parking lot of Target on Arlington Avenue, I was pleased to see eight cars besides mine in the parking lot. Art came first in his brand new Torred SRT-8 that he had just driven back from Texas a few days before.  For those of you who don’t know the story; Art had a DWB R/T that he drove out to Texas to go visit his son. The R/T ended up staying with his son and Art bought the SRT8 out there and drove it back home. That’s the way to travel!!!  I was excited to see all the Gregs together for the first time. Three Gregs, three silver Challengers. To make it simpler for me, I named them G1, G2, and G3 in the order that I met them. This event marked the first showing of the 3G Network. G2 found out that G1 and he had the same last name as well if it all wasn’t strange enough already. He remarked, ”We’re both tall and skinny and have the same last name, I’m calling my dad to make sure nothing funny’s going on”. We got a pic of all the G’s first show together. James and Richard showed up together, trailers in tow. Garber came with the only R/T that day. Chris brought the whole family as usual. SoCal LX was there too, as they had that parking lot as their meeting place for the show as well. I met Nathan and Cam who were super nice guys. Everyone I’ve met from SoCal LX to this point has been great to be around.

After we got parked at the show it was a race to get the easy-ups put together as it was baking already. James and Richard brought two easy-ups for us to stay out of the heat. Nobody in our group has done more set-up and hauled more s***t around to more shows than James and Richard. We are truly lucky to have you two in our group. Once the easy-ups and banners were done, it was show time. The show had a Challenger Class we could compete in for the first time. There were four Challengers that weren’t in our group there besides ours. We ended up sweeping the class taking 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place. In first was Art with his Torred Srt8. Jeff took second in his Stone White R/T, and G3 took third in his silver SRT8.  Nice job guys. Richard won the “Special Interest” Trophy with the junior dragster.  For the finale, we took the “Group Participation “ Trophy for the fourth show in a row. Congratulations to everyone who participated and made this show the outstanding event it was. Thanks also to Art and G3 for stepping in as judges for the “Best in Show” Trophy.  The fact that the judges came to us to not have a conflict of interest in judging says volumes for the people running this show. We thank Inland Mopars for having us and giving us mucho bling! Next year…. “Mist”-ers and a kiddie pool!

Written By: Deuce

Villa Park- May 9^th saw over 100 classic cars, motorcycles, and hot rods fill the parking lot of Villa Park High School for their 6^th annual car show. So Cal Challengers brought eleven cars to the show and for the third show in a row took home the “Best Club Participation” Trophy. All proceeds went to benefit the Villa Park High School Marching Band and Orchestra. 

The meeting place was set for this show at The Coffee Grove in the Villa Park Center. I was particularly excited about this show as Villa Park High School is my Alma Mater (Class of 1986). For the first time I was going to this show with a car to show, and with an outstanding group of friends. I had taken my Harley-Davidson to this show previously. As usual, Kevin was there already as I pulled into the parking lot at 6:30 a.m. “I hate being late”, Kevin replied when I commented on his earliness. I have the same belief as Kevin. My mom drilled that in me from day one; always early, never late. Greg came out from Sun City. It was nice to finally meet G2 and his family. James and Richard were there early too. Ryan from Stack Performance came with his Charger and also his Challenger driven by Aaron. Nick and Loni brought a black Charger as well. It was way cool to see Ryan in SCC gear for the first time. I was wondering if we’d ever see that shirt on him. Dan came too with Ryan with the only black Challenger of the day. Dan has new mods every time I see him. I think he’s now the official “Mod King”. I think Ryan has a retirement plan, and his name is Dan. His car looks outstanding, damn outstanding. Dave came in with Led Zeppelin blaring from his car and a hearty “Good morning” as he pulled in to a parking spot. Soon after that an orange R/T came in to the lot with an unknown driver. My wife and I looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. Being hockey fans though we loved the license plate frame that said “Give blood, play hockey”. A great guy by the name of Vince stepped out and we introduced ourselves. Turns out that our member Jim “The Diceman” had chased him down on the street some days back and had let him know about SCC and this event. Chris, his family, and the Supercharged R/T made the trip out from San Jacinto as well. A great group to take into the show for sure.

As we pulled into the parking lot we were greeted by two student volunteers, one male and one female. The boy absolutely flipped as he saw us lined up. “Holy crap”, he said over and over. He asked me, “Are you ALL together?”, “Are YOU the car club?”. He couldn’t believe it. We were making an impression already. We all got our picture taken in front of the VPHS Band trailer and then proceeded to park. Heather had made a collage of some of my high school pics to place out in front of the car. Everyone got a good laugh at my nerdy ASB ID cards and dance photos. The “Miami Vice” senior picture brought laughter as well. What can I say, back then that was hot! Now, not so much. Now it’s good for laughs….endless, gut-busting laughs. The show provided a pancake breakfast for us and we were then ready to enjoy the show. This show allowed motorcycles as well so it was great to see some scattered throughout the parking  lot. A Corvette ZR1 was there along with a new Lamborghini. Lots of hot rods and classics too. My favorite was an early 60’s convertible Lincoln. It was superbly restored. That car would be a perfect PCH cruiser. Everyone had a great time walking around and looking at the different cars and vendor booths. Unlike most car shows, there were a lot of vendor booths with non-car related items. Ryan was asked by a spectator at one point to start up his Charger with the 7.3 engine in it. There were two high school students standing at the back of his car as he revved his engine. One of those kids jumped about three feet in the air and almost fell down. And if that wasn’t good enough, Ryan revved his engine a second time and the kid flipped out again. Kid, you didn’t know that second one was coming? Hilarious.

 At 2p.m. it was time for awards to be handed out. SCC received four awards. The first was the “Best Club Participation” Trophy. This was our third show in a row we have won this award. Thanks to all the members for making it happen. Heather and the members set up the next award. The shenanigan was set up for me to be called as the winner for the “People’s Choice” Trophy. I had no idea on that one at all. All of the members had voted for me without my knowledge. Thanks guys and guyettes. That trophy will be displayed on my car from now on at every show. Kevin won the “Long Distance” Trophy for travelling the farthest that day. The Challenge Her dragster won the “Young Guns” trophy. Not bad for a four month-old car group eh?

Van Nuys- April 25^th saw hundreds of Mopars descend on Woodley Park for their annual Spring Fling Show. For SCC, it was yet another opportunity to show what we’re about in front of the Mopar faithful. As usual, we made a substantial impression on those who attended the show and those who put the show on for all of us to enjoy.

The morning started early with a 6:30am meet time at a closed down jewelry store just a few blocks away from Woodley Park. My wife and I found the meeting place at 5:45 or so and then left in search of coffee. Upon returning to the jewelry store we noticed that Kevin and Armen were there already. Other members started showing; Garber, Rick and Fred, Chris, and James with his Challenger on a trailer. Art then joined us for his second

event with us in his DWB R/T . Carl came and joined us. He brought his Inferno Red SRT-8 to the show. He had met Rick and Fred the night before at a concurrent Spring Fling event. Both Art and Carl are super nice guys and we’re glad they joined us. After the usual pre-flight pow-wow, we were off to the show. As we turned right on Woodley Avenue to enter the park, there was a HUGE line of cars all the way down Woodley as far as I could see…and it was before 7am! Luckily, a volunteer told us that the ominous line we saw wasn’t ours and we were pointed to the correct one some distance down the road. We got into the show fairly quickly and I was surprised to find out from the registration volunteer that we had our own staked out area. Nice job Rick!

Unlike the Spring Fling in Irvine, there were old Mopars everywhere. We were the only new cars there. Beautiful ‘Cudas, GTX’s, Darts, and Challengers. I particularly liked the old Dodge Power Wagon pickup that was there. It was superbly restored. There was an adjoining parts swap meet where there was a lot of wheeling and dealing going on. We saw some familiar vendors, Hotchkis, Edmunds, etc. I also met Ernie from Asanti who brought their concept Challenger with the wide-body rear-end kit. You think the ass of your Challenger is big now! Although it’s not something I want for my car, the workmanship on the kit looked really nice. The rear quarter panels were blended in nicely. I’m glad there are vendors out there who are giving us Challenger owners many mods to choose from for our cars. It really allows for personalization by everyone.

This event was more about the people than the cars for me. I met more people who were interested in our cars and SCC than at any event I’ve been to so far. Everybody swarmed Chris’s supercharged beast. They wanted to hear it, take pics of it, and ask question after question about it. I think probably a gallon of drool had to be removed from that thing. Maybe Chris might mod his front end to allow for a drool trough across the front of his hood. Get Techco to work on that Chris. We met some new Challenger owners too. Because of Fred, we had an additional six Challengers park with us. Dan brought his beautiful B5 Spring Special to the show and it was a big hit. Everybody loved that color, especially when the sun came over the trees and was directly on it. Dave from Arizona parked with us in his white R/T. Dave is a great guy and his idea to do a joint event with his group in the future I’m taking seriously. I met Daryl at the end of the day who brought his black SRT-8. He ended up joining SCC on the spot! Art officially joined us as well.

I’d like to thank Rick who did the leg-work on finding the meeting spot for this event. Kevin deserves the credit for starting the original thread for this show. We wouldn’t have known about it without him posting it.  Also Shotgun Fred for greeting every freekin’ Challenger that came in that gate and inviting them to park with us. Awesome enthusiasm from you Fred. Thank you. James brought our banners to the show so we could represent SCC properly. I’m thankful they could be carried there by someone. Thanks to James for stepping up and bringing them. Jeff took care of all membership issues as always. It’s comforting I can turn those people over to him and know they’ll be handled competently. And finally, thanks to CPW for putting on a great show

Written by: Deuce

Chatsworth- Sweltering heat didn’t stop hundreds of car enthusiasts from showing up in Chatsworth for the 2nd annual B&M/Hurst Car Show. It certainly didn’t stop SCC either. The group made a definite impression by showing up with fourteen cars between members and guests. SoCal Challengers came away with two awards at the event. Richard and his “ChallengeHer” dragster won the ”Best seen on the Strip” Trophy and SoCal Challengers as a group won the “Best Club Participation” Trophy.

It was a morning of meeting places – there were three before arriving at the show. It was fun watching the line of cars from place to place get bigger and bigger. By the time we made it to the last meeting place, we had fourteen cars to arrive at the show with. That was pretty damn impressive. Thank you for everyone’s help in getting from place to place and finally to the show itself. Once in the show, we had to jockey our cars around quite a bit to park. The Hurst volunteers did an excellent job getting us lined up. We looked sharp once all of our cars were shined up and our banners were in place. We were here! Thank you to Dan and James for the banners, easy-up, and chairs. I think we would have had a collective melting or a mass spontaneous combustion without the shade. It also gave us a central meeting place to hang out and be together.

There were a wide variety of cars to see from older original classics, to full-on hot rods, to complete custom street and race cars. The Hurst Challengers were the centerpiece of the show and were absolutely stunning. There were two original Challengers there; a beautiful Hemi-Orange 1971 that a gentleman had brought and a yellow 1970 that was at the Hotchkis booth. Jay Leno stopped by the show and brought his “Tank” as he called it. He came by our group and took a few pics with us. He also let Chuck’s son Charlie sit in his “Tank” and be photographed and gave his own raffle tickets to Chris’s kids. Jay is a super nice and down to earth guy with a true love for cars. We’ll get him in our group sooner or later, it’s just a matter of time. Hear that Jay?

There were two highlights of the day for me. First was when I was sitting under the easy-up during the show as a gentleman walked by and said to me, ”Nobody can say you guys didn’t come out in force!” That was great to hear that we had made that kind of impression on the folks at the show. Second, was when we were announced as the winners of the “Best Club Participation” Trophy. To me it was a representation of all the work so many of the members had done to this point. It was fitting that we received a group trophy. Dave, my fellow Co-President, was a class act as he went around and congratulated all the members that were there. It was their award. We all took individual pictures with the trophy and our car. Thank you all for participating. Chris drove all the way out from San Jacinto. Chuck came up from San Diego. That’s participation. I’d also like to thank our guests, Dean and Lindsay, Art, and Mike and Kristin. It’s a rule of Dave and I that if you’re one of our members or our guest you will be taken care of. Hopefully we took appropriate care of you and you’ll join us again. And finally, thank you to B&M/ Hurst for inviting us and putting on a first-class event.

Written by: Deuce

March 28^th was a great day for SCC members. It was the fourth annual Spring Fest in Irvine, Ca. Although all of us that registered got a goody bag to take away from the event, some of us came away with a little more. Our SCC member Chris, aka “SparkChicken” was one such person who left the Spring Fest with something, well, “Super”.

Word got around at the Festival that Techco, a vendor at the event, was looking for a Challenger R/T equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission on which to do their first in-house install of their 3.0 liter Supercharger. One SCC member talked to another SCC member and eventually Chris and the team from Techco met each other and discussed the project. After looking at Chris’s car and talking dollars and cents, Chris’s Challenger will be Techco’s first in-house install on an R/T 6-speed. His vehicle will be pictured in the install brochure.

Chris dropped off his Challenger at the Techco shop in Anaheim, Ca. on April 1^st. “I miss my car already” Chris told me when I spoke to him just two days later. Those of us that ordered our Challengers definitely know the feeling. “I spoke with Carlos at Techco, and he told me the car would be ready on April 18^th so I’ll be able to take it to the Hurst show on the 19^th, ” remarked Chris. We can’t wait to see it. The supercharger will add to Chris’s mods he’s already done to his R/T. These include a Zoomers exhaust, a Techco CAI, and a Diablo sport tune. When I asked Chris what was next for his Challenger after the supercharger he told me, ”Tires and brakes, but I’m gonna burn these up first”. That’s just what I expected to hear from you Chris, just what I expected.

I also spoke with Carlos at Techco. I found him to be extremely knowledgeable and friendly. I originally called to set up a phone interview for this article and his reply was, ”How about we do it right now?”  I appreciate him taking time out of his busy schedule to talk with me. Techco, based in Anaheim California, started in 1997.  Techco’s staff, which comprises much of the team that designed the S7, the S281 Mustang, The Parnelli Jones Limited Edition Mustang, and the S331 Sport trucks for Saleen, now works out of a 150,000 square ft. facility that houses Dynamometers, a CNC machine shop, a CMM lab, a Fab shop, SLS prototyping, CAD/CAE workstations, an R&D lab, a component subassembly shop, a customer install shop, and also a race team. I asked Carlos, Techco’s Sales Manager, what a supercharger setup from Techco would produce in terms of horsepower on an R/T, “Somewhere between 400 and 460 horsepower depending on the specific setup done” he replied. “The base kit is 5.5lbs. of boost. We can go up from there if that’s what the customer wants”. Carlos made mention that they build their superchargers entirely in-house and also made a point to say, ”We are the only supercharger manufacturers who do that in the industry”.

It sounds like Techco is doing a lot of things right. We at SCC are excited to see what you create under the hood of our brother’s R/T. I have a feeling this chicken’s gonna wake everyone up and bite hard!

If you’d like to reach Carlos, please phone him at (714)408-9550 ext. 123 or email him at cduran@techcointl.com. Techco’s main web address is www.techcointl.com

Written by Deuce

I think anyone having a car event should invite SCC. Of course I’m biased, but look what you get when you invite us: Stunning Challengers lined up row after row, an outstanding group of enthusiasts with superb attitudes and great weather. How can you beat that? Well, I can’t control the weather, but we’ve nailed that so far.

Dave and I had the challenge of coordinating the Challengers at SF4. It was an unveiling for us of sorts. We were going to have our uniforms for the first time. It was the same scenario with our banners. Our members Dan and Jon kicked some major butt and got these two things done in time for the show.  Dan got the shirts done in time for the show and built the banner boxes himself. Jon re-configured the banner file so it could be done on a banner. They worked together extremely well. Co-President Dave also rushed and got our business cards done for SF4. Dodge execs were going to be there. It was important to Dave and I that we looked sharp. A lot of people in our group really stepped up for this event and got things done. People that get things done have my utmost respect. Thanks to all of you who did what you did to make us look absolutely competent at SF4.

We had two meeting places setup for the show; One for people from the north of the show’s location and one for the out-of-towners and people who were coming from south of the show. It was a trick to reach the out-of-towners and tell them of our plans. They were on forums other than Challengertalk in a lot of cases and they certainly didn’t know who we were…YET. Dave had talked to the organizer of the show and arranged preferential parking for us. We got in early and got to park in the first two rows. It ended up all going pretty much like clockwork. I had the group from the north’s meeting place. It was great to see six Challengers besides mine. Gene and Maria came all the way from Bermuda Dunes to ride in with my group. It was great having an SE in the mix. We haven’t seen too many of those as of yet. At 8:30 am, we rolled to meet at the Chrysler building where the other group was waiting for us. After a little pow wow with SCC and the out-of-towners, we lined up to go into the Festival. After stopping my car and getting out I got to see how long that line of cars was behind me. It was a great sight to see. I never did a final count, but I think total we had between thirty and forty Challengers in that line. That, gentlemen, is how you bring it.  It was an honor to lead that line into the Festival, an absolute honor. In Dave’s car behind me we had member BJ and his dad William as passengers. BJ was having engine work done to his car by Stack Performance and his car wasn’t available for the show. There was no way we were letting him miss the ride in. I posted to him on Challengertalk to get himself and his dad to the Chrysler building so he wouldn’t miss riding in with us. It was great to meet his dad William and have him with us.

When I pulled in the entrance, I was greeted with, ”We’ve been waiting for you guys” in an impatient tone. I looked at the clock. It was 9:02a.m., two minutes after we were supposed to be there.  I said,”Well sir, WE ARE HERE”. “Where do you want us?” After we were parked it was time to shine and show and enjoy the Festival.

Stack Performance had a booth right next to us. It was fitting because Stack has been such a huge supporter of SCC. It was cool to see that several members had their cars at various booths around the show as well.  Dan’s SRT-8 was at the Corsa exhaust booth. He was sporting his new wheels which looked stunning. Jon had his Challenger at the Dodge exhibit. James was filmed by the T.V. show “Whipnotic”. We’ll be looking for you on the tube James. I was envious, but I guess having a license plate that phonetically spells the word “Heinous” on your car doesn’t make one attractive to the television folk. Seriously, James and his car have a great story. It’s one all of you should take the time to know. The ChallengeHer dragster was there too, along with its pilot. I saw picture after picture being taken of that dragster. It was definitely a hit. New cars were unveiled at this event. Dodge unveiled the Rally SE model. It seemed to garner quite a bit of interest. Hurst also unveiled a new Challenger that looked absolutely evil. Sam Hubinette was there with the Challenger drift car, too. There were so many great things to see.

At the end of the show, Dave and I got to meet Eric Munk, who is Dodge’s Marketing Manager for the West Business Center. It was great meeting him and better yet that he was meeting us. He told us he had seen our website already and liked it. Loved hearing that. We also met Ron from Hurst. We can’t wait to be at the Hurst show in just a few short weeks. I started to realize about then that my SPF 45 sunscreen had failed several hours before and lobster-man had begun to set in. It was time to go home.

Thank you to everyone who participated and made this such an exciting event for all of us. We will be even bigger next year. You were here at the beginning, always remember that. You were here.

Written by TheDan

I was looking at our new SCC webpage and was reading the story of our Track day event in Pahrump, Nevada. It made me smile as I recalled the overwhelming fun that we had on that weekend. I only wish that more of you guys had been able to join us.

It caused me to start thinking about our last meet and greet. The day was Sunday the 8th and it was a tricky morning. Father-time played the annual, “spring forward” time change. I was a victim of this and was a full hour late. I received a call from Jeff Lowe, “Hey, are you gonna make it”.

Miss Dyno day at Stack Performance, “No Way”. I was running an hour late, so when I turned the corner I nailed it hard. I needed to make my dyno day presence known. It was great to pull up and be welcomed by all the on-timers. Challeys were parked all about. It was in the 70’s with cotton ball clouds scattered about. Ryan sure knows how to do a car throw down. Tent, BBQ, dyno, Vipers, Chargers, Darts, 300’s, it was very Hemi place.

For those that were on site for the first visit to Stack Performance, it must have been like heaven. Very clean and modern with a vision that is very clear. We do things right here!
The entry door to the office area looks like most, but the big “SP” logo over the door hints and asks you to be ready. Marble tiled floors, Brembo, Corsa, Hotchkis displays. Stack, exclusive parts to look at, leather sit downs, big screen TV. You then realize, I’m in the right place with all the right people. I hope all of you made it inside to check it out.

I say that knowing how much cool factor was outside. Challengers parked around the drive way lead you into the garage area. From the street to the garages you could see powerful rides everywhere. Why have a dyno if you’re not going to use it. Since I was an hour late I missed a few earlier runs on the dyno. It was not long after that when Ryan’s guys rolled out a few more Challengers. Once on the dyno, they torqued all of the rear lugs and started them up. Each car, whether R/T or SRT had their own unique sound. I had never stood so close to a car doing over 100 MPH. Everyone would have to agree that it is a special treat to hear your car under a heavy foot and being able to stand right there and listen to the power. Several decisions were made that day after being able to listen and compare the intake and exhaust combination from each car on the dyno. Very high on the kewl factor!!

After a few more Hemi’s were allowed to rip and roar we all lined up for some SP dogs and burgers. The gear heads know how to flip burgers too. The lunch was perfect and I bet all would agree that we were treated very well. The chatter was everywhere and we were all having a good day. After several more cars were run on the dyno, we gathered around for the tent for the awards. As a ploy to get me to do this write up I was temporarily awarded first place. That honor has been transferred to the proper Silver SRT8 winner, Chuck R. Please share with Chuck a pat on the back for being the true high pull of the day.

Second place went to Juan Carlos in his Hemi Orange RT. It was a real treat for everyone to listen and compare the intake and exhaust combination from each car on the dyno. A third place trophy was given for the furthest traveler, which went to Chris(SparkChicken). After the awards were handed out, we had our first official group meeting. Everyone agreed that this day was very big success for our 4th SCC meet.

The day was not finished until we had all 19 Challengers lined up in front of Stack Performance for a new record photo shoot. On behalf of all the SCC members, I would like to offer a great big thank you to Ryan and all the guys and gals of Stack Performance that made this such a successful event!