[1]
Yesterday, we got to see a very brief video of a Chrysler 300C equipped with a Viper V10 engine. The video was so brief that it actually raised more questions than it answered. Who built it? Why? Is this a professional job, or just some guy in his garage? Where did this Viper engine come from in the first place?
Well now we have answers to these questions, thanks to Red Letter Dodge [2]. Turns out this monster of a car was the work of one very dedicated, very skilled Mopar enthusiast.
[3]That man is named Derek Ekins, and Red Letter Dodge ran into him at the 11th annual Viper Owners Invitational. His awesome SRT10 Chrysler 300C started out with a mediocre 3.5 liter V6 engine that barely made 250 horsepower. Derek got the engine from a wrecked Generation III Viper. This is the 8.3 liter engine that makes about 525 horsepower, about 100 ponies more than Chrysler’s own 300C SRT8.
Derek did most of the work himself over the course of the year, working out of his own garage. It took a lot of work to shoehorn the engine into the Chrysler’s bay, but he did it. Backing the engine is a Tremec T-56 transmission [4], and the car sits on an Eibach suspension [5]. Dropping this bigger engine required quite a bit more work though, such as a much larger radiator and a custom fuel tank in the trunk of the 300. All in all it is a great ride, a true standout at any crowd, and we salute Derek’s work. He is a true gearhead.