Most Show Trucks Are Simple "Programmer And Exhaust" propositions when it comes time for the fancy truck builders to get down to horsepower. This leaves a lot of people wondering why the owner of a truck with a $10,000 paint job couldn't spend more than $1,000 on making power. Well, we're glad to say that there are exceptions. Chris Hall from Las Vegas, Nevada, was dead set on making his '07 Dodge into one awesome ride. Chris owns Fatboy Customs in Las Vegas, which specializes in truck accessories and stereo equipment, so the truck was sure to look stunning. However, his brother Chad owns Alligator Diesel Performance, and Chad wasn't about to let this truck turn into a show-only piece. Instead, the two transformed this Dodge into equal parts performance and looks with flashy paint and power to match.
The truck itself is an '07 Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab that started life as a silver-colored stocker. Right after it was purchased, the truck went under the knife at Rize Industries, where an 8-inch lift was prototyped for the truck. The paint was also jazzed up by Super Stripes of Las Vegas, which painted the trick shadowed and outlined red section over the stock silver to give the truck a "graphics" look. With all the vinyl wraps out there, it's nice to see that some people still take the time to get a truck painted. This truck is more than just paint and chrome, and at Mopars at the Strip 2008, Chad backed the silver and red beast up onto the dyno. Most people were expecting average show truck numbers-about 350 horsepower and maybe 550 lb-ft of torque. Those people were wrong-the truck made a whopping 607 horsepower with almost 1,200 lb-ft of torque.
When it came to the engine, Chad dismissed the simple path of programming for a more involved approach. The truck was outfitted with a set of ATS compound turbos, Dynomite Diesel Performance 90hp injectors, a set of Haisley Machine H11 head studs, and a Diablosport Programmer. The work was done in-house at Alligator Performance, along with the help of the folks at Toxic Diesel, out of St. George, Utah. The compound turbos provide 50 psi to the 5.9L Cummins, and help keep exhaust gas temperatures at a relatively low 1,350 degrees F. Chad is quick to point out that this 600-horsepower figure was achieved with a factory intercooler, a stock fuel system, and a single CP3 injection pump. All this power would be useless without a built transmission, so Toxic Diesel and RKL Performance (located in Orum, Utah) helped make the stock Dodge transmission live behind the monster motor by upgrading it with a billet input shaft, different clutches, and an ATS Five-Star torque converter.