Besides the obvious fact of this truck being a Mr. Norm’s truck, what drew me to this were 2 things. First, it was supercharged and second, the paint job was just amazing. It’s orange with gold flecks of glass embedded in the paint. In the sun, this car shines and shimmers like you can’t believe.
This truck design came about after a lengthy bench-racing session between Larry Weiner of Performance West Group and Norm Kraus. Larry and Norm have been friends for many years and both figured enthusiasts would appreciate an affordable sport truck that would fill the hole left in the super truck category when Dodge dropped the SRT10 line-and at a lower price point. A fresh-off-the-assembly-line standard-cab Ram with the 5.7 Hemi and five-speed auto transmission was the starting point for the prototype.
Since the Hemi’s stock 345 HP wasn’t enough, an air-to-water intercooled supercharger kit was added. It also has a performance cat-back exhaust system to put some more growl at the tailpipe and more ponies in the motor. The prototype truck pumped out over 500 pavement-punishing horsepower after all the modifications, and it’s ready to unleash with one mash of the go pedal.
To be considered a new-era muscle machine, the truck would have to perform just as well in the corners as it would in a straight line. To accomplish that, the suspension was dropped a few inches all around and the wheel-and-tire package was upgraded. Rolling stock consists of lightweight 22-inch alloy wheels matched with low-profile, ultrahigh-performance speed-rated tires. The finishing touch on the chassis is a 14-inch brake kit to keep this bulked-up truck under control.
Trucking Times 09-08 2-page
Street Trucks 02-09 2-page
MCG 02-08
Restyling 04-2008
Sema News 06-2008
ATRN 11-2007
