{"id":27940,"date":"2019-09-11T08:00:33","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T12:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=27940"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:24:17","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:24:17","slug":"reverence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/showcase\/2019\/09\/reverence.html","title":{"rendered":"Reverence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

9,000 hours. That\u2019s how much time the mad\nscientists at Cleveland Power & Performance put into Reverence, their\nbeautiful \u201969 Dodge Charger. Or is it a \u201916 Dodge Challenger SRT\u00ae<\/sup> Hellcat? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To put that many hours into perspective, hop\nin a time machine with me and set the clock for November of 2002 when I began\nmy life as a tradesman. This is when my four-year millwright apprenticeship\nstarted at Chrysler\u2019s Mack 2 engine plant. The four years is calculated by hours:\nIf you were to work 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year, you\u2019d accumulate 2,000\nhours. Multiply that by four, and you\u2019re at 8,000 hours. That\u2019s the experience\nmost skilled trades organizations believe you need to go from a regular labor\nhand to a skilled journeyman. Now, as a millwright, I worked a lot of overtime.\nThere were months strung together of 12-hour days, seven days a week. \u201c7-12s\u201d we\ncall them. So I finished my apprenticeship in two years instead of four. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years of working at the factory nearly\nevery day, 12 hours a day. And that still only adds up to 8,000 hours. The team\nat Cleveland P&P put that into this project and added another 1,000 on top\njust for good measure. And the work, skill, attention to detail … it’s all\non display here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, I was in Ohio so my friends at\nStainless Works could conjure up their magic on my Ram. Longtube headers with a\ncustom cat-back hooked up to a 5.7L HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> engine can make a glorious racket with the\nright people behind it! So while the truck was getting outpatient surgery, I\nheaded up to Cleveland to hang out with the Power & Performance crew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d already witnessed the \u201cStrangler\u201d green\nold Charger\/new SRT Hellcat mashup up close at this year\u2019s Detroit Autorama, but\nshows like that are way too hectic to get personal with a build. It\u2019s easy to\noverlook details in that kind of setting. Plus, it\u2019s always cool to take in a\nvehicle where it was born, so to speak. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cleveland Power & Performance is the current\nstate of a family business\u2019s evolution. It\u2019s grown up and out of the crazy\npurchase of Cleveland Pick-A-Part into a late-model performance build and\nparts supplier. Around 30 years ago, Rick Fragnoli lost out on a union\nleadership position in a controversial vote, so the journeyman electrician quit\nthat day, bought a junk yard on his way home, told his wife, then started updating\nit immediately. Long story short, they became one of the first \u201cjunk\u201d yards to\nsell parts online. I put \u201cjunk\u201d in quotations because the company focuses on\nquality parts and assemblies. Stuff that looks good and is certain to perform.\nBefore long, Rick and his son Rick (with other son Brian focusing on the\nbusiness side) started building their own hopped-up rides from the pieces\npicked from the wrecked vehicles they were salvaging. The name was changed to\nCleveland Power & Performance to better represent their mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As the Dodge and SRT performance vehicles\ngrow in numbers sold, the unfortunate other side of that is that more will get\nwrecked and stolen. It\u2019s math. Cleveland P&P witnessed how popular these\nplatforms are and capitalized on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While the body, frame or both might be broken and twisted, oftentimes the engine, transmission and other driveline components are still in nice condition. And whether it\u2019s a base HEMI engine-powered car, or a, SRT Hellcat, or a Scat Pack, those parts are too good and too powerful to go to waste! They\u2019re destined to find life again in a new host. Cleveland P&P has the process for making this happen down to a science. They buy the totaled car at auction, strip it completely down while saving the good parts, clean the parts, repair them if necessary, and put them for sale online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

P&P takes a lot of pride in providing used\nparts that work. They even have a \u201csecret\u201d engine room to inspect, repair and\nrefresh shortblocks and transmissions. Proving to potential clients that their\npackages work, P&P had to get creative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the things they\u2019ve become\n\u201cinsta-famous\u201d for is their driveline packages, especially those of the Dodge\nvariety. For each one they build, there is an ingenious wooden crate to house\nthe components, and not just for shipping. The crates double as a fixture that\nallows the setup to operate! It proves the ECU, fuel delivery system,\ntransmission and engine actually work. The client can watch their powertrain\nrun before buying; and when it arrives, they can test it before installation.\nBrilliant.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all of these high-horsepower motors\npassing through their hands, they couldn\u2019t just watch them come and go without\njoining in on the fun. Reverence is the product of that fun.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Power is the easy part, thanks to Dodge. A low-mileage supercharged 6.2L HEMI engine straight out of an SRT Hellcat makes sure of that. It\ngulps air from a custom, functional hood vent and delivers power via an 8-speed\nTorqueFlite\u00ae<\/sup> automatic. With a one-off lower valance grill, the intercooler gets\nthe fresh air it needs, as well. Kooks headers were utilized to feed a custom\ndual exhaust. The suspension is basically that of a 2016 Challenger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They went to great lengths to make sure the\ncar operates like a new SRT Hellcat, not only from a ride quality and performance\nstandpoint, but in everyday functionality. Late-model proximity lock door\nhandles were integrated, the backup camera works, and the wiring harnesses are\nrouted and secured like it rolled out of Brampton. With custom ductwork and\nvents, the A\/C works too. The seats were modified to fit, but look and feel like\nthey\u2019re out of a late-model Mopar\u00ae<\/sub> vehicle.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"dodge<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They nailed the overall proportions of the\ncar, and subtle styling mods like the exaggerated Charger-esque door scoops add\nto the aggressive appearance. I could go on, but I think you\u2019d much rather\nenjoy looking through my pictures of Reverance! Look closely and you\u2019ll find\nsomething new to marvel in each image. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The perception amongst some enthusiasts and industry figureheads has long been that Cleveland Power & Performance is still \u201cjust\u201d a junkyard. It\u2019s a perception that lacks the respect Rick and his crew deserve as a high-level resto-mod and hot rod fabricators. They\u2019re trying to change that perception, and if Reverence is any indication, it\u2019s not a matter of if they will achieve that status, only the rest of the world will recognize it. I\u2019m on board, are you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n