{"id":28799,"date":"2019-10-04T07:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T11:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=28799"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:24:15","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:24:15","slug":"ahead-of-the-curve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/showcase\/2019\/10\/ahead-of-the-curve.html","title":{"rendered":"Ahead of the Curve"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Peter Filippatis and his \u201869 Dodge Charger\nhave been ahead of the curve for a while. \u201cI\u2019m old muscle with new technology,\u201d\nhe quipps. I think most of us still remember a decade or so ago when doing a\nresto-mod of any kind usually required some type of LS motor swap. The late-model HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> V8 engines were just coming onto the scene and they weren\u2019t even available\nto buy as a crate setup from Chrysler. The aftermarket was in its infancy. But\nhey, someone had to blaze the trail!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peter was the guy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To begin, he needed the car. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Original Car
Photo Credit: Peter Filippatis<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe car was green, white vinyl top, white interior,” said Peter. All of the metal on the car is original – floors, doors, everything. These cars were rust buckets – disposable after 5 years, you know. This one by chance has great metal on it. I bought it sight unseen out of Florida. I thought \u2018what\u2019s the worst that could happen?\u2019 Structurally, it was much better than I thought. It was 400 hours of bodywork and paint. All the work was done for fit and finish. Notice all the gaps are perfect. I shaved the drip rails. There used to be belt moulding, but I trimmed it and smoothed it out. I built it wanting the body super straight. STRAIGHT. When I built the car, I took a sharpie and would write all over it. I would write \u2018cut this, shave this, fill this in.\u2019 There is a bumble bee stripe with \u2018HEMI\u2019 script that pops in the sun. I didn\u2019t want it pronounced, so we went a couple tints darker than the original color.\u201d From the body to the paint, his favorite word is \u201csubtle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Left: Body work, Right: Body work
Photo Credit: Peter Filippatis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Charger is stunning. My photos don\u2019t do the color justice. It\u2019s a slightly modified old GT40 hue that\u2019s magic in the sunlight. I think it was the Gulf blue before Gulf went with the now ubiquitous light baby blue. With that color, and the front spoiler off of a \u201869 Camaro, Peter wasn\u2019t afraid to think outside of the box. Nor did he cut any corners. How the whole package works together is the result of planning and execution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The \u201cfit and finish\u201d motto didn\u2019t stop at the\nexterior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat motor looks like it belongs in it. You know what the best part is? Nothing was cut in this car [to make drivetrain fit]. Stock firewall location, transmission tunnel. Everything,\u201d said Peter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Usually, when the fit is so perfect, the bay was built around the engine. It wasn\u2019t possible in this instance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI installed the motor after I painted the car because the motor wasn\u2019t even available then,\u201d said Peter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Left: The old 318 still in the restored car, Right: The old 318 in the car before restoration
Photo Credit: Peter Filippatis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How he got the engine itself is kind of crazy,\ntoo! This was 2006, before you could go to Mopar.com to order any late-model\nHEMI engine your heart desires. But Peter knew what he needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI bought the car thinking I wanted to do a\nfuel-injected motor,” said Peter. “I didn\u2019t want a carburetor; I wanted an old car with a new\nfeel. I\u2019m a fuel injection guy, I\u2019m not a carburetor guy. I grew up in the \u201980s,\nyou know.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the original 318 wasn\u2019t gonna cut it. It was time to upgrade to a fuel-injected V8, the 6.1L engine found in the early SRT\u00ae<\/sup> vehicles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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6.1L HEMI engine from Dodge on crate
Photo Credit: Peter Filippatis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI got the motor from Chrysler themselves. I was buying parts in \u201906, so I made a deal to buy a motor off the assembly line so I could show the car in their booth at SEMA. Right at that time, a major corporate change took place, so the car never went to SEMA, but I got the motor. They overnighted the motor to me on a crate. It was pretty cool, but then it was up to me to figure everything else out. Now, they have the Hellephant and different kits, but at the time, I didn\u2019t have any aftermarket support.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HEMI install
Photo Credit: Peter Filippatis<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After Jimmy from True Street Performance\ninstalled the 6.1L, it was time to get it running. The leaps and bounds modern\nMopar\u00ae<\/sub> performance has made in the last 13 years has been incredible; and in\n2006, performance calibrating late-model HEMI engines was in its infancy. There\nwere no years of experience to fall back on, and there was no \u201cplug and play\u201d\nsolution. You had to find a tuner you trust. Peter went to AJ Berge, now the\nhead of Hemituner Performance. They learned a lot about what you could get out\nof that motor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAJ at Hemituner tuned it with a 5.7 computer. Then, we put a 6.1 computer on it. Then, we dyno\u2019d both to see which made more power. Then, I snapped the transmission in half on street tires because it\u2019s so violent when you want it to be,\u201d said Peter. The trans is now a built 4L60-E that \u201cshifts like an F1. It shifts so fast.\u201d There are even integrated shifting paddles behind the steering wheel, which is still on the original column. How cool is that? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With TTI headers and a custom exhaust, the Charger screams. Things like a carbon fiber driveshaft, beefed-up suspension, 4-wheel disc brakes and a 3.90 rear gear ratio to go with the overdrive transmission give it a very modern feel. Peter is a master of attention to detail. Inside, he has new seats covered to match the rest of the interior. The wiring is all cleaner than factory, hidden away. It shoots cold A\/C. There are power windows, power locks, a satellite radio, iPod\u00ae<\/sup> connecter and a killer sound system. Dynomat everywhere helps keep the cabin noise down. LED lights illuminate the custom, yet original-looking gauge cluster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Peter took me for a ride. The power to weight\nratio isn\u2019t far off from a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat\u2019s. There\u2019s a ton of torque. It\u2019s really,\nreally quick and stops on a dime. Burnouts are glorious. And there are no\nrattles, no creaks, nothing \u201coff\u201d like so many of these projects have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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