Project SST

Built from 1996-2002, the Dodge Ram SS/T was created to continue the legacy (and capitalize on the sales) of when Dodge's Ram served as the Official Pace Truck for the Indy 500. Carrying a specially prepped 5.9 (360 for you classic cubic inch fans), the SS/T also featured special aluminum rims and performance tires, a lowered suspension, special call-out body and interior badges, and the Viper's outstanding blue with twin white racing stripe paint scheme, later expanding the color lineup to include black, red, and green paint options, all featuring twin white racing stripes. Speaking of the Viper, some consider the SS/T the precursor to the Ram SRT10 pickup, and while there might be some truth to that thought, one thing is certain: the 245 bhp that the "tuned" 5.9 put out was significantly less than the 500 bhp the Ram SRT10 managed. But hey, 8.0 liters can do that. This got us thinking: MOPAR's 5.9 has a pretty good performance pedigree of its own, able to belt out cheap, reliable horsepower when treated to the right combo of parts. Sure, the Ram SRT10's big V10 still packs way more displacement, but nothing that some forced induction can't handle. Besides, the Ram SS/T is just a super cool truck with a heritage worth preserving, and since we have one sitting at our PIE headquarters, we figured, "why not?" and decided to see just how far we could go on the cheap.

Our idea is simple: use the SS/T to have some fun with and to answer questions we get all the time about some of the parts we already sell. Things like how much horsepower the EQ replacement Magnum heads can support in stock form, or how to hit a streetable 500 bhp with a small block Mopar on a budget. Another question we always get is how effective our PIE supercharger kits are and how easy they are to install. But maybe the one we get asked the most when it comes to the Magnums is how much power can the factory-issued beer barrel intake make and how does it compare to some of the other bolt-on performance intakes available for the Magnums.

If you haven't figured it out by now, our plan is to give our SS/T's 5.9 a simple, solid rebuild which will include our meticulous prep, machining, and assembly procedures along with a set of good, but off-the-shelf forged pistons wrapped in a factory-sized package. Then we'll top it with a set of our PIE prepped heads (okay, so they won't be 100% stock, but they'll be as "stock" as we sell them and cheaper than you can get just about anywhere else) and we'll top it with Dodge's ubiquitous beer barrel intake. Next, we're going to send some boost through the whole thing courtesy of one of our PIE centrifugal supercharger kits.

After we run the numbers, who knows? We're thinking maybe some intake comparisons, boost-level exploration, and more. And remember, it'll be a build anybody can do on a budget, even piece by piece if they want. Stay tuned.