Centric-Sponsored Challenger Project Supports Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charity

2011 WD-40 Dodge Challenger SRT/8 392 HEMI

100% of Purchase Price Goes to Charity!

Towards the end of 2011, Centric Parts^® was approached by Legendary Motorcar Company (LMC) of Dream Car Garage fame. They had been commissioned by the makers of WD-40 to help customize a car that would eventually be sold to support an important charity, the Canadian Tire Jumpstart program. Our response: “Just tell us what you need.”

The idea was to take a new 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT/8 - with the new 392 HEMI engine - and add some retro cosmetic pieces to give it the vintage Challenger T/A look with lots of modern day performance.

We contributed some big StopTech^® brakes for better braking performance. They really look great behind those Pirelli P-Zero-wrapped Forgeline wheels that should give a lot of extra grip. Eibach lowering springs with matching dampers from Koni were also added to give handling a boost.

The look of the Challenger, which was one of the rare inaugural edition models, was updated with Matte black hood and T/A hood scoop from Cervinis, Stainless Works side-exit cat-back exhaust, fully polished custom paintwork from LMC, custom striping with some special details, a removable trim package and custom embroidered WD-40 headrests.

With the excellent Challenger foundation as a starting point, this makes for a very impressive car.

The build is being featured on Dream Car Garage, and the car is for sale now through Legendary Motorcar – when it isn’t being shown off at major auto shows. Best of all, 100% of the sale price will go to support the Canadian Tire Jumpstart Program, which has helped more than 100,000 kids in financial need participate in organized sports or recreation programs. 

So give LMC a call and make them a generous offer. The money goes to a great cause and you’ll end up with one very special Challenger. info@legendarymotorcar.com | 905-875-4700

Centric Helps San Jose Fire Department Find Better Solutions

Recently, we participated in a Public Fleet Supervisors (PFSA) meeting in Northern California.  We met City of San Jose, CA Fleet Manager Dan Sunseri. The very next day, Dan reached out to us and our distributor, asking if we would visit the shop to help locate front brakes for a “brush truck.”

Dan’s fleet had six 1988 F150 2wd pickups that were having some braking issues. Closer inspection of the vehicles revealed that the trucks had been fitted with Marmon Harrington front axles. Prior repairs had never been an issue for Dan because Marmon had plenty of spares, but now they could no longer get replacement brake parts for this obsolete front axle. It looked like the only solution was to change the entire axle on each vehicle at a cost of about $6,000 apiece!

Photos were provided to Centric’s Tech Line to see if there was possibly a better solution. The rotors and calipers were then shipped down to Centric for a closer look. Rotors were quickly located so the only issue was going to be the calipers. After a lot of research it was determined that these units could not be rebuilt as they were a non North American application. That’s when Tech got to work finding a suitable alternative.

After further exhaustive research, it was determined that the calipers in question were identical to ones being used on a German SUV.  Replacements were shipped back up and installed on one of the trucks for testing. Rocco Capossele (San Jose Equipment Maintenance Supervisor) says they are very happy with the solution.

Now the remaining fire trucks will be able to be kept in service, saving the city thousands of dollars.

Jay Leno and His 1917 Fiat Botafogo Special

We spotted Jay Leno this weekend driving his 1917 Fiat Botafogo Special on the streets of Los Angeles. Luckily he was headed the same place we were – The Greystone Mansion for their 3^rd Annual Concours d’Elegance. More photos and stories to come, but for now, here’s some pics of the Fiat which is powered by a 22-liter WW1 aircraft engine – that’s five times the size of most six-cylinder engines. That means each of the Fiat’s six cylinders is around 3.7 liters, or 223 cubic inches.

The compression ratio is a low 4.5:1 and the engine makes about 320 hp at its 1500 RPM redline. Jay casually mentioned that pushing it to 1800 would be suicidal in its original WWI aircraft application, an RPM that is barely above idle for some of today’s high performance engines: “1,800 is end of the world.  1,500 is redline, at 1,800 you’re dead. You’re blown up at that point.”

The car was built in Argentina and features a wooden firewall that appears to be made from old wine barrels, and a dual chain drive system. Wielding such a huge, nearly 100-year-old vehicle, that is controlled by an array of levers, switches, pedals, knobs and dials, that has so much torque being channeled through a couple of chains, might be intimidating to most people, especially in Los Angeles traffic, but Jay has several vehicles in his massive collection that make driving this one a walk in the park, “It’s a lot of fun. It has so much torque!”