Among the LS-swapped Foxbody Mustangs, early GM iron and other wild vehicles at LS Fest East, was the bright-green Dodge Ram of Dan Mason. Mopar fanatics usually covet the array of Wedge, small-block and HEMI Pentastar engines, but clearly Mason is not a purist.
“I bought this truck new in 2003 and I LS-swapped it 7 years ago. I thought about sticking with Mopar power, but the LS was just cheaper and easier to build. It’s so nice,” he said.
Under the hood, a fully-built LS engine churns out 1,100 horsepower courtesy of 80mm twin turbos.
Mason, of Muskegon, Michigan, started with a basic swap, but over time it’s morphed into an animal producing over 1,100 horsepower. The foundation is an LSA block with a bore and stroke that equates to 417 cubic inches. It has LS3 heads and is fed upwards of 20 psi of boost with a pair of 80 mm turbos. The GM mill also has a Holley 105 mm throttle body, 220 lb-hr Holley injectors, a Holley Dominator EFI system and it burns E85 with water meth injection.
Admittedly, Mason hasn’t pushed the Ram to the limit as he’s still dialing in the homebuilt suspension. “It has a four-link and I fabricated a Mustang II-style front suspension. It took a few tries to get that right,” he told us.
The Dodge is also fitted with a Coan Turbo 400 transmission, a Ford 9-inch rear and it has Wilwood brakes all around. It runs on Mickey Thompson Pro Drag radials and tips the scale at 3,500 lbs. Mason is planning to run in Current Performance Wiring Street King, which is a heads-up class for Late-Model, LS-powered vehicles. To date he’s run a best of 9.02 at 151 mph.