All the necessary
metal hardware was in place so that the new hood could be refitted onto
the Rumble Bee. The hood was sent back to Mike Face to be painted glossy
black over the ‘six-pack’ hood scoop and the same B-5 Blue
Spectraflair Holographic Metalflake paint on the sides of the hood. A
custom billet grille from Be Cool Billets was fitted to the front. A Gaylord’s
California Cruising bedliner completed work on the body. The big factory
brakes were removed and replaced with Stainless Steel Brakes 14in. slotted
rotors and Force 10-4-piston calipers at each wheel to increase stopping
power.
Inside the
cabin, a set of more comfortable and supportive Katzkin butter soft leather
bucket seats were installed. These seats also match the color scheme of
the Rumble Bee with black suede inserts and blue leather sides. Finally,
a beautiful Woodview brushed aluminum interior trim kit was installed
and finishing the work at Mike Face’s shop.
It was now
time to drive the Rumble Bee over to Hotchkis Performance for a lowering
and strengthening of the suspension system underpinning the Ram. Hotchkis
Performance is one of the best companies to call when upgrading your suspension
system for better handling and performance whether it is for your car
or truck, new or classic.
The Hotchkis
Performance Total Vehicle System kit was specifically designed for the
new Ram and includes, up front, new coil springs, custom valved Bilstein
gas shocks, new bump stops and stabilizer bar. The rear kit consists of
new leaf springs, custom valved Bilstein gas shocks, new bump stops and
new stabilizer bar.
Before work
began the Rumble Bee was fitted with 4-stunning Oasis Alloy Wheels ‘M1’
model, 5-spoke, 24X10in. chrome wheels. Big B.F. Goodrich G Force P305/35ZR24in
high-performance tires wrap around the Oasis wheels and are a perfect
match for the Hotchkis Performance tuned suspension.
The final
stop for the Rumble Bee was Kenne Bell Superchargers to be fitted with
a pair of Doug’s custom headers, Doug’s custom dual cat-back
exhaust system, with dual 1971 Charger exhaust tips, a set of 16 Denso
Iridium spark plugs, a more powerful Optima battery, a Kenne Bell Optimizer
II electronic high-performance engine management system, a Kenne Bell
Boost-A-Pump, a Kenne Bell AirForce Induction system, and a 2.2liter Blowzilla
twin screw Kenne Bell supercharger/intercooler that is specifically designed
for the new Chrysler 5.7liter Hemi V8 engine.
Kenne Bell
has a legendary reputation over the past 30+ years by offering the highest
quality and very powerful billet aluminum twin-screw superchargers for
your new or classic car or truck. Jim Bell told me that the Rumble Bee
should be rated 500+hp with the supercharger.
