Eric knew the car was pretty special and wanted it to look the part. The 300 was taken to Jim Mills Lincoln-Mercury in Ridgeway, Virginia, where the factory silver paint was masked off to receive a two-tone paint job. DuPont Graphite paint was sprayed on top and the color transition was separated by a Hemi Orange, 1/4-inch pinstripe.
The car made a positive impact on Arrington's new direction and proves that a high-end engine builder can build a fantastic street machine. "Until recently, we were held back by tuning software and not the engine design, but the aftermarket has figured things out. Now we're able to make these combinations work," he says. The setup has made the car stand apart and helped bring the late model Hemi and LX platform into the spotlight.
Fast Facts
'06 Chrysler 300 SRT-8
Owned by: Eric Hruza Martinsville, Virginia
The 426 Hemi package from...
The 426 Hemi package from Arrington Engines turns a mild street car into a wild, world-class performer.
Mopar Power
Engine: The factory 6.1-liter block has swollen to 7.0 liters thanks to the gang at Arrington Engines. The 426ci displacement comes from a 4.080-inch bore and 4.080-inch stroke. Arrington makes their own forged aluminum pistons and sourced their K-1 forged rods and crankshaft from Carrillo. Final Compression is 10.3:1. The camshaft is a custom grind from Arrington with 227-degree intake, 233-degree exhaust duration, and .607-inch intake and exhaust lift all on a 116-degree lobe separation. Along with the cam, the supporting modifications to the valvetrain were made that include pushrods, valvesprings, valveguide seals, and locators. The path the air travels to make it into this big-cube monster starts at the Arrington cold air intake and into a 90mm Billet throttle body. It then finds its way into the Arrington-ported SRT-8 intake manifold and into their Stage-4-ported cylinder heads with 2.07-inch intake and 1.57-inch exhaust valves.
Exhaust: Kooks stainless headers with high-flow cats scavenge the exhaust as it makes its way into a Corsa Sport exhaust system.
Transmission: For now, the transmission is stock. The next item on the list is a fully built transmission from Southern Hot Rod. Eric still hasn't decided what stall speed to go with on his converter.Rearend: Bone Stock
Sure Grip
Suspension: A full Pedders Track II suspension package was installed. It includes a pair of adjustable front and rear sway bars and replaces the factory shocks with Pedders GSR shocks. Every bushing has also been replaced with polyurethane for its increased rigidity and performance. Polishing things off are coil springs that lower the SRT-8 approximately 2 inches.
Brakes: The factory Brembo brakes are "phenomenal" and provide more than enough stopping power, even with the scale tipping 4,200 pounds. He upgraded to the newer '07-up slotted SRT-8 Brembo rotors.
Wheels & Tires: Eric prefers the looks of the factory SRT-8 wheels on the original rubber.
High Impact
Paint: The 300 was taken to Jim Mills Lincoln-Mercury to receive some new color. The color scheme was chosen to be classy and clean as the factory Bright Silver Metallic paint was taped off so that the top half of the body could be painted in DuPont Graphite paint. Once the tape was pulled off, a 1/4-inch Hemi Orange pinstripe was applied to the color transition point.
Interior: The factory interior was given the spa treatment as the roof was cut open and filled in with a Classic Design Concepts Glassback roof. The sunroof offers a clear view of the sky as you drive while not dramatically affecting interior heat.