Links Member Rigs About Us Bylaws TLCA Info

Darrel & Phyllis Poulter's 1971 FJ40 "BAD DAWG"

Engine Specification: 540 c.i "Chevy". Custom Merlin block, Brodex -2 aluminum heads, Brodex intake, custom carb wedge plate, custom Holley Dominator 1275cfm carb, MSD 7AL-2 racing ignition, MSD billet distributor, MSD racing coil, MSD flying magnet crank trigger, Keith Black gear drive, CSI electric water pump, Barry Grant 400gpm electric fuel pump, Dennis Blackstone custom headers. Dyno'd at the "Dyno Shop at 831HP and 725ft.lbs. of torque.

Transmission: "Brent McKenney" custom built T-400 automatic tranny. "Grinner" tranny brake. 4600 RPM stall torque converter. NP-205 transfer case. "B&M Quick Silver" reverse pattern ratchet shifter. Torque converter scatter shield. ¼" aluminum tranny scatter shield.

Body Modifications: In 1996 the body was media blasted to remove the 3-5 coats of paint. All emblems, light holes, etc., were patched and filled. The front end was removed and replaced with a full forward tilt "Malotte" fiberglass front end with custom raised cowling intake. The dash was gutted and covered with aluminum. The "VDO" gage cluster is all that is on the dash now. An "Auto Meter" Monster 5" tach w/shift light sits on top the dash in front of the driver's seat where the window used to be. A bright blue 6 point full roll cage built by Qualifab protects the driver who is held in the racing seat by the five-point Simpson harness.

Suspension Upgrades/Changes: "Warn" Birfield Eliminator front axle kit w/ Auburn limited slip. Spring over axle conversion, "Rancho" springs. Custom "Currie" Heavy Duty 9" axle housing, axles and disk brakes, 4:86 gears in rear. 4:11gears in front. Custom drive shafts and safety hoops. "Competition Engineering" ladder bars. "Competition Engineering" wheelie bars. Rancho 9000 shocks at all four corners. AGR Power steering was added this past winter along with reversing the shackles and front springs to gain another 6 inches of wheel length.

History: Was bought bone stock for $700 in 1988 with a froze up engine and was very soon converted to a 350 V8 with a T-350 automatic tranny running through the NP205 transfer case. A Ford 9" limited slip rear end was chosen to replace the off center Toyota rear. The spring over conversion was done the same time the drive train was done. In 1991 Moffitt & Bratton in Boise, Idaho built the first serious race engine for us. It is a four bolt main, 383 c.i. stroker engine putting out approximately 600hp. In 1997 the hunger for more horsepower overtook us and we had Moffitt & Bratton build us the big block. The 454 proved to be way too much horsepower for the built up T-350 transmission so we bit the bullet and had the T-400 built for us. The added horsepower also was too much for the rear end that caused us to replace it with the Currie 9" as well as the Warn front axles and Auburn unit. New 540c.i. engine built in 2002.

Interesting Facts:

• BAD DAWG is used strictly for racing Sand/Dirt drags and Mud Bogs.
• Both Phyllis and Darrel race BAD DAWG
• Best time for dirt drags so far: 100 yards in 4.50 sec.
• Cost of first race engine (383 stroker): $5500+
• Cost of JAKE (454 engine) to this point: $15,000+
• Cost of New Jake (540 engine) $20,000
• Cost of drive train: $6000+
• Value of rig: $40,000 +/- $5.00
• The Dawg uses between 1 - 2 gallons of C-14 racing fuel for each pass.
• BAD DAWG survived a 25 foot flying leap over a roundy-round circle track at the end of one of our dirt drag tracks by Phyllis as she made an unexpected right turn at the end of her run. Phyllis ran up the banked circle track, flew over the track and landed on the infield, knocking her helmet off as she made a four-point landing. Phyllis’s pilots license has sense been revoked

Special Thanks to: Moffitt & Bratton Racing Enterprises, Jim's Drive Line Specialties, Buck's 4x4, The Dyno Shop and Valley Auto Body