Form Meets Function

UILDING A CUSTOM TRUCK IS ALL ABOUT ACHIEVING A BALANCE BETWEEN FORM AND FUNCTION. Not all trucks will have a 50/50 split as some will lean more one way or the other, but when it comes to building the ultimate useable shop truck, it’s got to favor function.

For Murray Pfaff, owner and head of Pfaff Designs, building his ultimate shop truck was not only about crafting something that he could be proud to drive and show, but also about building a reliable work rig that could clock some serious miles and still represent Pfaff Designs in the proper light. So he turned to the ’14 RAM Express 1500 as his starting platform. The RAM Express is essentially a consumer version of Chrysler’s bare bones ½-ton work truck, still sporting the 5.7L Hemi V-8 under the hood and a Sure Grip rearend, giving Murray plenty to work with.

Murray wanted to take full advantage of and improve upon what the truck already had to offer so he had the stock Hemi V-8 fitted with a Magnuson supercharger—which runs on about 7 pounds of boost regularly— as well as a K&N 63 series cold air intake, a JMS Chip & Performance PedalMAX module—which aims to improve throttle response and driving characteristics, and a Magnaflow cat-back exhaust. With this setup, the truck dubbed the “Draggin’ Wagon” (as a play on words with the “Power Wagon” for its now stoplight-to-stoplight prowess) produces right above 530 hp and 520 lb-ft of torque.

With the Sure Grip rearend already acting as a hefty platform for the truck’s chassis and suspension systems, upgrades like Belltech drop coil springs, Hellwig sway bars and Belltech control arms are right in stride, giving the RAM a better center of gravity to help take advantage of all that power. Wheels on the truck are custom-painted 20- and 22-inch Forgeline GA3Cs wrapped in Toyo Proxes II tires, with braking power coming from a stock caliper/BDS rotors/EBC Orange Stuff brake pads combination.

Aiming for the outward appearance of the truck to be just as top-notch as its performance, Murray relied on his own design skills for custom components like a hood with a custom intake duct and heat extractor, custom front and rear bumpers and custom front brake ducts. The truck also boasts features like a bed extender from AMP Research, molded tailgate seating from TaleGator and custom smoked and blacked-out lighting features from The Lighting Firm. Topping off the truck is a custom RAM Granite Metallic Gray, Mercedes Polarweisse, Angry Banana Pearl Yellow and SEM Hot Rod Black paint scheme with specialty graphics designed by Murray himself. Inside, the truck features custom black leather upholstery with yellow stitching from Alea Leather as well as a fully custom MTX Audio stereo setup.

Heading to a couple of big shows this season before being enlisted full-time as a work truck, the Draggin’ Wagon is certainly a build created with a functional purpose, which still keeps form intact from start to finish.

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TRUCK SPECS

OWNER

Murray Pfaff
2014 RAM Express 1500
Royal Oak, MI
Pfaff Designs

ENGINE

• 5.7L Mopar V-8 Hemi
• K&N 63 series cold air intake
• JMS Chip & Performance PedalMAX
• Magnuson supercharger with 7 pounds of boost
• Magnaflow stainless cat- back exhaust with custom 5-inch tail pipes from Motofab
• 533 hp, 522 tq
• Sure Grip differential
• Performed by RM Motorsports

SUSPENSION & CHASSIS

• Belltech control arms
• Front Belltech 2-inch drop coil springs
• Rear Belltech 4-inch drop coil springs
• Belltech shocks
• Air Lift QuickSHOT onboard compressor and tank
• Air Lift 1000 air springs.
• Hellwig 7⁄8-inch solid, heat- treated chrome-moly rear sway bar with polyurethane bushings
• Hellwig 1 ½-inch solid, heat- treated chrome-moly front sway bar with polyurethane bushings
• BDS brake rotors with Geomet anti-rust coating
• EBC Orange Stuff full race brake pads
• Drop kit and sway bars installed by Szott M-29 RAM

WHEELS & TIRES

• Forgeline 20-inch (front) and 22-inch (rear) GA3C wheels; custom paint
• 295/45R20 and 305/45R22 Toyo Proxes STIIs

BODY & PAINT

• Hood with custom intake duct and washboard heat extractor
• Custom black-eye brake ducts in front bumper
• Rear bumper cut into 10 pieces and shortened 3 inches; center step flipped upside down; exhaust outlets moved inward 8 inches
• AMP Research bed XTender HD Sport bed extender
• TaleGator tailgate seating
• Line-X color-matched bedliner
• BAK Industries Revolver X2 hard rolling cover
• Custom smoked taillights by The Lighting Firm
• Custom blacked-out headlights with smoked reflector, white daytime running lights and sequential turn signals by The Lighting Firm
• Heise 54-inch curved dual row LED light bar mounted with custom plasma cut ram’s horn mounts by owner
• Hella Rallye 4000-X LEDs
• Heise 42-inch curved dual row LED light bar
• CAD-designed components by Classic Design Concepts
• 3D-printed parts from Synergeering Group
• Custom color-matched “Supercharged by Magnuson” and “Super Bee” cowl emblems
• Shaved RAM 1500 emblems
• Performed by Pfaff Designs
• PPG Enviroborne waterborne paint in RAM Granite Metallic Gray, Mercedes Polarweisse and Angry Banana Pearl Yellow with SEM Hot Rod Black accents
• Graphics designed and laid out by owner; custom paint stencils by F1 RCLab
• Paint by That’s Minor Customs

INTERIOR & STEREO

• Black leather upholstery with Victorino pattern and yellow contrast stitching
• Yellow color-matched radio bezel
• Upholstery by Alea Leather
• Stock stereo head unit
• MTX Audio Thunder 693 6×9-inch three- way 100W RMS 4-ohm speakers
• XThunder 800.5 800W RMS five-channel full-range Class D amplifier
• Thunderform dual 10-inch 200W RMS vehicle-specific subwoofers in a custom enclosure
• Stereo system installed by Joey Holyfield of RM Motorsports

SPECIAL THANKS FROM THE OWNER: Frank Maiorano, Joe Holyfield, Steve Germond, Ernie Miyamoto, Scott Conley, John Mijal, Tony G, Mike Brimm, Troy Whyte, Steve Langdon, Jeff Schneider, Nick Stewart and Tom Stark.

SPONSORS: Air Lift, Alea Leather, AMP Research, AMSOIL, BAK Industries, Belltech, Classic Design Concepts, Discount Tire, EBC Brakes, EBR Motorcycles, F1 RClab, Forgeline, Hella Lighting, Hellwig, JMS Chip, K&N Filters, Kleinn Automotive Air Horns, The Lighting Firm, Line-X, Magnaflow, Magnuson Superchargers, Metra/Heise, Mother’s Polishes, Motofab, MTX Audio, Norton, Pilot Transport, PPG Automotive Refinish, RM Motorsports, SEM, Synergeering Group, Szott M-59, Dodge Ram SRT, Tale Gator, That’s Minor Customs, Toyo Tires and TredWear.

BUILD TEAM: “Murray Pfaff, Frank Maiorano, Scott Conly, John “Airplay” Mijal, Tony G, Mike Brimm, Steve Germond, Joe Holyfield, Troy Whyte, Ernie Miyamoto, Steve Langdon, Jeff Schneider, Nick Stewart and Tom Stark.”

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