It's 1999 and I'm looking for a new truck. Wanted a Ram, but it was priced out of my range. Not only that, the turning radius sucked. Took a test drive in a new Black 99 5.2 sport (see pic below). Felt good right from the start. Enjoyed the rounded body lines and distinct rounded front end. Took it home that afternoon. First on the list was lowering it and getting a set of wheels. Later came custom paint and performance parts. With SoCal Dakota (no flaming please) just down the street, I was invited to attend some beach parties on Fiesta island in San Diego. It's there I met many other cool Dak owners. Then winter of 2008, A fire hydrant jumped out in front on me as I was accelerating uphill in the rain with a perky 5.2 motor and Detroit locker in the rear. My other woman was totaled out. Stripped her of all the performance parts for the next woman.
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Fast forward to summer of 2009 and I take the totaled check and bought a 1998 R/T (see pic below). Took the go fast parts from the other truck and bolted them on the 5.9 motor. I kinda like the look of the OEM wheels, so I left them on. Donned the truck with a cowl hood, and an Innovations tonneau cover. Those two pieces alone added a ton of personality to the truck. The drivetrain currently has the usual "go fast" parts that include an Saine 2800 converter, 4:56 gears bolted on a Detroit TrueTrac dif. Motor is maxed out normally aspirated wise, so I decided to go N/A 408. 500 fwhp is the goal. Motor is done, waiting on $$$ for a Saine tranny and 3200/3500 converter.
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That's my spiel on the Black Pearl. Hope I didn't bore you guys. I always hated writing term papers in college. Thanks for listening. Good luck to the other nominees. Remember, bang your head and never lift!