Speakers: Original Ramcharger Team Members
Program Chair: Tom Huppertz/Bill Owen
APRIL 30, 2012
Walter P. Chrysler Museum
1 Chrysler Dr, Auburn Hills
Meet: Dr. Mircea Gradu, Vice President & Head of Transmission, Powertrain & Driveline Engineering, Chrysler LLC – 2010-2012 Vice President of SAE Int. Automotive Sector
Mr. Frank Klegon, 2012 SAE Int. President & President of FOKUS Associates LLC Presentation by: The Original Ramchargers Drag Racing Team.
Speakers: Dave Rockwell, Tom Coddington, Jim Thornton, Mike Buckel “A look inside the original Ramchargers Drag Racing Team.”
The original Ramchargers were a drag racing team made up of Chrysler engineers and technicians that raced during the 1960’s. The Ramchargers were instrumental in the design and development of the 426 cu.in. (7.0L) Chrysler Race Hemi and Street Hemi engines that are still competitive in drag racing today, 48 years after they were first de- signed. They conducted the first scientific study of the use of Nitro Methane as a fuel for Top Fuel and Funny car Drag Racing.
Among their other accomplishments were the application of the ram tuning principle to intake manifold design, the development and first successful competitive use of the automatic transmission in drag racing, and the design and development of a suspension system specifically designed for drag racing that eliminated wheel hop and made the rear of the car rise (known today as the anti-squat principle).
Seventeen Drag Race cars highlighting this technology will be on display in addition to a tour of the Museum