WELCOME TO THE JUDGE DREDD PROJECT...
March 6, 2009...
I've been driving around for a couple of weeks now without the spoiler and I'm loving it! I've also put new rubber on the goat... Nitto DR555's.
Judge Dredd is now spoilerless. I decided to try the new look and removed the spoiler, via spoiler delete. I plug the holes using one 3/4 inch nylon plug and four 3/8 inch nylon plug from Home Depot. I painted them to match the car and clear coated them. The spoiler holes were oblong but I fixed that with my trusty Dremel tool. Can't beat a few seconds with a grinding tool at 15,000 rpm. I put clear silicone on the plug and popped them into the holes, sealing the backs with more silicone. Only the 3/4 inch plug is actually open to the trunk but it is perfectly sealed. The other holes are outside the trunk seal, in the trunk drainage area.
When the car is properly washed, I'll post up some pictures.
November 1, 2008...
The Judge went in for some diagonstic work in September; transmission check, suspension adjustment, and upgraded brakes. The Judge is now stable as a rock and now sports the LS2 GTO front calipers with the DBA 6X6 Wiper Slot front GTO rotors. The Judge is ready to rock and roll! Pictures below!
On display at the City of Bellflower Car Show (pictured above)
Picked up Dredd last night, May 14, 2008 and it's running like a champ!
Feb. 7, 2008...
Well the Judge has a blown #7 piston. The OEM crap finally decided to give up the ghost. Pics below...
April 03, 2008...
Now for the good news...
The heads were not damaged but we found out the block was. Now we're going with forged pistons and a brand new block. The engine rebuilders today in Palm Springs are preparing the new block at this time. The block should be back in the Judge by this weekend.
More About Judge Dredd...
Judge Dredd is a 2004 Pontiac GTO Automatic 4 Speed Coupe and is a totally NA (natural aspirated) vehicle. The Judge is currently putting down 435 rwhp & 409 rwtq and is capable of speeds in excess of 180 mph.
From this...
350 hp & 366 tq (both at the crank)
300 hp & 333 tq (dynoed at the wheels)
To this...
435 hp & 409 tq AT THE WHEELS!
For general interest, I've started a Cardomain group... GTO - New Age Muscle ...for you new GTO owners who want more out of your goat! You can find it here... GTO - New Age Muscle
BE SURE to check out my recommended Greatest Drivin Hits of All Time on Page 4!
Proudly sponsored by Haddad Motorsports in Inglewood CA.
Hood by AED Central in Oceanside CA.
Engine Work by Haddad Motorsports in Inglewood CA.
Suspension by Pedders (GTO Track II with drop)
Suspension installed by Haddad Motorsports in Inglewood CA.
Paint by Star Paint & Body in Azusa CA.
Current mods as of February 4th, 2009...
Advanced Engineering Design Hood
Custom True Cold Air Intake
FAST 90 Ported Intake
LS1 90mm ported TB (Nick Williams)
#42 Balanced Injectors
AFR 205cc Mongoose heads decked to 62 cc's
Comp Cam (.228/.232 114 .588 in .591 out) & Valve Train
SLP Double Roller Timing Set
SLP Underdrive Pulley
SLP High Volume Oil Pump
Forged Lifters
Forged Rods
Forged Pistons w/new block
NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
Kooks Stainless Long Tube Headers
Kooks Highflow Cats
Vigilante 3 disk 2800 Stall Torque Converter
MagnaFlow Catback
Pedders GTO Track II Suspension with 1 inch drop
BMR Color Matched Strut Tower Braces
Rolled Fenders
B&M SuperCooler - Transmission (29,200 BTU)
LS2 GTO Brake Calipers
DBA Wiper Rotors
Retuned by George with HP Tuners
and other little goodies and now SPOILERLESS!!!
January 16, 2008...
Well since we stepped the torque converter to lock at 104 mph, that puts a lot of heat through the tranny. Took the goat back down to Mike Haddad and let him work his magic with installing a B&M transmission SuperCooler. This is the BIG one #70274 rated at 29,200 BTU!
January 11, 2008...
Went back down to Haddad Motorsports so Mike could check/adjust the valve train and check the overall condition of the engine. It's been one year since the engine was rebuilt. The valves checked out to spec and Steve measured the push rods. Everything was tight and looking as brand new!
Mike put the Judge on the Dyno to see where we were at. Last year the Judge ran at 421 rwhp & 400 rwtrq. This was with the original Pacesetter longtube headers, no cats, and the Flowmaster super 40 catback. Right after that, Mike switched out the exhaust system with 1 7/8 in. Kooks longtube stainless headers, hi-flow cats, and the Magnaflow catback, plus the Vilgilante 3 disc torqe converter was also added.
We originally thought it might be an even exchange to maintain the horsepower... we were wrong.
First pull and George measured 404 rwhp and second pull measured 414 rwhp. Mike and George entered a discussion of locking the torque converter at higher rpms.
George worked his magic and adjusted the engine to lock the TC at 104 mph. George dynoed the Judge again... took one look at the computer and cut loose with a few choice words. He called me over and said look at the numbers... I said Holy Shit!
The Judge pulled 437 rwhp & 410 rwtq!!!
Mike Haddad was astonished when he saw the numbers! George and I talked and agreed to settle on 435 rwhp & 409 rwtq to avoid any lame comments! A large transmission cooler will be installed this week to prevent any overheating problems. George and I talked it over and dumbed the numbers down to 435 rwhp & 409 rwtq just to defuse any haters. LOL!!!
At 104 mph, the torque converter locks and the Judge becomes a rocket like you wouldn't believe!!!
November 21, 2007...
The Pedders GTO Track II suspension is a blast! The Judge is riding really low and has a very impressive stance now!!! Thanks to Mike at Haddad Motorsports for fixing the minor tire rub issue.
He rolled the front fenders and did a slight roll on the rear fenders to avoid any problems. The goat drives like a dream! No rub nor could we get it rub under any driving condition! Check out page 5!
I also started using the System One Polishing System. Fantastic Stuff!
Cruisin for a Cure was a blast this year... even with two brief periods of rain! Check out page 6 for pictures of the Judge at Cruisin for a Cure 2007!
On a personal note... congratulations to my son! He graduated from the military's EOD School (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) on July 2nd, 2007. Only 30% of each class graduate so that's quite an accomplishment! We know he'll be going back to Iraq for his third tour to save lives. I'm proud of him, knowing he has chosen to go into harm's way to protect the innocent and our own! Way to go Stephen! You do me proud!!! We still have that grudge race when you hit California. Dad will go easy on ya!
GTO Rally at Sonic's in Anaheim, CA
Welcome to the Judge Dredd Project of which the first stage is complete.
First...
Some eye-candy...
WHAT IS THE JUDGE DREDD PROJECT?
This is a project car with the ultimate goal of making this goat a 200 mph streetable, daily driver car running on pump gas.
The LS1 engine is to be modded to squeeze out the most power and keep it naturally aspirated until it's turboed. The ultimate goal being to take her to the Silver State challenge (www.openroadracing.com) and being the first goat to join the 200+ mph club on the full course (130 miles), my shop guru feels the first stage will be to beef up the engine and keep it NA, focusing on putting as much horse power to the wheels as possible. We tried to keep it smog legal in Kalifornia.
The goat went into the shop on December 26, 2006 and was completed on February 8th, 2007.
The numbers are impressive for a stock LS1 GTO A4 with 58,000 miles on it. I had the goat dynoed when I first bought it and it was putting down almost 300 rwhp & 333 rwtq.
The final numbers for the rebuild are 421 rwhp & 400 rwtq. That's a gain of 121 horses and 70 lb/ft torque.
Judge Dredd is absolutely awesome now!
Here's a short blog of what has occurred when the Judge went into the shop for the rebuild. Images are further down.
March 30th, 2007...
Received my FIRST speeding ticket in the Judge at 5 am this morning north bound on the Hollywood Freeway (101) at Rampart.
69 in a 65 mph speed zone!
Ya gotta love it! I was trying to see if I could increase my gas mileage by keeping the Judge between 65 & 70 mph in the #2 and I was doing quite well! CHP got on at Rampart and sat 2 car lengths behind me in the #3 lane. Traffic was passing both of us. I looked down at the speedo... 70 mph and looked back at the CHP. He had moved to my six... cherries came on!
I took the next exit and pulled on the side street with the engine running and lowered the driver's window with the interior lights on. He walked up with his flashlight, checked the front of the vehicle for a plate, and then asked me to raise my drivers window all the way up. He motioned for me to lower it and said... "I thought you had tinted front windows but I guess it was the back windows that made it look that way (I wasn't going to argue the point! LOL!!). Do you know what the speed limit is?"
I look at him and said 65. He told me it was 55 mph thru the downtown area. I was dumbfounded! I said... "55? I always thought it was 65!" He said no and asked for my license, registration, insurance and could I please turn the engine off. I complied and he finally came back and said' "I'm giving you a break and only citing you for 69 mph. I was thinking that only 14 over the alleged speedlimit. He then proceeded to ask me how I liked the GTO. I told him I loved it and drove it like an old fart! I signed the ticket and turned around to get back on the freeway. He blasted by me on the on-ramp and by the time I got on the freeway, he had his lights on and was pulling another vehicle over.
When I got to work, he had written the ticket for 69 in a 65 mph zone! LOL!
Incidently, I did some research this morning for exhaust systems and VC 27150 states that exhaust noise levels cannot exceed 95 db as tested per method 1159. There is also no perceived 5 mph tolerance zone by the courts in California so they can cite you for 1 mph over the limit and make it stick.
Already talked to my insurance agent (we're cool with each other) and I'll elect to take traffic school even though the CHP officer stated I didn't have to. Next Monday morning, I'm gonna look for 55 mph signs on the 101 north bound! LOL!
March 26th, 2007...
Still learning to drive the beast! Have gotten the gas mileage up to 19.7 mpg by teaching the computer how I drive. The car is strong and can easily spin rubber at 30 mph in third gear! Dredd purrs like a kitten until WOT... then he roars to life!
March 3rd, 2007...
Cold start idle issue has been addressed and the goat is a rocket! I've removed the "GTO" banner from the windshield as I now believe the goat looks better in red and black without the offsetting of the white GTO letters. The Magnaflow sounds much better now that I'm getting use to it... much better than the Flowmaster Super 40's as they were just too loud! I'm getting use to driving with the torque converter and this sucker will drop into 3rd gear and spool the engine up at 80 mph! It really screams when I do that!
Feb. 18th, 2007...
I picked up Judge Dredd last night and a couple of minor issues have to be resolved (air conditioner and cold start idles) but they can be done at a later date. The Judge sounds good with the Magnaflows!
Feb. 8th, 2007...
I drove Judge Dredd tonight and all I can say is...
Holy Shit!!!!
Mike (Haddad Motorsports) told me to take the goat for a spin around the block so he and I went for a ride. Pulled up to a stopsign and Mike says punch it. I'm in third and I spun halfway thru the intersection before I wisely let off the gas! The Vigilante torque converter has made a world of difference with making the car driveable and having power at low rpms like you wouldn't believe!
The Judge is almost done now and Mike has a few finishing touches to do (don't forget to recharge the ac Mike! LOL!). I'm having him switch the Flowmasters (still too loud) to Magnaflows.
The first stage of the project is finished. We've installed a special order 3 disk Vilgilante 2800 stall Torque Converter direct from Precision Industries.
The torque converter makes the Judge even quicker than before right off the line! One last time on the dyno and one last tune-up and the goat will be home! The goat's estimated speed by the experts after the engine build should be 180 mph. I'm NOT going to test it around Los Angeles!
Here's the information on my custom cold air intake:
If you're wondering why I don't have a "CAI"... I do! The hood itself IS the CAI and feeds the engine directly through the hood intakes. I'm not feeding air from inside the engine bay or from inside my wheel well. My air comes straight from outside the car making it a better "CAI" than those pretty chrome intakes sitting inside an engine bay! LOL!
Here are the dyno sheet scans...
Here's a shot of the engine with the lifters being pulled...
Here's a few of the parts that are going into the goat...
Mike Haddad of Haddad Motorsports of Inglewood, CA performed the LS1 conversion work.
A BIG thanks to Mike Haddad for taking on this project as he also has an motor and vehicle he's working on for the Silver State Challenge!
This goat with Red exterior/Red interior is 1 of only 499 produced.
Recently added tint!
The new hood from AED Central is on AND painted!
Check it out below
Fully functional scoops with a snorkel feed thru the standard air box!
The engine gets REAL lively above 60 mph!
And this is what it looks like painted!
Dyno results... all stock
New rims and tires!
Stylish and very agressive in looks! It's the best from AED Central!
New gage pods for the GTO from AED Central! These can be finished to suit your own personal taste. I've finished these to match the dash and stock gages.
They will become fully functional in the future.
The old Flowmaster Cat-back Exhaust system with two Super 40 Flowmaster mufflers since replaced with the Magnaflow catback with 2.50 inch mandrel bent piping. Flowmasters add a very awesome, strong muscle sound to the car where the Magnaflows make the car a sound a bit more exotic! I've since removed the Flowmasters since they made the vehicle sound like NASCAR with the engine rebuild. The Magnaflows reduced the exhaust sounds to an acceptable level while retaining an awesome muscle sound... until I go WOT! Then I'm in TROUBLE!!!
I had this vehicle on special order for more than a year!
The red leather interior sets off the bright red of the exterior color.
Couple all the red with the red instrument panel and a theme is set
Three goats were leading the pack! That's Castaic Lake in the background.
Cruising into Palmdale and on the approach image I'm flying by the lead vehicle at 120 mph.
