The high-revving, small block A-body might’ve been one of Mopar’s greatest moments. If all you’ve ever piloted is a big block B-body, then the thrill of thrashing a 340 needs to be added to your bucket list. Without a doubt, 440s are fun; small blocks are just a different flavor of gasoline-fed forcefulness.

That statement is true in stock form but, when heavily modified, can become another conversation entirely. Hughes Engines does everything from mild to wild small blocks and Ron Gable’s 1971 Dodge Demon definitely tips the scales on the rowdy side.

Motivated by a 360 small block with a Hughes hydraulic roller cam, Ron’s blue devil looks to be all manner of maniacal judging by the jolt off the starting line. The build sheet is surprisingly simple, yet carefully-curated:

Ron Gable uses the Hughes HER3642ALN-8 cam in his 1971 Dodge Demon. The car weighs 3,030 lbs. It is a stock stroke 360 [and] uses Scat rods and Dimaond pistons. The heads are INDY “X” heads with the Hughes 1555 rockers. It is all fed by an Edelbrock AirGap intake and an 830cfm AED carb. [The transmission] is a 904 ATI Treemaster with a 2.75 low gear. 8-3/4 rear gear with 4.30 gears turning 30X9 tires. Ron runs 10.95 @ 121mph.