It’s that time again folks to honor one of our members with the Prestigious NHTOC TOTM award….and IMO was it worth the day delay! So without further adieu, this month’s winner is Ronnie “RCain” Cain, member #280 and his Awe Inspiring 2000 HD build # 736! If you have been around here for a while then you are familiar with the Full Tube Chassis Race Truck thread here on NTHOC. Ronnie has been teasing us with his tantalizing build up over two years in the making. Old # 736 never knew what was in store for her the day she rolled off the line, but one thing is for sure, she found her way into Ronnie’s Hands and the transformation began. As said, a metamorphosis over two years in the making, which took her from her mild guise of regular old 2000 HD to that of an all out 25.1E certified Full Tube Chassis Race Truck with a destiny by both truck and owner to be the world’s fastest HD TRUCK. Ronnie is a man of few words….but hell when you have a truck like his, he doesn’t need to do any talking!!!!! The only words that came to mind, while watching this evolution over the years, have been Awesome Attention to Detail, No stone left unturned and rightly so; especially when building a truck of this caliber…….After this beast gets dialed in…stand by for a draw dropping time coming to a Strip near you!!
Good luck Ronnie, in achieving your goal !
Now onto the good stuff!
Question # 1: What sparked your interests in the Harley trucks? Specifically your HD Truck?
I have ridden Harley Davidson motorcycles since age 13. My first was a 1951 Panhead with friction clutch. My latest is a 2006 Fatboy Screamin Eagle with a 120 inch Jim’s Motor and Baker 6 speed. I can’t leave anything stock. I saw the 2000 Harley truck in Sturgis, S.D. and had to have one.
Question # 2: Any interesting stories behind the history of vehicles you've owned leading up to the HD truck or how you got it?
I literally built my first car out of a basket. It was a 1955 Ford with all one off custom parts…no speed equipment unless you made it. It had a set of custom headers fashioned from vacuum cleaner pipes with driveshaft tubes for tailpipes. It was LOUD. My Mom would get complaints from the neighbors that I had “rolled them out of bed” when I came home last night.
Question # 3: Give me a rough list of the mods that have been done to your truck. I know you've got a lot done, so you can just list your favorites if you'd like!
When I first bought the 2000 it was a naturally aspirated slug. I was really disappointed in its performance as better power was available from Ford. I started looking for performance parts but didn’t find many…devalue all over again. The first mod was a Supercharger kit from Holley…the Holley Thunder ..good for about 6 lbs. of boost. I found some shorty headers, a 4.10 gear, and cold air kit.
Then the truck morphed into a one of a kind all out race truck. Mods include a Ford GT Supercar motor prepped by Johnny Lightning Performance, 25.e1 Chromalloy chassis NHRA certified. 5 speed Lenco air shift trans. Ram clutch, Racepak data recorder, Bigstuff3. Many more one off custom built parts custom fabricated by Richard and Jake Boling of Richard Boling Racecars in Seymour, Tn.
Question # 4: Tell us a little about yourself. Your other hobbies, your job, your favorite past time, whatever!
I’m a worn out old Peterbilt Truck peddler..LOL.I worked for a Peterbilt truck Dealer for 20 years and owned Peterbilt dealerships for the past ten years. My hobbies include R/C cars, boats and planes.
My greatest passion is drag racing. We currently race the NMRA Truck and Lightning class and have finished in the top ten the past two years. My brother Craig drives the truck, my brother Neil is crew chief and my two sisters Pam and Sereta keep us all grounded. We have raced IHRA in the past and hope to return.
Question # 5: You've been a member on the site for a while now, what is one of the best things you like about the site that keeps you around?
I love the interaction with other members…nobody knows it all and education is readily available on the forums.
Question # 6: What is one suggestion to help make the site a better place?
You guys have nailed it.
Question # 7:This is where I normally ask about where you decided on your screen name and any specific reason for choosing it?
Not really just my name and 01.
Question # 8: Almost at the end, what is in the future for your truck?, so what’s the next web site link, a plug for something, etc. etc. whatever you want to throw in!
We are currently refining our engine program, taking baby steps and trying to get our combination worked out to be able to make an attempt at becoming “The World’s Fastest Harley Davidson Pro Truck.
Question #9 Last and final question, just an open end question for if you had anything else you wanted to mention that I didn’t have a question for.
I would like this opportunity to give a personal thank you to all the people that have been involved in this project.
Richard and Jake Boling RBRC Racecars, Johnny Lightning, Mylon Keasler, Leo and John Meaney,, Todd Paton, Bart Toebner, Shane Cannon, Bob Kurgan, Tim Matherly, Lisa Matherly, and Rick Hickman. I know that I may have left important people out due to the CRS syndrome and for that I apologize.