If you pay any attention to the results of the annual Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge automotive festival, you are likely familiar with Morgan Evans and her 1978 Dodge D150. Evans and her Hurricane I6-powered D150 have won the Hurricane Grudge Match each of the past two years, but she didn’t just build this truck for Roadkill Nights. She has been racing this truck at a variety of events, making tuning adjustments and progressively getting quicker – leading to a current personal best and a Hurricane-powered world record of 9.39 in the quarter mile.
The previous world record Hurricane racer was Allison Kovalik, who competed in the 2024 Hurricane Grudge Match with her 1999 Dodge Dakota. During Sick Week earlier this year, she ran a 9.988 at 132 to become the first person to put a Hurricane-powered vehicle into the 9-second quarter mile range. With the 9.39, Morgan Evans smashed that previous record, and she expects to go even faster with more seat time.
“We are for sure looking at the possibility of going 8’s. Given that I ran that 9.39 in the worst air, peak of Florida summer and it was my first attempt, I think there’s more on the table as is. We may try to turn the truck up a little more as well. The thing we’ll be fighting is the shape of the truck, it’s not exactly aerodynamic,” joked Evans. “But it’s working well and that was a smooth easy pass so I’m hopeful it’ll happen this season.”
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Morgan Evans 1978 Dodge D150, the details make her 9.39 even that much more impressive. The 3.0-liter Hurricane High Output engine is completely stock from intake manifold to the oil pan, with the only changes to the powerplant being a custom exhaust manifold that allowed them to switch from the twin factory turbochargers to a big single from Precision Turbo.
There is also a MoTec standalone engine controller, a larger custom intercooler and some fuel system upgrades that are required to feed the boosted I6 when it is making more than 800 wheel horsepower. That power is sent to the wheels by means of a factory ZF 8-speed automatic transmission that is stock internally but it does feature a Circle D Specialties torque converter that allows this truck to launch with lots more boost. The differential is a Moser Engineering Mopar 8 ¾.
While there have only been a few key changes to the engine and transmission, there are some pretty significant upgrades to make use of that power and to make this 1978 half-ton pickup safer for Morgan Evans. The suspension setup consists of Viking coilovers up front and Calvert Racing split mono-leaf springs with Caltracs in the rear. The brakes are from Wilwood and Mickey Thompson rubber wrapped around Keizer wheels provide the grip needed to run in the low 9s.
Inside, this 1978 Dodge D150 features a safety cage, JEGs racing bucket seats, JEGS safety harnesses and an AEM digital dashboard. They also made a custom shifter console on the floor, complete with cup holders for those long Drag and Drive events.
Below, we have included video of her 9.39 run from the Torque N Tungsten YouTube channel, so crank up your speakers and enjoy!
Patrick Rall is a professional writer and photographer with a passion for all things automotive. Having grown up in his father’s performance shop, he spent extensive time at the oval track and drag strip – both driving and wrenching on various types of vehicles. In addition to working as a writer, Patrick previously worked as an automotive technician before moving on to a business office position with a chain of dealerships, and this broad spectrum of experience in the industry allows him to offer a unique look on the automotive world. Follow Patrick on Twitter, Facebook and on Youtube.
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