Born into the automotive world, Timothy LaJoice’s dream as a kid was to build a Dodge Demon. This dream would come true in 2000 when he spent 400 dollars on the 1971 Dodge Demon pictured. Of course, it didn’t look as spectacular as it does now, when he first picked it up. At the time of purchase, this was an all-original Demon with a slant six supercharger, Cragar wheels, column shift, and a bench seat. It was painted an “ugly forest green,” LaJoice recalled.

It would take nine years to turn it into what you see today. It was tubbed in 2001 but sat for eight years before it was fired. It would sit another five years until a work accident motivated LaJoice to finish it. In 2014, the Demon came to life again. “A long, hard trip it’s been. It did a lot of sitting. I made it a full box tube chassis, because the frame was rotten. It’s got a Checkered Racing Chassis under it,” he shares.

Early on, LaJoice was doing everything himself in a gravel driveway in Maryland. But over the years of the car sitting and working to get it going, LaJoice came across an array of people who would help make his dream come true, including Troy Wilson of Wilson’s Chassis Shop in Mooresville, North Carolina, Ed Connell, Bradley Gray of Blown Mafia, Bill Maus, Rod Bellini, and Steve Yates. The Pro Street Era group on Facebook also was pivotal to assisting his progress.

Today, this Demon has a big-block Chevrolet topped with a Weiand 6:71 supercharger for power, with a Turbo 400. The car has yet to make a pass with this new setup but LaJoice says, “if it could be a 9-second street car, I’d be happy.”

He hopes to attend events such as Street Machine Nationals, Columbus Goodguys, and some Super Chevy events in the upcoming year. “You don’t see Demons anywhere. If you do, they’re not done like mine. And I like being different,”LaJoice commented. “I drive her a lot. I really enjoy my car.”

Through several years of trials and tribulations, with the help of many good people, Timothy LaJoice was able to bring his childhood dream to life: to build a radical Demon. “Never give up on a dream,” he says, “because you never know where that dream might take you.”