08/19/2026
CUSTOMERS THAT BECOME FRIENDS. 🇺🇸 (READ TO THE END AND SHARE THIS. I PROMISE ITS WORTH IT🤣)
Let me introduce you to my good friends John Placko and his son Ben.
John has a 2006 GTO and came to me wanting a little more power than the factory LS2 could provide. Legend has it his exact words were, “I want to go fast before I die.”
I figured with the right engine, I could probably help him accomplish both if he wasn’t careful. 😂
Now, John is a legend among legends. His alleged accomplishments include:
🏆 3x Chinese Checkers World Champion
🃏 Former Guinness World Record holder for longest continuous game of Uno
🪨 2009 Southeast Regional Rock-Skipping Champion
🎳 Once bowled a perfect 300 using only a 9-pound ball
🇺🇸 Former Captain of the U.S. National Dodgeball Reserve Team
🏎️ Former Semi-Professional Indoor Kart Racer
🌭 Former Georgia State Mustard-Free Hot Dog Eating Record Holder
If even half of that is true, John may be the most interesting man in the world.
Anyway… back to horsepower.
We built John a 402ci, 11:1 monster with about every bell and whistle we could throw at it. His instructions were simple:
“If it makes horsepower… ORDER IT!”
⚙️ Tom Molnar crankshaft & connecting rods
⚙️ Wiseco Performance Products pistons
⚙️ Total Seal Piston Rings piston rings
⚙️ Martin Smallwood Patriot Performance custom camshaft
⚙️ Hoopers Heads Patriot Performance 11° Rec-Port heads
⚙️ Johnson Lifters lifters
⚙️ Brian Tooley Racing shaft rockers & springs
⚙️ Automotive Racing Products Inc. fasteners
⚙️ Performance Design
⚙️ Improved Racing oil pan baffle and crank scraper
Nicolas Performance handled the tuning, and John has been terrorizing the streets with it ever since.
But the best part of this build isn’t the engine.
John still stops by regularly to hang out, vacuum out machines, grab lunch, or meet me for breakfast on a Saturday before we head to the shop.
Customers come and go. Some become lifelong friends.
Thanks for being you, John. I’m grateful for your friendship, your business, and whatever governing body sanctioned that hot dog record. 😂
WE BUILD. YOU DOMINATE.
BuiltNotBought
