February 2007 Featured Ride:

Congratulations: MARTYO "Marty Ochs"

Back in January of 2003, I went into the local Mercury dealership to look at an Aviator as a daily driver. At the dealership they had a 2003 Mercury Marauder which I had read about and seen in pictures, but never in person. Once I laid my eyes on it, I knew I had to have it. Funny thing is, when I bought it, I figured it would make a great daily driver. Little did I know what was to come of the car I just signed a loan for!!

The Marauder immediately got a garage spot at my house and never saw "daily driver" status. Shortly after I took the car home, the bolt-ons began. In fact, with less than 400 miles on the clock, the car was at Mustang Magic for 4.10's, a chip and a Dynotech driveshaft. Then came a second trip and in went the torque converter and a few other goodies.

After some fun on the streets of Westchester with those and a few other mods, I installed new, bigger breaks and FRPP headers. Then I was invited to go to Fun Ford Weekend at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. Rather than drive down, I shipped my car down to Texas and flew down to meet it. I had a weekend blast running in Test and Tune and True Street with all three passes of my passes within .08 seconds of each other.

After that Fin Ford Event, I knew I was on to something and out came the big guns. I sent my car down to Georgia where I have a lot of friends and my best friends owns a speed shop. We really went to work on the car. New motor, ProCharger FR-1 blower, custom intercooler, a small shot of juice, full custom interior, the list goes on and on. The car quickly became an all out obsession!

Since then, we took the title as the World's Fastest Marauder and just keep breaking our records. Our best pass yet is a 10.63 @ 129.75 mph. Not bad for a 4,400 pound grocery getter!! At the end of 2006 we were set to really move the mark on the time with our car but unfortunatlely we broke an axle on our first pass off the trailer at the Big Car Shootout which is held every fall in Georgia. Don't worry, we will be back. Look for us to run low 10's or better next season.

So, has this car changed my life? You bet! It has brought me back to the hobby I loved when I was in high school and has rekindled my passion or cars. In addition to the Marauder, I have a 1993 Cobra with a Paxton blower, a 1993 LX street warrior with a Vortech S trim, heads, intake and some other goods, a 1993 Yellow Mustang Feature Car which we are putting a turbo and a built motor into (should be on the streets in Spring/Summer '07), a 1966 Belvedere with a 440, and an LS6 Nova too. Hey what car nut oesn't love old school muscle?

Thanks again to SVTSnake.com for making my car the Feature Car of the month. It's a great way to start the year. I sure hope to see you guys around when the weather gets warmer. Check out more pictures of my Marauder and other cars at my website, www.legalknevil.com

Marty