They started with a stock, two wheel drive, Crew-Cab Chevy truck, and since that time they have put literally hundreds of hours into custom fabrication work that will make it suitable for one of the most infamous people to ever customize a V-twin.

Along with an incredible amount of custom fabrication work, SDHQ has also bolted on a Magna Charger, and installed massive 35-inch BFGoodrich Bajas, leaving the stock transmission between a rock and hard place. With upwards of 140 additional horsepower, the increased torque subjected on the transmission (in an effort to turn larger, heavier wheels and tires), it just didn’t seem like a good idea to leave the transmission in its stock state just, especially with Jesse James behind the controls. To address this concern, the truck was sent off to Doug’s Performance Transmission, which is right around the corner from SDHQ, in Mesa, Arizona.

Once at Doug’s the transmission was extracted from the truck, and quick work was made of tearing it down and getting right into the re-build. To accomplish this, a few stronger parts were used to better handle the abuse that we knew going in that Jesse will impart on this truck (come on, you’ve seen his shows). Other than trading out stock parts for the more durable aftermarket pieces, for the most part the transmission was left stock—not even the stall speed was altered. Doug Jr. did leave out the cushion spring for the 3/4 clutches, and adjusted the force motor to make for a more aggressive shift. The bottom line is Doug’s used their downright impressive performance experience to upgrade the parts with a surgeon’s precision, as they so aptly identified those parts that were most likely to fail under the circumstances they will be put in.

A family owned and operated business, Doug’s is much more than a Mom and Pop shop. They have been repairing, servicing and re-building stock transmissions, as well as building high-performance racing transmissions for 30-plus years. It all started with Doug Sr., but this job quickly turned into a passion and a career. Twenty-two years later, Doug Jr. joined in on the effort, and the team was formed. They’ve been building a solid business, as well as a lot of solid transmissions, ever since. You can find them at the same place they have been for the past 8 years, and with the quality of work they do, it’s safe to say they aren’t going anywhere soon. They do it all, from stock import cars to race-ready, off-road trucks, like Jesse’s.