CONTENTS
VOLUME 31 ✪ NUMBER 7 ✪ JULY 2018
.COM
TECH 10 RESTO CORNER WITH AMD:
52
HAMMER FORMED INNER DOOR CORNER PATCH Flat or even curved patches are fairly easy to form, but how does one form complex shapes with compound curves?
14 TOUGH TORQUE CONVERTER A durable torque converter of the right size and stall speed will make the difference in all-around performance on the street and/or at the strip.
64
22 NEW HOLLEY SNIPER EFI: A SIMPLE BOLT-ON? We pulled the carb off of a 440 and bolted on a Sniper to test how easily it would adapt.
30 ELECTRIC AVENUE Charging system upgrade with a Tuff Stuff Alternator
38 CLOSING THE GAP How to align body panels with precision
46 FEATURES
70 10
14
22
52 RUNNIN’ DOWN A DREAM It took more than 10 years to build, but this Road Runner is now better than new and packing a whole bunch more power than it did in 1970.
58 SECOND TIME AROUND Back in 1967 Frank Chirat owned a special-order Plymouth Barracuda 273 Formula S fastback. Years later, he owns another.
64 UNFORGETTABLE Building the ’71 Plymouth she wished she owned in high school.
70 GENERAL MAYHEM Behind-the-scenes stories from the men who kept the most famous Charger flying high.
52 ON THE COVER This month’s cover features Matt Morrison’s ’70 Road Runner that’s packing 572 ci of Hemi power. By day, Matt is a service manager at his neighborhood Dodge dealer. On his free time, Matt found this car basically as a worn-out Road Runner. But after 10-plus years of work (mostly done by himself in his garage), he transformed it into what you see today. This Road Runner has it all — Air Grabber hood, Pistol Grip four-speed, Transverse Stripe, bucket seats, and as already mentioned a big Hemi. Photography be Jorge Nunez. MOPAR MUSCLE (ISSN 1056-2966) July 2018; Volume 31, Number 7. Copyright © 2018 by TEN: Publishing Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Published monthly by TEN: Publishing Media, LLC., 1212 Avenue of the Americas, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10036. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIPTIONS: U.S. and U.S. Possessions $29.97 for 12 issues. Canadian orders add $12.00 per year and international orders add $24.00 per year (for surface mail postage). Payment in advance, U.S. funds only. POSTMASTER: Send all UAA to CFS. (See DMM 707.4.12.5); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: Send address corrections to Mopar Muscle, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. Contributions should be sent to Mopar Muscle Magazine, 1821 E. Dyer Rd., Ste. #150, Santa Ana, CA 92705. Manuscripts must meet the criteria of the Writer’s Guidelines. For a copy, send an SASE to Mopar Muscle Magazine,1821 E. Dyer Rd., Ste. #150, Santa Ana, CA 92705.
EVENTS 46 MOPARS AT THE 2018 GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW More than 100 of the nation’s finest muscle cars gathered west of the Mississippi and were on display at this year’s GNRS.
DEPARTMENT 8 BANGIN GEARS
MASTHEAD Mopar Muscle Magazine
www.moparmuscle.com
WHAT’S ON DEMAND THIS MONTH? 4/16/18
Roadkill, Episode 80
4/20/18
Junkyard Gold, Episode 7
4/23/18
Roadkill Garage, Episode 29
4/25/18
Engine Masters, Episode 34
4/27/18
Put Up or Shut Up, Episode 11
4/30/18
Roadkill, Episode 81
5/2/18
Ignition, Episode 191
5/4/18
Dirt Every Day, Episode 76
5/7/18
HOT ROD Garage, Episode 65
5/9/18
Head 2 Head, Episode 101
5/14/18
Roadkill, Episode 82
EDITORIAL Network Content Director Douglas R. Glad Editor Bob Mehlhoff Managing Editor Laura Peltakian Contributing Editors Cam Benty, Mark Ehlen, Dan Foley, Geoff Gates, Chris Holley, Jorge Nunez, Tom Sarmento, Richard Truesdell
ART DIRECTION & DESIGN
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ADVERTISING INFORMATION Please call MOPAR MUSCLE Advertising Department, (949) 705-3179. Related publications: Automobile, Car Craft, Chevy High Performance, Classic Trucks, Diesel Power, 4-Wheel & Off-Road, Four Wheeler, Hot Rod, Hot Rod Deluxe, Jp, Lowrider, Mopar Muscle, Motor Trend, Muscle Car Review, Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords, Mustang Monthly, Recoil, Street Rodder, Super Chevy, Super Street, Truck Trend, and Vette. To advertise on this magazine’s website, or any of TEN: Publishing Media’s other enthusiast sites, please contact us at AM-advertising@ enthusiastnetwork.com
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Roadkill Garage, Episode 28: On this episode, Freiburger scores a '68 Chrysler Town & Country wagon for $1,800 — and it has a 440ci big-block for power! It’s soon dubbed the Gargantuwagon. Freiburger and Steve Dulcich show you how to give any old car a basic once-over before they also teach you how to give one a good thrashing without really hurting much. Lucky Costa even joins in from HOT ROD Garage with his '66 Plymouth Fury wagon loaded with 512ci of bigblock power!
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BANGIN GEARS BOB MEHLHOFF, EDITOR
KEEP SHIFTING AHEAD son recently turned 15 and, as it turns out, also has a strong interest in Mopars. Gee, I wonder where that came from? So after we took him to his favorite barbecue restaurant for dinner, he asked me if just he and I could stop by the neighborhood Dodge dealer to check out the new cars. Of course at the top of his list was the new Dodge Demon, but he also likes the standard-issue Challengers, Chargers, R/Ts, Hellcats, and even some Chryslers. When we arrived at the dealership, a very nice 20-something-year-old salesman greeted us and showed us all the details of each model. While we were looking at the new cars, I realized I’m also old enough to remember when the first round of Challengers hit the showrooms in the ’70s. Early on, the well-optioned Challengers had some fairly high horsepower offerings for the time period. In 1970, a 440 Magnum was rated at 375 hp, a 440 Six Pack was rated at 390 hp, and the 426 Hemi was rated at 425 hp. Today, these and many other Mopars continue to be highly cherished. Then, within a few short years, the performance and power levels dropped by about half to a lackluster level. Wow, what a shock that was. Back then, auto enthusiasts were convinced that we had seen the last of the high-performance car era. Now fast-forward a few decades and high-performance cars are not only back, but they also have way more performance and even get very decent fuel economy. A 3.6L V-6 in today’s Challenger can produce 305 hp — more than twice what a new ’74 Challenger with a 318 V-8 could muster. And a current model Challenger with a 392
Our teenage
Hemi will cover the quartermile in the 12-second range — with the air conditioning running. At the dealership, my son immediately found a welloptioned red Hemi Challenger near the showroom with an automatic and lots of performance options. Although early on I advised the salesman that we were “just looking,” he asked if we’d like a testdrive. From the look on my son’s face, I surmised he was visualizing owning a new Challenger by his 16th birthday and parking next to his friend’s ’01 four-door Accord at his high school. When the salesman came out with the keys to a Destroyer Grey Hemi Challenger, he said, “I have some bad news. This is the only Challenger we can use on a testdrive, and it has a manual transmission. You probably don’t know how to drive a stick shift, do you?” I didn’t know how to reply politely. I learned how to drive with a manual transmission when I was 12 or 13. I’ve owned more than a dozen cars with manual transmissions and have changed probably about 50 to 100 clutches in my lifetime. Plus, I’ve probably driven and/or raced over 200 cars in my lifetime with three-, four-, five-, and six-speed manual transmissions. However, I replied that I was sure I’d easily be able to drive the car with its manual transmission on a testdrive. The young salesman then disclosed he didn’t know how to drive a manual transmission, and I’d need to first pull the car off the lot — as long as I
… a current model Challenger with a 392 Hemi will cover the quarter-mile in the 12-second range — with the air conditioning running.
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was comfortable doing that. Again, I agreed. So in a dark corner of the lot, with lots of cars tightly parked together that evening, we piled into the car, and he handed me the keys. As I settled into the seat, I noticed the front and back windows were covered with lots of writing and add-on stickers, minimizing the nighttime visibility. And each seat had clear plastic shipping covers protruding and partially blocking the rearview. So I took the keys, pushed the clutch pedal to the floor, started the Hemi engine, and put the shifter into reverse. Then, before releasing the clutch pedal I thought to myself, now watch me start to back up and stall the engine in front of everyone, and then have to restart the engine and try again. Gosh, I hope that doesn’t happen. So at that moment I just thought, concentrate, concentrate. I pulled the clutch pedal slowly up and applied some throttle. The Challenger effortlessly moved rearward out of the space without stalling. I pulled forward out to the street and drove off shifting through the gears. I felt like a teenager on his birthday!
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SCode: 1807MP • Prices subject to change without notice. Please check SummitRacing.com for current pricing. Typographical, description, or photography errors are subject to correction. Some parts are not legal for use in California or other states with similar laws/regulations. Please check your state and/or local laws/regulations. © 2018 AUTOSALES, INC.
FIND IT AT
TECH
TEXT AND PHOTOS: MARK EHLEN
HAMMER FORMED INNER DOOR CORNER PATCH
FLAT OR EVEN CURVED PATCHES ARE FAIRLY EASY TO FORM, BUT HOW DOES ONE FORM COMPLEX SHAPES WITH COMPOUND CURVES?
Ever
look at an artist’s or craftsman’s work and wonder, “How in the world did they do that?” It could be photography, sculpture, woodwork, or an expert metalworker. No matter how long you stare at it, you just can’t imagine how they did that … until someone shows you how it’s done. Don’t misunderstand. There’s still a lot of skill and experience necessary to do artesian-level work, but knowing the foundational technique takes a lot of the mystery out of it. We all know body panels are formed by large hydraulic presses that stamp flat sheetmetal into any shape imaginable.
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Auto Metal Direct produces an enormous wealth of these panels for the restoration market without which many of our classic Mopars wouldn’t be salvageable. But what if you don’t need the whole panel? What if it’s more practical to just patch a small portion of the part rather than remove the entire panel? Often Muscle Car Restorations will opt for a patch rather than disturb a whole lot of otherwise good metal. As you’ve seen before in this column, flat patches or those that can be shaped with a shrinker and/ or stretcher are fairly straightforward to make and install but how do you think you would produce a patch that has a more complex shape with multiple compound
curves like the inside corner of a door? You’d do it the same way the factory and AMD does it. No, you won’t use a large hydraulic press, but the principle is the same. Create a mold of the shape you’ll need and hammer a flat piece of sheetmetal onto it. Sounds easy enough, right? It’s actually not too bad now that you’ll know the basic technique. It still requires skill but that’ll come with experience. This door from a ’72 A-Body needs a new skin but this corner of the inner door shell must be repaired before the new skin can be fitted. MCR removed the old doorskin first to gain access to both sides of the corner.
Lower door corners are common rust areas, as water tends to collect here behind the outer doorskin.
Like with the other patches we’ve shown you, apply masking tape over the area that needs the patch and trim to the exact size required for the repair. Since there’s a step in the metal on two sides, be sure to mark the precise locations of the outside and inside corners.
Allow it to cure, remove it, and flip it over. A few imperfections aren’t an issue as long as the inside and outside corners are well defined.
Cut a piece of sheetmetal to the general shape, but larger than needed and put a couple of screws into it to ensure that it doesn’t move while it’s being shaped. Use a soft-faced dead-blow hammer to begin the forming process. A steelfaced hammer will likely leave hammer marks that you won’t be able to remove later.
Remove the tape you just trimmed and save it for later, then apply wide tape over a large area around the repair. A bull-nosed chasing tool is used to push the new metal into the inside corner. Use the original part as a guide to determine how sharp these corners need to be defined.
Mix up a generous amount of body filler and press it into the corner with a ¾-inch board. Try to keep it reasonably level with the door. MCR prefers Everglass Fiberglass Reinforced Body Filler for this work; it’s strong enough to stand up to the repeated hammer blows that are necessary to form the patch.
A body hammer can help define the outside corner. Just be careful not to leave any hammer marks so you won’t need any filler to fix it later. MOPAR MUSCLE JULY 2018
11
TECH | HAMMER FORMED INNER DOOR CORNER PATCH
Apply the masking tape guide again and scribe around the outside edges to mark the final cuts. When you think you have it right, re-apply the original masking tape aligning the break lines with the corners. This is a good check to see if your work thus far has been accurate. Trim your new patch to the tape along the two inside edges, but leave the outside ones for later.
The lower edge of the patch can be checked with a straight edge, but the vertical edge has a curve in it so you’ll need to trust your masking tape guide.
Lay the patch on the door, scribe around it and cut along that line to remove the damaged corner.
Make the final cuts around the masking tape, and your new patch is complete.
Test-fit and trim your patch as needed until you have a perfect fit.
Using MCR’s standard tack-welding technique, weld the patch in place and grind the weld seams smooth. 12
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While you’ll want to be as accurate as possible, the truth is that there’s some leeway here, as the inner door shell is supposed to be about 1/8thinch smaller than the outer doorskin, and the edges will be hidden under the foldedover doorskin anyway.
SOURCES AUTO METAL DIRECT 866-591-8309 AUTOMETALDIRECT.COM MUSCLE CAR RESTORATIONS 715-834-2223 MUSCLECARRESTORATIONS.COM
Stand on the Gas.
Trick Flow upped the ante for big block Mopar performance with the PowerPort® 270 cylinder heads. Based on the popular PowerPort 240 heads, these heads feature raised 270cc Max Wedge-style intake runners that provide a straighter path to the valve for improved airflow. Other features like A356-T61 aluminum castings, CNC Competition Ported runners and chambers, 2.190"/1.760" stainless valves, beefed-up rocker shaft bosses, PAC Racing Pacaloy™ valve springs, ductile iron valve seats, and bronze alloy valve guides come standard. PowerPort 270 heads work with all factory-style big block Mopar pistons, rocker arms, headers, and Max Wedge intakes. Trick Flow also offers single-plane intake manifolds, valvetrain components, and gaskets for big block Mopar so be sure and check those out too. Trick Flow engine parts—when only the best will do! Dyno Results
Airflow Results
PowerPort 270
PowerPort 270
Test Engine: 10.15:1 compression Mopar 505 c.i.d. with Trick Flow PowerPort® 270 cylinder heads (TFS-61617802-C01), Trick Flow Track Max® hydraulic roller camshaft (TFS-61602003), Trick Flow retro-fit hydraulic roller lifters (TFS-21400011), Harland Sharp 1.6 ratio shaft mount roller rocker arms (CSP-S70016KE), port matched Trick Flow Track Heat® intake manifold (TFS-61600113), Trick Flow by Quick Fuel Technology Track Heat Pro 950 cfm carburetor (TFS-20950R), Trick Flow billet aluminum carburetor spacer (TFS-2141501B), 93 octane pump gas, Hooker headers with 2" primaries, 31⁄2" dual exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers.
1807MPTF
Lift Value
Intake Flow CFM
Exhaust Flow CFM
.100"
72
58
.200"
154
130
.300"
230
186
.400"
288
222
.500"
322
243
.600"
343
253
.700"
352
262
Tests conducted at 28" of water (pressure). Bore size: 4.350"; exhaust with 2" pipe.
Some parts are not legal for use in California or other states with similar laws/regulations. Please check your state and/or local laws/regulations.
TECH
BY DAN FOLEY • PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR AND TCI AUTOMOTIVE
TOUGH TORQUE CONVERTER
A DURABLE TORQUE CONVERTER OF THE RIGHT SIZE AND STALL SPEED WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN ALL-AROUND PERFORMANCE ON THE STREET AND/OR AT THE STRIP.
With
an 825hp Ray Barton Street Hemi going between the fenders of our ’65 Coronet project (alias “Cool Blue”), we knew we’d need a tough, wellbuilt torque converter. Stall speed and durability are of the utmost importance when selecting the right converter for your combination. Having the right stall speed converter has the greatest impact on the performance of your car, whether it’s at the strip or driveability on the street. Depending on the build purpose of your ride, the converter needs to match both your desires and the entire combination. When a converter is the right size (8, 9,
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10, 11 inches) and stall speed for your combination, your timeslip and/or street performance will be at its best. For many, including longtime enthusiasts, it’s somewhat of a mystery in how torque converter functions. We’ve also heard that as it spins, it multiplies the torque produced from the engine to the transmission’s input shaft to help move the vehicle with more force than a manual transmission. This mystery is accomplished by the fluid dynamics produced inside the converter. As this hydraulic power transfer continues, its fluid couples through the converter’s internal components (turbine, stator, impeller pump),
thus multiplying torque to move the car down the road and/or track. The internal parts can be manipulated to get a converter to behave a certain way or have a specific stall speed. The performance and stall speed will be determined by which parts are used to build the converter. The impeller pump fin angles and stator blade design are the primary components used to change stall speed and torque multiplication. A torque converter manufacturer will make changes to each of these parts to dial-in where the converter will begin to stall. Just selecting a converter off a website or catalog isn’t the best way to get your
TECH | TOUGH TORQUE CONVERTER car to perform at its best or get the best e.t.’s at the track. All the major torque converter companies will be glad to work with you to help you get a converter that’ll fit your performance goals. To determine the stall speed and what size converter you’ll need, the converter manufacturer will need information about the vehicle’s combination. Specs like camshaft profile, engine power, and peak torque, peak horsepower, gear ratio, tire size, and vehicle weight are just a few of the specs needed. The more info you can provide, the better the torque converter can be matched to your combo for maximum performance. For our street driver, Street Hemi Coronet, we considered some of the great converter manufacturers like Turbo Action, ATI, Dynamic, Transmission Specialties, and TCI. We’ve used each one of these reputable companies’ torque converters through the years without a single issue. A few years ago we tried a TCI 10-inch Ultimate Street Fighter torque converter. That TCI unit helped a friend’s car run a 10.46 at 130 mph with a previous best of 10.52 at 128 mph using a different brand 10-inch converter. The 60-foot time also improved from 1.50 to 1.46. While street driving it showed less low rpm cruise slippage and better throttle response, meaning it was a more efficient converter with less of that slippage feel. Now five years later, my buddy’s A-Body has made over 50 10-second passes, and it has over 5,000 street miles — that durable unit was our deciding factor to go with a TCI Ultimate Street Fighter converter. We let the TCI technician know the Coronet’s primary purpose was to be a responsive street driver that’ll put down good power when we chassis dyno test and tune. Once the B-Body is well sorted out with a few hundred street miles, we’ll flog it once for a strip-test, just to see what it’ll do. Lowest e.t. isn’t our big concern, but with 825 hp at the crank, low 10s should be doable on 275/60R15 drag radials. Check out the pictures the good guys at TCI took while they custom-built our tough torque converter. TCI says The Ultimate Street Fighter bridges the gap between their full competition units and Super Street Fighter converter. It’s built to handle up to 1,000 hp for extreme street machines, featuring furnace-brazed fins, steel stator, needle bearings, anti-ballooning plate, hardened pre-ground pump hub, and computer balanced. We’ll have plenty of confidence knowing there’s a durable TCI converter teamed up with the bulletproof A&A TorqueFlite we built in the previous story. It’ll be plenty tough to handle the incoming, high-horsepower Street Hemi. Follow along and see how TCI builds one tough torque converter.
We chose a TCI 10-inch Ultimate Street Fighter torque converter based on (among other things) its proven reliability in a friend’s 10-second street car. It features a billet steel front cover, furnacebrazed blades, steel stator, needle bearings, hardened preground steel front hub, and anti-ballooning plate. It’s all computer balanced to support 1,000 hp. It’s tough enough to handle the incoming 825hp Street Hemi that’ll propel our ’65 Coronet. 16
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The folks at TCI took a few photos while they custom-built our torque converter to match our vehicles combination for the right stall speed. Here’s a look at the thicker and much stronger than stock CNC-machined steel cover (engine side) before its ring gear is computer welded in place, and the converter assembly begins.
In this shot, notice how the ring gear was precisely computer welded to the cover at four equally spaced locations for equal balance.
A Torrington roller thrust bearing is placed in the center of the cover before the turbine assembly is put in position. The turbine assembly is connected to the input shaft of the transmission. Fluid flow from the stator and impellor pump force the turbine to rotate, making the car move. Notice the furnace brazing of the fins for strength and longevity.
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5 Different Deck Lids for 1970-74 E-Bodies Competitors make a single cheapo version…just one each for Cuda and Challenger. So you must modify them, or live with them as-is!
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1970-71 Challenger with Spoiler Holes MOPAR, JEEP, DODGE, HEMI, PLYMOUTH, RAM, SRT, CHRYSLER and related logos, vehicle model names and trade dress are trademarks of Chrysler Group LLC used under license. © 2015 Chrysler Group LLC
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TECH | TOUGH TORQUE CONVERTER
This half of the converter is known as the impeller pump. Not seen is the impeller pump blade assembly that mimics the turbine assembly. Impeller pump blades are furnace brazed for strength just like the turbine fins (blades). The angle of the pump’s blades can be changed to loosen or tighten the stall speed of a converter. Before hand-assembly, here’s the 8620 alloy steel stator and the sprag with its bearings. The stator is the brains of the converter. It controls the flow of the fluid inside the converter to help multiply the torque. Stator blade design (blade angle, spacing, blade count, and size), are used to change stall speed and torque multiplication.
Here’s after the hub and anti-ballooning plate were automatic turntable welded onto the pump cover assembly. The hub and anti-ballooning plate are made of hardened steel and CNC machined to provide the strength needed to handle high-horsepower applications like our Street Hemi.
There are Torrington bearings on each side of the sprag and stator assembly for less friction and freer rotation of the turbine and pump impeller. This completes the assembly of the cover-side half of the converter. 18
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Next, the front cover and pump assembly is put together as seen here. After this, the converter is placed on another automatic turntable welder that holds the converter together ensuring alignment and run-out of the pilot and hub are true before welding. After welding there’s a multitude of quality control checks the converter must go through.
IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO START DRIVING YOUR MOPAR UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE BEST IGNITION AVAILABLE! SB & BB D.U.I. DISTRIBUTORS /UR NEW #HRYSLER $ 5 ) $AVIS 5NIl ED )GNITION IS A SINGLE DROP IN UNIT 4HE high-voltage coil is inside the cap and the module is inside the distributor. Just run one 12-volt wire to the distributor and you’re ready to run! There is also an optional tach hook-up. The D.U.I. eliminates ALL the messy wiring found on stock ignition systems. This really cleans up your engine compartment.
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“... we think a DUI Ignition makes a lot of sense, whether you’re building a hot street car with a breathed-on LUNPUL VY HU /7 ^LLRLUK YHJLY [OH[ ULLKZ [V Ă„ YL V HUK Y\U JVUZPZ[LU[S` WHZZ HM[LY WHZZ š -Mopar Muscle “Furious Firepower!â€? pg. 22, Nov. ‘15 Send $4.00 for complete Catalog and Prices. 2699 Barris Drive - Dept. MPRM Memphis, TN 38132 Phone: 901-396-5782 Fax: 901-396-5783 www.PerformanceDistributors.com/dodgedistributors.htm
TECH | TOUGH TORQUE CONVERTER Only after passing more inspection checks the converter is spun balanced. Then it receives a coat of proprietary heat dissipating paint for a cooler running converter. From there, it goes onto the TCI converter dyno. The dyno checks the fluid-flow, stall speed, and overall performance. This super duty converter, PN 142206, sells for $979.98.
Break-in ATF like TCI’s Max Shift (PN 15900, three gallons, $53.73) is a good idea to use to reduce damaging heat buildup and internal component wear during the critical 30-minute break-in period. It contains friction, anti-foaming, and extreme heat additives. After the initial 30-minute breakin period, we’ll drain this break-in fluid ...
We knew we’d need a heavyduty, Hemispec, eighthole, smallbolt circle flexplate (PN 145300, $152.25) for our Wedge to Hemi conversion. This solid TCI unit is much stronger than a stock Hemi flexplate, and it’s SFI approved. Our new TCI converter came equipped with the large 7/16-inch Grade 8 attachment bolts.
This big (3/4x10x15 inches) 26,000 GVW high-tech racing trans fluid cooler (PN 823800, $92.71) will help keep fluid temperatures down. Fluid temps over 200 degrees are known to ruin an automatic transmission. A high-stall torque converter raises fluid temps much quicker than a stock unit especially during a launch or WOT (wide open throttle). 20
moparmuscle.com
… and fill our A&A built TorqueFlite with TCI’s Max Shift synthetic ATF. We ordered a case of 12 quarts (PN 950650, $113.69). This full synthetic product will run cooler, prevent excessive wear, and reduce internal friction. It’s fortified with special additives to provide quicker shifts, eliminate foaming, and resist breakdown better than conventional ATF.
A locking dipstick like this unit (TCI PN 743808, $56.21) will keep the trans fluid where it belongs — inside the transmission. It’s NHRA required for when we strip-test our Street Hemi Coronet, and we can’t wait.
SOURCES TCI 888-776-9824 WWW.TCIAUTO.COM
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TECH
BY MARK EHLEN • PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK EHLEN AND MCR STAFF
NEW HOLLEY SNIPER EFI: A SIMPLE BOLT-ON? WE PULL THE CARB OFF A 440 AND BOLT ON A SNIPER TO TEST HOW EASILY IT WOULD ADAPT
fuel injection isn’t new. There hasn’t been a car built with a carburetor in about 30 years. Granted, early versions were forced on us by emissions regulations, and their performance was less than ideal, but there’s no question that as the technology has evolved it has brought greater and greater benefits. Thirty-five years ago most of us had given up hope of ever seeing a real muscle car come out of Detroit again. There was a whole slew of anti-tampering laws and talk of sealed hoods to prevent us from modifying anything. We thought the muscle car era was over forever, so we struggled to hang onto whatever we could that was left. Today, we can walk into a Dodge dealer and drive away with over 800 hp and over 700 lb-ft of torque in a package that outperforms our classic muscle in every way. Thank you, EFI.
Electronic
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This is the basic Sniper kit (minus all the hardware) in silver, also available in black and classic gold. The base kit is $999.95, but Holley also sells a master kit that includes everything you’ll need to upgrade your fuel system. Don’t freak out by the larger wiring harnesses. You don’t need to use all of that if you don’t want to.
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SureFit Systems are complete with eva p o ra t o r k i t , n ew fa c t o r y l o o k c o n t r o l s, o r o u r ex c l u s i ve “ C a b l e C o n ve r t e r s ” t o a d a p t your original controls, compressor, a l l t h e m o u n t i n g b r a c k e t s , c o n d e n s e r k i t , s a f e t y sw i t c h , all necessar y refrigerant lines and a detailed instr uction m a n u a l . SureFit systems can be o r d e r e d t o f i t e n g i n e sw a p s in many applications and c a n b e upgraded with Vintage Air ProLine a p p e a r a n c e accessories as well.
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■ 1966-67 Coronet/Charger ■ 1968 Coronet/Super Bee/Charger ■ 1969-70 Coronet/Super Bee/Charger ■ 1970-74 Barracuda/Cuda
■ 1966-67 Belvedere/Satellite/GTX ■ 1968 Road Runner/Satellite/GTX ■ 1969-70 Road Runner/Satellite/GTX ■ 1970-74 Challenger
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TECH | HOLLEY SNIPER EFI
Superbird A41 4-Speed Automatic Transmission of Choice for Petty’s Garage Magnum 6-Speed PerfectFit™ Kit - Fits in the factory console, LOOKS ORIGINAL! - Complete Kit, you won’t have to source anything! - TREMEC Magnum Modified by SST for a Perfect Fit Available for A-B-E Body Styles
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Automatic or 5-Speed PerfectFit™ Kits A41 4-Speed Automatic PerfectFit™ Kit
TKO 5-Speed PerfectFit™ Kit
Our PerfectFit™ Kits come with everything you need to install an overdrive transmission into your classic Mopar. Our PerfectFit™ Transmissions are modified to minimize cutting and to place the shifter in the factory location.
Learn More: ShiftSST.com or 888-609-0054 24
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Not that long ago, talk of installing EFI on classic muscle was akin to blasphemy. But as the tech improved so did the benefits. Early systems worked well enough, but most didn’t want to put in the effort to learn how to set them up. We’re good at turning wrenches not programming. More recently, there’ve been bolt-on throttle body systems with self-learning capability. Again, technology continues to bring greater and greater benefits. The latest is the new Holley Sniper EFI — touted as a true bolt-on self-learning carb replacement. When we got word that Muscle Car Restorations in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, was about to bolt one onto a 480hp 440, we thought this would be a good time to check out a real-world install. The 440 was a fresh build just off an engine dyno tune that MCR had dropped into a ’69 GTX resto. It was running an Edelbrock Performer carburetor that the car owner wanted to swap for the Sniper. The car wasn’t complete, but it was close enough to test on MCR’s Mustang chassis dyno that would allow simulated street driving as well as full power runs. Frankly, the Sniper surprised us. After a brief crank to get fuel into the system, the big-block just popped right off. After a brief fast idle, it settled down to a perfectly smooth idle speed. Subsequent restarts were no more than click, vroom, every time. Once the engine was up to full operating temp, we went straight for a full power dyno pull. Again the Sniper surprised us. Not only was the pull smooth and clean, it registered within 1 hp and 4 lb-ft of what the dyno-tuned Performer delivered. The Sniper wasn’t expected to yield significantly more power than a properly tuned carb, but we certainly didn’t expect it to match it on the first pull. Four complete runs later, the total power output remained the same but the midrange (2,900 rpm) torque was up 30 lb-ft and the horsepower was up 75. This thing really learned in a hurry. Next up was some simulated driving, which demonstrated equally impressive results. The short version is that it just worked. Even off-idle throttle blips and other erratic moves failed to produce even one hiccup. No stumbles, bumbles, or bogs of any kind. Multiple times we let it sit for a few minutes to check hot restarts and each time nothing but click, vroom. Installation just may be as simple as it’s possible to achieve. Yes, you’ll need to add an O2 sensor, an electric fuel pump, and an extra fuel line, but after that it’s just two wires to the battery, one to the
coil and one for the temp sensor. The ECU is attached to the throttle body and the fuel pressure regulator is internal so there’s no extra stuff to have to mount on your firewall. Just bolt it on, push on your vacuum lines, attach the throttle cable and kick down, connect the fuel lines, and you’re good to go. Of course there are advanced features if you’d like to go there. The Sniper can be set up to control a pair of fans, add an A/C idle bump, control an aftermarket tach, etc. It’ll also work with a variety of aftermarket ignitions, it supports nitrous and can even be configured to control your timing. Set up is also super simple. Using the included 3½-inch touch screen, you’ll enter displacement, desired idle speed, cam type, accelerator enrichment, A/F ratios at idle, cruise and WOT, and even a rev limiter value. The touch screen also functions as a mini dashboard, allowing you to monitor a whole host of engine vitals. You can even turn the learning mode off once you’re satisfied with the tune. It might be hard to guess where the technology will take us from here, but with this new Sniper, it’s safe to say that bolt-on EFI has matured enough for just about anyone to benefit from it. Nice job, Holley!
Installing the throttle body is just like swapping a carb. Dual bolt pattern ensures it’ll fit whatever you need.
MCR used a Lokar cable mount for the throttle and kick-down cables for both the carb and the Sniper. Cable hook up was a direct swap. MOPAR MUSCLE JULY 2018
25
TECH | HOLLEY SNIPER EFI 877-596-3842
www.tanksinc.com 68-70 Charger & Roadrunner
In-Tank Fuel Pumps Pumps are available for poly and steel tanks. Pumps starting at...$190
19 Gallon 37-3/8” x 24-1/4” x 8” Priced at...$245
63-76 Dart & 64-69 Barracuda
The Sniper’s wiring harnesses connect to pigtails on the unit with weatherproof connectors so it can be easily removed without disturbing any of your wiring hookups.
70-74 Challenger & Barracuda
19 Gallon
$250
Priced at...$245 16 Gallon 29-3/4” x 19-1/4” x 10-3/8”
. © TANK’S, INC. 2016
260 Welter Drive
26-1/4” x 23” x 11”
.
Monticello, IA 52310
. Fuel line connections are accomplished using standard AN fittings. The return line is located on the driver’s rear corner of the unit with the standard inlet being on the right rear corner. If you’d like to run a duel feed setup, two additional inlets areon the front corners also.
The Sniper carries four 100-lb/hr injectors, running at 58.5 psi that can support up to 650 hp. Instead of the injectors spraying directly into the throttle bores, 16 tiny holes surround each throttle plate that very effectively fog the fuel into the airflow.
Not that long ago, talk of installing EFI on classic muscle was akin to blasphemy. But as the tech improved so did the benefits. 26
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per , m u B k c a b e h t ille to ts you need. r G t n o r f e h t r F r om t the pa o we’ve g
Holley provides a clamp-on oxygen sensor mount with the kit but MCR insists on welding a proper bung into the pipe. Even the tiniest leak in the exhaust can really mess with the learning process, so make sure that your system is tight.
Mopar Rallye & Magnum Wheels
QPB69RH
Holley also sells the Sniper as a Master Kit that includes an inline fuel pump and the extra fuel hose you’ll need to be able to use your existing fuel tank, but MCR much prefers installing an in-tank pump with a new sending unit.
There’s a reason new cars are produced with in-tank fuel pumps, so MCR obtained a replacement tank from Tanks Inc. that has provisions for installing both the pump and sending unit. The pump mount has connectors for both fuel supply and return lines.
RH full quarter panel for 1969 Plymouth B-body models.
SB246
MSG16
MQ68
Universal Seat Relocation Brackets.
Reproduction manual steering box for 1970-1974 models. Fast 16:1 ratio.
Horn for 1969-1970 Road Runner, reproduction.
GR724
MY2
FC208BLK
Front grille for 1972-1974 Challenger models.
RH fender emblem, 1970-1974 E-body models, reproduction.
Fender Gripper fender cover, black with a YEARONE logo.
1-800-932-7663 MCR also insists on using hard lines for fuel delivery, so they order a pair of 3/8-inch stainless steel replacement lines from Inline Tube and run them side by side in the stock location. That way AN fittings and braided hose can be used for the connections to the tank and the Sniper.
Restoration & Performance Parts for GM, Ford & Chrysler Muscle Cars Chrysler Catalog Mopar A/B/E-Body (1966-74) (ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE)
© 2018 YEARONE
MM018
TECH | HOLLEY SNIPER EFI
Set up is a simple matter of entering your engine parameters and selecting items like idle speed and the rev limit into a 3½-inch touch screen.
This screen is about as close to programming as it gets. You’ll need to know what the proper A/F ratios are for idle, cruise, and WOT for your engine.
Once the set up is complete, the touch screen serves as a multi-screen mini dashboard that allows you to monitor the system. Holley recommends having a buddy ride along on the first drive to watch over the critical systems as it learns. It’s possible to record a data log onto an SD card in the touch screen or even directly to a laptop for analysis using Holley software.
SOURCES HOLLEY HOLLEY.COM MUSCLE CAR RESTORATIONS 715-834-2223 MUSCLECARRESTORATIONS.COM
As expected, max power output was virtually the same for the Performer and the Sniper. The difference we found was in the midrange where the Sniper outperformed the Performer by about 70 hp and 20 or so lb-ft of torque. Perhaps much of that gap could be made up with adjustments to the carb, but with the Sniper we were spared that concern. And we suspect there’ll be additional improvements once the car is finished, and it can get some real road time to continue in learn mode.
MOPAR MUSCLE JULY 2018
29
TECH
TEXT AND PHOTOS: CHRIS HOLLEY
ELECTRIC AVENUE
CHARGING SYSTEM UPGRADE WITH A TUFF STUFF ALTERNATOR the early 1960s through 1974, Chrysler provided the buying public with a hardy, reliable, low-amp charging system that required minimal upkeep. The pre-1970 Mopars were equipped with a low-maintenance adjustable analog voltage regulator, but with the progression from a breaker-point to a breaker-less ignition, Chrysler introduced a transistorized voltage regulator, which provided better voltage spike protection than an analog regulator for the newly introduced electronic ignition module. A problem with the early Chrysler charging systems occurred when an electric fuel pump, an electric fan, an aftermarket ignition, or a slew of other electrical components started being added to the vehicle. The factory 35-amp, 46-amp, or even 60-amp alternator may not have the capacity to maintain the vehicle’s charging system effectively under all electrical load conditions. In an attempt to remedy the concern, one could swap a 1975-or-later 100-amp Chrysler alternator into the lowamp alternator’s brackets on the engine, but then the factory ammeter, bulkhead,
From
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and charging system wiring could fail with the increased amperage. In an attempt to reduce the amperage through the bulkhead, a mid-1975 (or newer) shunted ammeter could accompany the 100-amp alternator, reducing the amperage through the bulkhead. While these mods could work, was there something better? We contacted Tuff Stuff Performance Accessories of Cleveland, Ohio, and arranged to test one of their USA-built, 130-amp, 1-wire alternators in their new Cast Plus+ finish on our test vehicle, a ’69 Dodge Dart. Our Dart is equipped with a warmedover 340 that stirs a reverse-manual rowed TorqueFlite 904 that feeds a 4.10-geared 8¾-inch rear end. At this point in its life, the Dart is almost exclusively utilized as a pump-gas, low 11-second, multi-time track champion drag car. Although, with the reconnection of the brake light switch, reinstallation of a belt and belt-driven water pump pulley, and bolting on some DOTapproved tires, the Dart could be legally driven on the street. The author has owned the Dart since the summer of 1989, and over the years, various electrical components have been added. With each
addition, not only has the author’s supplementary years of experience provided a better and cleaner technique of installation, but the additional electrical demands on the charging system have also increased. Some electrical installations occurred almost 30 years ago, and while they were competent installations, the upgrade of the new Tuff Stuff alternator will provide us with an opportunity to do some modernizing of our charging system and aged electrical wiring. As the Dart became more bracket racing oriented, a Holley electric fuel pump was added, and then a pair of Moroso fans (a pusher and a puller) was added in conjunction with a Moroso electric water pump drive. These four components increased the constant electrical demand by 32 amps (fuel pump 8 amps, water pump 9 amps, and the electric fans 15 amps) with even more amperage demand upon initial startup of each component. The factoryrated 35-amp alternator couldn’t meet the charging system’s electrical demand with these additional loads. With the Dart being dedicated to drag racing, the increased electrical demand shouldn’t have been a big deal — just hook up a battery charger between rounds to maintain the battery’s charge. However, in the late rounds, many tracks in an effort to beat curfew will run the cars in a round robin affair, so charging the battery is no longer an option. It’s not uncommon for the Dart to make a series of two, three, or even four runs in a row without an opportunity to charge the battery, and due to the lack of proper charging, the ignition performance could drop off resulting in less consistent elapsed times. This situation is exacerbated when you’re going rounds and running two classes. In the 1990s, the solution for the charging problem was to significantly enhance the factory wiring and to install a 120-amp Nippendenso alternator from a 1991 Cummins Turbo diesel in place of the factory alternator. The factory brackets were used but the belt tension adjuster bracket was flattened and flipped to allow the alternator to fit. One field wire was supplied voltage from the voltage regulator and the other field was grounded to the case. An additional charge wire was run from the alternator to the B+ terminal on the starter relay and then to the B+ terminal of the battery located in the trunk. Additionally, the ammeter terminals on the back of the instrument cluster were linked together with a jumper wire, even though a majority of the current now bypassed the ammeter due to the direct wiring of the alternator to the battery. With all of the factory and aftermarket electrical loads measured, the Dart had a 71-amp load on the charging system that the Nippendenso alternator
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TECH | ALTERNATOR handled admirably for over 20 years, but now with newer Tuff Stuff technology and a more simplistic one-wire design, we began the updating of our charging system. The Tuff Stuff alternator installation would’ve been a straightforward affair if our current alternator had been a factory alternator, and the cylinder heads were factory cast units. We would’ve slipped out the old alternator and replaced it with the Tuff Stuff alternator, but since we had the Nippendenso alternator, we had to reinstall the factory brackets before we could install
the Tuff Stuff alternator. We elected to purchase all-new brackets to ease the installation process. Tuff Stuff provided instruction to run a charge wire from the B+ terminal of the alternator to the B+ terminal at the battery, or for a hidden look, run the wire to the B+ starter terminal. We elected to run a 1-gauge (American Wire Gauge) wire from the alternator to the B+ terminal of the starter taking care to route the wire clear of any moving components and the headers. The B+ terminal of the starter was the point to which the current flowed to the battery and to the newly installed electrical power junction point of the Dart.
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We installed a 150-amp ANL fuse between the alternator and the B+ starter terminal to isolate the alternator from the rest of the charging system in case of an alternator short. Years ago, when the battery was moved to the trunk, we added 0-gauge wire that ran from the B+ starter terminal to the master cutoff switch located in the trunk. From the master cutoff switch, a short 0-gauge wire ran to the B+ terminal of the battery. Also, from the B+ starter terminal, we ran a pair of 10-gauge wires to our newly installed junction point. The junction point powered up previously installed components (auxiliary fuse box, B+ starter relay, and backup starter relay) as well as a newly added ammeter bypass wire. We finally addressed the Achilles’ heel of a classic Mopar’s charging system: the ammeter. With a jumper wire, we had connected the terminals of the ammeter together, but as we found during our preparation to test the Tuff Stuff alternator, damage to the bulkhead connector had already occurred. At some point in the last 49 years, the connector terminals became corroded causing an overheating condition, which melted our bulkhead connector at pins J and P. To fix this ammeter problem permanently, we removed the male terminals J and P from the bulkhead connector. We ran a 14-gauge fusible link 10-gauge wire from the junction point in the engine bay to the instrument cluster. We removed the two wires from the ammeter terminals and bolted the fused 10-gauge wire and the two ammeter wires together. Tying these three wires together provided current flow to the various factory components that utilized the ammeter wires under the dash. This modification greatly increased the quality of the charging system, the ammeter is completely disconnected from the charging system, and the terminals at the bulkhead will no longer cause a problem. In the future, we could add a voltmeter in place of the ammeter, and all that would be required is tapping into one of the original ammeter wires for the B+ and provide a ground for the voltmeter to be operational. With all of our prep work completed, we installed the Tuff Stuff 1-wire alternator into the factory brackets. With some spacing adjustments due to the aftermarket heads, the alternator fit perfectly. We attached the 12-volt charging wire from the 150-amp ANL fuse to the B+ terminal on the back of the alternator. With everything secured, we turned the ignition key, and the engine roared to life. The charging system voltage was measured at idle at the B+ terminal on the alternator, and it was instantaneously above 14.5 volts (maximum reading of 14.65 volts). There was no need to blip the throttle to get the alternator to charge. At
2,000 rpm, the voltage remained above 14.5 volts (maximum of 14.67 volts). We checked the voltage drop between the alternator and the B+ starter terminal, the voltage drop between the B+ starter terminal and the battery, and the voltage drop between the B+ starter terminal and our newly installed junction point, and we found less than .1-volt drop throughout the charging system. The Tuff Stuff alternator installed with ease, fit properly, and provided a steady voltage and ample current to meet our drag racing late-round requirements. If the vehicle has a master cutoff switch like our Dart does, there needs to be a way to drop the field when the master cutoff switch is pushed to the “off” position. We cover this in the accompanying photos. Follow the steps to finish the installation, and if there isn’t a master cutoff switch on your vehicle, just install the Tuff Stuff alternator, run a B+ wire to the battery, and enjoy the trouble-free charging system on your Mopar.
Tuff Stuff alternators are available in a wide range of finishes including chrome plated, polished aluminum, black chrome, stealth black, as cast, or the new Cast Plus+. The alternators are available in 1-wire or OEM plug-in style in 60-amp, 100-amp, or 130-amp outputs. All Tuff Stuff alternators are built in the USA and have a one-year limited warranty. We selected a 1-wire, 130-amp alternator in the Cast Plus+ finish for our ’69 Dart. In the 1990s, due to the high electrical demands on our Dart’s charging system, we installed a 120-amp Nippendenso alternator. To install this alternator, we had to modify the mounting brackets, but we were able to retain the factory field winding control with a factory replacement voltage regulator. We ran a charge wire from the alternator straight to the trunk-mounted battery.
Tuff Stuff doesn’t want the alternator rpm to exceed 18,000 rpm. At the dragstrip, the Dart’s 340 runs through the traps between 6,600 and 6,800 rpm. An underdrive crankshaft pulley was added in the 1990s to minimize the alternator rpm at high engine rpm. The ratio between the Tuff Stuff alternator pulley and the crankshaft pulley is 1.7:1, so we’re well below their rpm limits. For information about the pulley ratios and other data, click on their Instructions and Dimensions tab on their website.
The B+ starter relay terminal had become a source for battery voltage for the many components that had been added to the Dart. While this has worked for almost 30 years, with the upgrade to the Tuff Stuff alternator, we planned to reengineer our existing wiring to a more manageable design.
TECH | ALTERNATOR Even though the ammeter circuit was bypassed by the direct wiring of the Nippendenso alternator to the battery, the bulkhead connector had melted at pins J and P. The most likely cause was increased resistance between the male and female terminals inside the bulkhead. The increased resistance led to heat, which in turn melted the housing.
Our Nippendenso had done an admirable job with the charging system for over 20 years, but we were looking for a way to put a factory appearing alternator back onto the 340. Tuff Stuff’s alternator is a mid-1970 square-back alternator designed by Chrysler, so it should fit into the factory brackets.
To clean up our Dart’s engine bay, we gathered 1-gauge wire, 10-gauge wire, a 150-amp ANL fuse, factory brackets, a 14-gauge fusible link, a 60-amp breaker, and a slew of terminal ends, solder, solder plugs (for the 1-gauge cable), and shrink-wrap. To move the B+ source from the starter relay, we made a 12-volt junction point (top left), which will provide all of the electrical needs for all of our add-on components. If you’re not familiar with solder slugs, they’re used when a large-gauge wire must have a terminal end attached to it. The slug is placed into the terminal end and then heated until the solder slug melts. Although some prefer attempting to crimp the wire to the terminal, the use of a solder slug is the best procedure to attach a large-gauge wire to a terminal. Heat from a propane torch quickly melts the solder and releases the flux that allows the solder to move into the wire. Once the solder and flux are melted, the stripped wire is slowly worked into the terminal. With the wire seated in the terminal, verify that the solder has moved up into the wire strands, and at that point remove the heat. The wire is now ready for shrinkwrap and installation on the vehicle.
Every wire we replaced or added to the Dart for the installation of the Tuff Stuff alternator was soldered and shrinkwrapped to ensure a proper and clean installation that’ll provide us with years of trouble-free operation.
The battery was relocated at the rear of the Dart in the early 1990s. The master cutoff switch is required for the elapsed times the Dart runs. The switch is a four-post design where two posts provide current flow of the charging system to the battery and the other two posts control the field of the alternator.
We made a power junction point where we could attach each subsystem that required a 12-volt source. The twin 10-gauge wires on the leftmost terminal are the 12-volt feed from the starter B+ terminal. The second terminal has a green fusible link wire that’s run under the dash and attaches to the two ammeter leads that have been disconnected from the ammeter. The third terminal has two 10-gauge wires. One wire provides voltage to a 40-amp breaker connected to the backup starter relay and the other wire sends voltage to a 60-amp breaker and then to the auxiliary fuse box. Lastly, the fourth terminal provides voltage to the factory starter relay.
With the wiring completed, the power junction point can be seen, and the distribution of the voltage can be traced around the engine bay. The large red 1-gauge wire runs from the Tuff Stuff alternator to the B+ starter terminal. With a 1-gauge wire from the alternator to the starter and a 0-gauge wire run from the starter to the battery in the trunk, there should be no voltage drop concerns with our charging system.
Under the dash, we attached the ammeter leads and our 12-volt wire from the junction point. The 12-volt wire provides current to the ammeter leads that are still attached to various factory wiring. We’ve completely removed the ammeter from the charging circuit.
We installed a 150-amp ANL fuse between the Tuff Stuff alternator and the B+ starter terminal. The fuse will isolate the alternator during a short-to-ground condition, which in turn will protect the charging system from damage.
TECH | ALTERNATOR
With the Tuff Stuff internal regulator, we were able to remove the factory voltage regulator. One of the wires from this regulator was used with the master cutoff switch and the field wire on the new alternator while the other wire was tucked away in the harness. If your car doesn’t have a master cutoff switch, you won’t need to use either wire.
The combination of the aftermarket heads and the underdrive crankshaft pulley with a non-factory offset required us to use spacers to align the Tuff Stuff alternator with the crank pulley and to clear the head. All the factory brackets were used, and the alternator fit perfectly.
At 2,000 engine rpm, the Tuff Stuff alternator provided a maximum of 14.67 volts at the alternator B+ terminal. The voltage never dropped below 14.5 volts at idle or off idle.
The voltage at the battery was 14.59 volts at 2,000 engine rpm. From the alternator to the battery in the trunk we experienced a .08-volt drop. The Tuff Stuff alternator provided voltage and the required amperage to maintain the battery and the entire charging system. We had to find a way to drop the field whenever the master cutoff switch was pushed into the off position. The green field wire was attached to the field terminal on the Tuff Stuff alternator. We disconnected the green field wire from the field terminal, plugged in a blue wire to the green wire, and plugged a red wire onto the field terminal where the green wire had been. The blue and red wires attach to the power side of a relay. Whenever the cutoff switch was moved to off, the switch turned off the control side of the relay, which caused the power side of the relay to open. The result was an open field, and the engine shut off.
The test vehicle was a ’69 Dodge Dart with a 340 and a 904 TorqueFlite transmission. The Dart is almost exclusively used for drag racing. The Dart runs 93-octane pump gasoline and runs in the low 11-second range.
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If your vehicle is equipped with a master cutoff switch like our Dart, you’ll need a four-pole master switch that can break the 0-gauge cable and also break the field circuit via relay. If the field isn’t broken, the alternator will continue to operate the fuel pump and other components even with the battery disconnected.
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For even more information about alternators and electrical systems, visit Tuff Stuff Performance Accessories at www.tuffstuffperformance. com. You’ll also find drop-downs of application-specific products as well as more tech tips.
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SOURCES TUFF STUFF PERFORMANCE ACCESSORIES 800-331-6562 WWW.TUFFSTUFFPERFORMANCE.COM
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BY JOHNNY HUNKINS • PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEOFF GATES
CLOSING THE GAP HOW TO ALIGN BODY PANELS WITH PRECISION
easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a good paintjob is one single job, when in reality it’s a series of smaller jobs that most always have to be done in a specific sequence. Getting proper panel alignment and gap is one of those jobs, and getting proper results means starting well before you start priming and painting. As you’ll see, gapping panels is a simple operation that can be done at home with a modest assortment of tools, and even if you’re having a body shop do the actual paintwork, it’s an area where you’ll be able to save money and create a better outcome. Panel gapping is something you’ll want to address fairly early in the body and paint process. Once major areas of rust and collision damage are fixed, panel gaps should be checked and set. This will potentially expose other hidden problems well before they become really expensive, thus saving you time, money, and headache. The last thing you want to be doing after paint is grinding, twisting, shimming, and drilling! Alloy Motors in Oakland, California, specializes in muscle car restoration, and Mopars in particular. Shop operator Geoff Gates is a big fan of Mopar A-Bodies, which means our ’68 Plymouth Valiant is right up his alley. Gates was gracious enough to take our Valiant in, and show us step-by-step how to get an old classic like this ready for paint, with the focus on how to do it at home with only a modest investment in tools. Gapping panels and setting alignment is a bit of an art, but there are some neat tricks to make it simple, and that’s what Gates is going to show us here. “One of the things that can take a mediocre job into the realm of show quality is the little details. Panel gaps are one such detail,” says Gates. “We’re not going for show quality here on the
It’s
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Valiant, but half-inch door gaps are just too much for us to let out of the shop.” Gates notes that Chrysler in the ’60s wasn’t known for their superior fit and finish, and the Valiant wasn’t even close to being a premium model, so the gaps on these cars were never that great from the factory. “With a little bit of work, we can get all the panels on the car to line up right and make the gaps a bit tighter, and certainly more even,” says Gates. “Now is the time to get that work done, when the heavy metalwork is finished, and before the bodywork starts. After all, some of the magic in gapping the panels may require a bit more of both!”
There aren’t a ton of tools here, just a few sockets, wrench, drill, 2-inch grinder, and a DA. The Porta Power is for heavier work, but you can get them cheap from Harbor Freight, or go in with some buddies and share one.
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TECH | CLOSING THE GAP
Here’s a prime example of a bad gap: the driver’s door is nearly a half inch from the edge of the quarter-panel. This is unacceptable even by cheap collision shop standards, and certainly Alloy Motors’. All we need to do is adjust the hinges.
Now prepare yourself for the pain of getting under the dash. Pop the kick panel off and you’ll see the bolts from the inside you need to crack loose. The lower ones are easy; the upper ones are way up under the dash above the fuse panel. Use some extensions and patience here. The two behind the fender are easy with the fender off.
You need to get the fender off to get access to several of the hinge bolts, so start by removing the top bolts, the ones on the front valance, and the ones on the lower near the door. Don’t forget the strut bar on the lower front as well.
After all six bolts are loose, Geoff Gates simply closes the door on the pin and grabs the edge of the door. He says don’t be afraid to put your weight into it and give it all a good tug.
There’s one pesky nut right near the cowl which you have to reach up into the wheelwell to get to — or try with the door open and get the right combination of tools in there. It’s the ½-inch nut on the stud that is near the firewall.
You may need a friend to help you hold the door in place. Once you have it where you like it, tighten the top and bottom bolts hidden by the fender. Then crack the other door open and tighten the four on the inside. You can see from the paint witness marks on this hinge how much we moved the door. We brought it down and back about a quarter inch.
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TECH | CLOSING THE GAP
We also had a tight gap at the cowl, and the door was racked a bit, so Gates snuck a shim in behind the hinge to help it all out.
The side by side of the before and after is pretty amazing.
Gates is cleaning up the paint, and the chips on the edge of the door here to ensure any gap irregularities aren’t due to paint and bodywork buildup. He just cleaned up the edge back to bare metal. The same goes for the fender-to-door gaps. Clean up the old paint and bodywork and re-shape your gaps as needed. You may have to adjust the panels a few times to get everything where you need it.
After cleaning up the paint on both edges, you can see how much better our gap is — a little less than ¼ inch now. 42
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On the fender, a few more shims underneath made the plane from the fender to rocker panel match much better.
TECH | CLOSING THE GAP
On the bottom of the door the gap was a bit tight, so Gates just ran a cut-off disc in the gap to open it up a bit and make it even all the way up. He says be careful not to go too far or you’ll have to TIG weld the edge of the doorskin if it splits. Now on to some heavier work. This trunk gap is so tight that the paint is chipping on the quarter-panel as well as the edge of the trunk. The car had been tapped in the corner at one point and not repaired properly, so it’s been working itself closed.
Be prepared to remove and replace the panels several times to get everything lined up right. Gates pulled and monkeyed this fender around four times to get it all lined up at the door.
Gates pulled out his Porto-Power for this one; it’s basically a hydraulic cylinder with some attachments. It took a couple of pumps to get it moving, but once it did he went just a little further to allow the metal to spring back a bit.
With the fender and door aligned, here’s a trick to help you get it all back together in the right place after paint. Drill a couple of 1/8-inch holes in inconspicuous spots like the top of the fender under the hood.
Now you have a couple of location holes and you can put a little piece of TIG welding rod in to line the panel up before you bolt it down. Put any shims you use back in the bag with the hardware and make notes of where they go. You can drill reference holes in the hinges, fenders, trunk, and hood like this to line it all back up after paint. 44
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Now there’s a tolerable gap here. Gates didn’t move it a ton, just enough to allow our new paint to clear the quarter-panel. We really got lucky here. You could see the distorted metal in the trunk, and Gates thought he was going to have to make relief cuts and re-weld to get it right. He says, “Sometimes you win, and this was easier than I planned!”
SOURCES ALLOY MOTORS 510-207-1613 WWW.ALLOYMOTORS.COM HARBOR FREIGHT 800-423-2567 WWW.HARBORFREIGHT.COM
MOPARS AT THE 2018 GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW MORE THAN 100 OF THE NATION’S FINEST MUSCLE CARS GATHERED WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI AND WERE ON DISPLAY AT THIS YEAR’S GNRS
BY RICHARD TRUESDELL
T
he Los Angeles Fairplex held host to this year’s 69th Grand National Roadster Show (GNRS) from January 25 to 27. The Fairplex is a historic exhibition facility, dating back to 1922 when the first L.A. County Fair was held. In 1930, at the height of the Great Depression, a number of new halls were built under the Works Progress Administration, one of which was then called Building 7. Today, this is Building 9, and, in January, it held host to 107 of the finest, most historic muscle cars from around the U.S. and Canada as part of this year’s much larger GNRS event. The cars exhibited for this year’s event, curated by Alex Idzardi, spanned the entire
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history of the classic 1964 to 1974 Muscle Car Era. This was when the cost of complying with government safety and emission regulations, insurance costs, and the first OPEC Oil Embargo presented a perfect storm to end the freewheeling era. And to expand the historical perspective, many pre-1964 fullsize, big-block cars were on display although none were from the Mopar family tree (there were several fullsized Fords and GM pre-1965 cars on display). The exhibition hall segregated the cars by manufacturer and make, with Mopars (which included six from the extended side of the family, the AMCs) placed between the GM cars on the north side of Building 9 and the Fords on the south
side. This was a non-judged event, which made it relaxing, especially for those displaying their cars. Walking among the mighty Mopars at the GNRS, one had to be impressed with the collection of cars brought together. Winged cars seemed to dominate the Mopar exhibit, positioned at the breaks between the rows. These included the ’69 Dodge Daytona owned by John Bianchi from Washington State. It was found not long ago and purchased from the original owner, who lived in a mobile home park. It was displayed basically in as-found condition. Parked right next to it was a ’70 Alpine White Plymouth Superbird owned by Louis Salazar from Los Angeles.
Among the more than two-dozen Mopars on display at the 2018 GNRS were several from the ’71-and-newer generation. Here’s David Selesnick’s Bahama Yellow ’71 Plymouth GTX with a 440 Six-Pack residing under the hood.
Prefer your later series B-Body Hemi-powered? This ’71 Plymouth GTX 426 Hemi with body-colored bumpers is owned by Jacoues Longpre and Sam Gambrel.
As to be expected there were many E-Body Mopars on display, this one being the ’70 Dodge Challenger owned by William Benson.
Another winged car, among at least six spotted in Pomona, that caught our eye was Stan and Lori McGuire’s ’70 Plum Crazy Dodge Daytona. Its storyboard denoted it’s a 440/727 TorqueFlite automatic-equipped car, restored in 2015. It was equipped with a more modern AM/FM/CD player, Classic Auto Air, and taillights with 600 LEDs. The reason? The car is a driver, and the stealth upgrades make for safer, more enjoyable driving. Theirs is a Daytona designed to be driven. It’s built to cruise Route 66 again — to reprise a 1995 trip. Invite us along!
Another Mopar that caught our eye among many E-Bodies was the Panther Pink ’70 Dodge Challenger T/A down from the Bay Area, built and owned by Mike Preston. It was a Six Pack-equipped 340, backed up with a pistol-grip four-speed manual. Close by was another bold-hued E-Body, the ’70 Dodge Challenger owned by William Benson who made the journey from Colorado, next to a ’70 Plymouth AAR ’Cuda owned by Mike Reed. One of the surprises, a pleasant one at that, was the number of ’71-and-newer
B-Body cars on display in Pomona. Our favorite? The Bahama Yellow ’71 Plymouth GTX owned by David Selesnick equipped with a 440 Six-Pack. With ’69 and ’70 B-Bodies, especially Chargers having become so expensive, maybe the ’71-and-up cars will finally catch up. And remember, these are the last of the factory Hemi cars until 2005, making them quite possibly the most affordable way to join the fraternity of classic Hemi owners. MOPAR MUSCLE JULY 2018
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EVENT | MOPARS AT THE 2018 GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW
Some consider AMC as the Pentastar’s shirttale relative, but since 1987 they have been a part of the Mopar family. Here six AMC muscle cars separated the Fords from the more mainstream Mopars. In front is Steve Fox’s A-Scheme ’69 Hurst SC/Rambler, followed by Mark Melvin’s 1968 AMX that was the actual car awarded to Playmate of the year, Victoria Vetri.
Winged cars, a half-dozen in all, dominated the Mopar section at the GNRS. This 1969 Dodge Daytona, now owned by John Bianchi was rescued from a mobile home park from its original owner. The ’70 Alpine White Plymouth Superbird next to it is owned by Louis Salazar.
As expected, E-Bodies were out in force at the GNRS, this one being a small-block ’70 Plymouth AAR ’Cuda owned by Mike Reed.
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t What would a gathering of Mopar muscle be withou Challenger a Panther Pink Dodge Challenger? This ’70 Dodge T/A was displayed by Mike Preston.
EVENT | MOPARS AT THE 2018 GRAND NATIONAL ROADSTER SHOW What more can you say about the presentation of Janice Sutherland’s ’69 Dodge Charger Daytona? This Hemi-powered Winged Warrior looks as if it’s going 200 mph, standing still.
Stan and Lori McGuire’s 440-powered ’70 Plum Crazy Dodge Daytona is the epitome of stealth, looking stock, but with many upgrades to make it more cruise-friendly.
Tucked away in the south corner of the Fairplex’s Building 9 was this ’71 Plymouth GTX owned by Daniel Hallisey, packing a 440 under its hood.
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RUNNIN’ DOW TO BUILD, IT TOOK MORE THAN 10 YEARS W BETTER BUT THIS ROAD RUNNER IS NO OLE BUNCH THAN NEW AND PACKING A WH 70 MORE POWER THAN IT DID IN 19
BY BOB MEHLHOFF
✪ PHOTOGRAPHY BY JORGE NUNEZ
ll car enthusiasts have one thing in common — a time and a place where it all started. For Matt Morrison, it was back in 1980, and the place was on his suburban street in North Hollywood, California, where a neighbor owned and worked on a B5 Blue ’70 Plymouth Road Runner. The Plymouth was powered by a 383 engine
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with a four-speed and was in need of a new timing chain. Fifteen-year-old Matt Morrison had admired the car for a long time and was more than happy to hang around and help as the owner took apart the front of the engine and replaced the timing chain. From that point on, Matt hasn’t only owned more than a few Mopars, but has also made a career/hobby out of it as a
service manager for Dependable Dodge in Canoga Park, California. And there’s even a lot of influential muscle car history orbiting Matt’s job locale. His employer, namely Dependable Dodge, has been at the same address for about 50 years and during that time has sold everything from 426 Coronets, Super Bees, 426 Hemi Chargers, 440 Six Pack Challengers all the way up to today’s R/Ts, Scat Packs,
N A DREAM
Hemis, and Hellcats. In addition, Matt is a founding member of Chrysler Performance West. And only a few miles away is Matt’s buddy Julius, famed Mopar guru of Restorations by Julius. To say that Matt has formed a great circle of Mopar allies is definitely an understatement. So when Matt with his specialized background took a look at his personal assortment of Mopars, he quickly realized he wanted to fulfill his longtime dream and own his own ’70 Road Runner. This all started back in 2003, and even then it was a little bit of a challenge to find a good
RUNNIN’ DOWN A DREAM starting candidate. Matt tells us it took a solid year of following leads across the southwest before he found a decent survivor ’70 Road Runner, which turned out to be about 20 minutes from his house. Although this original candidate didn’t have the ultimate Hemi engine and fourspeed he wanted, he knew the 383 and TorqueFlite drivetrain could easily be replaced with all the necessary performance parts he had in mind. And the car was genuine Road Runner. Starting with basically a body in somewhat shaggy shape, he started his carbuilding journey one step at a time. First, he media-blasted the vehicle to bare metal and discovered more than a few of the body panels needed replacement. With the help from the folks at Auto Metal Direct, Matt was able to source new quarter-panels, tailpanel, trunk floor, and a few other items to put the Road Runner’s body shell back to solid condition. Next, with the body on a rotisserie at Dependable Dodge, several coats of PPG 2 Stage B7 Blue paint were meticulously applied to the now laser-straight body. With the body taking shape, Matt moved on to the suspension, where he added a pair of rear Super Stock leaf springs for the 8¾-inch housing and 3.71 TrueTrac gearset to reside. Up front, went a set of Hemi torsion bars and Competition Drag shocks. To slow down the B-Body, Matt selected a set of original Chrysler Cordoba 11.75-inch front disc brakes riding on ’73 front spindles and out back the stock heavy-duty 11x2.5inch Road Runner drum setup. For rolling stock, Matt gave the nod to a set of 15x7 (front) and 15x8 (rear) Rallye Wheels. Inside, Matt decided to tackle the soft parts himself and selected upholstery products from Legendary to recover the factory front buckets and rear seats to original. He even successfully tackled the headliner — albeit after two good tries! To send 12 volts to the instruments in good order, a new M&H wiring harness was installed. Matt wanted to keep the interior dash appearance looking as original as possible, but also needed a high-rpm shift light, so he came up with the idea to wire the parking-brake warning light as his shift light. Once the body and interior were checked off of Matt’s to-do list, he went to work on the drivetrain. One of his earlier Mopars was a ’69 Hemi Road Runner that had a power level he longed for, but wanted to improve. To fulfill that aspiration, he selected a Gen II Chrysler Hemi. With the help of local machinist Ollie 54
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The interior of Matt’s Road Runner is all stock in appearance. One minor change is the parking-brake warning light that has been rewired by Matt to illuminate as a high-rpm shift light.
One of everyone’s favorite features on a performance Mopar is the Pistol Grip shifter, which was something new in 1970. When placed in reverse, the shifter activated a “Reverse” light that was dash mounted.
The special stripe when new was available under the option code V8Y — Transverse Tape Stripe for the color shown. The optional wheels came as 15-inch and were called Rallye Road Wheels.
The famous “Beep-Beep” horn is proudly displayed in the engine compartment.
Where a 383 once lived, Matt installed 572 ci of Gen II Hemi with a Comp solid roller and two Edelbrock 750-cfm carburetors. The original underhood airbox system had succumbed to some minor damage over the years since 1970. Matt, though, was able to successfully repair the minor cracking so that today the system looks unharmed.
The factory “Air Grabber” hood is activated by a toggle switch that’s mounted on the dash by driver control. These were optional on Road Runners and the GTX, but came standard when the 426 Hemi was selected.
MOPAR MUSCLE JULY 2018
55
RUNNIN’ DOWN A DREAM
FAST FACTS
1970 PLYMOUTH ROAD RUNNER CAR OWNER: Matt Morrison
ENGINE TYPE: Gen II 572ci Hemi BORE: 4.50 inches STROKE: 4.50 inches CYLINDER HEADS: Mopar aluminum COMPRESSION RATIO: 11.5:1 CRANK MATERIAL: forged steel CAMSHAFT: Comp solid roller VALVE LIFT: 0.692-inch intake, 0.696-inch
lift exhaust DURATION @ 0.050: intake 268, exhaust 272
Meet Matt Ferguson and his Jamaica Blue (B7) ’70 Road Runner. Matt spent over 10 years building the car. Matt’s day job is as the Service Manager at Dependable Dodge in Canoga Park, California.
Hellert, a new Elephant Motor was built. To produce a whole bunch of reliable torque, Matt blueprinted and balanced the 4.50-inch stroke and 4.50-inch bore combination, yielding 572 ci with 11.5:1 compression. For added strength, a set of Manley connecting rods were installed and a very large Comp solid roller cam with 0.692-inch lift. To help move massive amounts of air into the Hemi, a ported intake manifold and Mopar aluminum cylinder heads (by Ollie) were installed and fed by two Edelbrock 750-cfm carburetors. To ignite this air/fuel charge, a stock Mopar ignition system with a PerTronix module was installed. A set of TTI Exhaust 2 ¼-inch headers bolted to a 3-inch underbody exhaust system rids the spent gases from the Hemi. A Hemi A833 fourspeed with a Hurst Comp Plus and Pistol Grip shifter controls the power the Gen II Hemi produces, while Matt especially enjoys driving his Road Runner with so much torque on tap. When Matt and his Road Runner arrived for our photo shoot one Monday
INDUCTION: Intake manifold ported by Ollie Hellert FUEL: two Edelbrock 750-cfm carburetors IGNITION: stock Mopar with PerTronix module HEADERS: TTI 2¼ headers EXHAUST: TTI 3.0-inch exhaust system COOLING SYSTEM: stock 26-inch radiator with Mopar aluminum housing and pump
DRIVETRAIN TRANSMISSION: A833 Hemi four-speed SHIFTER: Hurst Competition Plus with Pistol Grip handle CLUTCH: Centerforce 10.95-inch
morning, we not only loved the finished look he had achieved with his 10-plus years of great work, but also the way the 572 Hemi sounded as he fired it up. As a matter of fact, Matt’s Road Runner certainly called attention to itself as other arriving office workers who share our business complex were exiting their commuter cars. More than a few of them walked over to watch him drive into our studio and comment how much they loved his car. Maybe it was the time and a place where it all started for them?
REAR AXLE: B-Body 8¾-inch with 3.71:1 TrueTrac posi
CHASSIS FRONT SUSPENSION: Hemi torsion bars with
Competition drag shocks, and framerail connectors STEERING: stock manual BRAKES: Cordoba disc with 11.75-inch rotors (front) and 11-inch drums (rear)
WHEELS & TIRES WHEELS: 15x7 (front) and 15x8 (rear)
Rallye Road Wheels
SOURCES AUTO METAL DIRECT WWW.AUTOMETALDIRECT.COM
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✪ PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE AUTHOR
hey call them ponycars, not fish cars. Unless one is a dyed-in-thewool Moparaholic, most car enthusiasts and the general public believe that the ponycar era started on April 16, 1964, when Ford’s Mustang was introduced to the public.
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It actually started about two weeks earlier when the Plymouth Valiant Barracuda (officially, for 1964, it was considered a Valiant) was introduced on April Fools’ Day. In 1963, Plymouth’s product planners already were aware Ford’s Falconbased Mustang was coming in the spring of 1964, and they wanted to have a response.
The response was the midyear introduction of the Barracuda. But unlike Ford’s Mustang, which shared no exterior panels with the Falcon on which it was based. From the belt line down, the Barracuda was pure Signet, the top model in the Valiant lineup. This would turn out to be a fatal flaw. While Plymouth dealers shifted a
In 1967, Frank Chirat owned a special-order Plymouth Barr uda 273 Formula S fastback. Afterac for years, he owns another. searching
respectable number of Barracudas, 23,443 to be exact, Ford sold more than five times the number of hardtop and convertible Mustangs before the fastback was added to the Mustang’s lineup for the full 1965 model year. By the time the 1965 full-year Mustangs were introduced in September (which had
several significant updates like an alternator and introduced a fastback model), Ford had a runaway hit. Concurrently, the ’67 Mustang and Barracuda models were already in development in the fall of 1964, as well as the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebirds over at crosstown rival GM. Plymouth’s design team and product
planners weren’t about to make the same mistake. The 1967 Barracudas would have three models — the original fastback and new hardtop and convertible — to directly compete with the Mustang and would share no exterior sheetmetal with the Valiant with which it would share its A-Body platform. MOPAR MUSCLE JULY 2018
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SECOND TIME AROUND
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While 1967 was a watershed year in Pony Car history, with the Chevrolet Camaro, Mercury Cougar, and Pontiac Firebird joining its ranks (the AMC Javelin would fill out the class in 1968), it was important for a second reason: big-blocks. Ford widened and enlarged the Mustang’s engine bay to accommodate the 390 V-8, and Plymouth countered with the tried-and-true 383 V-8, pumping out a respectable 280 hp. But due to a more restrictive exhaust manifold this was less than the 315hp output produced by the four-barrel 383 in the larger mid and fullsized models. With 280 hp, the Barracuda was a strong performer but in a straight line, it would only see the taillights of Mustangs equipped with the 390 V-8. On a curvy road, it was an entirely different story. Back in the 1965 model year, Plymouth introduced the Formula S package. Between the Barracuda’s lighter weight and its torsion bar suspension, a Formula S-equipped would out-handle any Mustang, save for the Shelby GT-350 models. The Formula S handling package (HD front torsion bars, HD rear leaf springs, sway eliminator bar) was carried over to the all-new ’67 Barracudas. When combined with the styling of the fastback model, the ’67 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S was the most Europeaninfluenced of any the ’67 ponycars. None of this matters to Frank Chirat of Orange County, California, owner of the Turbine Bronze ’67 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S pictured here. Chirat, who grew up in Chicago, fell in love with cars at about age 9. He started tinkering with his dad’s ’56 Ford, which he later gave to Frank. He sold it to get a ’60 VW bug, which he installed a Judson supercharger and EMPI exhaust on. As an auto shop guy in high school, he enrolled in Triton College’s Auto Shop AA Degree program and was hired to perform new car prep at Park Chrysler Plymouth in Chicago. This was 1967, and he predelivered and road-tested all the new Barracudas, and GTXs. At that time he also completed the Chrysler training school — every class they offered — achieving master technician certification. Chirat’s life was influenced forever when one day a silver with red racing stripes and red interior Barracuda Formula S came into the new car department. It had a little over 600 miles on it, and he was told it was used for advertisements in the car magazines. It was a 273 four-barrel car with solid-lifters, a four-speed manual transmission, and equipped with every option. “I bought it, I drove it, I drag raced it,” Chirat says. “That was until 1969 when I graduated and left Chicago for Los Angeles to get my four-year bachelor of science degree at California State University at Los Angeles with a major in automotive technology. I didn’t think I could afford college and MOPAR MUSCLE JULY 2018
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SECOND TIME AROUND a Barracuda, so I sold it back to the dealer. I traded my Suzuki 150 sport cycle for a ’65 Hillman Husky and headed for L.A.” (Chirat is currently restoring a similar Hillman. It’s interesting to note that in 1965, Hillman was part of the Rootes Group in the UK, which was controlled by Chrysler Corporation who handled its imports to North America. So Hillman has a Mopar connection of its own.) “After graduation, I was hired by Ford Motor Company for the Ford Customer Service Division and for 13 years was the zone manager and owner relations manager for San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles counties along with Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1981, I bought a ’68 Shelby GT500 off Sunset Ford’s used car lot. I still have it. It’s fully restored and has won 38 First Place awards, nine Best of Shows, has been featured in several magazines, a coffee table book, and more.” “Around 2006, I wanted to add a ’67 Barracuda Formula S to go with my Shelby,” recalls Chirat. “Trouble is, there weren’t that many Barracudas produced, and most of the ones around were modified, rusted, or not a combination I was interested in. For five years, I searched and finally this one showed up in Florida. The owner had another Barracuda, but had bought this one for his wife. They named her Justine.” Chirat relates that it was a Texas car, delivered to its first owner at Worthey Forest Park Plymouth in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 8, 1967. He died, and it went to auction, where a lady from Oklahoma purchased it. She showed it at car shows for about 10 years, but with manual steering and manual brakes and a 383, it was a handful. She sold it to a man in Colorado and sold to the owner in Florida off eBay. After several months of talking, sending pictures, my wife and I flew to Florida to see the car. “It was an unmolested driver,” Chirat says. “Not abused, but not overly cared for. It had about 140,000 miles on it. I purchased it in August 2011 and had it shipped to California. Justine became a California girl.” After getting the car to California, Chirat realized that his car was about 75 percent original
and being a purist determined he’d maintain it rather than commissioning a full restoration. He spent several years adjusting the doors, glovebox, trim, cleaning dirt from everywhere. “The car had been painted once in 1990, exterior only at a cost of $1,200 in enamel including orange peel,” says Chirat. “I spent many months removing and cleaning the overspray off trim and undercarriage. I was color sanding, claying, compounding, polishing, and waxing the paint to get it to look like Turbine Bronze. Any part not factory original was corrected right down to the battery and keys.” Continues Chirat, “The Barracuda was authenticated by Galen Govier back in 2006. It’s 1 of 748 383 four-barrel Barracuda Formula S models. It is #10 of 39 in VIN sequence accounted for at that time. It was built at Chrysler’s Hamtramck plant on March 21, 1967. The documentation file starts from the first owner — DMV records, repair orders, Broadcast Sheet, Owner’s Manual, Certicard — are all original to this car.” Under the hood is the original engine. Superior Automotive in Placentia, California, updated the cylinder heads. Art Carr rebuilt the original transmission. Chirat notes that Justine is driven several times a month, and it’s very pleasant to drive. “The manual steering and brakes are a little challenging, but overall the car is very balanced. Back in 1967, Plymouth noted that the Formula S was a balanced vehicle in their sales brochure.” Speaking of the sales brochure, we noted when shooting the car, we wished that we had looked at the 1967 booklet before scheduling the photo session. Frank said no problem and produced the 1967 brochure from the documentation file he keeps with the car. Thumbing through the pages, we noted a rear three-quarter view shot from above, easily the car’s best view. Think of how much better the Barracuda looks compared to its competitor from Dearborn, and how much its design influenced the second-generation Camaro and Firebird. Not too bad of a legacy for a car that in the end was overshadowed by the E-Body Barracudas that followed.
FAST FACTS
1967 PLYMOUTH BARRACUDA CAR OWNER: Frank Chirat; Orange County, CA
ENGINE TYPE: 383ci RB BLOCK MODIFICATIONS: None BLOCK MANUFACTURER: Chrysler BORE X STROKE: 4.24 x 3.375 ROD MANUFACTURER: stock Chrysler RODS: steel forged PISTON MANUFACTURER: stock Chrysler CRANKSHAFT: Competition Thumpr Cam CRANKSHAFT: stock Chrysler CRANK MATERIAL: steel forged CAM MANUFACTURER: stock Chrysler CAM SPECS: lift .450/.458 at 268/.284 HEAD MANUFACTURER: stock Chrysler
cast-iron VALVE MANUFACTURER: stock Chrysler VALVESPRINGS: stock Chrysler ROCKER ARM: stock Chrysler SIZE: intake stock exhaust stock TYPE: roller INTAKE MANIFOLD: stock Chrysler CARBURETORS: factory Carter AFB DISTRIBUTOR: PerTronix EXHAUST: stock Chrysler dual exhaust MUFFLER: OEM Replacement EXHAUST PIPES: OEM replacement EXHAUST: aftermarket, 2.25-inch diameter BUILT BY: Engine Superior Automotive (Placentia, CA)
DRIVETRAIN TRANSMISSION: automatic three-speed MANUFACTURER: stock Chrysler rebuilt by Art Carr Transmissions (Huntington Beach, CA) SHIFTER: stock Chrysler CLUTCH: N/A REAREND: Chrysler 8¾ RATIO: 3.23:1 Sure Grip STEERING: stock Chrysler manual BRAKES: stock Chrysler FRONT BRAKES: stock Chrysler manual disc
brakes REAR BRAKES: stock Chrysler manual drum
brakes
INTERIOR SEATS: stock Chrysler black vinyl INSTRUMENTS: stock Chrysler Formula S
Package WIRING: stock Chrysler
WHEELS & TIRES WHEELS: 14x5.5 (front) and 14x5.5 (rear)
stock Chrysler TIRES: P215/70/14 (front) and P215/70/14 (rear) BFGoodrich Silverton Red Line Radials
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UNFORGE BUILDING THE ’71 PLYMOUTH SHE WISHED SHE OWNED IN HIGH SCHOOL.
BY RICHARD TRUESDELL
✪ PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE AUTHOR
utomotive enthusiasts build cars for a variety of reasons. A dream motivates many to build a classic hot rod, while for others it’s the opportunity to own a car they lusted after earlier in life but couldn’t afford at the time. But, for many, it’s an attempt to recapture a fleeting moment of one’s youth, that special car, most often one’s very first car.
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And when it’s built it’s not the second-hand car first purchased decades earlier, it’s the car they wished they purchased, with perfect paint, a pristine interior, and not with the entry-level slant six or small-displacement V-8, but with the biggest engine offered. This is the story of one couple’s vision. In 1972 Anna Brook was a teenager living in Northwest Indiana. She saved up to buy her first car and, with the help of her parents,
was able buy one better than most, a oneyear-old ’71 Plymouth Satellite Sebring twodoor hardtop with just 2,800 miles on the clock, color code C7, In-Violet, with blue-cloth bench seat interior, pretty typical of the time. And it wasn’t a big-block 383 or 440 wedge or a 426 Hemi, rather a much more pedestrian 318 V-8 resided under the hood, backed up with a three-speed TorqueFlite automatic, again pretty typical of the era.
ETTABLE
Anna drove her Satellite for the better part of a decade, over which time it survived the first gas crisis in 1973. It was her daily driver and as such, it had developed a reputation for being somewhat undependable, to the degree that she gave it a nickname, “Unpredictable.” And over those eight years, she learned how to deal with whatever it threw at her. Over time the 318 developed an appetite for oil as she found herself
adding a quart of oil with every fill-up (no, it wasn’t a two-stroke 318). Besides the niggling mechanical issues, the gas gauge stopped working, stranding her with an empty tank on more than one occasion. Finally, in 1979, about the time of the second gas crunch, she had enough and sold it. Almost three decades later, in 2007, after having built several award-winning
show cars with her husband, Howard — an industrial engineer, now retired from UPS, with incredible mechanical and restoration skills, and whose spheres of enthusiasm ran from restoring a Jaguar E-Type to a ’59 Chevrolet sedan delivery — the couple faced the dilemma of what to do next. It was Anna who suggested a ’71 Plymouth Satellite Sebring, like the very first car she owned in high school. MOPAR MUSCLE JULY 2018
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UNFORGETTABLE Like when formulating a plan, the search turned to the buff books, online classifieds, and eBay. Their search took them to Arizona, where sight unseen they purchased a ’71 Plymouth Satellite Sebring. The seller presented it as a solid, running, virtually rust-free western car. After it was shipped to their home in Western New York, Howard concluded that the 35-year-old car had been honestly presented by the sell but they decided to do a full restoration with a twist. The plan was to restore it to GTX trim (1971 was the final year for the GTX as a separate model) with a bored and stroked 440, punched out to 457 ci, backed up with a five-speed Tremec manual transmission. Most of the heavy lifting on the engine was completed by Van Gordon Racing in Upland, California. With a solid restoration plan in place, the couple showed the car to Ken Pezdek, the owner of Aero Collision and Fabrication in Lancaster, New York, where it was treated to a full rotisserie restoration. Ken’s team meticulously addressed the bumps and bruises that the car had accumulated over the previous 35 years with Howard and Anna doing much of the car’s disassembly before Pezdek’s team took over. One sheetmetal issue that needed to be addressed was work to the tunnel section of the floorpan to accommodate the six-speed
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Tremec transmission whose dimensions were different than the outgoing Chrysler four-speed. As the paint was applied, a modern update of the classic B5 Blue, the car began to really take shape. For rechroming, Howard shipped the bumpers to Advance Plating in Nashville, Tennessee. The companion stainless steel trim went off to Stainless Trim Restoration in Depew, New York. The bright work on the car is substantially better than when it rolled down the Los Angeles assembly line. B-Body Mopars from this era weren’t known for perfect fit and finish coming down the assembly line. Ill-fitting panels and orange-peel paint was the norm, not the exception. This didn’t stop Ken and his team from reassembling the car to exacting standards, with the alignment of the front fenders, doors, hood, and decklid being closer to a modern-day Lexus than a massproduced Plymouth from more than four decades ago. Again, as the photos illustrate, the car displays outstanding panel fit. Because the car, when finished, would have something close to three times the power of the well-worn and anemic 318, local supplier SSBC was called upon for an updated front- and rear-disc brake setup with powdercoated calipers along with a billet proportioning valve, and a master
MOPAR MUSCLE JULY 2018
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UNFORGETTABLE
FAST FACTS
1966 DODGE CORONET R/T CAR OWNERS: Howard and Anna Brook
ENGINE TYPE: RB CUBIC INCHES: over 440 BORE: 4.32 inches plus .40 over, total of 4.72 BLOCK MODIFICATIONS: bored .040 over BLOCK: Chrysler BORE X STROKE: stock 4.72 x 3.75 RODS: stock, cast PISTONS: Speed-Pro, 9.8:1 compression CRANKSHAFT: stock steel CAM: Comp Cams hydraulic LIFT: .470 at .050 224 VALVES: Milodon, 2.14 intake, 1.81 exhaust VALVESPRINGS: Comp Cams
cylinder and booster. Getting the power to the ground would come courtesy of a heavyduty 8¾-inch rear end that Howard carefully rebuilt. As Anna’s long-lost first car was a bench-seat model, Howard sourced a set of GTX-style high-back buckets along with a set of factory gauges and sporty center console. The interior trim was restored to better-than-new quality using white vinyl seat upholstery and door panels from Legendary Auto Interiors. The results, with the white vinyl contrasting with the bold exterior, as the photos show, is a dynamic combination. This is such a contrast to the muted colors of today’s cars — even when the exterior is a bold color such as this. There’s just so many things that you can do with black, charcoal, and taupe. SOURCES Other upgrades to the interior included a Quiet Ride Solutions AcoustiShield Thermal Acoustic InteAERO COLLISION & FABRICATION rior Insulation Kit in place of OEM-grade sound 716-685-AERO deadening panels. Howard notes that the kit is CLASSIC TUBE vehicle-specific, arriving pre-cut and ready to install. 800-882-3711 The results? A ’70s-era B-Body that’s as quiet as a WWW.CLASSICTUBE.COM new Chrysler 300. While the body and interior work was underway, EATON DETROIT SPRINGS Van Gordon Racing completed the engine work. 313-963-3839 Next, Howard installed the clutch, pressure plate, WWW.EATONSPRINGS.COM and flywheel, along with the throwout bearing, LEGENDARY AUTO INTERIORS bellhousing, and transmission. The final touch? A 800-363-8804 set of Pirelli P-Zero Rosso tires mounted on Boyd’s WWW.LEGENDARYAUTOINTERIORS.COM Crown Jewel alloy wheels. Not long after the car was completed, the car debuted at the Grand PIRELLI TIRE NORTH AMERICA 800-243-5105 National Roadster Show in Pomona, California. WWW.US.PIRELLI.COM After that Anna and Howard enjoyed the car for many years together. SHERWIN-WILLIAMS “Anna was a car girl’s car girl,” says Howard. AUTOMOTIVE FINISHES “We were a team, on almost every car we built. 216-566-2062 It was a partnership. She had her opinions; I had WWW.SHERWIN-AUTOMOTIVE.COM mine, and we always seemed to make it work. But STAINLESS STEEL BRAKES CORP. this car, when we built it, was much more her car 800-448-7722 than mine, and the way it turned out really reflects WWW.SSBRAKES.COM that. That’s what made what happened last year at times so hard to accept. She learned last FebruQUIET RIDE SOLUTIONS ary [2017] that she had cancer and just 40 days 209-942-4777 WWW.QUIETRIDE.COM later, she was gone. But the thing about this car is that it is a reminder of our more than 38 years VAN GORDON RACING ENGINES together, 36 married. Yes, it’s bittersweet at times, 909-946-5991 but every time I go out to the garage I feel her WWW.VANGORDONRACING.COM spirit. It’s with me always, especially when I get YEARONE behind the wheel. The car certainly was a collabo800-950-9503 ration, but when you look at in retrospect, this was WWW.YEARONE.COM truly her car.” 68
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ROCKER ARM: stock INTAKE MANIFOLD: Edelbrock Aluminum Six Pack CARBURETORS: Holley Six Pack DISTRIBUTOR: Mallory EXHAUST: Chrysler RB Hi-Performance MUFFLER: Spin Tech EXHAUST PIPES: Muffler Tech Performance INLET/OUTLET SIZE: 2.50 inches EXHAUST: aluminized 2.50 inches EXHAUST TIPS: stainless steel tips with YearOne
red inserts ENGINE: built by VanGordon Racing Engines (Upland, CA)
DRIVETRAIN TRANSMISSION: manual five-speed MANUFACTURER: Tremec/Keisler Engineering/ Silver Sport Transmissions (Wixom, MI/ Rockford, TN) SHIFTER: Hurst Pistol Grip CLUTCH: long-style Hays 11-inch REAREND: Chrysler 8¾ RATIO: 3.55:1 Sure Grip STEERING: Firm Feel Inc. BRAKES: Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation FRONT BRAKES: Tri Power Calipers 13-inch Big Bite cross-drilled rotors REAR BRAKES: Sport R1 Calipers 11.25-inch Big Bite cross-drilled rotors
WHEELS & TIRES WHEELS: 18x7 (front) and 18x8 (rear) Crown
Jewel Alloy Wheels By Boyd’s TIRES: 245/45ZR18 (front) and 255/55ZR18 (rear) Pirelli P-Zero Rosso
INTERIOR SEATS: Legendary Auto Interiors white vinyl INSTRUMENTS: Tachman tachometer with Auto Instrument OEM cluster WIRING: M&H Electric Fabricator
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GENERAL MAYHEM BEHIND-THE-SCENES STORIES FROM THE MEN WHO KEPT THE MOST FAMOUS CHARGER IN HISTORY FLYING HIGH
BY CAM BENTY/TOM SARMENTO
✪ PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM SARMENTO
ack in the early 1980s, at a nondescript shop not far from the end of what is now the Bob Hope Airport near Burbank, California, a war of time and attrition was waged daily. While no lives were lost in this war, this battle between man and machine was truly unique, taking normally land-bound vehicles and making them take flight — at least for a little while. And as opposed to Elon Musk’s refillable rockets that land ever so gently, these vehicles re-entered the atmosphere with a bang — even their pilots rocked to the cores. Warner Bros. TV hired a select group of mechanics and special effects guys whose sole task was to outfit then common Dodge
Chargers with reliable engines, suspension, and tires, add a rollcage to protect the drivers, and hand them off to the stunt crew. While the escapades of the General Lee’s staring role were carefully captured on film to the delight of an avid audience, there was more to it than simply driving fast and e-brake turns. Only this small band of talented warriors knew what was necessary to keep these cars, and the support vehicles driven by the other actors, ready when the director yelled “Action.” The Dukes of Hazzard television show ran from 1979 through 1985 and was a top-rated show during that time. With actors John Schneider and Tom Wopat behind the controls of their legendary ’69 Dodge Charger, complete with
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NASCAR-style non-operational doors and “01” emblazoned on the side, the car became, and is still today, arguably the most famous of all TV vehicles. Yes, bigger than the Batmobile, Knight Rider, and even Burt Reynolds’ Bandit TA. Responsible for all of the 317 Chargers that were used on the show during its six-year run was builder/lead mechanic Tom Sarmento, who still to this day stages Dukes Fest events in the southeastern U.S. and attends other events both here and internationally. Some 30-plus years after that last orange Charger flew across the screen, the General Lee and the folks that made it popular, regardless of their roles, are celebrities to this diehard fan base.
Just in case you were curious there was more than one Gener al Lee Charger used du ring the six seasons of the show. In all, 317 Chargers were used to play the star car of the series. If you think that’s a lot, the numb er of police cars that saw their demise during the show was four times that figure.
THE GENERAL’S INFANTRYMEN
Whatever the script called for, the General Lee had to be ready to perform. Here the Charger is called upon to race in a local competition that ended, appropriately enough, in downtown Hazzard. This set was located on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, and still exists today — with some modifications for more current productions.
While Sarmento was responsible for the timely operation of the cars on the set when called to perform, he also created an amazing team of “technicians” who worked tirelessly to build cars for both First and Second unit filming. As with most productions, First Unit cars worked with the actors themselves, often on location or on stage. Second Unit cars did all of the stunts, big and small. Dukes’ Second Unit tasks could range from driving action around the location, “mini-jumps” where the car hops off a short jump before returning to the ground, to full-scale ramp to ramp (and ramp to nothing) “flights.” John Cade and Corey Eubanks did 40 percent of the jumps backed up by Al Wyatt and Henry Kengi. While it was Wyatt who holds the record for the longest jump at 236 feet, in terms of shear volume, Cade and Eubanks have the most total airtime. “For each show, we figured we needed at least six GenThese reproduc s ok bo log n tio eral Lee Chargers, eight sheriff cars, two Jesse pickups, two detail the daily Daisy Jeeps, two Boss Hogg Cadillacs, and at least six nonactivities of Tom descript cars at the ready between first and second unit,” notes Sarmento and his Sarmento. “We had to have plenty of backups because we mechanics, and to knew that things happen; guys run into trees, cars flip over, they attempted etc. — and we had to have extra vehicles if there was a jump. keep up with an t aggressive shoo Things really got interesting when we moved from Lake Sherle. du he sc wood (near Thousand Oaks, California), which is where most t work on a for all of the car action and stun The Second Unit is responsible in the 1980s Unit nd Seco the just run to took show. This is how many folks it Henry left, his on tt, Wya Al is the back row The crazy white-haired guy on a buffs). trivi TV you for ner, Wag say Kengi (husband to Lind
GENERAL MAYHEM
) Cade (in goggles ing quired to launch ow re ” sh ew se Cr po d ey un th The “Gro ted crew. Here en tal a s wa , air through the their pilot safe. nt used to keep off the equipme
of the show was filmed, to subsequent locations such as Indian Dunes, Disney Ranch, Columbia Ranch, Castaic Lake, and others before the final season at Valencia Oaks (all located just outside the Los Angeles area).” The record for jumps in one day happened in February 1983 when nine Chargers were launched into the air. The reason for the huge number of jumps (most of the time there were no more that one or two jumps in a week) was that the executive producer, Paul Picard, threatened to use stock footage rather than have them film new action, thinking that he could save money. Second Unit Director Gary Baxley wouldn’t have it, and to get the footage in the “can,” he staged a jump fest all in one day. None of the nine Chargers survived.
VEHICLE PREP
Remembers Sarmento, “On my first day at Dukes, I arrived on location in Valencia, California, around 5 a.m. in my converted bread truck full of tools and supplies. Transportation Captain Jack Oates was already out there. Upon seeing me, he simply pointed to the pile of Chargers over by some trees stating, ‘well, there they are.’ In all, there were about 15 Chargers lying in a heap with flat tires and dead batteries. So began my glorious career on Dukes.”
Early attempts to make the Charger fly straight and true met with total disaster, the car nosing in hard when it returned to the ground and endangering the driver. To fix that issue, a weight box was added to the trunk and outfit with lead weights to balance out the nose-heavy cars. This Charger flew to perfection — but if you think it drove away afterward, you’re living in TV fantasyland.
These were truly the “General’s Men,” the mechanics of the shop in Burbank, Californ ia, where the cars were prepped. Sarmento is far right next to his friend, Rich Sephton (white shirt). On top of the car is special effects and rollcage builder A.J. Thrasher complete with his Razorback hat and ever -present wad of Redman chew.
It didn’t take Sarmento long to get the cars up and running. Tires and batteries were easy and after a few other simple corrections, Sarmento felt they were back in business so he took a break and filled up his coffee cup. Once again it was Oates who was to spoil Sarmento’s morning, pointing a finger at the stack of Chargers and commenting, “looks like your Chargers are on fire!” Sure enough, the cars were doing one of two things — either generating huge plumes of steam as they overheated because of busted radiators and hoses, or leaking oil all over the ground. Clearly, the General Lees had been worked hard and required a lot of attention just to get them to run, let alone perform. Sarmento’s saga had just begun. If there’s a silver lining to the story it was that as a result of the poor condition of the picture cars, Sarmento and his good friend, Rich Sephton, made a living turning junk cars into reliable picture vehicles using their skills honed building their personal race cars. It didn’t take Sarmento a lot of convincing to make Picard understand the need to have cars that do what the director wanted when he yelled action. Spending a little more money to avoid downtime made a lot of sense. Said Sarmento, “While the police cars were fairly new (1977-1978), the Chargers were falling apart. We picked them
s-on Director Paul Picard was a hand the guy and not afraid to get behind rare camera to check the shot. This in image shows Picard taking a ride d filme sure e mak to Lee the General images were perfect.
up from all over Los Angeles and rarely paid more than $500. The transportation people in charge of the cars didn’t know the difference between a 318 and a 440 [ci engine]. Back then you could even get Charger R/Ts for under $1,000. It seemed like most of them were green for some reason — clearly that was a popular color from the factory. More than once, we spotted a car on the street, knocked on the door, and offered $500 for the car and a clean title. Those were the days of cheap and plentiful muscle cars.”
GIVING THE GENERAL A HAND
Warner Bros.’ producers had no clue as to what it would take to get the Chargers to not only fly through the air but also be simply operational. Most of the Chargers were equipped with big-block Mopar engines, ranging from 383 to 440 ci. We used smallblock–powered cars for midsized jumps, installing nitrous oxide to give the cars the added lift. When a car was required to slide around in the dirt during a chase or
Stuntman John Cade suits up for duty. Looking like he’s ready for a football game rather than a car stunt, this protective gear was typical of the “safety” equipment used for the show.
er (aka Bo Duke) wasn’t the Here’s proof that John Schneid e were worked hard and Thes Lee. only driver of the General d a lot of time prepping spen forced the Second Unit crew to support vehicles. r othe and cars e thes iring and repa
While the busin ess of building cars to keep the driver safe during some crazy car stunt is serious busines s, when these guys got to clowning around, it was pretty hilarious. Here Rich Seph ton and A.J. Thrash er pose for a pictu re, one they’d neve r live down.
DUKES MYTHS: complete other dynamic driving, a 383cior-bigger cube-equipped car was preferred because they had the necessary torque. As with most accounting departments, they began to become very concerned about overruns of the budget down at Warner Bros. headquarters. To that end, the guy charged with riding heard on the guys at the mechanics shop was affectionately nicknamed “Clipboard” Steve because of his obvious and ever-present clipboard. Every day, he would arrive at the show to tally the parts required to keep the Chargers coming down the line — and take the torment dished out by the mechanics (who were a cast of characters themselves). Some time during 1982, “Clipboard” Steve decided Sarmento should begin keeping a log of the cars and repairs, not only the Chargers, but also all of the police cars and picture vehicles. What remains are the logbooks that now place the times and dates for each jump and verifies the total cars used. That’s priceless information for car guys.
THE BIG JUMPS “Someone installed a 413ci big-block in one of the Chargers — the early style Mopar engine — as odd as that would seem. To make things more unusual, the car also had a four-speed transmission,” said Sarmento. “It was the only manual
transmission car I can remember from my days on the show. The stunt guys didn’t like them because there were too many pedals to contend with during a jump. Between the gas and brake and the parking brake (the latter used for fast sliding turns — the ratcheting mechanism was removed so the brake could be depressed locking the rear tires — and then released once the driver had made the turn) there was just too much going on.” Wyatt completed the biggest jump ever for Dukes at 236 feet, but Cade’s 186-foot jump in Oxnard, California, over a moving train was one of the most dramatic. The prep completed to launch the Charger at the right angle was typical of how it was done. Says Cade, “When they strapped me in the car, I found that I couldn’t reach the gearshift. The gear I needed was Third, which was the furthest way from me, so they taped the gear shifter into Third, which meant that I had to feather the clutch to get the car to move and get up to speed without shifting.” “Strapping in” a guy in a stunt car was fairly unusual at the time, but something that would seem extremely unsafe by today’s standards. The driving suit used at the time wasn’t really the typical flame-retardant race car
Insider Trading on the General Lee from Tom Sarmento: doors were never welded. How else would • The Uncle Jessie or Boss Hogg ever get into the back seat the cars? 1969 and modified 1968 Chargers were • Only used. No 1970s for obvious reasons — there are lots of incorrect rumors to the contrary. rollcage in the car is wrong for safety • The sake, the rear diagonal protecting the passenger side so that John Schneider could be seen in filming from the back seat of the car — Hollywood stuff. Chargers were used — all taken from Los • 317 Angeles County. Mopar engines powered most of the • Big-block cars. When used for First Unit filming, where the cars had to slide around to kick up the dirt, the 383ci engines were preferred. achieve the right angle when flying and • To avoid the “nose in” damage they experienced in the first test flights, 300 pounds of lead was installed in a weight box in the trunk of smallblock cars and 500 pounds in big-block cars. of the cars received some form of rollbar • Most hoop installed by A.J. Thrasher. For the bigger jumps, a full cage was installed to protect the driver. The cages, big and small, used highquality tubing. Walden, the creator of the original Gen• Guy eral Lee (as opposed to rumors about George Barris) wanted a Pontiac GTO. There were 180,000 Chargers built back in 1969, so by virtue of availability it was the final choice. original horn used on the General Lee • The was heard first on a food truck by Director Paul Baxley and then used on the show. Only one car was equipped with a real horn — the First Unit car driven on stage by Schneider and Wopat. Stuntmen: Paul Baxley, Craig Baxley, • Original Gary Baxley, Henry Kengi, Bobby Orrison, Al Wyatt Jr., Jerry Summers, Kay Kilmer, Richie Burch, Corey Eubanks John Cade, and Russell Solberg
Lead mechanic on the show was Tom Sarmento who was immens ely helpful in creating this story and setting the record straight about the car preparation. Here Sarmento poses with a General on the straightaway at Atlanta Motor Speedway over 30 years after the last The Dukes of Hazzard show “rapped” forever.
Tom Sarmento, Rich Sephton, • Mechanics: John Mancini, Mark Lilienthal, and David Grant
MOPAR MUSCLE JULY 2018
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GENERAL MAYHEM suit you might imagine. Frankly, it was more like the gear you might wear to play football back in the 1940s. Ankle, elbow, and knee guards were required along with protection for the kidneys, hips, and forearms, topped off with an open-face helmet. But that wasn’t always the case. “Al Wyatt was a wild man,” remembers Cade. “For his record jump, he wore shorts and flip-flop sandals.” The typical “strapping in” operation took several minutes and, interestingly enough, utilized a lot of original Chrysler parts, including the factory Charger seat. “We’d start by welding eyelets into the inside of the roof of the car after the headliner had been removed,” said AJ Thrasher, the Dukes’ rollcage specialist. “Once the eyelets were in place, the harness for the driver was hung from these eyelets so that the stuntman was actually suspended within the car.” To provide protection against compressing the stuntman’s spine into the seat and flooring, the Chrysler seats were slit open around the perimeter of the cushion and a truck tire inner tube stuffed into the seat. Once the driver was hanging from the roof-mounted harness, the inner tube was inflated to create a cushion below him. No window netting to retain driver arms or head were used (that would show up in the filming remember) and often a wig was attached to the outside of the stuntman’s helmet to make the camera believe that John Schneider or other pilot was behind the wheel. On more than one occasion, Cade ditched the inner tube and inserted a large wadding of bubble wrap under his spine as his only seat cushion. Yep, that’s really what it did. Said Cade, “We felt safe in the cars using this system and knowing that the rollcage system [built by Thrasher] was done right.” The choreography of the jumps was tuned to the production requirements. The angle of the ramp and the speed of the car were obviously the determiners of how high and far the car would fly. After the director had determined the shot he wanted, it was up to the stuntman and vehicle prep team to calculate the details of the flight. In the beginning, there was a lot of trial and error. Often the Chargers would nose in, and the car would clearly have been totaled. As the jump team became more attuned to the dynamics of Charger aerodynamics, they’d begin installing lead weights into a trunk-mounted box to even out the weight balance. For the small-block Charger, 300 extra pounds were installed in the rear, for the bigblock 500 pounds. Initially the producers didn’t expect The Dukes of Hazzard “to go past the first commercial” in terms of longevity. But 40 years later, it’s still a thing, and Sarmento has had an illustrious career in the TV business, highlighted by his time turning wrenches on Chargers and making them fly — quite literally. In the end, Sarmento summed up the overall experience and gave credit to his fellow mechanics and the cars that served him so well. “My cars worked hard, performed great, and died a rough death,” he says. “My time on the show was unforgettable, and I’d do it again if given the chance. It was a terrific time in my life.”
Running from 1979-1985, The Dukes of Hazzard was famous for filming action scenes like this.
Stuntman John Cade’s biggest jump was in Oxnard, California, over this moving train. The car had a 413ci engine and four-speed transmission — the only time a manual transmission car was used.
Chargers weren’t the only missiles launched during the show’s run. Cade was again the driver picked to jump this Satellite over a moving dump truck. The car landed at the same spot where the dump truck started moving when the director first yelled “Action.”
As stuntman John Cade tells it, the red smoke was supposed to clear out once the car became airborne, a smoke bomb firing off just after the car hit the launch ramp. Clearly, the special effect guys were wrong, and the car filled with smoke making it impossible to see. No, it’s not art!
In terms of pure airtime, the General Lee could’ve started its own airline. The longest jump in history was by Al Wyatt, 236 feet, wearing shorts and flip-flop sandals. Key to making the jumps all the more dramatic is usage of camera angles that further increase the height of the flying vehicle. In one of the more memorable episodes, “Jumpin’ John” Cade flew this Charger over a team of horses — without use of special effects.
The Dukes of Hazzard TV show pioneered a lot of unique camera angles and techniques. Remember this was before the age of GoPro cameras and during a time when special effects weren’t used with the regularity they are today. The last season of the show, Dukes moved to miniatures (models) and the stunt men were quickly out of work.
Legendary “ski” car driver, Buzz Bundy did all of the two-wheel stunt driving at that time — for most of the TV and film industry. No one was faster or better at driving on two wheels, and The Dukes of Hazzard Charger was one of his favorite rides.
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