r56 htrd

MAX HANDLING FOR CLASSIC MOPES OCT

2021

BEEPER BOMB! 1 OF 4 ’69 HEMI/4-SPEED REPOP

TWISTED TECH

SPRING & SWAYBAR UPGRADES SMOKE ’N’ MIRRORS

First Look…

’71 3G CUDA CARVER ■ ’69 BIG-BLOCK DART SMOKER ■ ’13 SRT8 CHALLY OFF THE RAILS ■

EVENTS THE ROCK ROARS

MODERN HEMI FIRST BLOOD THE REAL FIRST DAYTONA $7.99 US $8.99 CAN

Display Until October 18, 2021

HELLCAT! Printed in USA

ATHLON PUBLICATIONS

TWIN-TURBO

GREAT RIDES

ACTION

TM

We carefully blend all selected car and tech features with jokes onto these pages to create a pure, uncompromised reading experience.

14 BEEPER REBOP On the Cover:

MA MOPAR MADE ONLY 4 1969 Hemi 4-speed Road Runner convertibles. Which makes it kind of a rare piece. With a deadline pending, we couldn’t secure an original in time for this issue no matter how hard we looked. So we came up with the next best thing—an outstanding tribute (or clone if you will) that makes for one cool driver instead of a lifeless trailered queenie. Here’s how the ’Runner, originally a 383 convert, came about—how it was found and put together, plus a plethora of sordid details that you’re sure to enjoy.

26

MOVIN’ MOPES 20 ROLL THE DICE

The fuzzy dice that is. This ’68 big-block Dart is our A-body salute in this issue. The restored Dart runs a ’69 383 stroker with an early Holley EFI setup. Tag along as we take you through the trials and tribs of putting this package together. It will either get you fired up for your own project or prompt you to put your Craftsmans up on eBay and take up knitting for less blood, sweat and beers. Clickety click.

32 STRAIGHTENED OUT Can a hard-core road racer find happiness going straight down a drag strip? No. But there’s always the exception to the rule as this interesting article points out. Even more interesting is the 2019 twin-turbo Demon Redeye Challenger that now refuses to turn left or right. Kinda tough to drive that in traffic. Here’s how that ride came together and find out how fast you can go on 1600 horsepower.

42 THE “REAL” FIRST DODGE DAYTONA 13 years before the first Charger Daytona wing car arrived, Dodge was tearing up the tracks with the 1956 D500. We found the first D500 sold to the public—the third one the factory produced. Learn all the tech details of the D500 model (it wasn’t a “package;”) plus the D500-1 race package and the D500 Special. The ’56 D500 ran rings around the competition and even taught a lesson to the vaunted Chrysler 300B.

54 BLACKENED FISH Performance and chassis mods take this very black 1971 6.4L 3G Hemi-powered ’Cuda to the next level—whatever that is. We cover the build in detail to unveil all the secrets of this very well-done corner cruiser street machine. An outstanding E-body that tags all the bases.

2

MOPAR ACTION

66 STICK IT TO ME Not many Mo’fans will risk cruising around in a pristine survivor Hemi/4-speed ride. But that’s exactly how this Mope pilot enjoys his 1966 Coronet 500. Originally ordered by a raceoriented dealer and beat on at the track, this B-bod survived virtually unscathed. Sweet.

80 CLASS ACT We really had to dig deep to come up with this 2013 Challenger custom even though our tech editor said we should have left it buried. One look and he was back on Prozac. It’s our “fun feature” in the issue; ’course, that depends on your own idea of “fun”. Unusual photography sets the stage while Act 1, Act 2, Intermission and Act 3 complete the presentation. Here’s how one enterprising Mo’head brought everything he learned in vo-tech class to the kitchen table to create an award-winning showster.

THUNDERING TECH 38 HEY SWAY

OK, now you’re tired of just going straight. Let’s get the ol’ Mope to handle so you can have fun smashing around on the street, road race course, autocross or even parking in your garage. So tell us, Mr. Tech Editor, how do I do this and why did my last copy of your mag arrive shredded? Here’s the deal—a swaybar upgrade will improve your handling more than you can ever imagine. And you won’t need your imagination on how to do it if you follow our beloved tech editor’s recommendations and his signature step-by-step words and pictures.

32

54

60 SPRING FLING When our tech editor is not selling his home-made jellies and jams on eBay, you’ll find him in his kitchen working with tools. In this issue, we see him hacking away at the rear leaf suspension of a hapless Mopar. Ever wonder what secrets lurk between those leaves in your rear springs? Ebooger reveals all plus an intimate restoration and detailing of said springs. This is one article guaranteed to give you more bounce to the ounce.

74 MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE DOOR… …how I wish I could see more. Well, now you can thanks to the fertile mind and skilled fingers of our beloved tech editor. Here, he shows you step-by-excruciating-step how to swap in a right side wide-view glass for your plain-glass mirror for a (duh!) wider, safer view. You’ll be the envy of your local musclecar crowd.

Too bad the booger got photobombed by his ex-wife in the selfie money shot.

FANCY FEATURES

26 ROCKINGHAM’S SPRING CELEBRATION It’s Mopars at the Rock again, gang, and Rock honcho Steve Earwood knows how to put on a really great show. Steve packed in a dazzling display of show cars plus round after round of top-notch racing. The Rock always maintains excitement for even the most jaded Mo’fan, and the show field featured iron ranging from a 1926 Chrysler Royal Coupe to the latest RAM TRX. Trackside saw action from classic Pro- and Super Stockers to no less than 10 classes for late models. Check it out and smell the sausage and peppers.

48 A PAIR OF HEMI HOLIDAYS No, it’s not Christmas and the Fourth of July, so don’t light the fireworks fuse just yet. It’s the season opener of the thundering Modern Street Hemi Shootouts—held in Florida and Virginia. See how all the highlights of both events are amazingly squeezed into one comprehensive article. Check out the major players in the series and how they prepped their rides the new season.

Déjà Vu

12 RESTO TOPICS 4 EDITOR’S NOTES 6 ZOOKEEPER’S DIARY 79 MOPE OR NOPE 85 COOL STUFF 8 CREC’S CORNER 94 ADVERTISER INDEX 10 TECH TOPICS 95 BLAST FROM THE PAST MOPAR ACTION

3

ACTION

TM

MANAGING EDITOR Geoff Stunkard* MAzookeeper@yahoo.com ENGINEERING EDITOR Richard Ehrenberg S.A.E.* rehrenberg@yahoo.com SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Anthony “Crec” Crecco* FEATURE EDITOR Jim Koscs* CONTRIBUTORS Al Dente*, TheBruntBros* HOT SHOE Kevin Wesley* HYPERSONIC ROCKET SCIENTIST Mark C. Grubelich* ART DIRECTOR John Flannery* ON THE COVER: ’69 Hemi Road Runner and Twin Turbo Hellcat.

Photos by Geoff Stunkard* and TheBruntBros*

moparaction.com

athlonoutdoors.com SVP/GENERAL MANAGER Nick Seifert MOPAR ACTION Dan Gallo* ADVERTISING DIRECTOR 845-505-7479 dgallo@moparaction.com

Jim Coen 212-478-1949 Carrie Roeder Brock Norman

MARKETING COORDINATOR/ Maureen Pichner ADMINISTRATOR

ATHLON MEDIA GROUP Corporate Officers

PRESIDENT, CEO Chuck Allen CFO/TREASURER Mary Lee Vanderkooi CORPORATE ADDRESSES New York: 60 E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10165; 212-478-1910 Nashville: 2451 Atrium Way, Suite 320 Nashville, TN 37214 800-284-5668 SUBSCRIPTIONS /SINGLE COPIES 800-284-5668 subscriptions@athlonmediagroup.com ONLINE STORE outdoorgroupstore.com MOPAR ACTION™ (ISSN 1059-0692) is published bimonthly

by Athlon Sports Communications, Inc., 2451 Atrium Way, Suite 320, Nashville, TN 37214. Single copy price is $7.99 in the U.S.A. and $8.99 in Canada. Subscriptions are $23.97 for a year in the US. Periodicals Postage paid at Nashville TN and at other additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: send subscription requests to: Athlon Media Group, PO Box 292167, Kettering, OH 45429. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Mopar Action, PO Box 292167, Kettering, OH 45429.

Submission of manuscripts, illustrations and/or photographs must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. Copyright © 2021

by Athlon Sports Communications, Inc. All rights reserved under international and Pan American Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in whole or in part, via electronic or any other means, without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. Printed in the U.S.A. Athlon Sports Communications, Inc. is licensed to use MOPAR, a trademark of FCA US LLC, in the title of the magazine MOPAR ACTION™. No other connection with FCA US LLC is expressed or implied. The editorial opinions are those of the publisher and do not necessarily represent the views of FCA US LLC. Volume 34 Issue 5.

Mopar Action Magazine adheres to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. For more information about your rights as a California consumer or to opt out of the sale of your personal information, please visit MoparAction.com/ccpa

*Consultant

4

MOPAR ACTION

BY CLIFF

GROMER

We Don’t Get No Respect

EDITOR Cliff Gromer* cliffgromer@yahoo.com

DIRECT RESPONSE ADVERTISING SENIOR DIRECTOR MARKETING & OPERATIONS DIGITAL SALES DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING DIRECTOR

Editor’s Notes

be sure. More important than a rocketassisted flying car. ’Course, if we were Hot Rod or Popular Mechanics or maybe Massage Parlor Business News, the general press might have taken notice.

And how about our self-driving Savoy, the cover story in our April 2018 issue?

Tesla, and all the money behind it, gets all the ink. What did we get? Nada. And we We successfully tested a rocket-assisted didn’t even crash into a cop car or run over Monaco cop car back in 2003… anybody. Where’s the justice?

Right now, we have several blockbuster, ESLA CRACKS ME UP. Their latest life-changing projects on the drawing news flash says that Elon Musk intends board that are keeping Ehrenberg working to build a rocket-assisted roadster that 18-hour days. I could tell you about them if will crack 0-60 MPH in a record 1.1 seconds. they weren’t classified. What I can say us He goes on to say that his cars may also fly. that they are going to change the nature of Big deal. transportation as we know it. And in keepMr. Musk and the news ing with our cheapskate media don’t realize that philosophy, it isn’t going Mopar Action tested their to cost too much.

OK, I’ll give you a own rocket-assisted car sneak peek—Mopar (a 1974 4600 lb. Monaco Action will be the first to Bluesmobile cop car, no land a Mopar on Mars, less) back in 2003. You beating out Collector’s can even read about it Guide and Chrysler on our website: https:// Power. Sound crazy? Not www.moparaction. if you knew the details. com/2021/05/25/rocketSuffice it to say that man/. So why didn’t we …and our proven self-drive 1962 Savoy in 2018. we’ve been keeping our make the news splash resident rocket scientist that Tesla did? Compared to Tesla, we’re just peanuts with our proMark Grubelich pretty busy, and we’ve been motional budget the size of any small comable to backdoor some key technology out pany’s coffee money jar. Nobody pays us any of Area 51. We even have the cover story attention. We don’t get no respect. planned: “Mo’Mars or no cars.”

At the time of our test, our sophisticated So, do you think this achievement will data logging equipment didn’t arrive at our finally crack the internet news channels or test facility in time, so we don’t know if some of the few newspapers that still exist? we broke the existing 0-60 MPH record at We have our doubts. We’d be pushed off the that moment. What we did have was Scott page by articles like “Coffee: the best thing “Instigator” Longman standing at mid-track in the morning,” and “Coffee: the worst thing counting one thousand-one, one thousand in the morning.” But at least you’ll be able -two… and unlike Mr. Musk’s conjecture to read about it here, and maybe we’ll get about his roadster going off into the wild a couple of letters from readers who take blue yonder, our behemoth Monaco got airnotice. Hopefully, an image of our Mope borne with no problem. It was all captured in on Mars might show up in the background living black and white by TheBruntBros with of a Mars Rover or a Chinese rover shot, the company-issued 1924 Kodak camera. and it might run with a caption like “strange Maybe the press was too occupied with formation on Mars surface baffles scienthe start of the war in Iraq, or that Bob tists.” ’Course if those scientists read Mopar Hope died at age 100...his last words when Action for a change, maybe they wouldn’t be his wife had asked where he wanted to so baffled. be buried were “surprise me.” There was a roller coaster accident at the California Disneyland. All important news stories to

T

GET THE SUMMIT ADVANTAGE! THE BRAND YOU TRUST.

Hemi Coil-On-Plug Ignition Coils for Mopar Make More Spark as low as $55.99 each SUM Epoxy Hemi Dodge

Rear Window Louvers Vintage Flavor, Privacy, and Protection as low as $281.99 each SUM Rear Louver Dodge

300 Series Electric Water Pumps

Shorty Headers

Engine Identification Plates

High Power Pumping as low as $602.57 each MEZ 300 Pump Mopar

Leak-Free Flange Design as low as $453.15 pair Sanderson Shorty Dodge

Classic Muscle Car Authenticity as low as $53.99 each DCC Engine Plates

ET Street S/S Tires

Ignition and Door Lock Key Sets

Weatherstrip Kits

Excellent Ride Control as low as $231.49 each MTT ET S/S

Made to Fit Mopars as low as $44.99 set AMD Ignition Set Dodge

Keep the Elements Out as low as $174.59 kit SFT Weatherstrip Dodge

Exhaust Manifolds

Mopar Control Arm Kits

Direct-Fit Install as low as $66.95 each Dorman Exhaust Mopar

Improved Handling as low as $349.95 kit QA1 Mopar Arm

Shocker Series Cylinder Heads for Big Mopar Mopar LED Marquee Sign Mopar or No Car for Your Wall

SDF-197861 $24.99 each Gifts Mopar Marquee

Big Block Wake Up Call as low as $1,809.00

assembled, pair PROMAXX Big Mopar Shocker

UNBEATABLE SERVICE, TECH ADVICE, SATISFACTION, AND SELECTION. Order by 10 PM EST: In-Stock Parts Shipped That Day! 1.800.230.3030 • Int'l: 1.330.630.0230 SCode: 2110MA • Prices subject to change without notice. Visit 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. © 2021 AUTOSALES, INC.

Zoo Keeper’s Diary

BY GEOFF

STUNKARD

Just Because It’s Cool

A

S I JOT THIS DOWN, it’s just after Memorial Day weekend. A guy named Helio Castroneves took his fourth Indy 500 win on Sunday, a huge achievement for anyone who knows about the 220-MPH competition’s challenges of Indy’s legendary brickyard. Just one win there can be a life’s achievement. No young gun, the 46-year-old Brazilian has been known as “Spiderman” for climbing the starting line fence to celebrate his victory, which he achieved in front of 135,000 fans in the biggest in-person gathering since the Wuhan plandemic began. He did not disappoint.

Indy cars? Zoo, there ain’t no Mopars there! Nope.

Indeed, as I covered in my Hemi book, the first Chrysler Hemi-powered Indy car, known as the A311, went so fast in testing it was almost instantly outlawed to preserve the Offenhausers, and the last real stint in the series was the Plymouth-Weslake program of 1969 when Richard Petty went Ford racing. Using the smallblock, that also came to no avail.

Still, in my worldview of, ”if it doesn’t have a motor, it’s not a sport (at least that I pay any attention to),” the Indy deal is sort of an acquired taste. Truth be told, I now like watching F1 stuff as well, as both open-wheel series’ are among the ultimate tests of both driver skill and technical prowess. It would be great to see a “Chrysler” moniker on something running in these groups, but I do not hold my breath on that happening. I like it just because it’s cool.

Besides, 10,000-HP nitro drag racing remains the heart and soul of Chrysler Engineering-derived motorsports, and from a technical perspective, we took all of the marbles possible at that game and locked it down forever.

What I don’t find of interest is the current NASCAR series, with its group of cookie-cutter cars and, in many ways, cookie-cutter drivers, few which you would want to have on your side in a serious bar fight (give me Curtis Turner and LeeRoy Yarborough). The most memorable event of that past decade for me was the 2012 Watkins Glen battle for the title between eventual Dodge World Champ driver Brad 6

MOPAR ACTION

Keselowski and event winner Marcus Ambrose (ironically enough in a Petty Ford), scrapping paint for about 20 laps to find a winner. When Dodge dropped out due to a foolish management call at the end of that season, other than “crash porn” highlights, I have zero interest.

Anyhow, “just because it’s cool” is reason enough. I think we are all packrats to some degree, having this memento and that artifact either on display or tucked away. My years of photography let me make some of those personal—pieces of a Pro Mod car’s body that crashed hard in front of me at Bradenton in the 1990s, posters Mopar did of a fire burnout photo I shot, photo prints signed by people like Garlits, etc. Others are gifts—a postcard from 1966 that Shirley Muldowney gave me, my copy of Big Willie Robinson’s remembrance of his late wife Tomiko, a photo of myself and Tom Hoover riding in the back of a Ramchargers pickup truck at the NHRA Hot Rod Reunion from Marc Rozman. A lot of it’s Mopar, but not all of it.

Indeed, shown here are two of my latest postcard acquisitions. These are super rare double-width “real photo” cards documenting land speed cars on the sand at Daytona in the early 1930s, before Bonneville became the place to go.

Both are of British drivers with the best engine technology that era’s Europeans could build. Dr. E saw this and made the point that Sunbeam (above) became part of the Chrysler family in the 1960s. These guys came across the ocean to see what they could do and subsequently set records that made history. Do I need them? Nah, not really. But they are cool, doncha think?

So congrats to Spiderman, and keep the shiny side up

BEST TECH H BEST FEATURES H MOST FUN

Probably the Favorite Magazine of Walter P. Chrysler,* John and Horace Dodge,* Louis Chevrolet* and Henry Ford*

Don’t miss an issue of the best in automotive journalism; vintage to modern machines, cutting-edge technical info, informative features, and, yes, absurd and outrageous behavior from the Mopar Action staff. Get a full year of 6 issues at this special price, or double down on 12 issues for an even better discount.

For over 30 years, Mopar Action gets it DONE.

*if they were alive today

GET ALL THE ACTION ...AND MORE! SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE

NAME ADDRESS

UP TO 70% OFF THE NEWSSTAND RATE q $23.97 FOR 1 YEAR - PRINT (6 ISSUES) q $39.97 FOR 2 YEARS - PRINT (12 ISSUES) q $14.97 FOR 1 YEAR - DIGITAL (6 ISSUES) q $27.97 FOR 1 YEAR - PRINT + DIGITAL COMBO (6 ISSUES)

CITY

STATE

ZIP

EMAIL

q BILL ME LATER CHARGE MY:

q VISA

CARD NO.

q PAYMENT ENCLOSED q MASTERCARD

q AMEX

q DISCOVER

EXP. DAT

SIGNATURE MAIL TO: ATHLON MEDIA GROUP SUBSCRIPTIONS P.O. BOX 292167, KETTERING, OH 45429 OR ORDER ONLINE AT OUTDOORGROUPSTORE.COM

PLEASE ALLOW 6-8 WEEKS FOR DELIVERY OF YOUR FIRST ISSUE. ADD 30% FOR CANADIAN SHIPPING 100% FOR INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING. YOU CAN ALSO FIND US ON

Crec’s Corner

BY ANTHONY

CRECCO

COVID Perils—From Toilet Paper to Torsion Bars “Product received may be different than what is in the photo.”

For sale - New Crate Motor

Bellhousing

Here are two good reasons why there are so many videos online of people getting their butt kickedÉ

WAS A TOUGH YEAR, Covid hit the US and events were cancelled, businesses closed, shortages out the ying yang, and the aftermath continues. You name it—toilet paper, parts (and the quality of parts), etc.

So, now you were stuck in lockdown. After you went out and scored some Charmin, masks, and hand sanitizer to keep the family calm, you think, “Now what? Spend some quality time watching Lifetime movies? Hell, no! I will get some upgrades done to me beloved Mopar! They can’t take that away from me, or can they?”

That’s what a lotta guys and gals thought once we were in a lockdown. Get online and start clicking, only to find out that no one had anything in stock with no ETA on when they would have it. Didn’t matter what you were looking for, it was nowhere to be found. Engine parts, suspension, sheetmetal, etc. You know things are bad when the big suppliers don’t have it and you have to go scrounging. It was a throwback to the ’80s, where repop stuff was minimal and you were trudging through mud at swapmeets to find Mopar gold and...Oh yeah, no swapmeets.

So now we are left with a few options. Hit social media hard—see how many friends you have that might have what you need and not try to put their kid through med school at your expense. Go old school—call your buddies and other gearheads to see who they know who may have a parts hoard that needs thinning. Offer a finder’s fee, “find me that datecoded part, and there’s a case of beer in it for you.”

Hey, you need that part, he likes beer, it’s a win-win situation. Mopar people are good for the most part, we wanna see each other in their car burning rubber sideways while catching 2nd gear. So…if you’re not an idiot, you may want to change your ways in hopes of getting help from your crew. Or just go buy an extra set of jack stands because you’re gonna be stuck for the long haul. If you can find jack stands.

2020

8

MOPAR ACTION

If you are going to buy used parts unseen off some guy on Facebook, be smart, make sure it’s not someone setting up a fake profile. You don’t wanna know how many posts I see about guys getting burned and it starts off with a post that goes something like, “don’t trust Dick Hertz from Kalamazoo—he took my money and sent no parts through!” Do your homework and see if it’s legit. Check and see if anyone you know/trust bought from this guy. How was the quality, etc.

Mopar people are awesome, but when they get a raw deal, it’s not good. I know a few that will get in a car and drive 100 miles just to burn your house down for satisfaction. I’m low on bail money, so I don’t recommend that option. Besides, there is a shortage on fire extinguishers, too.

Lastly, since the major players are low on inventory, it may lead you to roll the dice and use a business that you’ve never heard of and pray that it’s decent since the majority of the stuff they sell is “made in Chyna.” This falls under the “buying unseen” principle. Do your homework, ’cause if you pay big bucks for junk, it may cost you half the price again to return it. Read the fine print and reviews on the business. After all, when guys like something, they tell five people; when they hate it, they tell 500. You’ll know pretty quick.

The problem was and still is that no one has anything in stock, so don’t go clicking the checkout button and then stay awake sweating that the part coming is going to be questionable to the point in that you have to make due or send that junk back. BTW, that pic above is of a $900.00 big block clutch housing.

–Crec

SAV UP E TO

58%

Mopar Action is the best-selling Mopar enthusiasts’ magazine on the market today.

Mopar Action covers the entire world of Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge vehicles, including classics, muscle cars, and race cars.

Each issue includes: • new car road tests • performance tips and technical advice • personality profiles

• coverage of major Mopar events • restoration advice and club news from around the world

If it’s Mopar you’II find it in Mopar Action.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY outdoorgroupstore.com

1-800-284-5668 Athlon Media Group | 2451 Atrium Way | Suite 320 | Nashville TN 37214 02/19

Tech Topics

BY RICHARD PHOTOS BY

EHRENBERG, S.A.E.

RICHARD EHRENBERG, OR AS CREDITED

What are these holes in my ’73 Challenger firewall for?

Ralph– The 1999 drive plate has the needed 360 (5.9L) externalbalancing counterweight welded to it. So...you must use that drive plate (and your original t/conv).

IN MY CLUTCHES I transplanted a 440 6-pack into my 1970 Charger 500 that was originally a 383 car. I had the stock radiator improved to a 3-core. I find now that there is insufficient clearance between the fan clutch and the radiator to Late 360 Magnums had the external t/converter weights remove the alternator belt. built into the drive plate, making the converter needed a common zero balance version. Very handy for swaps.

My question is: how many variants of the fan clutch are there? The unit I have is WEIGHT PLATE the stock one for the 383. I need to gain I have a 1992 Dakota that is factory about ½ʺ clearance. Thanks for your time. equipped with a 5.2/518 and 3.55:1 rear Blaine Haugen gear.

Marshall, SK I have a complete 1999 5.9L that I would like to install in this Dakota, I will Blaine– be keeping the original trans to the truck.

My time here is 10:32 p.m. You’re welMy question is concerning the flex come. plate. Do I use the flex plate that came on The thinnest clutch that can withstand the core 5.9L, or use the flex plate from the rigors of a large 7-blade fan is a the original 5.2L? Hayden P/N 2947 (rockauto.com, see pix Ralph Vaquero above right). It was specifically designed Covington, GA to address your problem.

The Hayden 2947 thermostatic fan clutch, from rockauto.com, is the thinnest unit that can withstand the rigors of a heavy 7-blade steel fan.

FIRM FEEL I recently found a company called Lares they make steering boxes. Notably, they are making the near-unobtanium Mopar fast-ratio manual box. Friend’s Duster has a fairly-worn 24:1 manual box, he wants to swap it and likes the idea of fast-ratio steering. Do you have any experience

HEMI THIS. A GUY AT MOPAR PERFORMANCE named Jon Clark asked me 10+ years ago how to quickly and simply describe the different generations of Hemi engines. I wrote up: 1G - Distributor in rear 2G - Distributor in front 3G - No distributor.

(Mitsubishi 2.6L = 0G) He loved it, and Chrysler / MP publications since have used this terminology. Of course, 1G is a broadspectrum term, there were distinct versions for Chrysler, DeSoto, and Dodge, and many variations inside those families, as well as quite a few 3G variants. Still, I like to think I helped straighten it up.

10 MOPAR ACTION

For production cars, 2G Hemis (shown above left) were made in only one displacement: 426 CID. The 1Gs were anything from 241 to 392 (in three “families”, and even deck heights within families—DeSoto already called it “America’s Most Powerful Engine Design” in 1953, and 3Gs are 5.7L thru 6.4L and still in production.

HOW TO GET HELP: Address all queries to this address:

RICHARD EHRENBERG PO BOX 302 MARLBORO NY 12542 Best bet: Online submission form at moparaction.com GROUND RULES: • If you want to submit your question via e-mail, please use the on-line submission form at www.moparaction. com. If we ask for more info, send back all existing text, or else!

• Snail-mail must include a SASE and/or a cash bribe.

• All letters, electronic or otherwise, must include a full name and a least your city and state. You can request that it be withheld, however, and, if we had any the night before, we might even honor your request.

• “20 questions” letters instantly get shredded and the scraps forwarded to Mopar Muscle. So—ask one clear question please, we’re a sleazy magazine, not an encyclopedia publisher.

We won’t tell you step-by-gory step how to swap a 2021 Hellcat S/S Hemi into your 1914 Dodge.

• Remember, we have one old geezer tech editor (when he’s awake and sober) and well over 100,000 readers.

We do the best we can with our meager resources. Our reply rate does at times approach 50%, but it varies with our “real” workload at the moment.

• All letters are subject to editing to make us look like we know all the answers.

Thanks, Rick

with these, or any other sources for a good 16:1 box?

John Ferguson Tiverton, RI John– I have been using Chrysler 16:1 manual steering gears since 1965. The first one I had came in the car, and I was sold on it.

The next few I used I built myself, using a stock Mopar wormshaft assembly. Then I started using boxes built by Firm Feel (firmfeel.com), they are created using stock components but blueprinted.

They actually replace the recirculating balls with select-fit oversize balls (in 0.0002” increments!) to minimize slop.

This is as good as it gets. continued on page 89

RestoTopics

BY RICHARD PHOTOS BY

EHRENBERG, S.A.E.

RICHARD EHRENBERG, OR AS CREDITED

Did M-bodies have air bags?

Wanna submit a resto question? Please follow the instructions on page 11.

Ram-inducted big-blocks were front page news in 1960. They were torque monsters, but cost, complexity, and service hassles prevented them from becoming mainstream.

TABBED? Mr. Ehrenberg– I am finishing up a 1969 Road Runner, just a 383. It is almost ready for paint.

My question: Were the hood “scoops” (if that’s what they are called), and the taillight extensions, assembled on the car when it was painted, or were they painted and then installed?

Mel Solomon Atlanta, GA

4-Bbl long ram intake. A 4-Bbl on each side of the engine compartment, dividing into 4 runners right under the carb and running to the opposite head. The runners must have been at least 2 ft. long.

Whatever happened to these engines, ’cuz I have never seen one in any mag?

How many were made? Please show one in your mag.

Mike Marron Scotts Valley, CA

Mike– This setup, now generally referred to as “long rams,” was introduced in 1960 in several displacements, the largest being the 413, which was standard in the in the Chrysler 300F. The name changed by division, Chrysler: Ram Induction, DeSoto: Ram Charge, Dodge: D-500 Ram Induction, Plymouth: Sonoramic Commando.

These engines were tuned for low-end torque, which approached 500 ft.-lbs. In the 413 version. They were produced, in varying numbers and states of tune, through 1964. We have featured several over the years, a typical engine pix is shown (left).

Due to complexity, cost, and nonetoo-easy service, they faded away—but virtually any car you can buy today has a ram-tuned EFI intake manifold based on Chrysler’s 1960 engineering.

BAGGED IT? Richard– My Mom and I were visiting my uncle (her brother) in Tallahassee, we don’t see him often because we live in the Boston area.

He has a really clean 1989 Chrysler Fifth Avenue, I was surprised to see that it has an air bag. I had an ’88 Diplomat, it did

Mel– In every case like this, the item was painted disassembled from the car, but done at the same time the car was being painted, via a process called “tabbing.”

They were hung on re-useable brackets, “tabs,” usually at one end of the shell or the other, and sprayed as the body was painted. Then they were installed, using gaskets, which were not painted. The gasket material differed depending on the importance of leakproof sealing, e.g., the hood gaskets were just grey paper.

RAM IT I’m new to the mag. Pretty good! All of my life, up to August, my dad worked for Chrysler, so I owe my upbringing, at least money-wise, to Mopar. We had only company cars. One day he brought home a Plymouth or Dodge with the duel [sic]

All M-bodes built after mid-1988 had a driver side airbag. continued on page 93

12 MOPAR ACTION

400 I 440 ENGINES AND CYLINDER HEAD KITS 572" Bracketmaster

900HP 760 Torque

750 HP 700 Torque 4.500" bore 4.500" Stroke Pump Gas

1111

Race gas

On Sale Indy 440-1 Kit

( !

" º y ! %. ., B8» n ! 9''

!

x, N ∂ B $

5 9 3 5 9X +

9 ' - 9 ! ’

,< 7 ( 4

500" Mod Man Wedge

540" Aluminum Wedge

?4! ; !!; ! $!

$$ $9( )9( ,/

,57 % = 9 0= 7, "=

540 575 Torque 4.1 50" stroke 8 50 Holley carb

Available B Block

On Sale Indy 440 EZ-1 Kit

g ¿à D A Body Cars. h)

" $ È

6 < $ " " :h

m J " "

3 $ $ ) F ) 3 ó (Ñ( < $ Q X

! Ô X

F É 3 Ω 5 ê 5

3 n 6

On Sale Indy 440 SEZ Kit

g) Ć4¬àĆ Ć Ć Ć "Ć $ Ć r Ć Ć Ć Ć =Ć< Ć Ć ¸ʺ˛˘À‰Ï

Ć Ć" Ć" 6Ć e…e c0∫ q\Ì \qlìŸì◊ @10KK ·Úk‹l q\Ó 4 Ć ! Ć Ć $ Ć 1WKKĆKÿk ålÁ Ć - Ć Ć Ć ĆL Ć- Ć ĆJ Ć " ©Ć É Ć 3 æĆ Ć 5Ć Ć Ć ! Ć Ć 3 Ć Ć Ć Ć #Ć

426 LEGEND ENGINES AND CYLINDER HEAD KITS F !.(F FDF F 6 F

572" Super Street

426 Hemi Cross Ram

526 Street Legend Supercharged

700 Torque Mod- Man intake

950 HP 900 Torque 4.3 10" Bore 4.500" Stroke

1111 426-1 Legend Kit

P -s ! •¶˚#°ß b® –—

! N R ù ûĆ Ć!

FĆ Ć Ć FĆ Ć Ć Ć ë Ć

! Ć Ć Ć 3 Ć Ć Ć ,§ Ć Ć'Ć D Ć J Ć Ć Ć 5Ć Ć Ć fi 5Ć ‘ Ć Ć

F) Ć M FĆ Ć" Ć ! Ć ) ÷ Ć ĆÜĆ Ć ê Ć ! Ć &Ć

Arlen Vanke 426 Hemi

426-SRK Legend Kit

Dominator dual plane intake Low profile / hood clearance

820 HP

< B<

-

$ $ S '$ "

Ê !

!

360 LA & MAGNUM ENGINES AND CYLINDER HEAD KITS 360" Magnum MA-X Cast Iron Heads

%/@.

9< 2/ ! 9

408" Small Block Supercharged

415" Magnum MA-X Cast Iron Heads

426"Magnum MA-X Cast Iron Heads

380 HP 415 Torque 4.020" bore 3.580" stroke

4.000" stroke

1111 360-1 Rectangle Or Oval Port Indy Aluminum W-2 Head

fí â¤é îæ ¥%≤AA ¡ˆèâï îLÍÙıL ñpé~∏AA πµAAALpãñÒ Lí Aè pã”

$3,845

These are baseline engines that can be built in many different ways. Things that we can accommodate are different HP levels, more street friendly, Flat hood or Hood scoop, different types of front suspension, standard or automatic tans, rear gear ratio and tire size. **Call for your customized quote**

BEAK PERFORMANCE DEPT

An original 383/4-speed droptop, the reborn ’69 Road Runner sports a correct datecode Hemi swap and delivers driving fun rather than the nail-biting anxiety of exposing a gazillion-dollar original to today’s road ragers and other traffic disasters.

14 MOPAR ACTION

Re-creating one-of-four 1969 Hemi/4-speed Road Runner convertibles.

by AL DENTE photos by TheBRUNtBros

OOKING BACK, it’s hard to believe that Mo’fans passed on some of the coolest cars that Chrysler built during the golden age of musclecars. I mean, who wouldn’t have wanted a 1970 Hemicuda convertible in 1970?

Turns out everyone, 14 buyers. And only 7 were sold in the USA the following year.

And what about 1969 Hemi Road Runner droptops—10 for U.S., and 2 exported.

Add in the 4-speed and the number shrinks to only four. Maybe you did want one of the above models, but you couldn’t afford one as a kid with your newspaper delivery route. Back then, you were lucky enough to get free air for your tires.

Today, you have options: cash in your Bitcoins, and Dogecoins and lay down your big bucks for the real thing (if one happens to become available), or, if you want to enjoy it, build a lookalike. There are now enough parts out there to put together a Hemi Mope so true to the original that the only difference would be the body VINs, fender tag and casting numbers.

No, we’re not talking about a bogus ripoff package to skunk someone chasing a real deal. The current parlance for the car seen here would be considered a “tribute”

MOPAR ACTION 15

 BEEPER REBOP

Dan Honahan takes a shake-out cruise with only 8 miles on the restored beeper. Nothing falls off or blows up. And he doesn’t run over the photographer. So far, so good.

’69 Hemi mill was built by Derek Smith 15 years ago when he sold the last of his inventory and retired from his engine business. The date code cast on the Hemi was by coincidence correct for the build date of the Road Runner. Rob sourced the intake and ’68 carbs as ’69s were too expensive back in the day. Air cleaner is a ’70, as there’s a make-up air nipple at the bottom.

16 MOPAR ACTION

(a high-class term favored by Mo’fans), “clone” (medium class term) or “phony” (definitely low class and to be avoided at all costs by Mopar aficionados).

Today, the other popular option is the restomod route—a 3G Hemi transplant which can punch out more horsepower with less weight up front for a “better,” more responsive driving experience. But nothing matches the eye candy when you pop the hood on a 2G 426 elephant motor with those huge valve covers, exposed sparkplug wires and fat dual carbs under that great big air cleaner. Besides, it’s always hard to beat the music of those 8 barrels at full song gulping all that air while sucking down a tsunami of premium. So, while that melody is still fresh in your head, let us delve into this here “yes, Jimmy, dreams can come true!” 1969 Hemi/4-speed Road Runner convertible…tribute…

The story, as we can best make out, goes something like this.

This beeper originally came from the factory as a real E63 (383 4V 335 HP) /D21 (A833 4-speed) two-door Road Runner droptop factory-painted in R6 Scorch Red. Options new included the C16 console/bucket seat interior ($54.45), N96 Air Grabber hood ($55.30), J25 3-speed wipers ($5.40), M31 bodyside belt molding ($13.60) and K22 solid state AM radio w/ stereo tape ($196.25).

This was not a budget build but a cruiser par excellence with flash and dash. We do not know who or why, so don’t ask.

The characters in our little scenario in 2021 include Jason Ellis, owner of this fine ride, and his dad, who together run the Ellis GM dealership in Malone, NY. Now add in Dan Honahan II, owner/broker at AnB Classics in Malone. Dan buys and sells classics, muscle, hot rods and convertibles. Next there’s Rob Bugee of Alpine Restorations and Brian Cassini of Red Barn Restorations, both of Malone as well. Finally, Doug Hoffman, engine builder Derek Smith and some guy named Tommy who gets an honorable mention. A printed program and board game are available to help you keep track of everything that’s going on. And, of course, we have to give another honorable mention to our sponsor and benefactor, AMG Publications, and all the wonderful folks there who let us be so creative.

Stock-look Hemi convertible is tighter now with weld-in frame connectors, beefier torque boxes installed, Super Stock springs and OEM Hemi T-bars and swaybar. This is the Chevy boi’s view…

As the lights dim and the curtain opens, we find Dan on the phone with an older gentleman from Massachusetts who owns 3 “classics” that he wants to sell. Dan saddles up with Doug and Rob for the ride out to Mass. for a looksee. The cars include a ’69 383/4-speed beeper convertible in decent shape but painted incorrectly (Hemi orange), a real ’69 Hemi Road Runner hardtop in #5 condition, and a turnkey ’70 ’Cuda that’s a mix ’n’ match with some ’71 parts. Rob buys the convertible that he plans to restore.

Dan buys the hardtop and Doug buys the ’Cuda—and lunch.

We now dial back the time machine 15 years. Derek Smith, a well-known Hemi engine builder in Ohio, is getting on 60 years and plans to retire. He needs to sell 5 Hemi engines—the last of his remaining inventory. One is just a bare block, 3 are built, and one needs to be built. Rob buys all five elephants and resells three. The fourth is the bare block that has “RamchargersXXXX” stamped in it. Rob does his research and discovers that this iron was once a test mule from factory engineering for the Ramchargers race team who were, of course, all Chrysler engineers. That block sells to a person in Chicago for a “significant amount.” The fifth Hemi, which needs to be built, shows a pour date of Aug 19, 1968. Hey, that could be correct for the ’69 Road Runner convertible’s build date—Oct 19, 1968…

Since this final Hemi in Derek’s shop is not together (no rotating assembly), Rob wants Derek to do the build. Derek cuts

down a 440 crank to 426 specs for the bottom end (say what?

Rick is already smacking his head) and puts an .030-overbore on the core. Highlights of this build include Arias pistons, Bill Miller rods, factory iron heads, new bearings throughout, a hotter Comp Cams bumpstick, plus a balance and blueprint package.

Rob had already picked up a stock intake manifold and a pair of ’68 AFB carbs that Derek rebuilt because when Rob searched out correct ’69 carbs back in the day, he says they were going for crazy money even then. So, if you were paying attention to this drama, you understand Rob bought the Hemi years before he picked up the Road Runner ’vert. The done mill just hung out in his shop like a nice doorstop.

Back to the present, Rob’s ’Runner purchase turns out to be in decent shape—no serious rot, nothing major missing—but it does need fresh quarters and some floor repair. A previous owner had installed a 6-way manual driver’s seat which is kinda cool, and the chassis had been beefed up with weld-in frame connectors. So, Rob further stiffens up the unibody with Hemi torque boxes front and rear, installs a new black power top, and even adds a Hemi front swaybar.

“I just wanted to piece together a nice ’69 Hemi Road Runner tribute car,” says Rob. “But once I started looking up redoing everything and, you know, the reupholstering and buying this and that, I was pricing myself out of doing this car for anything afford-

Couple that HEMI hood tag with the Road Runner moniker and people knew it was no funny business (beep-beep!). Even if this one did not

come down the assembly line as a Hemi, it has a slew of “Acme Restoration” enhancements to become better than new.

MOPAR ACTION 17

 BEEPER REBOP

Interior is right up there with restored dash, fresh top, and Legendary trappings. The 4-speed and restored shifter came from Brewer’s Performance. Note optional console, in-dash tach, and pedal dress-ups.

able.” He ends up selling the car, sans motor, to his friend, Tommy Noname, who in turn also waves off the work and sells the breathed-on roller to Jason.

Now, Jason is a die-hard GM fan, what with the New Coker bias lookalike red stripe radials dealership and roll on correct-for-Hemi 15-inch steel wheels. his father always being into some slick Corvettes. Jay was initiated into the Mopar fold several years ago after Dan had bought a ’70 supercharged 440 Super Bee with a 5-speed Tremec. “Hey, Jay, let me take you for a ride.” And what a ride it was, down Main Street in Malone. Dan punches it and then had to whack the back of Jay’s head to pop his eyeballs forward into their sockets. Jay drives the Bee back

Clean undercarriage and fresh fuel tank shows just 8 miles on the day of our shoot. Moser 3.54 SG D-60 rear and axles take the Hemi punch via a Roger Gibson-supplied driveshaft.

18 MOPAR ACTION

to Dan’s showroom with an ear-to-ear grin. He’s been vaccinated into the Mopar virus; no cure, pal, no cure. ’Course, now Jay needs a motor for the beeper, so he cuts a deal with Rob for the built date-correct Hemi. The Road Runner’s next stop in its journey to Mopar Action stardom is Brian Cassini’s Red Barn Restorations in Malone. The Plymouth, pretty much a rolling shell at this point, is delivered to Brian’s shop with the body partially in primer. The Hemi has been bolted to the front motor mounts on the K-member but is supported by a bar and chain as there is no trans in the car, hence no rear mount.

Brian gets to work, pulling the engine and the front fenders. The hood is in bad shape, with a lot of rust behind the leading edge, and some knucklehead had installed aftermarket hood pins, a real butcher job. A call to AMD nets a new hood and valance.

Meanwhile, the 4-speed is rebuilt by Brewers Performance and comes back with a restored shifter. A new McLeod clutch is installed while a driveshaft comes from none other than Roger “Ol Rog” Gibson Restorations. Brian picks up a complete 3.54 Sure-Grip 9¾˝ rear and axles from Moser Engineering. The beeper retains the stock rear drums and front power discs. Hemi T-bars are bolted in to complement the previously-installed correct Hemi swaybar. One deviation from stock is the adjustable strut rods that were in place when Brian received the car. He masks their very visible gold color by painting them black.

Brian toils a year and a half getting the Road Runner ready for Jason. A new interior comes from Legendary, plus rebuilding the seats and adding Dynamat throughout. A RetroSound thumbwheel radio and retro silence speakers are for a stealth AM/ FM stereo with Bluetooth. New AMD tinted windshield and side glass. New front and rear bumpers. New door handles. The list goes on and on. Another neat touch is the Coker Firestone bias ply-look redline radials on stock 15-inch wheels with Fido lunch hubcaps, as is the white factory pinstripe running the length of that hot red sheetmetal.

Just done, the finished Road Runner has been restored primarily as a retro driving machine yet featuring so many of the obvious cues of the rarer one-of-four factory ’69 Hemi/4-speed converts. So rather than a big-dollar, minutely-detailed duplication of the original with only OE/NOS parts, this friendly beeper hits the mark and shows Mo’fans a reflection of a really cool Hemi package that many buyers passed up back in the day.

LET’S MAKE A DEAL DEPT

ROLL THE DICE

This ’68 big-block Dart GTS, now a cool street machine, was an offer that Mike Fritz couldn’t refuse.

by AL DENTE photos by TheBRUNTBros

M

IKE FRITZ is the kind of guy that just can’t pass up a deal even when it isn’t a “deal.” Tell him there’s a Mopar for sale and chances are Mike’s gonna spring for it—regardless of condition. He’s collected several so far including a ’70 Challenger T/A, a ’71 340 Swinger and a ’67 GTX that he’s building as a Sox & Martin tribute car. Also on his to-do list is a ‘68 beeper and ’69 Coronet R/T. He works on the cars in his spare time when he’s not hammering out dents on customer’s cars in his autobody shop business. ’Course, Mike wasn’t always the Mo’fan he is today. Fresh out of high school, Mike got a job working in a Chebbie dealership. He tooled around in a ’65 Chevy Impala SS that was a hand-me-down from his parents. That kept Mike happy until some guy traded in a ’70 383/4-speed B5 Blue Super Bee. “I fell in love with this car,” says Mike. “My parents said, ‘you don’t need this car; you’re too young and your insurance is going to skyrocket.’” ’Course, being a good and obedient son, Mike immediately bought the Bee and drove it for years.

When Mike’s love interest extended beyond cars, he ended up getting married and soon realized that (surprise) the Dodge

A tisket, a tasket, he bought it in a basket. ’68 Dart GTS sure looks a whole lot better when put together. Note late-model grille emblem—more conservative than multi-color neon lights that you see on show cars these days.

20 MOPAR ACTION

MOPAR ACTION 21

 ROLL THE DICE

Late model Dodge hash marks adorn hood and fenders. 17-inch American Racing wheels keep the body off the ground. Car came with chrome pack-

TTi supplied the full 3-inch exhaust from headers to ends.

An in-tank pump came with a new fuel tank from Tanks

22 MOPAR ACTION

age. Mike installed a tube replacement suspension up front and heavy duty leaf springs out back. Wilwoods wave to you from all four corners.

Inc. Rear is an 8¾˝ spinning 4.10 cogs. Mike’s been driving the Dart for 5 years which has logged over 100K miles.

really wasn’t a family car, “and like a dummy I sold it,” he says. But Mike credits that Super Bee with converting him to the Mopar camp. He even brought along his Chevy-driving wife to see the light, and she now pilots a 2018 Chrysler 300 which she parks alongside Mike’s 2020 Ram. All of which now brings us to the 1968 Dart GTS which we present to you here.

Mike used to race dirt cars and his motor man, Alan Drost, did all his (duh!) motors.

Al knew that Mike was a Mopar nut, so one day he calls him and says that his neighbor down the road has a Mope that’s been sitting around for years. He was restoring it but had a motorcycle accident and now can’t finish it. Al says that as a kid he remembers riding around the streets with the guy and the car was a monster. Interested? As we mentioned earlier, Mike has a weakness for anything that’s available. So he asks himself, “do I really need another car, I’ve got a bunch already…sure I do!”

The Dart, sitting on jack stands with the original 383/727 combo nearby, is in the seller’s garage and virtually dismantled.

No rear, no suspension and no sheetmetal, plus rust is setting in as the seller had stripped the paint but didn’t apply any

protective coating to the bare metal. The price is 6 grand. How can Mike pass it up?

He can’t, even though at the time he has no idea what he was going to do with the Dodge. Understand he works on his own cars during the winter when the body biz is slow. All of this took place in 2011.

Rounding up a cadre of strong men, the crew heft the skeletal GTS and assorted parts and pieces into Mike’s enclosed trailer. And there it resides for quite a while what with Mike’s regular body work and wrenching on his other cars. In the meantime, visions of the Dart, like sugar plums, are dancing in Mike’s head. Swap in a 4-speed. Upgrade the power, but nothing too crazy like some of the other cars we feature in our industry-leading mag, Fuzzy Dice.

Mike discusses engine options with Al “his motor guy” (who Mike says likes to spend his money). After seeing an ad for 440source.com in an issue of Mopar Action, Al gives them a call and asks a lot of questions. He decides to buy a whole package after figuring the price is pretty good for crank, rods, pistons and bearings that are already fitted and ready to go. They keep the ’69 383 block that came

66-70 B-BODY DOOR HINGE PANELS

610-1570-2L 610-1570-2R

Outer Cowl Side Door Hinge Repair Panels NOW AVAILABLE! 66-70 Dodge & Plymouth B-Body

HUGE Online Selection!

866.684.6072

Follow us

AUTOMETALDIRECT.COM

ALL NEW MOPAR APPAREL

 ROLL THE DICE

’69 383 block is punched .030 and beats to the tune of a 440source stroker kit. Holley Terminator sits on an Edelbrock aluminum intake. Serpentine belt system is by March Performance while cooling is handled by a Wizard rad and four fans.

with the car (.030-over) and spring for a complete stroker rotating assembly, plus heads. Mike says it worked out very well and it all went together with no issues whatsoever. Al did modify the block a bit to clear the rods. 440source also supplied an aluminum flywheel with a McCleod clutch and pressure plate for the Brewers Performance A833 4-speed with Hurst Pistol Grip shifter that Mike wanted as well.

Under the hood you’ll find a Holley Terminator single-point fuel 24 MOPAR ACTION

injection system parked atop an Edelbrock aluminum intake. This was one of Holley’s earlier FI setups and wasn’t as tunable as their subsequent models. Mike ran into some kinky problems with it, as steel fuel lines running from front to back had some bends that were too tight and caused fuel restriction issues. Beyond this, he was also advised to replace the frame rail-mounted aftermarket electric fuel pump and go with an in-tank unit. A call to Tanks Inc. had them deliver the goods, and replacing the lines solved 90% of

Pistol Grip was part of the package from 440source that included an aluminum flywheel and McLeod clutch for the Brewers Performance 4-speed. Stock interior looks sharp with Legendary recoverings. Love those fuzzy dice.

his problems. The EFI tuning issues are the remaining 10%, and Mike says it runs rich on startup but then clears up after driving for a while. Unlike the later Holley systems, there is no easy adjustment with a laptop or controller. Mopar electronic ignition lights the fires while a complete 3˝ TTi exhaust funnels the gases that helps warm our planet.

The Dart’s body remains stock and retains most of its original sheetmetal. AMD came to the rescue with replacements for the trunk floor, quarters and outer wheelwells. Mike added late model Dodge logo accents to the fenders and grille badge for an eye-catching touch.

The Dart originally came with a vinyl top that Mike removed.

He’s now planning on reinstalling one. Hard to keep up with this guy.

Unlike the geezers here at Mopar Action, if you can still bend down for an undercar peek without calling EMS for help getting back up, you’ll see a nice job of weld-in US Car Tool subframe connectors and heavy duty leaf springs in the rear. Up front is the aftermarket suspension that heads our “not recommended for street use” list. But then, who listens to us anyway? You’ll also notice Wilwood discs all around if you’re paying attention.

Inside you’ll catch the original tan seats recovered by Legendary, and Mike installed a new upper dash pad. The dash itself is stock.

Mike would have told us even more, but he had to run.

Seems there’s a guy with a ’69 Road Runner basket case that he wants to unload…

SOURCE 440 SOURCE 440source.com

FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK DEPT

Rockingham’s Spring Celebration Back in the saddle again at Mopars At The Rock Anna Konya had this nicely modified Scat Pack Challenger in the car show. We’re not sure who she hired to do the wheel cleaning, but they seemed a little stiff.

26 MOPAR ACTION

W

HAT A DIFFERENCE a year makes! Oh, wait, it wasn’t a year, but just six months ago we were at the Mopars at the Rock show, held last August after being postponed by the China virus. Now, with things finally restabilizing, one of the best and longest-running Mope get-togethers in the South returned as a rite of spring, with track owner Steve Earwood pulling

BY GEOFF STUNKARD

out all the stops to make sure everybody enjoyed this good, ol’-fashioned car-ganza!

As we know from years past, Steve is not somebody who does things halfway, either. For this event, he sets aside the “big arena” (towerside pits) for the car show itself, which quickly filled up with some great classic iron and latemodel thundermakers early in the day. He also

“Hey, bud, wanna buy a complete Six-Pack? Ya, you, a real 340 Six-Pack.

No, the air cleaner would only slow it down. That tape I put on it? Yo, that tape makes all the bugs stick to it, see. Hey, where ya going?...”

GO BIG or go home!

Kevin Locklear did both, hammering out these big wheelies in his SS/JA Duster on every run and then taking home the Trophy class title in style.

When the show points were tallied up, Derrick Jenkins of Liberty, N.C. scored an Editor’s Choice award for his ’68 Plymouth GTX and also left as the B-Body Modified class winner. The car had a well-executed 440 wedge with nice but not overwhelming visual upgrades.

MOPAR ACTION 27

 ROCKINGHAM’S SPRING CELEBRATION

Never one to miss an opportunity, our buddy Mike Daurity showed up with this Bobby Isaac-themed Dodge Charger Daytona and somehow managed to get over onto the now-unused circle track next door for an impromptu photoshoot in front of the stands. We’ll never tell ‘em how you did it, Mike…

For those who don’t have room in their garage for another car, here was a set of 10 classic Chargers for sale in the swap meet.

Asking price of $950, with the display case included, was not outrageous for those who collect the limited edition 1/18-scale models.

Late models made up a solid part of the racing activity, with two classes just for these cars as well as possible entries in the Bracket and Trophy categories. Clifton Keith ran a 10.05 in his 2018 Challenger to win the Challenger Shootout, and Charger honors were to Joshua Jones and his 2019 Charger for the second straight year.

There are still a number of these 1970s-80s mini-Mopars running down South, and Kerry Booth clocked a heart-breaking -.005 foul in his pretty ’83 Charger to give James Brantley Jr. the win in the Mopar Bracket Championship final.

28 MOPAR ACTION

had the hottest racers at the start of staging (including the jets, which are hotter than the rest), while on the ridgeline above, a booming swap meet saw money changing hands even as the sun came up over the nearby circle track.

Racing? Of course there was racing. For fans of old school, it was AH machines and vintage Pro Stockers in action, and the biggest surprise was Steve’s own brother Terry back behind the wheel of a ’68 Hemi Barracuda wearing the colors of Barnett Performance. Those who know history know Terry drove a 1971 Hemicuda convertible to the NHRA 1973 U.S Nationals Super Stock crown, and Barnett was once of the biggest names in Hemi drag racing. Meanwhile, David Crosswhite pulled a monster wheelie in his 1968 Dart with expensive results

Taking an Outstanding award in A-Body Stock, Tony Peacock’s ’69 Dodge Dart GTS convertible featured a customized 340 air cleaner and nice detailing, and was one of the nicest A-bodies on hand. Tonya Hayes’ 1965 Dart won the Modified crown, while Tom Rich took Stock winner’s honors with his 1970 Dart Swinger.

Old School Mope: 68 HP and Wooden Wheels!

OLDEST CAR on the property by far was nearby Sanford, N.C. resident Andy Woodruff’s unrestored 1926 Chrysler G-70 2-door Royal Coupe, which came to him from a private collection after decades of well-maintained preservation. From the wooden wheels to the leaded-glass bulletdesign headlamps, the car showcased tons of originality, with its factory L-head six-cylinder engine featuring 219-CI displacement under the hood. Working with quality styling and paint combos, Walter sold over 72,000 of these G-70s in this 2nd year of Chrysler production.

 ROCKINGHAM’S SPRING CELEBRATION

Former NHRA U.S. Nats winner Terry Earwood was driving a 1968 Barracuda lettered up for noted Atlanta car builders Barnett Performance. He took a round win over Mike Nelson but fell to eventual Hemi winner Jason Sisk, who won by clocking low ET honors of 5.292 seconds at 132.88 in the 1/8-mile on one of the late “Bullet” Bob Reed’s cars.

Mike Nelson gets a “big hand” from a crew guy as he does a burnout in this Pro Stock tribute Arrow.

Best of Show Classic honors went to Britt Rollins of Pageland, S.C., whose ’73 Challenger had bright paint, an RB engine swap, and very big wheels.

Most exciting of the “off-road” late-models for many was Jeff Radford’s just-delivered TRX truck with Hellcat power. Jeff was one of the handful of buyers who was able to order one of these beasts before the first year’s limited run was over. In other news, we also heard about the first wrecked one (less than a week old) from a vendor at Rockingham.

30 MOPAR ACTION

Also in SS Hemi action, David Crosswhite put his family Dart high into the air and came down with a crash. Unfortunately, that resulted in one of the original thin-glass Corning side windows shattering, which stopped racing for about ½-hour to clean up.

Taking home the class title in LD Stock, one of 10 classes for late models this year, was Michael Bradshaw of Concord, N.C. His 2020 Charger is a special 50th Anniversary Daytona widebody model. The underhood paint was, shall we say, interesting…

when the driver’s side Corning window blew out on landing.

Do you know how much work it is to get thin, fragmented glass slivers off a sticky track surface at 200 feet? Let’s just say everybody had time to get a hot dog, pop and poop. Otherwise, it was smooth sailing to the final rounds.

The big mix of early and late cars continues in both the race and show fields, but both venues had very nice examples of some the best machines that live in the South. As a result, the judges in the car show had their work cut out for them this year, but in the end, Derrick Jenkins of Liberty, N.C., got Editor’s Choice for his ’68 Plymouth GTX as well as Winner of the B-Body Modified class. Best of Show Classic went to the ’73 Challenger of Britt Rollins, while Best of Show Truck went to Stephanie Wolff of Sherrills Ford, N.C., whose ’83 Jeep CJ-7 was a SEMA star a few years back.

Anyhow, if you were there, you know all of this, and if you weren’t, we’ll let the pictures tell the story. Only downside is we now have to wait an entire year before it all happens again.

May be true, but we don’t recommend you follow this guy’s advice. MOPAR OR NO CAR!

GET IT STIFF! Lazer Cut For Precise ± .001 Fit!

Available for A, B & E-Bodies!

Visit USCarTool.com/ Instructions for How-To Videos and more!

Level 1 from $49599 Level 2 from $86299 Get your Stiff started!

Frame Connectors and torque boxes add stiffening where the factory engineers knew you need it. Less twist and unibody flex.

Level 1 kit includes: • CNC Frame Connectors • Front & Rear Torque Boxes

Call Today for our newest catalog of cool tools and restoration products!

Performance you can feel on the road.

Modifications to stock suspension start to move forces to new areas of your car. The Level 2 kit stiffens your whole car. Less body twist equals more power to the ground. It’s an age old equation that works on your muscle car!

Level 2 Kit includes: • CNC Frame Connectors • Front & Rear Torque Boxes • Core Support Brace • Inner Fender Braces

212 W. Hanover Road Graham, NC 27253

919-855-8200

USCTMotorsports.com

Level 3 from $1,40199 Kick Asphalt! Max stiff & max tire. Max power to accelerate & stop.

Max your chassis and max your tire combination. For straight line performance, autocross or canyon carving, The Level 3 kit goes to the max.

Get all the go and whoa to move the car not twist it. When you want max power and max traction, get max stiff! Add Level 3 and go kick some asphalt.

Level 3 Kit includes: • CNC Frame Connectors • Front & Rear Torque Boxes • Core Support Brace • Inner Fender Braces • Rear Spring Relocation Kit • Mini Tub Kit

TOUGH ENOUGH TO OVERSTUFF DEPT

After a background in road racing and more, Jim Golden comes back to the quarter-mile with this incredible twin-turbo terror.

Straightened

32 MOPAR ACTION

Jim Golden’s Challenger lights up the tires at Orlando Speed World during the 2021 MSHS season opener. Since then, he has broken into the 8.40s, and got to deal with a small car fire at VMP as well.

Jim Golden, enjoying “office time.”

Out

S

you can do that, and for East Hampton, N.Y. resident Jim Golden, it was a lengthy process. Today, he is taking no prisoners with his 2019 Challenger Hellcat Redeye, which has become a familiar sight at Modern Street Hemi Shootout events. However, as a corporate-level manager for a nationallyknown auto parts retailer, his car enthusiasm goes waaayyy back.

“As a child, I was always captivated with cars. I owned every Matchbox car and Hot Wheels car imaginable,” he laughs now. “I had every magazine car subscription and looked forward to getting the monthly magazines.” Even the bi-monthly rags like Mopar Action? Nope, not then. When Jim turned 18, he went to the Skip Barber Racing School. He owned a couple of ’90s-era Corvettes, and began doing amateur

MOPAR ACTION

33

 STRAIGHTENED OUT

Power for the package comes from a custom-fitted twin-turbo outfit specifically built for this car by Hemituner Performance, True Street Performance and BES Racing. Result is over 1600 HP on race fuel.

Motor looks like a gem down in the engine bay, makes used of lowermounted Garrett heads feeding into the single, large-tube intake. Turbos are spun by pipes carefully routed from the engine around the inner fenders, and out the fender-top exits. Benefit is near-zero back pressure under load.

34 MOPAR ACTION

road racing with them, as well as drag racing his 1988 IROC-Z. “I was 20 at the time, and raced in the Northeast series called EMRA, Eastern Motorcross Racing Association, winning multiple trophies for time trials.”

Oh, well, driving Chevies can be boring, and even after buying a 427-CI 1968 Camaro for the drags, Jim decided making money was more fun and “retired” for about 25 years. However, when the new Hellcats showed up, he was ready to get one, especially after seeing Jay Leno talk it up on television.

After buying this ’cat 2 years ago, he did a couple of parts upgrades and decided to see what could happen on the track.

“After doing just simple bolt-on modifications, I went to the dragstrip and got hooked again after the first run! I found the pursuit of speed to be intoxicating.” As do we all, pal!

At any rate, with a “go big or go home” mentality, Golden reached out to AJ Berge at Hemituner Performance and Jim Koutsoubis at True Street Performance, who are also both based out of Long Island, in Bay Shore. These guys are a couple of the true mad scientists of late model Hemi engine and car construction, and over the winter of 2020/21, Jim’s car became the first-ever twin-turbo Redeye. If this ride looks familiar, we showed it on our MSHS event coverage from late last year, but instead of snorting nitrous from the hood scoops like a mad bull, it now has horns thanks to the fender-mount exhaust exits for the just-installed turbo package.

Taking a page from the Drag Pak wars, Indiana power builder BES was responsible for getting a 426-CI Mopar iron short block together for the car, with Berge and Koutsoubis calling the shots on the overall package.

Into the bottom end went a billet Winburg crank, Callies Ultra-Billet rods, Ross pistons and pins, ARP bolts and a Comp custom hydraulic roller cam, with a Milodon pan holding the oil under it. Atop this now are Thitek aluminum Bear heads, Pac springs and a custom Hogan intake that takes everything the pair of 79mm throttle-bodied Garrett hairdryers assisted by JD-2150 injectors can push into it. Obviously, those zoomies hooked between the exhaust ports and fender-top exits are all custom. Aeromotive came through for the tank and fuel pumps. Money talks, and after dropping his on the counter, Jim witnessed a 1600 HP rear-wheel dyno pull out of this combo with just 11 pounds of boost. The plan is to run quite a bit more, and Jim says the estimate is over 1800 ponies with 30 pounds dialed in once it was done.

Behind the mill is a highly-reworked Rossler 4L80 4-speed automatic, fronted by a Pro Torque converter and Reid bellhousing. To give you an idea of sort the dig this big car has, the converter

 STRAIGHTENED OUT

Decklid wing and parachute are not for show, keep back end planted.

stalls at 4000 RPM and the Strange rear houses a 3.50 final ratio with a Detroit TrueTrac and Driveshaft Shop axles; no 5.13 gears needed. A Mark Williams driveshaft links them up. The suspension uses Menscer shocks on all four corners, with a combination of front Brembos, rear Wilwoods and Simpson parachute to slow it down. Weld wheels are called on for rolling, shod in M&H skinnys up front and big M/T 315 Drag Radial Pros on the rear.

Inside is fairly stock, with a 10-point cage installed, plus Holley digital gauges, a toggle panel in place of the LCD screen, the big PPP Powershifter in the console between the seats, and some cool overhead switches mounted in the roof panel.

Running in Heavyweight, the car scales at 4450 pound minimum, so no need for a lot of exotic parts to lighten the body. However, there are some tricks employed to get the weight balanced in the car, and a big deck wing is on it to keep the shiny side up.

“I have been racing in this series with AJ and Jim’s expertise and collaboration,” says Golden. “I even went out and purchased a 40-foot custom Intech Racing Trailer

Interior was not overly reworked, but rear seat is gone and 10-point cage installed. Car has toggle panel in place of LCD and stereo outfit, uses overhead panel to control turbo heat issues.

36 MOPAR ACTION

Static stance of car does little to belie its power potential. MSHS Heavyweight is designed to use weight to keep racing cost down. Of course, if you wanna go really, really fast, youse gotta pay… 8.48 is best so far.

and a 2019 Ram 3500 dually diesel to be able to attend the races.

We have upgraded the car several times and we are now the first twin turbo Redeye. The current fastest speed in the ¼ mile for the class is 8.42 @165. We are hoping to break that record very soon.” Indeed, Jim clocked an 8.48@163 MPH at Rockingham as we finished this issue up.

So with the Heavyweight class now one of the top draws for MSHS racers and fans, we think Jim Golden will be in thick of it during the 2021 season. Watch for him. And with at least 1600 ponies on tap, who needs road racing anyhow?

Big M/T “slick” radials help get hook on well-prepped MSHS race days. Note they do not fit deep into the wheelwell but simply match the widebody exterior edge.

TURNING IN DEPT

One small step for your Mopar. One giant step for handling.

Easy swaybar upgrade will vastly improve your Mope’s handling on the street, track or autocross.

HEY SWA 38 MOPAR ACTION

by RICHARD EHRENBERG, SAE

T

URN-IN. No, not what you do in your pajamas at night, but the result when you yank the tiller on your Mopar. How quickly and responsively the car reacts is known by road racers and autocrossers as “turn in.” Most modern cars react promptly, but our muscle-era Mopars can take a few hundred milliseconds to set up for the turn.

What causes this is well known - much of this delayed action is the result of various rubber bushings being compressed. Swapping to urethane tension strut bushings helps, as do polyoxymethylene (acetal, a/k/a Delrin) lower control arm bushings. Much, however, of the take up is in the anti-roll bar (“swaybar”).

Some Mopars, namely 1962 thru ’66½ and ’73-up B, and R-bodies, use a rather lousy front swaybar system (see pictures); this tech article will, unfortunately, not help those earlier cars. All other muscle-era Mopars use swaybar links (at both ends, on cars with rear bars). For decades we used urethane for both the link and frame bushings. At the frame, this does the job just fine, but due to the high unit loading, the link bushings remain a weak, squishy point. The factory knew this, too, and ’90s cars used Delrin swaybar link bushings (Neon, etc.)

Three decades ago, when we were dialing in the Green Brick (our well-known road race ’69 Valiant seen below), we were searching for a practical way of minimizing this shortcoming. We noticed that Vipers used ball joints at both ends of each swaybar link, so we bought (expensive!) and highly modified (more $$$!) a pair to adapt them to the A-body. The difference was immediately noticeable. Very.

Then life happened, and we went on to a bazillion other Mopars – and mods. Over the

AY!

last few years, however, I have been under many late-model vehicles (hanging out at the local Sunoco station), and I noticed that new cars and trucks used ball joint-style swaybar end links almost exclusively, but many were, due to the designs, not easy to adapt to our Mopars. Then I happened to glance under a late Phord pickup, and had an “a’ha!” moment. The links on that vehicle looked like they would be nearly a bolt-in (see photo #5).

Would they? We ordered some from Rock Auto (rockauto.com), P/N K750074 to find out.

OK, I won’t make you wade through 1,000 words to learn the result: A stunning reduction in body roll and similar improvement in turn-in response. Not to belabor the point, but it was a drastic, immediately noticeable, enhancement.

More good news: They bolted in—no mods—in ’72-down A-bodies and ’66½ through 1969 B-bodies (these cars all have the front swaybar ends above the lower control arm brackets). They also totally bolt into the rear of E-bodies, and, by definition, any car that has a rear swaybar from Firm Feel. Those guys, realizing, as did I, that the E-body rear bar was the best design (very little unsprung weight addition), used the E-bod design as the basis for all their rear swaybars.

So, on ’70–’72 B-bodies, all E-cars, and ’73-up A-bodies, the bar will also bolt right in—after, that is, you shorten them by about 1.5–2.0˝. We show how to make that mod in the usual photos and captions.

That’s it! For the price of a fast food crapp....er, happy meal, you can make a very drastic upgrade in your Mopar’s suspension and steering response. The Kung Flu not withstanding (beaten by U.S. technology), life is good!

Even after a chance meeting with a tire wall (yes, another Brick in the wall), our ’69 Valiant was still cutting great lap times, due, in part, to minimal body roll. Your Mopar can do the same, read on!

MOPAR ACTION 39

 HEY SWAY!

1

3

Cars with links, though, turn out to be easy to enhance. Our upgrade uses sealed miniball joint links, as shown, a stunning improvement.

And it bolts in!

Read on...

5

Most Mopars use end-link type swaybars. The bushings at both ends of both the left and rightside links—four total—must be compressed before the swaybar begins to function. Less than ideal. Earlier Mopars had the swaybar hanging above the UCA bracket (left), later designs (top) were below.

4

With urethane or rubber, it doesn’t take long for the stock-type bushings to become distorted (permanently), and even when new, they allow lots of “squish” motion before the bar begins to work.

Rock Auto’s superb ball-joint type links, r., P/N K750074, are a bolt-in replacement for factory long stud-type) links (see photo 4). Even the hardware is supplied. Mopars from the muscle era used links in two designs and lengths. Cars with long links (’65–’72 A-bodies, and ’66½–’69 B-cars) used double-ended stud type links, whereas later cars used shorter, bolt-type links. E-body rear bars also used the long stud type. The upgraded link’s working length is perfect for early cars—and this is non-critical.

6

Either style link is easy to remove, the trick is to do both sides simultaneously.

2 7

1962 thru 1966½ and ’73-up B-bodies used this extremely miserable swaybar setup.

There’s no easy upgrade, you’d need to re-engineer the entire swaybar system. Sorry.

40 MOPAR ACTION

The new links drop in like stock. Tighten the supplied locknuts securely. Use a wrench or Vise Grips on the hex end of the stud to keep it (the stud) from turning. No additional hardware is needed—a total bolt-in.

Our plan was to shorten the shafts as needed, and then connect them with a 7/16˝-20 bolt connector.

11

8

Thus shortened, the links bolted right in to the later (sway bar below the UCA bracket) cars. No mods to the vehicle—at all.

16

17 12

Once installed, we snipped the bottom stud to prevent chance meetings with broken Honda parts littering our highways.

Unmodified links bolted right in to the rear of an E-body, and...

To this end, we shortened the shafts and...

13

9

...threaded them. This actually worked just fine, but...

18

14

...would likely drop into any car with a Firm Feel rear bar. This design is excellent, adds very little unsprung weight.

On an E, ’70–’72 B, or ’73–’76 A, the improved links replace all this wobbly junk.

However, the new links are about 1½˝ too long for these cars. What to do?

...the bolt connectors were way too long, so we wound up using a standard 7/16˝ SAE (UNF) nut.

19

15

10 For the latetype links, we started the brain salad surgery with a Sawzall, snipping the shaft in half. Cutoff wheel or hacksaw would do as well.

This, however, left precious little thread engagement, so we tack welded the nut to the shaft. We didn’t go crazy because we figured the ball joints are probably plastic lined, and we worried about excessive heat trashing them.

You could make some improvement on a B-body rear setup by replacing the top half of the hanger link with half of a ball joint-type link.

SOURCE ROCK AUTO rockauto.com

MOPAR ACTION 41

FEARSOME FIFTIES FLYERS DEPT

THE “REAL” FIRST DODGE DAYTONA 13 years before the first Charger Daytona wing car arrived, Dodge was tearing up the tracks with the D500. story & photos by CLIFF GROMER

W

INNING. Before there was the winged Dodge Charger Daytona in 1969, there was the finned Dodge D500 in 1956. The new “high performance personal car,” noted Dodge’s December 22, 1955, bulletin to all its dealers, tagged the D500 as “dynamite in kid gloves.” Dodge went on to explain that the D500 was not to be confused with a simple bolt-on or accessory power kit, but as a model that included “a chassis of extra rugged proportions.”

Touted as “a masterpiece of engineering perfection,” the D500’s 315-CID V8 (putting out 260 horsepower with a 9.25:1 compression ratio), was “the biggest and most powerful engine in Dodge car history.” It featured a new 4-Bbl carb and dual exhaust. Inside were Chrysler’s hemispherical combustion chamber design with double-rocker-shaft cylinder heads, larger valves, stiffer valve springs and a solid -lifter (mechanical) cam.

That “extra rugged” chassis was, in fact, a modified Chrysler New Yorker/Newport suspension with 6-leaf rear springs.

Unique to the model were specific heavy-duty steering knuckles and steering arms, and heavy-duty axle shafts. The package was complemented by 12-inch x 2½-inch-wide center-plane brakes with a 5 x 4½-inch bolt pattern that were said to have 37% better braking and high-fade resistance. The D500 model also sat 1½ inches lower than a standard Dodge. The D500 series initially was available in the Custom Royal 2-dr. Lancer and Convertible (Dodge wanted the D500 model to be the most expensive in the lineup) and also the Coronet 2-dr. club sedan.

The ’56 Dodge D500 was introduced as a separate model rather than a high performance “package” add-on. Options on Cooter’s Dodge included a clock, power steering and brakes, 7-tube Music Master AM radio with dual antennas and dual outside mirrors.

42 MOPAR ACTION

MOPAR ACTION 43

 THE “REAL” FIRST DODGE DAYTONA

Many of the Custom Royal Lancers came with a tri-tone paint scheme.

Cooter’s car had been repainted red and cream from its original Sapphire White top, Iridescent Charcoal saddle and Oriental Coral bottom.

’Course, the D500 wasn’t developed solely for the street market. Dodge had their eye on NASCAR competition, which leads us to the meaning of the D500 moniker. The “500” refers to the number of cars that Dodge had to homologate to qualify for NASCAR. The “D” is a matter of some controversy. Some say it’s “Dodge.” But then the car would be called the Dodge Dodge 500. A more likely view is that it stood for “Daytona.”

Either way, there was no denying the fearsomeness of these machines. Check out the results from NASCAR National Speed Trials on the sand at Daytona Beach, Florida. Dodge’s D500 whipped all U.S, production passenger cars in the standing-start mile and set a new national acceleration record. Dodge even beat out 2nd place Chrysler, whose 300B boasted of 80 more

The D500s rode on 15-inch wheels and featured the 12x2½˝ drum brakes.

“Regular” Dodges were equipped with 11-inch brakes (still 15-in. wheels, 14˝ wheels would appear in 1957.) The race D500-1s had 12 x 3˝ drums.

horsepower. NASCAR did not supply the actual acceleration times, but we know the D500 continued to romp in the Flying Mile Speed (run in the 305-350-CI class) by scoring a scorching 130.577 MPH. No 2 was Mercury with a 124.503 MPH. And Chrysler? Their Windsor came in No 8 at 113.386 MPH. The VIN system was simpler in the ‘50s, but it was the familiar ‘67-down stainless tag on the A-pillar, it is was called simply “Vehicle Serial Number”. There was also a Body Number tag underhood, forerunner to the now-familar data plate (“fender tag”).

D500 engine numbers were stamped on the block beginning with D500-1001. The first engine, 1001, was assigned to the engine lab to develop the actual race D500 which was desig-

This is how the Dodge would have come from the factory (sans fuzzy dice).

44 MOPAR ACTION

nated D500-1-xxx. D500-1002 was put in a test mule and run at Chrysler’s proving grounds. D500-1003 was installed in a Custom Royal Lancer and is believed to be the first D500 sold to the public. It’s also the earliest D500 currently known.

Modifications for these dash-one race engines included a dual 4-Bbl. carbs on an aluminum intake. Chrysler had The 315-inch single 4-Bbl not perfected casting aluminum at this Hemi came with 260 horsepoint, so the project was outsourced to power and a “¾ race” solid Carl Kieckhefer of Mercury Marine. Carl lifter cam. The dash-one was sponsoring Chrysler 300Bs in NASrace engines sported dual quads with 276 horseCAR back in ’56. Only 102 of the alumipower and “full race” solid num dual 4-Bbl intakes were produced, lifter cam. The D500-1003 and they all went on racecars. The D500 stamped on Cooter’s engine dash-one race engine retained the stock block shows this to be the D500 bottom end and sported a big earliest D500 known to be round air cleaner. The New Yorker/Newin existence. There’s probport undercarriage was swapped to the ably some ’56 Hemi DNA in even heavier-duty Imperial suspension the current Hellcat models. with its 12-inch x 3-inch wide brakes and 5 x 5-inch bolt pattern wheels.

The D500-1 cars were announced on Jan 12, 1956, as a As for the “regular” D500s, the first cars were shipped to Dodge dealers across the country to get the word out. “super heavy duty” model. Dodge was cagey about calling it a Included was D500-1003 which had been built on December “racecar.” The D500 dash-one cars were supposed to be avail16th,1955. It spent Christmas in Detroit, and on December able to the public, but in reality, you had to have connections to 27th shipped to Cunningham & Rickey Motors in Klamath get one. Racers knew the deal on these cars and jostled in line Falls, Oregon. Dodge produced the D500 so late that the 1956 for one. Lee Petty, Richard’s father, had a dash-one delivered dealer’s service manual has no mention of a D500 anywhere. to him at Daytona. About 10-15 dash-ones were convertibles All the maintenance and service info was released in the form because Dodge raced in a convertible class back in the ’50s. of service bulletins.

The rest were 2-door sedans.

MOPAR ACTION 45

PHOTO: COOTER BROWN

Only D500s—the first series and the Specials—carried these “Flags of Distinction.”

They could not be ordered separately.

 THE “REAL” FIRST DODGE DAYTONA By the end of February, Dodge had satisfied NASCAR’s 500 production requirement, and put out a memo on March 9th, 1956 announcing the D500 Special. This was just an engine and 12-inch brake package, with the option of deleting the 12-inch binders for the standard 11-inchers rather than the “big car” 12-inch brakes.

The Special was available on all Dodge models starting in March ’56. Cars back in the ’50s were, for the most part, floaters with a comfy “water bed ride” suspension. The first D500s with the NYer/Newport underpinnings and the stiff rear springs could shake the fillings out of your teeth when you went over a set of railroad tracks. Customers weren’t too thrilled about this, and they complained, so the later Specials came with the standard Dodge suspension.

Royal Hunter Dixon III a/k/a Cooter Brown had been looking 3 years for a ’56 D500 Custom Royal Lancer, and he came across one in Syracuse, NY, in 2017. The owner had rodded it a bit with 3 deuces on an Offy intake, like a hot rod The D500 used a larger than standard exhaust to keep the Hemi breathing easy. of the ’50s and early ’60s. Although nicely done, the underside was dirty, and the front end was loose. And the guy wanted too much for the car, so Cooter passed.

Then this D500 was found on the Forward Look Facebook page when being listed for auction on eBay. This was the description on the auction page: “My friend Fred is 88 years old. He owned a Dodge dealership in 1956 in California and fell in love with ’56 Dodges. He has amassed some of the most beautiful cars you will ever find including this 1956 CRL D-500. Fred believes this car is the 5th D-500 produced that year, although I don’t have any documentation of that claim.These cars have been meticulously restored down to the nuts and bolts. Colors aren’t the original, but they are still done beautifully.

This beautiful Dodge is now powered by a 1956 Dodge 315 Hemi.

Fred needs to sell his cars. He wants them to go to someone who will cherish them as he does. All have been subject to high dollar frame off restoration.

None have been driven much at all since restoration, so they are basically brand new!”

COOTER BROWN lived along the MasonCooter bid on the Dixon line at the time of the Civil War. He eBay auction in $200 had family on both sides, and, not wishing increments until he to be drafted by either the North or the reached his limit. With South, he decided to get drunk—and stay 3 minutes to go, Cooter drunk—so that he wouldn’t have to fight asked his dad to back in the war. Inebriety has been measured Restored by the nephews of the previous owner, the interior was redone him for more dough, against Cooter Brown’s extended binge headliner-to-carpet in colors to match the non-original color repaint. which he did. Then ever since. Hunter says his “Cooter The pedals are original—red brake, gray gas. Repops are all black.

Cooter’s final $200 hit Brown” days are far behind him. won the car.

Who Was Cooter Brown?

46 MOPAR ACTION

Chrysler historical provided the IBM punch card for D500-1003. They were unable to decode it. Neither can Cooter. If anyone out there can decode it, please email it to me, cliffgromer@yahoo.com and I’ll forward it to Cooter. A copy of the card is on our website: tinyurl. com/4ewt79c8so you can enlarge it for detail.

The D500 left the factory with paint code 271 tri-tone paint— Sapphire White top, Iridescent Charcoal (a metallic grey) saddle, and an Oriental Coral bottom. The trim code 545 called for an interior with black and silver fabric and white vinyl.

The repaint on the restored Dodge is red and cream with a completely new matching interior. The steering wheel had been repainted as Cooter discovered when his belt buckle scratched the bottom of the wheel exposing black underneath.

When the Dodge was delivered, everything was good except for one thing—the generator wasn’t charging.

Cooter pulled the unit and sent to his bud, Mike Daurity.

In 1956, Dodge switched over from a 6-volt system to 12 volts. You could tell the difference by the tag on the generator—green for 12 volts, red for 6. Though the tag on Cooter’s generator was missing, Mike had the books to reference the generator numbers, and, yep, it was a 6-volt, but the car was set up for 12-volts.

The other problem was that Cooter’s D500 came with power steering and the pump ran off a pulley on an extended generator shaft.

The long shaft 12-volt generator was available only in 1956-57, making it a rare piece. Mike has a large collection of Mopars that he’s saved from the crusher over the years and came up with the correct 12-volt longshaft generator off a ’56 DeSoto. He had the generator rebuilt and swapped it

Cooter found the original cowl tag for his car online.

The tag was painted over when the Dodge was restored.

to Cooter for the nose off a ’37 Plymouth, as Mike had been running a ’38 nose on his ’37.

Cooter has put about 5000 miles on his Dodge since owning it, and between drives he schedules regular visits to his dentist to have his fillings cemented back in.

NEW YEAR REVOLUTIONS DEPT

A PAIR OF HEMI Taking on the top dogs in Outlaw, Al “Big Al G” Gennarelli is sorting out his new car and came in from North Carolina to win the HEMI Outlaw class at both opening events! Car is powered by a turbo combination, runs consistent mid 8-second times, and yes, he’s now become the biggest target in the class.

Melany “Melcat” Dion was on her game in Orlando. Driving her car backed by Legmaker, she went to the semifinals in the 10.50 class, while boss Chris Harrigan did likewise with his Charger in the 8.50 Super Pro class. She took the MMX Closest to the Pin honors in the 10.50 bracket (closet ET to the index) and was in the final round at VMP as well.

HOLIDAYS

This classic ’69 Dart driven by Kent Irwin in the Outlaw class made its first appearance on the series at VMP. The car is remotored with a worked 3G Hemi on a big shot of nitrous, and ran to an 8-second time slip and semifinal honors in Outlaw.

Late Model Mopes and more do battle as the 2021 MSHS season gets underway.

T

story & photos by GEOFF STUNKARD

HE JOY OF RUNNING A MAGAZINE that comes out 6 times a year is tempered by timeliness. We do not want to waste page space on stuff that doesn’t matter, but we still enjoy showing you the latest happenings regardless. To that end, we attended the first two Modern Street Hemi Shootout events of 2021, going to Orlando, Florida and Petersburg, Virginia to witness the start of a new year of 3G competition.

Thanks to our print schedule, by the time you read this, we will likely be in Detroit for the event there.

The Florida weekend(s) began with the NMCA’s season opener in Bradenton. I wrote about that in my Zoo Keeper’s editorial last issue. The MSHS race was held at Orlando Speed World the following weekend and run in conjunction with a DiabloSport-sponsored event called Horsepower Wars. Leah Pruett,

Leah Pruett and a young fan (shirt says Free Sarcasm) during her autograph session on Saturday’s final day for the DS HP Wars 3 race.

She also drove the DiabloSport development car in exhibition competition.

MOPAR ACTION 49

 A PAIR OF HEMI HOLIDAYS

Testing fresh cars is sometimes done at these events as well, as track prep tends be impeccable compared to a normal tune night.

This stealth, primered Charger, reportedly for a well-known owner, got shaken down at Orlando. All we know is it has a Nitrous Outlet juice system.

Orlando also saw the return of the Eplings to the series, with Jason wheeling the family’s trick Kenne-Bell huffed Challenger to the Outlaw final at Orlando, then winning Rockingham as we went to deadline, running an incredible 7.39 in the process to hold onto his “World’s Fastest Street Challenger” title.

Ed Springsteen took Modified Forced Induction honors at the DiabloSport race, and his colorful car is a popular one at the late-model racing events. The Mr. Norm’s connection and crazy bee graphics get a lot of attention, and the car is raced for the benefit of a charity.

50 MOPAR ACTION

not busy driving her 11,000 HP dragster that weekend, came in as the Grand Marshall for both events, with her NASCAR-oriented / Top Fuel apprentice fiancé Tony Stewart on hand, too. The guy they call Smoke was able to remain fully incognito thanks to voluntary masking.

The schedule at OSW had the MSHS racers testing on Thursday, those who wanted to then ran the DiabloSport event Friday and Saturday, and the Legmaker Intakes MSHS finale happened on Sunday. Among the 100+ entries at the twin events were several that had raced the previous weekend at the NMCA opener, giving them a full plate of all-out horsepower for a Florida vacation.

About a month later, the next race happened at Virginia Motorsports Park, near Petersburg, and was backed by Demon Performance. This was also where a number of northeast and east coast racers who missed Florida showed up for the first time this year. Beautiful weather coupled with a solid count of cars made this 2-day (Thursday-Friday) race a lot of fun, and points for the 2021 have begun to accrue.

I know you may feel like we plug this series very hard, Truth is, after 30 years in racing, I see the MSHS in a moment of pure sportsmanship.

Lots of camaraderie, regular best times being run, good car counts, honest payouts, and level playing fields. That combination rarely lasts in any form of motorsports, and with the present uncertain political climate, who knows how long the outlaws will have fun? See the 2021 schedule on their ad on page 37. Meanwhile, we know you read Mopar Action just like Playboy, for the articles. So we’ve included some pictures as well.

It’s 2021—we’ll be watching…

Industry leading geometry and components Fits up to 325 tire in front with full steering Fits a 345 in the rear

Torque Arm Rear Suspension

Dual power rack and pinion Forged 7075 Aluminum spindle Aggressive lowered ride height Adjustable JRI shocks Adjustable cross member Articulating trailing arms Multiple ride height options Torque Arm and IRS rear end options

Independent Rear Suspension

 A PAIR OF HEMI HOLIDAYS

Chris Dufresne, a buddy of event manager Dan Vanhorn, sure is a good pal to take over the driving chores on Dan-V’s turbo Challenger when Dan is running the shows. After a couple of passes to get oriented, Chris had it figured out, and went to both semifinals in Florida and Virginia in Outlaw.

Some come to party, some come to win.

Four nitrous bottles may mean, “Run whatcha brung, and bring all you got!”

Shut up and line up…HEMI RACE!

For 2020 Hemi Outlaw champion Kevin “Grumpycat” Helmick, the first two events of the year were pretty frustrating, as shown here when he had a fresh engine fail on warmup in the pits at VMP. This tragedy happened after a couple of expensive overnighted freight shipments to get ready for the race had also accrued. However, at the Rock, his hometrack, the GCat Challenger posted runner-up honors to Epling in the 1/8-mile Outlaw division.

We’d probably run a shot of Ron Polidora’s 1964 Hellcat Dodge no matter what, but when he won both the 8.50 class and King of the Hill (KH) honors at VMP (where a towering wheelstand last year had shattering results), 52 MOPAR ACTION

he deserved it. He and wife Lori pose with the trophies. Oh, wait—then he won the Bracket title, Throwback 9.50 crown, and KH again at Rockingham! Maybe his car’s nickname should be “Big Money Dodge!”

EFI Plates N2O Pucks Accessory Packages Dedicated Fuel Systems Window Switches Progressive Controllers Plumbing Flowing Services Custom Plenum Systems 254-848-4300

Brian Brunt (a distant relative of TheBruntBros) had his “Damn Jeep” Grand Cherokee down out of cold Michigan to win the High Horse Performance 10.00 Index class and the King of the Hill honor in Orlando and followed it up with a second class win coupled to a KH runner-up to Polidora in Virginia.

customerservice@nitrousoutlet.com

The Demon Performance crew was on hand at VMP with this just-completed super-trick billet engine package in a customer’s car they were dialing in. Looks cool!

MOPAR ACTION 53

PAVEMENT EATER DEPT

Jacob Hartzell and his dad Kip showed up at Rockingham’s long-running Mopars at the Rock show and ended up on the menu for Mopar Action readers. Justcompleted car was reborn to handle.

Fresh build looks perfect cruising in Carolina on a sunny afternoon.

64 MOPAR ACTION

After a slew of Brand Xers, Kip Hartzell built the corner cruiser of his dreams.

BY GEOFF STUNKARD

O

H, BOY, here we go again. Another 1971 Plymouth ’ Cuda. How do we manage it? I mean, these things are not like ’72 Chevelles, which we believe may still be in production by the cartels in some secret Mexican facility. We seem to just find our fish, or they find us. In fact, Kip Hartzell’s just-finished E-body was begging us to look closer from the moment we saw it on the show field at Rockingham. And rather than wait 5 years to run it like we do some other stuff, it became pretty

obvious we needed to get this fine fish broiling right away on in the ’ol Mopar Action edit oven for a happy meal before the other mag guys had a chance to rip us off.

Now, unlike a lot of our readers who talk about reading Mopar Action while they were lying in their first crib, Kip’s experiences with car ownership began with ChevFoCo—a built Nova, some early Broncos, and, a couple of street rods, etc., but his inner voice knew that real men drive Mopars. He listened, and this Plymouth came into his possession back in 2015.

MOPAR ACTION 65

 BLACKENED FISH

PHOTO: KIP HARTZELL

Overall appearance of car is quite similar to how it was when new. Factory-coded TX9 Black, white billboards were left off when bodywork and paint were finished.

Added Go Wing accents factory-design Shaker, and black bumpers look cool.

OCP EFI 4-barrel dual plane comes to rescue to make Shaker hood scoop functional on 6.4L 3G engine. Crate motor package retains OEM internals, but has aftermarket exhaust, cooling, A/C, and steering pieces. Griffen rad, Optima battery and A/C routing lines are quickly noticed changes, while engine’s stock valve covers keep powerplant swap subdued.

66 MOPAR ACTION

“This ’Cuda is the first Mopar I have personally owned; however, I grew up with Mopars,” he tells us. “My dad was a diehard Dodge fan. He had a 1967 Dodge Coronet 500 convertible with a 383 big block. I even learned to drive and took my driver’s test with a light blue 1974 Dodge Monaco Station Wagon with a 440 4-Bbl.” With his rebellious Brand X youth behind him, Kip specifically wanted a ’71 ’Cuda as a project. This example had been born as a TX9 Black 340 4-speed, originally delivered from the factory with white billboards. Between then and Kip’s purchase, it had been further transformed into a well-worn 440 6-Bbl version

with a 4.10 Dana 60 diff installed.

It also had been subjected to allweather driving conditions by previous owners in places like Canada and Colorado.

“I chose this particular car because I didn’t want numbersmatching. I knew I was going to modernize it so I could take it anywhere. Besides, this ’Cuda had already been given a poor ‘restoration’ several years before I purchased it, and it had some rust issues that were covered up with filler and paint.”

With his work (and the need for Wheels are Boze Forged Alloy ProTouring, multifresh metal) cut out for him, the car ribbed, open center black design with thin outwas disassembled for the upgrades line rim chrome and big rotors visible through seen here, which would be both cosspokes, 18x9 up front and 19x12 in rear, Michelin rubber. “If it doesn’t go, chrome it?” It goes… metic and mechanical. A computer engineer by trade who likes doing his own wrench work, his past background in street rodding had given him some experience with what would be needed to make it work. The biggest part would be serious chassis mods to enhance handling, and he selected a Schwartz Performance G-Machine kit for the underpinnings as a result. This included a full frame that is installed parallel to the inside of the factory unibody rails, Schwartz A-arms, power rack-and-pinion steering, adjustable 4-bar rear suspension set up, and RideTech coilover shocks. Minitubs gave room for bigger tires, and a Wilwood master cylinder coupled with 14˝ Baer 6-piston discs and calipers plus

Trick Schwartz G-machine chassis fits inside OEM frame rails at rear, ties entire car together. Purists (and Ehrenberg) cringe at trashing of both front and rear Chrysler suspension designs, but package was adapted for severe autocross cornering in mind, with coilovers, power rack and 4-bar rear outfit.

MOPAR ACTION 67

 BLACKENED FISH

Interior is now upscale with Cerrillo XR front seats and OE-design custom console layout. Pistol Grip is atop 6-speed crashbox. Flaming River-built Tuff Wheel, Dakota Digital gauges, and carbon fiber accenting add to car’s modern upgrades.

a Tuff Products dual-diaphragm booster slow it all down.

Under the hood and beneath an OEM Shaker outfit is a 3G 6.4L 392˝ crate engine. Kip decided to forgo the modern multiple port intake manifold, using OEM injectors on a OCP EFI 4-barrel dual plane intake with the DBW adaptor and old school kit, meaning that the slightly-modified Shaker scoop is actually fully functional. A custom 16-gallon Rick’s Tank and electric pumps keep it fed. Ignition is the OEM 3G layout, with exhaust handled

by 2.5 stainless tube with a crossover pipe, QTP electric cutouts, Magnaflow mufflers, SLP resonators, and OEM type exhaust tips. The rest of the engine is pretty much stock, save for accessories like a Jones Racing steering pump, Griffin radiator with electric fans, and Milodon rear sump oil pan. A HotwireAuto Chrysler “Hotrod” engine harness with drive-by-wire technology and cruise control covered the reworking of the electrical system, and a Vintage Air Gen IV SureFit AC unit was added as well.

The engine and the Tremec / SilverSport 6-speed transmission mounted behind it are coupled together with a Quicktime bellhousing and hydraulic clutch. A carbon-fiber driveshaft and a

Low rear view shows tire width, OEM valance-design exhaust exits. Car was rebuilt with plans to autocross it in mind and tire/brake combo are purpose-selected.

68 MOPAR ACTION

The car’s stance and appearance remains pure muscle, but the careful selection of pieces such as tires coupled with keeping all of those iconic 1971 factory styling cues make this build aggressive from every angle. Track time is coming...

Moser full-floater rear end using a nodular center section with a US Gear 3.50 ring-and-pinion complete the driveline.

Inside, the factory seat layout gave way to Cerrillo XR seats, an ldidit retrofit tilt steering column with Flaming River polished Tuff Wheel, Dakota Digital Rallye VHX gauges, 6-speed Pistol Grip shifter, and carbon fiber accenting. The car uses 3-point retractable seat belts, and overall the black interior blends nicely with the other changes outside. These are minor but noticeable, such as ECS smoked side and rear window glass, blacked-out bumpers, Ringbrothers billet hood hinges and DigiTail LED taillights. A Go Wing adds a final old school touch.

Selecting wheels on a car like this is critical, and to be honest, can make or break whether your car ever shows up here in this magazine. Too big, too small, too shiny or too dull, and we often quietly walk away no matter how nice the rest of the package is. That stated, we felt Kip’s rim selection, which are oversize due to the large Baer brake rotors, fit this project perfectly, a combo of black spoke paint and mild polished rim barrels that does not overwhelm the rest of the car’s appearance. Up front are Boze Forged ProTouring 18x9s shod in Michelin Pilot SuperSport 265/35R18 rubber, while the rear features larger 19x12 rims of the same brand, this time with 345/30ZR19 tires.

When we met Kip and his son Jacob, the car had just been finished, and, as noted, Kip told us most of the work had been done at home. Jacob plays baseball and likes computer games and was perhaps a little surprised when we dragged, er, politely asked that he, Kip and the ’Cuda drive over to a little spot where we could shoot our photos. Though not drag racing at this event, Kip plans to try and actively autocross the car later this year, but for right now is just enjoying just having the project done.

As noted, this was a factory TX9 340 4-speed car with white billboards; Kip stayed with black paint but left the billboards off the finished project. And that, folks, is how we thought up our cute blackened fish title.

Bon appetit!

THOSE FALLING LEAVES DEPT

SPRING FLING Rear leaf spring setup by TheBruntBros is the lo-lo-buck way to go but has to be changed every fall. Eberg has a different take.

Blueprinting Leaf SpringsÑAn InsiderÕs Guide

BY RICHARD EHRENBERG, SAE PHOTOS BY R. EHRENBERG & S. ROSSI

60 MOPAR ACTION

EAF SPRINGS. Unless your rear bumper is dragging on the pavement, you rarely think about them. Ask most non-Mopar guys, and they consider leaf springs a remnant of the Conestoga wagon days, and, yes, leaf spring suspension design is now in its second hundred years—if not longer. As you might expect from Chrysler Engineering, however, things are not as they seem. Chrysler springs were unique, actually very cleverly engineered to provide a excellent balance of smooth ride and good axle control, whether under heavy braking or a 10-second launch.

L

In fact, some Mopars—even 1930s Dodge Trucks—had a modicum of 4-wheel steering via the leaf spring design. By default, every leaf spring suspension exhibits some of this effect, but by splaying the leafs—either way, wider or closer together at the front / rear, engineers can—and did—dial in the desired handling characteristics. This was the case on every E-body.

F, J, and M-bodies had opposite-splayed springs, in this case, to partially correct (or mask) not-so-great front suspension geometry.

Mopars also had asymmetrical springs. What does this mean? Simply put, the axle housing is

Stand on the Gas. Trick Flow ups the ante of big block Mopar performance with these PowerPort® 270 cylinder heads. They feature raised 270cc Max Wedge-style intake runners that provide a straighter path to the valve for greatly improved airflow over factory Mopar heads. Then there’s the PowerPort 270’s other standard features: A356-T61 aluminum construction, 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.

For the finishing touch, the heads work in total harmony with all factory-style big block pistons, roller rockers, and headers.

Airflow Results

Dyno 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.

Your Recipe for Big Block Mopar Performance!

New heads are just one component of the horsepower recipe.

To make it complete, youÕre going to need some more ingredients.

Track Max® Camshaft Get even more power boost with a Track Max camshaft. With 243°/247° of duration at .050" and .600"/.600" of valve lift, it’s dyno proven to provide a good midrange with strong top-end power in the 3,000–6,500 RPM range.

Cast Aluminum Valve Covers Treat your build to cast aluminum valve covers! They are made from durable A319 aluminum, which is much less prone to flex and distortion than stamped steel covers to prevent oil leaks. Plus, the covers clear most roller rocker arms, have added clearance for the distributor, and can be drilled to accept breathers.

Track Heat® Intake Manifolds Just oozing high performance, these high-rise single plane Track Heat intakes feature a one-piece spider-type design with extended, high-flow runners and raised plenum floors to significantly increase power and torque in the 3,000-7,000 plus RPM range. Other bonuses include bosses for nitrous nozzles and extra material for custom port work.

TrickFlow.com • 1-330-630-1555 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.

2110MATF

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.

 SPRING FLING not centered on the spring. The front section could be as short as 20 inches, creating what was, in effect, a rigid control arm. The rear “half” is much longer, imparting good ride quality.

Ma Mopar also engineered springs for special applications: Drag racing, roundy-round, etc. The most wellknown ones are the ones used on the S/S and A134 package cars (R/T–GTX).

These are instantly recognizable by the extra lower half-leaves on the driver side, and was specifically intended to improve street launches. It worked.

Many guys think their leaf springs have sagged because they are nearly flat.

Wrong. A flat spring drastically improves handling and reduces sway and wander. Here’s why: Picture a piece of rope or wire, pulled taut. That’s your flat leaf spring, you will notice how resistant it is to side sway. Now put a bit of slack in it—i.e., an arched spring. See how easily it can be moved side-to-side? Not a good thing in your rear suspension.

Anyway, for today’s exercise, we’re gonna take a look at disassembling and freshening a pair of Mopar leafs. Along the way, we’ll pass along a large helping of tricks and tips, not just for restoring, but also improving, Ma Mopar’s handiwork!

OK, we’re at the ready, breaking out both the Kodak and Craftsman sets... here goes...

1

5

...this usually includes extra halfleafs specifically designed to resist said windup and wheel hop.

All RWD Mopars, through 1989, had this basic rear suspension setup. The apparent simplicity, however, belies the clever engineering hiding within.

6

2 Our project, for now, is to inspect, blueprint, and generally freshen up this pair of 1950s performance car springs. They had no obvious damage. Finding a broken leaf means either buying complete new springs, or having a single leaf reproduced at a local spring shop.

Every Mopar rear leaf-sprung car has a measure of rear steer built in.

7

3

That Other Spring Fling

How? Why? Because the wheel travels in an arc, centered around the front eye bushing.

As the suspension is compressed, the wheel effectively moves forward. Cars with angled (splayed) rear springs (E, F, J, M-bodies) vary this steering effect—by design.

FOR AS LONG as I can remember, Chrysler Performance West (a car club, long headed by road racer Steve Wall) has put on an awesome Mopar-only show in the nearsuburbs of Los Angeles, Spring Fling, joined a while back by the aptly named Fall Fling.

These are laid back, very popular, events.

If you’re anywhere west of the Mississippi, add these events to your must-go list! See cpwclub.com for Kung-Flu -related updates.

62 MOPAR ACTION

The rear suspension must transmit all torque to the pavement. This illustration shows spring windup. This is limited by the windup bumper on the rear axle—the “pinion snubber,” but Mopars, especially those with OEM high performance packages, or MP Super Stock springs, are specifically engineered to minimize this effect...

4

Our interliners, however, were toast. Springs of the ’50s used asbestos here (see also photo 19)

8

The eye bushings were also pretty well trashed.

Gee, they only lasted 65 years.

12

15

9 The clamps are easily cleaned up and made ready for re-use.

13

Always consult the parts book for your car.

Surprisingly, the majority of Mopars had different springs, left to right, even mundane 318 sedans. This numbering convention began way back when: the lower (first) P/N is always the right side.

16

Disassembly begins with removing the clamps. Thru 1966-1967*, they simply unbolt...

10

Mid-’67 and up Mopars used these pry-apart style. They are tougher to re-use, but repros are available. Some had rubber linings.

Shackle bushings pop right out and in. ...then pry open and off. They can be re-used.

14

11

The flathead screw(s) remain trapped until the center bolt is removed, and the springs separated. * Hilariously, I watched (cringed) as a well-known Mopar TV show host pronounced a first-gen Charger as “modified” because it had these spring clamps!

With the clamps off, the only thing holding the spring assembled is the center bolt. Remove it.

17

Before disassembly, be sure to note the part numbers, almost always on the lowest leaf.

If you have decided to use MP reproduction springs, Tony D’Agostino (tonysparts.com) offers replacements for this leaf, with the original ’60s–’70s OEM part numbers embossed on ’em, a neat, slick trick for 100-point restorations.

Now each individual leaf can be cleaned up.

We then treated each leaf with a rust conversion coating (Rust Mort, Extend, Naval Jelly, etc.). Some guys will treat ’em with gun bluing or black paint, but we don’t think that each leaf was painted individually from the factory.

(More on that in a moment).

MOPAR ACTION 63

 SPRING FLING

18

21

24

We used stock rubber for the shackle (rear) end, mostly because we had ’em.

Our interliners were destroyed. The ’50s style was asbestos retained with staple-type clips.

19

All the parts store center bolts were too large (diameter). The truck spring shops use the super long ones (bottom) to pull the super tough truck leaves together, then simply snap off the excess. Our stock bolts were reusable, and proper re-pops (center) came from ECS (ecsvin.com).

25

22 Leaf spring breakage generally occurs near the anchor point (center) because load concentration is highest here. The factory, however, had a pre-emptive fix for this—

26 Luckily, the ’60s one-piece plastic ones looked like they’d snap right in, these came from Year One (yearone.com).

20

The trashed eye bushings were removed.

Stock replacements for most Mopars non-performance springs (2˝ OD) are carried by Rock Auto; Year One also has a complete inventory.

23

zinc interleaves. We decided to add these as an upgrade. They drastically reduce sliding friction, making leaf breakage far less likely, and also greatly reduce corrosion (via sacrificial action). These perfect, solid zinc repro kits are made by Kent M. Johnson, find him at kjohnst@ postal.net or on eBay as seller kentj340.

27

And so they did.

64 MOPAR ACTION

We upgraded to Energy Suspension sleeved urethane. These operate on a totally different principle than the stock Harris (molded rubber) bushings, and the steel sleeve should have its OD liberally greased.

If your springs need “adjusting” (de- or rearched), any truck spring shop has the tools required.

28

s u o i r e S e m o S e Mak

We stacked the leaves back as they were originally, but with “Magic” Johnston’s zinc interleafs inserted as instructed.

Cylinder Heads

29

the box when used with our 500+ inch stroker kits, these have the potential to make 650-700+ Horsepower with port work.

Also available fully CNC ported. Call us or check our web site for details.

Since we wanted to use the original center bolt, we used a simple C-clamp (known, more correctly, as a G-clamp in Australia).

We coated the threads with anti-seize, to make life easier for the next restorer in 2078 or so. After snugging, torque the center bolt to 40 ft.-lbs, and, later, the U-bolts to 45. Do not overtorque!

B & RB Stroker Kits, up to 543CI. All forged parts rated 1000+ Horsepower complete with Clevite bearings and Total Seal Rings.

$ Per pair Fully assembled

$ Fully balanced Ready to go

-

$

.

.

30

$

.

$

.

$

$

.

.

from $

.

$

.

We were able to use all of the original leaf spring clamps. On later models, you will probably be buying repops (e.g.: Year One).

-

:

- :

All prices subject to change without notice – Check our website for current pricing Availability limited to stock on hand – All orders subject to the terms and conditions listed on our web store

 SPRING FLING

31

37

34 There’s no documentation as to whether OEM springs were painted or not. I remember clearly, back in the day, seeing some that appeared to have been dipped, but, for certain, not all were. These certainly had traces of paint, so we shaker canned ’em with low gloss black (letting plenty soak in between the leaves to sort of simulate dipping. The inset shows a known-tobe-unmolested E-body spring)

The factory also touted the “improved” rear leaf Iso-clamp, which first saw duty in C-bodies, and eventually permeated to all Mopars except A and E-cars.

35

AR Engineering (arengineering.com) has lowering front eye hangers available for most Mopars, which will lower the car (using the upper hole) an inch or so. Don’t go more than this, pinion / U-joint angle will be affected.

38

32 Bolted back in, ready to go!

33

As the muscle era wound down, NVH* became more important than performance. One crutch used by the factory in the ’70 and ’80s was oval spring eye bushings. They added greatly to steering wander, especially as the bushings aged and turned to mush. Factory cop cars either retained round bushings or had pins (screws) in the holes. You should either use the screws, or, even better, swap to urethane, which is a huge upgrade in this application. * Noise, vibration, harshness

66 MOPAR ACTION

As you would expect, this was another negative for handling and steering precision. There are several ways to ditch this crap, easiest is Firm Feel’s kit (firmfeel.com).

36

Speaking of the angle of the dangle, pinion angle shims, which are placed between the axle perches and the top of the leaves, are readily available, this is just an informational tidbit—beyond the scope of this article.

SOURCES ROCK AUTO rockauto.com Drag racers, who were always trying to improve launch characteristics, would often use super-beefy clamps to, literally, tighten up the springs. This works better with the interliners removed, but this mod is absolutely a no-no for street-driven cars.

YEAR ONE

yearone.com

KENT M. JOHNSON kjohnst@postal.net eBay seller: kentj340.

THE NEW

MONEY MAKERS

The Complete Guide to Self-Reliant Living

Heirloom Wheat Start A B&B • Ind • Farmstands ustrial Hemp



10



10 Spring How-Tos: GROW YOUR BEST GARDEN EVER

HOM GARDEE& HACKSN PG 82

Spring 2019

Make A Pallet Compost Bin

from A to Z

Solarize Weeds For Better Bounties

Raise Quail Naturally

EASY GUIDE TO PERMACULTURE

+

Debt-Free

Earn $100K Per Year

HEIRLOOM VEGGIES

Country Living

Build Your

Online Tradesman

DOUBLE YOUR SPACE

The Mackisons At Their Organic Shooting Star Nursery

3-Step Home Declutter Plan

PAY LESS! Go Propane & Passive Solar

Companion Planting & Bug-Beater Herbs

12 Quilt Tips for Newbies Country Almanac® #243 $9 95

Display Unt l April 15 2019

ATHLON PUBLICATIONS

BORN-AGAIN JU NK

Formula For Succe ss

newpioneermag.com

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

NEY MAKERS

ood Crafting obile Businesses Pressed Flowers • Honey Wine

Mini Farm, Huge Profits

1-800-284-5668

Easy DIY Pallet Pro Scrap Metal Garden jects n Too 55-Gal. Drum Makeov ls n ers n

PLUS

8 Picking The Right Horse 8 Homebrew Forest Beer 8 Cheap Off -Gr 8 Buying Use id Lighting d Trucks

Country Almanac®

$9.95

URBAN BEEKEEPING GUIDE

ATHLON PUBLICATI ONS

The New Pioneer is your guide to everything the land has to offer.

Chock full of expert advice on must-have tools and homestead gear, planting and farming, strategies for achieving energy independence and buying rural land, do-it-yourself projects and how to get the most out of living the rural life.

NAME_______________________________________________________ ADDRESS ___________________________________________________ CITY ________________________ STATE_______ ZIP ______________

SAVE UP TO 69% OFF THE NEWSSTAND ■ 1-year (4 issues) for only $9.97 MAI L TO: Athlon Media Group PO Box 292167 Kettering, OH 45429

EMAIL ______________________________________________________ (YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WILL NOT BE SHARED WITH THIRD PARTIES)

PHONE _____________________________________________________ ■ PAYMENT ENCLOSED Charge my: ■ Visa ■ MasterCard ■ AMEX ■ Discover CARD NO. ____________________ EXP. ____ DATE ______________ SIGNATURE _________________________________________________

Please allow 8-10 weeks for delivery of your 1st issue. For print editions add 30% for Canadian shipping 100% for international shipping.

#232

Display Until April 16,

5NPIODT220

2018

REFERENCE SURVIVORS DEPT

STICK IT TO ME! Real men drive 4-speed Hemis.

by AL DENTE photos by TheBRUNTBros

B

RIAN JENNINGS didn’t have to wait until middle age before he had the wherewithal to indulge himself in a Hemi Mope. He was driving back and forth behind the wheel of a ’68 Hemi GTX while still in high school.

And don’t think that was because he had become the school’s oldest student, having been left back 18 times. Nope, he was 16 at the time, during the mid-’70s, before Hemi prices went through the roof. Brian enjoyed that car up until the mid-’90s, driving from yon to hither (in reverse) before he sold the’ X to get into (or rather on) motorcycles. When that got old, Brian got the urge to swing back into the Mopar groove.

“I know Mopars in and out pretty well,” says Brian, “I looked for a couple of years until I found the Coronet. It’s just a nice car that you can jump in and drive and not really worry about.”

Brian found this Coronet 500 online.

The seller had bought it from the original owner’s son (Jeff Schink) who had kept the car for years after his father (William D. Schink) had been cycled into a wooden box with handles on the outside.

68 MOPAR ACTION

The 1966 Coronet saw a complete restyling under the direction of Elwood Engle, new top stylist at Chrysler. While the Hemi was available, fewer than 800 Coronet buyers checked that off on the option sheet. This ride is one of 204 Hemi 4-speed Coronet 500 hardtops compared to only 135 Hemi automatics built. Hemi convertibles were even rarer with 12 4-speeds and 9 727s.

MOPAR ACTION 69

 STICK IT TO ME!

While Brian’s Coronet achieves the high standards of a Reference Survivor, he enjoys driving it rather than trailering it.

Car has rolled up 47K miles. Original owner had installed headers, blowproof bellhousing and Hurst shifter.

Matching numbers (to the extent possible on a ‘66) Hemi survived its early racing duty unscathed.

Brian started a “cleanup” but that progressed into his pulling the engine for paint and detailing.

70 MOPAR ACTION

As ordered by Hine Motors, the Hemi Coronet stickered for just over 4 grand.

The Coronet initially was shipped from the factory to Hine Motors in Kinsman, OH. Hine was a performanceoriented Dodge dealership that catered to drag racers back in the day. Involved in racing themselves, the shop’s owner, Carlton Hine, bought a new ’64 A864 Plymouth and campaigned it as the “Honkin’ Hemi.” Hine is still in business in Kinsman as Hine Racing Equipment, though they now specialize in circle track builds.

Bill, the original owner, was obviously a racer with this 426 8-Bbl / 4-speed package and manual steering and brakes, though it’s interesting that he went for the high-end 500 option rather than something more spartan. The 500 meant buckets and better trim as standard equipment. After Jeff sold his dad’s car, the next owner did some work on it, primarily pulling the race headers and slapping on a crappy exhaust system, just to flip it.

Though the car still had the racer’s blowproof scattershield and Hurst shifter installed, fortunately he had received the factory cast iron bellhousing

MADE IN THE USA

100% AMERICAN MADE MAGNUM 500 54 SERIES

CHRYSLER RALLYE 56 SERIES

STARTING AT

$

185

STARTING AT

$

124

O.E. CHRYLSER 63 SERIES

STARTING AT

$

127

SHOP NOW! SCAN CODE WITH PHONE CAMERA

CUSTOM POWDER COATING & BACK SPACING AVAILABLE

866-513-1856 WHEELVINTIQUES.COM MOPAR ACTION

 STICK IT TO ME!

Interior is all original. The Hurst shifter that the original owner had installed is replaced by the factory Inland unit.

Brian decided to keep the under-dash oil pressure gauge.

William Schink was the original owner, but the Certicard is in Anne Schink’s name. See more details in our sister publication “Mopar Mysteries.”

Exhaust was one of the few items that Brian had to replace on this otherwise very original B-body. Rear is an easy-to-livewith 3.54 ratio. The car, originally spec’d by race-oriented dealership Hine Motors, was built with 24:1 manual steering and manual drums.

72 MOPAR ACTION

Original wheels with snack bowl ’caps still wore bias-ply skins when Brian bought the car. He wisely replaced them with rollin’ radials.

and Inland shifter when he had bought the Dodge from Jeff, and he tossed the pile of OEM stuff in as part of the sale.

Brian drove his truck the 5 hours to Ohio to view the Dodge. After cutting the deal, he rented a U-Haul car trailer in Akron for the one-way haul back to Hershey, PA. At just $100, the rental was cheap because of a constant demand for car trailers in Hershey due to their fall car show. The young man would have had to pay through the nose or not be able get one at all if he were going west.

Once back home, Brian gave the Coronet a closer look and found the 500 to be a very unmolested survivor. Rolling on 1970s vintage bias-ply skins brought back memories of having to watch out for every groove in the road that the tires were eager to follow. Brian wisely upgraded to a basic set of radials as the Dodge was slated to be a driver, not a trailer queen show car. He also replaced the muffler shop-cobbled exhaust with one from Don’s Performance Exhaust in Ohio. Brian previously had bought an exhaust from them for his GTX and it fit right, as did the one for this Dodge.

Replacing the racer-installed bellhousing involved pulling the transmission.

While it was out, Brian replaced the clutch, and (as one thing led to another) decided “why not pull the engine and detail it” and the engine bay while he was at it—you know, just stuff to do while waiting for the clothes to stop spinning in the dryer. Other than renewing maintenance items such as belts, hoses, date-coded plug wires and coil for worry-free driving, there wasn’t much else Brian had to do. He did remove the racer’s rev limiter and tach but kept the under-dash oil pressure gauge.

So, if you happen to see Brian tooling around in his upscale ’66 Coronet 500, don’t forget to wave and hit him with the now well-worn tagline: “That thing got a Hemi?” Or better yet: “Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?”

WHEN YOUR A@@ IS GLA@@ DEPT

MIRROR, H MIRROR on the Door

Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.

Does this mirror make me look fat?

by RICHARD EHRENBERG, SAE

ARD TO BELIEVE, but until mid-’60s, the only rearview mirror that was standard equipment (federally required) was but one inside mirror—not even a prismatic (day/night) inside mirror was required. Wanna avoid cutting off that Shivvy in a lane off to your side?

Two options: Play bobble-head and spin your cranium, or listen for his horn. Then, in 1966, a left outside mirror was added to the fed’s must-have list, but, surprisingly, a right-side mirror was not- that wasn’t mandatory for several decades.

Of course, smart buyers, especially if you lived in a high-traffic area, checked off the option for both outside mirrors while adding Sure-Grip, a big-block, and so on, to your new Mopar’s order blank. However, even if you did that, you got mirrors that were, by today’s standards, little better than dental mirrors.

As the decades progressed, one important feature was implemented: reducing mirrors. While not required by FMVSS, right side mirrors so equipped became commonplace, and all were etched with a

74 MOPAR ACTION

You’re a sitting duck

in a gun-free zone Public safety is a critical part of the education campaigns of the Second Amendment Foundation, and with good reason. Without a self-defense option, we are all at greater risk.

The facts support our concerns about gun-free zones. The Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) recently finished updating a list of mass public shootings worldwide.

FACT: Over the course of 18 years, 1998 to 2015, the CPRC found 2,354 attacks and at least 4,880 shooters outside the U.S. and 53 attacks and 57 shooters within this country. The study found the U.S. makes up 1.49 percent of the murders worldwide, 2.20 percent of the attacks, and less than 1.15 percent of the mass public shooters.

FACT: Most gunmen are smart enough to know that they can kill more people if they attack places where victims can’t defend themselves; 98 percent of mass public shootings since 1950 have occurred in places where citizens are banned from having guns. In Europe, every mass public shooting in history has occurred in a gun-free zone. And Europe is no stranger to mass public shootings. In the past eight years, it has experienced a per-capita casualty rate 50 percent higher than that of the U.S. FACT: The U.S. is a relatively safe place from these shooting attacks precisely because so many attacks are thwarted by legally armed good Samaritans.

FACT: The evidence shows that gun-free zones are not the answer. Truth is, they are an added danger because they prevent legally armed citizens from defending themselves and their neighbors. It’s time to get rid of gun-free zones. The U.S. has tried them for more than 20 years and evidence shows that gun-free zones actually increase the danger. Nobody wants to be a sitting duck in a maniac’s shooting gallery.

The Second Amendment Foundation 12500 NE Tenth Place • Bellevue, WA 98005 • 425-454-7012 www.saf.org

 MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE DOOR… Modern cars have a wide field of view, blind spot detection, and heat! The wideangle feature especially on the passenger side (far from the driver’s eye) is awesome, a great addition to our old Mopars, especially if your Mopar has wide C-pillar blind spots.

Compare the size of a modern mirror with a ’70s Mopar sport mirror.

Triple the real estate, and a convex reducing glass for an even wider view.

PRISMATIC

For our prototype “change-over project,” we used a beat-up right-side rallye mirror. Not much to lose.

DAY-NIGHT REAR VIEW MIRRORS have been around for at least 60 years. But how do they work? The correct name is a dead giveaway: Prismatic.

When you look in any normal mirror, if you look carefully, you’ll see two reflections: One off the silvered rear surface, and another, much dimmer, off the front of the glass. The “main” reflection is so much brighter that you typically don’t even notice the front-surface one. If, however, the sheet of glass has the rear surface not parallel to the front—in effect, a prism—the two reflections are both quite visible, especially if one of the reflections is aimed towards a dark area—in this case, either your car’s headliner or rear seat area.

All that’s special in a prismatic mirror is an angled prism glass, and a tilting mechanism, engineered properly, so when you flip to “night,” you are gazing at traffic behind you via the front surface.

Now you know.

76 MOPAR ACTION

warning: “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” Drivers adapted quickly to this wide-angle view, and, without question, these have drastically reduced right-side “cutoff” crashes, which usually occur during lane changes, or when some a’hole is passing you on the shoulder, just as you are about to make a right turn. Even though a fender-bender such as this would be 100% his fault, it is still your hassle and your crumpled sheetmetal.

What if, we wondered, you could change the mirror glass in your existing OEM 1960s/’70s (or to be added) right-side mirror to the reducing type? Yeah, why not? So we did!

Most, if not all, Mopar outside mirrors produced after 1967 or so have the glass cemented in (earlier ones were snap-ring retained). This requires you to make a ballpark-close pattern (paper), transfer it to a piece of reducing mirror glass (rockauto. com has it, see pics), cut it, sand the edges to the exact fit, then glue it into place. You can even do this with the mirror still installed if you follow our hands-on procedure. And the cost is literally pocket change. You can make this upgrade to any outside mirror.

Makes you wonder why no magazine has done this before.

Oh, wait, virtually all the other newsstand Mopar mags have gone teats-up! Sucks to be them. Great to be us!

Save UP TO

The only way to remove the glass from these is like this...! Pre-1966, the round mirrors were retained by a snap ring, way easier.

We drilled it out (above) & installed a 6-32 machine screw and nut (below). Fixed!

USE SALE CODE

MACTION LIMITED TIME OFFER * some restrictions apply | cannot combine offers

YEARON E

17" AL UMIN Wearing gloves, remove all shards using a screwdriver (1). Now (2) the two screws retaining the swivel assembly are exposed. Remove ’em, too.

You’ll need a piece of reducing mirror glass. Rock Auto P/N 90014 is large enough to do several muscle-era reducing mirrors. No. 51696 is flat, handy if your driver’s side is scratched and needs replacement.

UM W HEEL

S

yours Today!

FREE SHIPPING ON WHEEL KITS (Online Only - Lower 48 states) Wheels are Discount Exempt

Thus removed, we saw that one of the stakes holding the ball-tension strap in place had failed.

Do not buy glass that is pre-glued to a plastic backing. You will never get it off cleanly.

1-800-932-7663 Restoration & Performance Parts for GM, Ford & Chrysler Muscle Cars Chrysler Catalog Mopar A/B/E-Body (1966-74) (ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE)

© 2019 YEARONE

MA019

 MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE DOOR… Pros use a wide, nonserrated pliers to snap off the waste sections.

It took a good 15 minutes to get it right.

If you totally disassemble the mirror, you can just trace the outline (crayon, marker, etc.) directly on the new glass. If you don’t wanna completely disassemble it (e.g.: remote control mirror), just cut a paper pattern.

Either way, transfer the pattern to the new glass (crayon, Sharpie, etc.)

Use a bench sander (disc or belt) to sand the glass down to size. Take your time, trial-fit many times, and remember, this is glass. No forcing should be needed.

The factory used RTV (silicone sealer) for adhesive. Monkey see, monkey do.

The finished product, ready to install on the car. Even though it is not typical on cars sold in the US, I can see using the reducing glass on the driver’s side as well.

I watched several YouTube glass-cutting videos before I got this right. I made several straight-line cuts and the product was a 12-sided piece. Pros can make circular cuts. Either way, make it at least 1/8˝ larger all around. And wear decent gloves.

78 MOPAR ACTION

SOURCE ROCK AUTO

Rockauto.com If your sense of humor aligns with mine, order this sticker (eBay).

Mope or NOPE!

Rides from readerland.

EDITED BY PHIL

DEPAGES

have to look the van over, so he bought it for $4900 “cold” cash. The van turned into a much bigger project than expected. A new grille, door bottoms, quarter panels, interior, gauges, doghouse, exhaust, rubbers, stereo, brakes, paint, some electrical, and more saw $19,000

GIVE ME ANOTHER “A”

evaporate from his Gold Card. And Matt’s still not finished as he has plans for a new trans and rear for better highway cruising. Even so, Matt’s having a blast driving it around as-is.

He says the van is a real crowd magnet. Just a problem peeling them off the sheetmetal.

but he was given access to the house with the family’s permission and found both the parts plus a file with the original window sticker and invoices for work that owner had done on the car. Pat then embarked on a 5-year resto, rebuilding the 318/904 drivetrain, repainting the car Viper Blue, and changing the gut to white. Now he drives the 69K-mile A-body around his hometown in East Peoria, IL, and waves to the deceased owner whenever he whizzes past the cemetery.

PHOTOS: MR. MAGOO

MATTHEW CROSSMAN from Vinalhaven, Maine tells us that his dad had an A100 van as a work truck when Matt was growing up. He always liked the truck’s looks and knew one would be hard to find as time marched on. He searched for an A100 off and on over the years, but the ones he found were either too expensive or too far away. Last year, Matt’s finances improved so he searched more seriously for his A-van. This one popped upon Craigslist not far away in Lisbon Falls, Maine. Matt checked it out with a mechanic / bodywork buddy on the coldest day of the year in February—17 degrees and howling wind. There was 4 inches of crusty snow on the ground, but the seller came out in shorts to talk things over. Matt and his bud didn’t take the time they should

PHOTO: PORT CITY PHOTOGRAPHY

GIVE ME AN “A”

PAT FALEY’S ’69 BARRACUDA convertible sat unclaimed in a storage lot since 1990. Pat was best friends with the lot owner, and the lot owner had many offers for the car, but he didn’t have the title. When the car owner was summoned to answer a suit for back storage fees and failed to show in court, the judge gave ownership of the ’Cuda to the lot owner who, in turn, sold it to Pat. When Pat found and contacted the previous owner before that, he discovered that the guy still had all the missing parts for the car in his house. Too bad the guy died before Pat could make a visit,

Want to see your car, dog, parakeet, or windmill (for Netherlands readers) on this page? Send good, sharp photos, or hi-res digital images of your toys, along with some information that we can bizarrely distort into a story to cliffgromer@yahoo.com—Don’t want to see your ride here? Even easier: Don’t send us nothin’.

MOPAR ACTION

79

SHOWNANEGANS DEPT

Here’s all the stuff the factory forgot to add on a 2013 Challenger SRT8.

BY CLIFF GROMER PHOTOS BY JUAN LOMELLI

I

’LL BE BLUNT. This article is a blatant plug for vo-tech learning with the goal of getting scores of ad pages from trade schools across the country (see our ad contact on page 11), therefore increasing the size of Mopar Action to 240 pages per issue. In fact, if it weren’t for votech guys, the Mopar hobby would never have been elevated to the rarified heights it has now attained thanks to Joe Pritchett’s 2013 Challenger.

See, back a few years, when he was 16, Joe’s mom gave him a Lest you think Joe ignored the Chally’s rear, you can see by the custom painted red spoiler with the MFR Engineering wicker bill, GT Styling taillight covers and red exhaust tips that he didn’t. Magnaflow exhaust features electric cutouts so Joe can hear the staccato rumble over the sound of the audio system. Lug nuts meet latest NHTSA pedestrain meat grinder standards.

80 MOPAR ACTION

beater. While the price was right, the aesthetics weren’t. Not possessing the coin for a better beater, Joe took a couple of vo-tech autobody and paint classes while in high school and the rest is history.

Joe progressed from customizing his momsmobile to building six other customs for himself and buddies, leading to the eye-catching Challenger you see here that he whipped up in a couple of hours in his driveway using those same basic vo-tech auto-molesting skills.

Photographer Juan Lomelli sez: Why waste time schlepping a car to some park or other photo location when there’s a perfectly good junkyard right down the street!

MOPAR ACTION 81

 CLASS ACT

Up front Joe added X-lume Mopar and SRT illuminated logos on the grille. Oracle supplied halo, fog and l-wheel ring lights (plus underglows) so Joe can easily find his car in the dark, never mind that red lights are illegal in virtually every state in the US. The Challenger has been featured in videos (27 views!), company catalogs and was exhibited in the XM booth at SEMA in 2019.

Under that Viper hood are a stock 392, Drake strut tower brace, billet aluminum caps and catch can, custom painted accessories, 3gcustomz ABS cover, K&N Black Hawk Performance cold air intake, Dead Bird Customs clear and lighted fuse box, painted valve covers, Killer Glass clear radiator hose, Nitrous Outlet Hemi plate kit, and big show purge kit. Now, doesn’t that make you feel inadequate with just your fuel-injected stroker?

Passengers were evicted from the rear along with the seat to make room for air tank for the air ride and two 10 lb. nitrous bottles for the big show purge.

Still grinding on in our trunk safari, we see the air compressors for the Air Force suspension with the custom bent 3/8˝ “silver” hard lines instead of the stock 5/16˝ rubber lines.

The decklid mounts an LED screen for feature films to keep show-goers occupied while waiting for the next big nitrous purge, while the two 12˝ DS18 subs, two DS18 8˝ mids, two DS18 6” mids, and two DS18 amps (1500 and 700 watts respectively) contribute to the total Challenger experience— and early deafness.

82 MOPAR ACTION

OK, so it did take a bit more than a couple of hours, but Joe did do all the work himself in his driveway, with the exception of the front seats which were handled by Chinos Custom Interior out of Houston, Texas. We haven’t seen Joe’s driveway, so maybe it has a lift or two, a complete machine shop, paint booth and a lemonade stand. Up here, it’s kind of tough working out there in the winter with the snow and all especially when the lemonade business falls off.

Joe says that building custom is more than just a passion with him, it’s a way of life. He even plans to open his own shop someday with the catchy name, Dead Bird Customs and Lemonade, and move everything in under roof from his driveway.

His plan is to build cars his way and sell them rather than build cars to order, and if motorfans don’t like the rides “his way,” Joe can still keep the cool name and fly into the poultry biz.

So let’s cut the wise remarks and take a closer look at this 2013 392 Challenger SRT that Joe bought from a Dodge dealer back in ’15 with his lemonade money. He wanted a used car without a warranty that he might void in his modstering. “It was actually fairly hard to find a 392 Challenger in Bright White,” Joe confesses.

White can work with any accent hue that Joe might want to add any time he gets the urge to do so. “With a red car for example,” he explains, “you’re limited in color combos, right?” Right!

Originally, Joe slated the Challenger to be a race/show car combo. He had been told that the 3G Hemi could take up to a 100 HP nitrous shot and remain sweet.

So that’s what he did.

But Joe learned the hard way that squeeze, cold air intake and Mickey Thompsons alone do not a racecar make.

He couldn’t break out of the 13s what with the car doing the bunny hop off the line.

And then Joe couldn’t break out of the pits when the motor capitulated after a month, with that dreaded stomach wrenching crunch. Maybe the previous owner didn’t get the message of how much power adder a stock 392 could swallow and not puke when he had bolted on a turbo. Not sweet.

Anyhow, the Dodge dealer gladly swiped Joe’s Gold Card for a new 392 backed by a full warranty. That’s when Joe cut “racecar” from his program and rolled up his sleeves and socks for a full-on custom show car.

The first step in the new transformation was a set of staggered 22˝ Elegante Luxury wheels that Joe painted red with

25 MCACN concourse Gold awards, the most of ANY Restoration follow us on facebook

magnumautoresto.com • 815-220-8081 • LaSalle,IL

Mopar It’s what we do!

Visit our Facebook Page 724-285-5566 info@kramerauto.com

62-76 Chrysler Dodge Plymouth A-B-C-E-Body Parts.

Original, NOS, and Reproduction.

Big Block, Race Hemi and Max Wedge.

Chrysler Factory Race cars and Parts.

New and Used Trim, Weatherstrip and Chrome.

Max Wedge and Race Hemi Quality Hoods and Scoops.

Legendary Auto Interiors AMD Sheet Metal

New items listed weekly at our Kramer Auto E-Bay store: stores.ebay.com/kramer-automotive-specialties Kramer Automotive Specialties, Butler, PA

 CLASS ACT

Carbon Creations supplied the Viper-like hood with what Joe describes as a floating hood kit. Guess that comes in handy in case of a flood.

Challenger originally came with a black interior, but Joe figured show judges would overlook any mods he made to the cabin. So he changed it to white. He custom painted the dash and went with custom white leather seats with red diamond stitching. Tanaka racing harnesses are installed, which, amazingly, do not feature illuminated logos. The company came out with them to keep passengers firmly planted in their seats should cars with airbags explode and launch the hapless occupants through the roof.

Those are custompainted Eleganza twenty-twos with the highly-desirable Spike Jones package—also a great way to have your stock 1970 Hemicuda convertible stand out from all the rest.

84 MOPAR ACTION

a silver face and dressed in white spiked (slice ’em and dice ’em) lug nut caps from True Spike Lug Nuts. We love it and hope this trend really catches on with the Mopar crowd. Makes quick work of ugly Shivvy spectators. Drilled and slotted rotors from SP Performance Rotors spiff up the white-painted factory Brembo brake package. Next came something that Joe said he always wanted—air ride. This kit came from Air Force Suspension.

Joe installed the air ride in his driveway over the course of a weekend with the help of a neighbor in the rain. “I had no option but to keep working in the rain, ’cuz at the time the Challenger was my only car, and I needed it to get to work on Monday.”

The air ride came with rubber lines from the air tank. Joe thought hard lines would look a lot cooler. We couldn’t agree more. He checked around for prices on the project and they came in around the planet Jupiter. Screw that. Joe figured he’d do it himself, how hard could it be? He bought a 25 ft. roll of aluminum tubing and a tube bender and started (duh!) bending.

He ended up going through more than a few 25 ft rolls of tubing. Not that the bending itself was difficult, it was getting all the lines to match— something to keep in mind should you be so inclined to go on your own bender.

The air ride and nitrous systems gave Joe a “tanks a lot” challenge. How to mount the three tanks without the car looking like our desk here at MA. And we don’t even have one tank. Joe added some zip to his lemonade and figured it all out. Why squeeze now that he’s not racing? It’s for a “show purge.”

Push the little red button to explode a huge white cloud of nitrous—sort of like a vintage steam engine albeit on a slightly smaller scale. Really wows the show-goers but scares little children.

Joe’s solution, after thoroughly digesting scores of Ehrenberg’s tech articles, was sheer brilliance—make the necessary room by simply yanking out the backseat. One thing that Joe emphasizes is that this Challenger is driven to shows—some as far as 6 hours away. He says the only time the Chally rode a trailer is when he was invited to exhibit the car at SEMA in 2019. He’s always the first to arrive at a show for the time he needs to clean the machine so it’s spotless in time for judging. For Joe, it’s showtime almost every week, and he cops Best in Class and Best in Show awards in just about every event.

Now, don’t think that Joe spends all the time on his Challenger at the expense of his family.

He’s customized his wife’s 1500 Ram, his kids’ bicycles and his dog’s squeeze toy, so they all go and show together. Call it “a family affair…” or anything else you’d care to.

Cool Stuff

The Latest Products for MoFans!

RISE AND SHINE

WANT TO BE COOL?

Contact Dan Gallo, Advertising Director (845) 505-7479. dgallo@moparaction.com

SEE PG. 5!

SUMMIT RACING TUNNEL RAM AND CARBURETOR PRO PACKS SUMMIT RACING’s Tunnel Ram and Carburetor Pro Packs are made for horsepower, pure and simple. They come with a Weiand tunnel ram intake manifold and either 450 CFM Holley 4160 or 600 CFM Holley Street Warrior carburetors. The linkage is included, too. Available applications are: LA smallblock (450 CFM carburetors) and RB big block (450 or 600 CFM carburetors). Go big on top with Summit Racing Equipment www.summitracing.com 1-800-230-3030

STRUCTURAL STEEL

SEE PG. 31!

US CAR TOOL INNER ROCKER SILL BRACES ADD THE ULTIMATE in stiffness to your Mopar’s unibody thanks to USCT’s rocker panel sill braces. These weld-in parts will add incredible triangulated strength to the Rocker Sill Box of your Mopar’s unibody structure, and each set includes a left and right CNC- cut and precision-folded brace with dimple dies stamped into it for strength. Similar to the braces installed on E-Body convertibles, this part requires removing the outer rocker panel and bracing (on B-Bodies) for installation. Available for A-Bodies, B-Bodies and E-Bodies, each set includes braces for the left and right rocker sills of your ’66–’76 Mopar. For more info and to order, go to USCTMotorsports.com ph. 919-855-8200 email: john@usctmotorsports.com

SEE PG. 83!

SHIELDS UP TOMMY THE CHRYCO ’70–’71 HEMI/6-BBL BASEPLATE SHIELD THERE WERE A NUMBER of 1970–71 B/E body 440-6 barrel and Hemi cars built without fresh-air hoods, and Tommy the Chryco now has this splash shield. This U.S.-made part mounts on the front of the carb baseplate to prevent water/dirt from entering the filter. Contact Tommy the Chryco Inc. Shaker Kits & Elastomeric Bumpers www. tommythechryco.ca 1-866-893-2547 or 647-525-4268

PANACEA ROCKAUTO.COM A727 REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION PAN SOLUTIONS MATTER, and you can make draining your A727 transmission a lot less messy and avoid the frustration of discovering that old stamped pan still leaks once you bolt it back up. RockAuto. com now offers a new, heavy gauge steel replacement transmission fluid pan for the A727 with a built-in drain plug. Find it for your application at the easy-to-navigate www.rockauto.com website.

85 MOPAR ACTION

SEE COV. 2!

Cool Stuff ROLLING BLACKOUT

SEE PG. 1!

POL 1962-74 MOPAR BLACK OUT SERIES POWER BRAKE BOOSTER KIT, WILWOOD MASTER CYLINDER WANT A CUSTOM-LOOK power brake conversion for your 1962–74 Mopar, Dodge, Plymouth, Chrysler? POL’s kit utilizes an 8ʺ dual black power booster, black Wilwood master cylinder, BlackOut adjustable proportioning valve with lines, and mounting bracket. An upgrade from OE improves stopping distances and driver performance tremendously. Made in the USA, these components are handy when upgrading to disc brakes and come completely assembled, ready to install. Even convert from manual brakes to power brakes on A, B & E Body cars (modifications required on factory power brake cars). Package works with LA smallblock and most big-block and Hemi engines, is compatible with drum brakes, 2 and 4 wheel disc. Measures approx. 17.625ʺ long from firewall to end of master cylinder (will not fit A-Body cars with a big-block or Hemi swap). Contact POL at Performanceonline.com or 714-278-0098 for more detail .

HEAVY METAL

SEE COV. 4!

AMD 1971-72 CHARGER REAR QUARTERS NEW FROM AUTO METAL DIRECT are 1971 and 1972 Dodge Charger Quarter Panels. These new reproduction quarter panels are manufactured from high quality, heavy gauge steel on AMD’s exclusive tooling and feature, depending on application, correct-as-original body lines, braces, marker light holes, and flanges. Unlike lesser quality parts, AMD’s new quarter panels look great and fit even better.

Finished in a black EDP coated finish (better than OEM), they will require standard prep work prior to paint. AMD continues to support Mopar enthusiasts with quality Officially Licensed Mopar parts. Call AMD at 1-877.575.3586 today for full details or visit online at www.AutoMetalDirect.com.

FRAME UP

SEE PG. 51!

FROM SPEEDTECH PERFORMANCE COMES NEW CHASSIS LAYOUTS. SPEEDTECH PERFORMANCE is bringing their proven chassis and suspension components to the Mopar world. With all-new and improved geometry, strength and performance, whether daily driving or tearing up the track, you will have the ultimate street car! For information on this and other Speedtech products, go to www.speedtechperformance.com phone 435-628-4300

DRILL MASTER

YEAR ONE B-BODY CROSS-DRILLED DISCS AVAILABLE

USING A REPRODUCTION ROTOR and hub and improved one-piece design, Year One offers this 1966-69 B-body package for upgrading your classic Mopar brakes. With no pulsation like the original two-piece rotors which expanded at different rates, these come with wheel studs featuring right-hand threads already installed, and work with original Bendix 4-piston calipers. Order the 1966-1969 B-body Cross Drilled and Slotted 11ʺ rotor and hub by the pair under Part Number BN144CDP. Years Fit: 1966,1967,1968,1969 for Belvedere / Satellite / Road Runner / GTX / Charger / Coronet / Super Bee. Contact Year One by going to yearone.com ph. 1-706-658-2140.

86 MOPAR ACTION

SEE

WANT TO BE COOL?

Contact Dan Gallo, Advertising Director (845) 505-7479. dgallo@moparaction.com

SEE P9. 61!

PERFORMING SEAL TRICK FLOW BY COMETIC MLS HEAD GASKETS TRICK FLOW worked with the gasket experts at Cometic to create these Multi-Layer Steel (MLS) head gaskets for high performance street, drag racing, and circle track engines. They provide better torque retention, less distortion, and better sealing than conventional or composite head gaskets, making them ideal for high horsepower naturally aspirated and boosted applications. Trick Flow by Cometic Head Gaskets are available in several bore sizes and thicknesses for LA small block and big block engines. Get yours at Trick Flow Specialties – www.TrickFlow.com Ph. 330-630-1555

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

SEE PG. 37!

NOZZLE SPRAY

SEE PG. 53!

NITROUS OUTLET HYDRA NOZZLE

THE NITROUS OUTLET HYDRA NOZZLE is a single wet version that features a multidischarge design. Made for EFI applications where a nitrous plate is not available or may not fit, the Hydra is designed to saturate the air-intake charge from right in front of the intake, providing the best atomized mixtures of nitrous and fuel into the air stream!

Contact Nitrous Outlet at nitrousoutlet. com or speak to an expert at 254-848-4300.

GET ’EM WHILE THEY’RE HOT

SEE PG. 73!

QUARTER MILESTONES 20TH ANNIVERSARY FIRE SALE CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC IMAGES ever taken of a Mopar, the Zookeeper’s image of the Belle Dodge doing a fire burnout first published back in 2001 has used for posters and record covers, has been seen on TV, and more. With the holidays approaching, this is the chance to get a very limited canvas 16x20 artist signed print and a 20-page custom bound hardbound photo book telling the story behind the image that includes the ENTIRE fire sequence as well as other pictures from the day the photo was shot. Special price 125.00 with shipping included to USA addresses, contact for non-domestic shipping costs. More images available at quartermilestones.com. Make payment to Geoff Stunkard, Dept QMPB, PO Box 441, Milligan College TN 37682-0441 PayPal/email to qmpsales@quartermilestones.com

MOPAR ACTION 87

Cool Stuff

WANT TO BE COOL?

Contact Dan Gallo, Advertising Director (845) 505-7479. dgallo@moparaction.com

E/HEMI SWAP STUFF

SEE P9. 57!

HOLLEY GEN III HEMI SWAP SYSTEMS FOR MOPAR E-BODY IF YOUR E-BODY MOPAR IS READY for a new, Gen III hemi power plant, Holley has developed the perfect parts to get the job done. With engine and transmission mounts, oil pans, headers, fuel tanks, radiators, and drivetrain solutions, Holley has everything you need to get your thoroughly modernized Mopar back on the road. See you at Moparty! Contact Holley at 866-4646553 www.holley.com

SEE PG. 35!

HEAD TRIP MMX REVOLUTIONARY 3G HEMI HEAD MODERN MUSCLE XTREME has a new performance 3G HEMI head coming to the market with some awesome features that include increased deck thickness, extra deck support for increased clamping load, widened and braced rocker towers for increased valvetrain stability, and much more. Call 276-666-1934 or go to modernmusclextreme.com

IN THE CLUTCH

SEE PG. 59!

LATE MODEL 3G BILLET E-CLUTCH TRANSMISSION DRUM FROM SUNCOAST PERFORMANCE SUNCOAST’s new 8HP90/95 Billet E-Clutch Drum is manufactured from 7075-T6 billet aluminum alloy. Boasting a yield strength of 69,000 PSI, it reduces chances of failure and expensive, collateral damage to your transmission. This is the solution you’ve been searching for. CONTACT INFO: Blake Carter at SunCoast Performance 800.868.0053 suncoastperformance.com

L0ST TREASURE NOS 1970 ROAD RUNNER SEAT EMBLEMS RECENTLY LOCATED BY KRAMER AUTOMOTIVE KRAMER AUTOMOTIVE recently came across a number of sets of New Old Stock Plymouth Road Runner seat medallions that went straight from the assembly line and perhaps continued out the door in someone’s pocket or lunchbox back in the day. These are the perfect vintage item to help complete your Plymouth resto or project and include both the NOS 1970 Plymouth Road Runner seat emblems & NOS backing plates. Cost is $175.00/4-piece set with backing plates, and the limited supply is available while they last. Contact Kramer Automotive Specialties, P.O. Box 5, Herman, PA 16039; ph.

724.285.5566 email. info@kramerauto.com

88 MOPAR ACTION

SEE PG. 83!

TECH TOPICS

continued from page 11

PHOTO: CARLTON BALL

P3690732. I read an article many years ago that this part can damage the ignition. The car has run without any problems. What is your advice? The canister on the passenger firewall is for Marvel Mystery Oil. It was on the car when she bought it and was told it is to keep the top end lubricated.

Carlton Ball Tacoma, WA Carlton– That VR is the dragrace-only constantvoltage unit, intended to keep charging voltage high at all times to squeeze the last Joule of energy out of the ignition system.

Any street car should have a stock-type temperature-compensated regulator.

Using the race regulator on the street will, at the very least, drastically shorten battery life and is a bad idea. The only exception would be if the car is used for very short trips only, then the effect of overcharging would be minimized.

The MP constant-voltage regulators, such as reader Ball’s P3690732, are a drag-race-only item, and will drastically shorten battery life in street use—it will, literally, cook the battery.

In larger, heavier cars I have used the “NASCAR” ratio: 20:1, this was actually standard equipment in some offshorebuilt A-bodies. I have no experience with Lares’ products, and, therefore, no comments, positive or negative. I am guessing that they are Chinese-built?

WAIT A MINUTE, SPARKY

SMOG FLOG Oh great one– On the upper right side of the firewall on my ’73 318 Challenger, there are two holes where, years ago, something was

PHOTO: TIM JASZKOWIAK

Hello– I have a 1967 Coronet 500 (see pix, above) 318, Coronet was my mother’s.

She drove it daily and it was a very dependable car. I installed the Mopar electronic ignition maybe 20 years ago.

The kit came with the blue regulator

The vacant cutouts on reader Jaszkowiak’s 1973 E-body firewall were for the EGR temperature control and OSAC valves—emissions stuff. See text for details.

The OSAC (Orifice spark advance control) valve, one of reader Jaszkowiak’s missing items.

mounted. Whatever was there disappeared long before I began to restore it.

I can’t seem to locate the items in the Factory Service Manual. I suspect the items had something to do with the A/C because it too is gone. I would like to know what goes there and what it’s/their function is.

Tim Jaszkowiak Boise, ID Tim– These cutouts are not A/C related. The rectangular cutout is for the NOX OSAC (orifice spark advance control) delay valve.

From the FSM: “The OSAC system is used on all engines this year to aid in the control of NOx (Oxides of Nitrogen). The system controls the vacuum to the vacuum advance actuator of the distributor. A tiny orifice is incorporated in the OSAC valve which delays the change in ported vacuum to the distributor by about 17 seconds when going from idle to part throttle. When going from part throttle

 TECH TOPICS to idle, the change in ported vacuum to the distributor will be instantaneous. The valve will only delay the ported vacuum signal when the ambient temperature is about 60°F or above. Vacuum is obtained by a vacuum tap just above the throttle plates of the carburetor. This type of tap provides no vacuum at idle, but provides manifold vacuum as soon as the throttle plates are opened slightly. Proper operation of this valve depends on air tight fittings and hoses and on freedom from sticking or plugging due to deposits.”

The round one is for the EGR temperature control valve. Again, from the FSM: “ ...(the) plenum mounted temperature control valve reduces the recycle rate at low ambients for improved drivability. The unit contains a temperature sensitive bimetal disc which senses plenum air temperature.

The snap action of the disc unplugs a calibrated orifice to provide the bleed air. Calibration is protected by an air filter unit.”

This hardware was all pre-EFI emissions crutches. 1973 models were not easy to keep running correctly, as this was all ragged-edge stuff to meet evertightening emission standards in the precomputer era. What some restorers do it install all the hardware, with lines plugged etc., and the solenoid retard on the distributor disabled. 1973 carbs were pretty much OK as-is, the heated electric choke assist setup was actually very desirable from any point of view.

CORONET CHOP SHOP Good morning Mr. Ehrenberg– I am the 2nd owner of a 1968 Coronet 500. I purchased it in high school when I was 17 (1978). I am a recent retired sheetmetal worker and prepared to rebuild the car. I joined a Mopar chatroom and have received much valuable information from the member forums. On several occasions, the members have suggested that I contact you with build inquiries.

The car hasn’t been touched besides the motor / tranny. I would like to rebuild the front and rear suspension to accommodate an agility course / car rodeo. I have viewed many websites including the RMS AlterKation front end, QA1 K-member and control arm replacement, Mr. Norm’s replacement front suspension, etc.

The original suspension does not include any sway prevention. I would like to install disc brakes on all 4 corners. I am looking to install something similar to the QA1 link system for the rear end 8¾˝ banjo / 2:91 gears stock.

90 MOPAR ACTION

Looking for 550+ HP from original 383.

My wife of 33 years and kids have never ridden in the car and it is my main objective to share this build with them. I am an active subscriber to Mopar Action if it makes a difference.

Jay Hopkins Antioch, CA Jay– Being a subscriber certainly makes a difference (to our balance sheet). First of all, let me begin with an apology: I have been dealing with queries such as yours, which I classify under the “throw the baby out with the bathwater” heading, for decades, so forgive me if I get right to the point (I have discussed the engineering shortfalls of these major suspension swaps so many times....).

The stock torsion bar, asymmetrical leaf spring suspension in your B-body was, literally, decades ahead of its time, and was geometrically virtually perfect. Yes, if you are building a drag (only) car, and making room for huge exhaust headers, an 8-quart oil pan, and need to lose the last few pounds off the front end, then the aftermarket suspension certainly has a place. Otherwise, a larger pair of T-bars, beefier rear leaves, good shock absorbers and a well-designed pair of swaybars will fill any, and I mean any street use, including autocross, road course open track day, etc. And 17X9˝ wheels will bolt right on to all 4 corners.

When all is said and done, the above plan will greatly simplify your life, and save you a ton of money, some of which you could spend on chassis reinforcements (see the ad for uscartool.com in this issue).

ASHES TO ASHES, HP TO DUST Richard– My 1972 Plymouth Duster 340 is factory rated at 240 HP. Were this engine to be rated

using the 1971 standard, how close would the horsepower be to the 1971 340 hp rating of 275? PS, I love the tech section.

Gary Quilliam Bolivia, NC

Gary– From 1971 to 1972, the compression ratio dropped from 10.5:1 to 8.5:1, and the intake valve diameter was reduced from 2.02˝ to 1.88˝. Yet, the published SAE net HP rating changed from 235 BHP (@5,000) in 1971 to 240 in 1972! It seems that the marketing guys still overruled the engineers (and facts!).

My guess, real-world: The ’72 was down about 30 HP vs. the prior year. This downward spiral continued through 1973; for ’74, the 360-4 was intro’d, which was a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy time for Detroit.

SEA STOPPER Greetings— As per the October 2020, issue I”ll be doing the Scarebird medium-duty econo version on my C-body, a ’66 Fury III, 318 poly. My question is about the master cylinder. Is the one you used enough for my car? O. E . is 11˝ drums all 4 wheels, manual MC. I’ll use what you recommend. Also my MC has the actuating rod captive in the MC plunger. Not sure if I can retrieve this for reuse. Can you supply a Mopar part no. for the correct one I should use? I’ll be plumbing in an adjustable prop valve for the rear.

Bruce Andersen Fremont, NE Bruce– Yes, removing the manual brake pushrod can be tricky, so do this: With the old master cylinder and pushrod still installed, remove the brake lamp switch from the pedal assembly (under the dash). Now “Regular” A/C draws in outside air (not reticulated). As long as the outside air is cooler than your heat-soaked interior, this will cool the car down the quickest—see text for details. This applies to 2022 cars as well.

above idle. This will, literally, blow the hot air put of the car— very quickly!

Once the interior temperature is down to approximately ambient, switch to max cool, and close the windows.

Those Airtemp/Chrysler RV-2 compressors, running R12 refrigerant, could get the interior down to goose-down-jacketneeding temperatures!

MAG TAGGED?

I found this M/T 8¾˝ carrier at a swap meet before most of you were born. In weighs under 12 pounds! I wish someone would make them again, it is a sweet piece.

simply yank the pedal up smartly—pop goes the pushrod! No need to remove it (the pushrod) from the car, but be sure to remove any remnants of the rubber retainer from the business end (the tip) of said pushrod.

The pushrods are unique to each body style, but were the same from disc to drum, single circuit to tandem, so you can absolutely re-use it.

Installation is pretty much the reverse: Pop the retainer (rubber ring) into the new master (use a blunt tool such as a nutdriver, wooden dowel, etc.), then bolt the master to the firewall. Spray some aerosol silicone lube on the tip of the pushrod (again, under the dash), line it up, and mash the pedal. Done!

Yeah, the master I recommended in that article will be fine.

DOWN TOWN Mr. Ehrenberg– I have a 1973 Charger, 400 4-Bbl, with factory air, which works great! When I get in on a hot day, the car can be extremely hot inside (it is triple black). I say that max A/C will cool it off the quickest, but my son says I should open the windows for a while. What say you?

Harold Schwarz San Diego, CA Harry– The fastest way to cool it down is to take it off of max A/C (in other words, fresh air cooling), fan on high, and open the windows 2 or three inches. Keep the RPM

Mr. Ehrenberg– A friend of mine said that you had a magnesium 8¾” rear end in your Valiant. If so, where do you get them, I would like to have one.

William Marcus Toledo, OH

Bill– I found it at a swap meet about 50 years ago. It was branded “Mickey Thompson” and was apparently designed for top fuel dragster use. Beside the one I have (now replaced by a MP aluminum housing), I have not seen one before or since I bought this one.

MISSING MLS Working on my LeBaron, circa 1985. Does Cometic make an MLS 2.2 head gasket?

If not, what brand of gasket would you recommend?

John Knab Loda, IL John– I think the Mahle 54097 Graphite (available from rockauto.com) is as good as it gets for the Trenton Trans-4 (yes, that’s where big-blocks were made through

1978). Be sure to use new head capscrews, too.

THE KITCHEN ZINK Should I be adding a zinc additive to my oil changes in my 1984 D350’s 360 engine? I add a zinc additive to all of my other older flat top lifter engines, just wondering what year engine we should not add zinc to?

And do you recommend a particular brand of zinc additive?

Dale Ott Hatfield, PA Dale– As you know, your ’84 360 was one of the last flat tappet V8 engines, so a small amount of ZDDP (zinc dialkyldithiophosphates) is cheap insurance.

Assuming, however, that the engine is well broken in, and has stock weaksister valve springs, adding extra zinc to the oil is probably unnecessary. If you decide to use some, you won’t need a lot; back in the day, it was typically 1200 PPM (parts per million). Many Mobil 1 oils are at 1,000 PPM, which is fine for a broken-in engine. Mobil’s specs are at tinyurl.com/mobil1specs. One cheapO way to increase the zinc levels: Use one quart of the Mobil “V Twin” oil, the 20W50 grade, for example, has 1,750 PPM of zinc. That stated, I have no preferred vendor.

For longest cam lobe / lifter life, avoid prolonged periods of idling.

BAG MAN Rick-O– Is it possible to install an airbag in my 1971 GTX? I am asking for my wife—if you say yes, she will make me do it.

John LaPorta Bronx, NY

TECH TOPICS

1995–’96 XJs had all-mechanical airbags, it is possible to retrofit this setup to muscle-era Mopars.

John– I am pretty sure I have answered this query years ago, so I will be brief. The airbag, and s/wheel, from a ’95–’96 Cherokee (not Grand) can work. These were the only vehicles ever, to the best of my knowledge, that used a self-contained, non-computer-controlled airbag.

Before scapping it from the junker, be sure to remove the arming screw from the right side. This renders it safe to remove, handle, transport, and install.

INJECTION REFLECTION Hi Rick– Long time subscriber and fan. I can’t tell you how much I’ve reread your tech articles over the years. You helped me recently over the correct pitman and idler arms for my ’70 Charger. I bought the Borgenson box. I’m wanting to add fuel injection on my 383 stroker that I’m putting together. Bought 440 Source’s reciprocating assembly and their Stealth heads. The only thing I’ve seen with fuel rails is an Edelbrock 440. Do you know of anything out there for the 383 / 400 stuff?

Everything else just looks like it’s a throttle body. Back when you were putting fuel injection on the Road Runner, you had a guy that you had sent your intake to that put fuel rails on it. If that’s what I need to do I’ll send it to him if you can give me his information.

David Morris via email

Dave– The Road Runner was out-of-the-box Indy stuff. You’re probably thinking of the Valiant, which was a production carb manifold with welded bungs and custommade rails. It was done by Rance Baxter, rancefi.com. Rance, like yours truly, is approaching octogenarianism, and his site seems to be down, but by all means, give him a shout. If that falls through, as technology has moved forward, I’m guessing there are probably hundreds of machine shops across the country who can do this kind of work. It really doesn’t take much more than a Bridgeport mill and a welder.

Thanks for the kind words!

WIPER DIAPER

Our Valiant’s fuel injected smallblock, circa 1998 or so.

92 MOPAR ACTION

Mr. Ehrenberg– I have a 1970 Coronet 4-door.

Is it possible to add a delay feature to the windshield wiper system?

Sylvester Ronzoni Hackensack, NJ

As I mentioned in my wiper article a while back, delay wipers can be added to 2-speed, non-off-glass-parking Mopar wipers with this simple gizmo (see text).

Syl– Maybe. If your B-body has the 2-speed wiper setup (wiper motor sticks almost straight out from the firewall), then you have a shot at it. 3- or variable-speed systems can never have this feature added, and it would be difficult on any later Mopar with off-glass parking (E.g.: ’71-up B, all E, etc.).

Back in the ’70s and ’80s, add-on gizmos for this intermittent-wipe feature were common parts-store accessories, but since this has become an OEM standard feature, they have almost disappeared. I see one universal kit on eBay, which looks good, cheap, from seller “pamisty.” This is not an endorsement, I have not personally tried it, but checking the theory and diagram, I see no issues.

NEED MORE TECH? LOVE TECH Q&A? Can’t get enough? Check it out: There’s new Q&As posted weekly online at www.moparaction.com! That’s the best place to submit your tech question from, too.

Heads up! You can now browse and search a super tech-article index, order back issues and the awesome 7-volume Tech Special CD-rom, at www.moparaction.com

MOPAR ACTION 92