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On the Cover:

HI THERE!

IF THAT’S WHAT YOU’D EXPECT guys driving pink cars to greet you with today, well, times have changed. FM3 Panther Pink and Moulin Rouge Mopes, especially those with big-block muscle, are now prized collectibles and this feature highlights only one of 2 FM3 1970 440 Challenger R/Ts ever made. It shows where Mary K can shove her pink Caddies.

MOPE FEVER

BRASS KNUCKLES TECH

20 YELLA STREAK

48 QUIT SMOKING

Not some Mope cowering in as corner somewhere like some Chebby iron, this ’71 340 Duster is out in front big and bold turning 12-second quarters and taking on all comers in the FAST racing series. Here’s how this package came about and the speed secrets that make this Plymouth a winner.

32 TOP BREED Familiar with the name Tim Wellborn? (No, it’s not a coffee chain—that’s Tim Horton.) Tim and Pam Wellborn run their musclecar museum in Alexander City, Alabama. And when Tim adds a car to his collection, you know it’s something special. Well, here are two amazing specials—1970 Charger R/T survivors—one a Six-Pack and the other a Hemi. Take a close look, learn how Tim acquired them, and then go have a cup of coffee.

42 TO CATCH A ’CAT Fearsome Hellcats don’t look so fearsome to this 2014 5.7L Hemi Challenger R/T. Not when they pair off on the bracket racing starting line. Close to a dozen Hellcats have fallen prey to this TorRed honker. Here’s how the underdog is set up and how gives the competition a drubbing. Want to catch a cat? Get a dog.

60 BITCHIN’ BAD BONKERS B-BOD Randy Weaver is known for creating some of the most magnificent customs on the planet. And this 1970 Sport Satellite is a prime example. Finessing everything from bumper to bumper, top to bottom without the result looking like a bag of screwdrivers, Randy put his imagination in overdrive while the car owner had to do the same with his checkbook.

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You might have kicked the smoking habit, now it’s your Mope’s turn. Smoke out the exhaust could likely be a problem of bad valve stem seals. Our tech ed gives you heart palpitations by showing the horrors that this condition can do to your engine but then calms you down as he takes you by the eye to walk you through the valve seal replacement drill step-by-step.

66 FLAT OUT! Say goodbye to flat tires or running with underinflated rubber when you have a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS—not to be confused with the highly annoying PMS condition). Don’t have a TPMS? Well, that’s what we’re here for. Ebooger shows you how to install this must-have system on any Mope—even yours. As far as PMS—sorry, us guys can’t help you there.

76 ALL SHOOK UP If your Mope rides like a paint can shaker, we’d take a wild guess and say it has a vibration problem. Our “Mister Smoothie” tech ed shows how to diagnose, isolate, and correct the source of vibration, be it the engine, driveline, suspension, or wheels and tires. He says the subject is one of our readers’ all-time favorites, so it’s something you don’t wanna miss. The downside—you’ll have to take your paint to Home Depot to be mixed.

20 ACTION

No mask-no read

TIMELESS FEATURES 26 MAKING DOUBLE TIME Back after a year’s hiatus due to CCPovid, the Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals (MCACN) returned to the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois with a truly eyepopping display of magnificent Mopars. Check out the rare iron and famous celebs that showed up and see what makes this event one of the standouts on the Mopar show calendar.

40 NIGHTMARE ON NORTHERN BOULEVARD See what makes Ebooger wake up screaming in the middle of the night. He opens the crypt of his mind to bring you his tale of woulda coulda shoulda (your tale may vary) by passing up a once-in-a-lifetime deal in 1973 on a brand new 1971 Hemi/4-speed Challenger R/T, with less than one mile on the odo at $1000. below the invoice price. If any of you readers can match this deal for the ’booger, please contact him ASAP.

52 HOLY SWEEPSNAKES, BATMAN Ever dream of owning a cool Viper? Ever dream of Jeannie with the light brown hair? Well, your dream may just come true (Viper-wise; we can’t help you with Jeannie) as those Dream Giveaway folks are giving away (duh!) an exceptional and collectible like-new, 900-mile 2009 Viper ACR. This baby carries a sticker of more than 107 grand, which is a lot of moola in our book (your book may vary). Check out all the details plus how to enter the sweepsnakes and get a bonus ticket deal.

56 METAL MEETS MONEY! How high can you go? That was the question for bidders at Mecum's big winter auction in Kissimmee, Florida. It was almost a mad scramble as Mo’fans opened their wallets wide to take home what piqued their fancy. When all was said and done and they counted out the coin in the cigar box, and added up the numbers on a brown paper bag, the total came to over 200 million—dollars, not rubles. You’ll never guess what Mopar topped them all by selling for over a half-million bucks. Hint: It wasn’t a musclecar or a Mope that’s well-known.

70 THE ROD COUPLE This would be Number 87 in our Haul in the Family Series. It’s the radiator… er, heart-warming story of a couple, united by tragedy, who race together in 10-second late-model Mopars. Here’s how their rides are built, how they run, and their individual race philosophies (if you’re into that sort of thing.) But all in all, it’s a pretty interesting piece. Plus, the list of MSHS 2021 Champions!

NOT TO BE MISSED 4 EDITOR’S NOTES 6 ZOOKEEPER’S DIARY 8 CREC’S CORNER 10 TECH TOPICS

12 RESTO TOPICS 84 MOPE OR NOPE 85 COOL STUFF 95 BLAST FROM THE PAST MOPAR ACTION

ACTION

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* INSTIGATOR Scott Longman* HOT SHOE Kevin Wesley* HYPERSONIC ROCKET SCIENTIST Mark C. Grubelich* ART DIRECTOR John Flannery* ON THE COVER: 1970 440 Challenger R/T and 2014 Challenger R/T: Photos by TheBruntBros*

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MOPAR ACTION

BY CLIFF

GROMER

Go with the ’Flow?

EDITOR Cliff Gromer* cliffgromer@yahoo.com

DIRECT RESPONSE ADVERTISING VP, OPERATIONS & STRATEGY MARKETING & PROGRAM MANAGER

Editor’s Notes

you need to have a dedicated charging station installed (not cheap). You can’t just whip out an extension cord connected to your 120-volt outlet. The upside? 375 HP! Another peek at what’s coming is the Chrysler Airflow concept unveiled at the 2022 CES in Las Vegas. Powered by those frisky electrons that race hither and yon through The future of Chrysler is this battery-electric Airflow various and sundry wires, circoncept that will hit production for the 2025 model year. cuits, transistors, cigar lighter, We expect Dodge to considerably up the juice. relays and other assorted electrical hardware, the Airflow will EIGH-HO, MOPARINOS, 2022 is be produced as a 2025 model to compete shaping up to be a year of major in the SUV arena against the Ford Mustang happenings for Ma Mopar, so either Mach-E and Tesla Model Y. The Airflow will cheer or cry in your beer. You probably be offered in one- and 2-motor configuraalready know that Pa Stellantis is dismantions. From what we’ve learned, the motor tling the SRT program. Back in February is believed to put out 201 horsepower. 2021, Stellantis announced that all the core Starting price will be around 50 grand. elements of the SRT performance engineer’Course, all is not gloom and doom. Ma ing team were integrated into Stellantis’ Mopar’s resurrection of the Direct Connecglobal engineering organization. “Stellantis tion and related Power Broker programs will continue to sell and develop the next which we talked about in our last issue generation of Dodge//SRT-branded vehiis a meaty bone for performance fans to cles, as well as Jeep and Ram vehicles that gnaw on. And electric Mopes needn’t just utilize high-performance SRT technology”— be transportation appliances. Consider the that’s the official line from the company, and announcement by Tim Kuniskis, head of it leaves a lot of room for conjecture, espeDodge: “Dodge will not sell electric cars; cially in light of the French’s (Peugeot) side Dodge will sell American eMuscle.” That of the organization, who are really pulling may be open to some interpretation—is the strings here, and have a strong affinity Dodge just playing with labels or are they for small, electric-powered cars. really putting muscle where their mouth is? It’s plain to see the direction where We take heart in a comment KunisMopar is moving. Hemis and all V8s are on kis made much earlier when Dodge first the chopping block which means Hellcats, broached the electrification issue. He indiRedeyes and Demons will niche up into cated that Dodge’s electric-powered percollector status. Replacing our beloved formance vehicles would be on the same Eights is the GME T6 or the Global Medium order—or better—than current Hellcat Engine Turbocharged 6 to be installed in all models. We hope. Stellantis Global medium platform models, In the meantime, where does Mopar which include the Dodge Challenger and Action fit into all of this? As the first Mopar Charger. It’s interesting in that with the big magazine to feature a flying (sort of) car push towards electrification, there’s no and self-driving for any Mopar, we aim to mention (so far) of the T6 being offered as a be the first Mopar mag with a how-to on gas/electric hybrid. swapping a 3G Hemi into any future Mopar Stellantis’ game plan, however, is to electric or hybrid. Or maybe the reverse! electrify 96% of its nameplates in the US Hey, who loves ya, baby? by 2025, and a full battery-electric (BEV) portfolio by 2028. Leading the charge (pun intended) is their first plug-in hybrid vehicle now available—the Jeep Wrangler 4xe with an MSRP north of 50 grand. The downside of this baby is that to charge it at home,

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Zoo Keeper’s Diary

BY GEOFF

…’Cause six outa eight ain’t bad!…

Another V6 Charger on the sales lot; dual exhaust even… I had so much fun with the rental, I forgot to take a picture of it!

E GOT THE NEWS that singer Marvin Lee “Meatloaf” Aday had passed away in late January, and this column’s title paraphrases one of his best-known lyrics. Since I wanted to drive to Florida for the Mecum Kissimmee auction earlier in the month (coverage this issue), I had gotten ahold of my local rental place here in the mountains of east Tennessee and requested a mid-size vehicle for the week of the trip. When I got there, they were out of Camrys but had a huge Ford Expedition as an upgrade at no charge for me. As I contemplated this, my favorite employee, a car guy who goes by his first initial Q, drove in with a 2021 Charger SXT, a little road dirty and wearing Illinois plates. Sort of like the 21st century Blues Brothers, no? Anyhow, he walked and said hi, and I asked, “Hey, can I just take that Charger? No need to do anything to it; I just want a Mopar for this trip.” “Sure, Mr. Stunkard,” he replied. “It’s just back and runs great!” We did a quick walk around, I got the keys, and off I went back home for a pre-dawn run to the Sunshine State. To be quite honest, I was not sure what to expect with the 3.6L in the Charger. My wife’s 2017 Pacifica has one as well, but you know the story, her car gets babied all the time. This Charger was also loaded, with the optional sunroof, upgraded interior, console-mount AutoStick, and a deep ruby paint scheme. I found that, like her car, the controls for everything are easy to access, but it was way lower to the ground. Finally, I am aware the Charger is no lightweight but having been in my share of Scat Pack and 5.7L versions of the 3G Hemi engine releases, could the Six make it happen in a 4500-pound sedan?

MOPAR ACTION

STUNKARD

Highway cruising in an SXT Charger

Out of town, I’m about 30 miles from crossing the Blue Ridge Mountains and headed south. Luckily on this winter day, there was no snow falling. The Charger, cruise control at 66 MPH, walked its way up a 14-mile grade to the summit without taking a deep breath. Mileage economy stayed at 25 MPG, and the transmission did yeoman’s work as well as I apexed corners and passed trucks. The heater worked well enough I even gapped the sunroof in the 35-degree weather. This deserves its own look, and I should have taken pictures. The roof sealed down into its recess as normal. If you opt for “vent,” it opens to the back. If you opt for “open,” not only does it rise and tuck rearward, but a small wind / bug screen about 2 inches tall automatically opens skyward on the leading edge. This not only keeps the spiders at bay, but quiets the open-roof sound. By the time I got into Georgia at midday, I had it open all the time, and continued to use it until I headed north again. For me, that sunroof is a must-have if you can find a car with one. The next thing was acceleration, of course. Now, the rental car company does disable the AutoStick to prevent overt stupidity but wooding this car from a dead stop was more than acceptable, and there is a sweet spot that makes passing a breeze as long as you are not trying to bookend a freight train of weekend drivers on I-95. No, I did not try. Since I like renting from these guys, I did not push it, but it has no problem in regular conditions. Likewise, handling is enjoyable. I did not try to drift it, but it is deft in traffic (i.e., I-4 through downtown Orlando and any place that was 3 lanes wide at rush hour) and goes firmly where you point it. I was sold. So, I have my blue Hemi RAM Sport, the wife’s white Pacifica, and was dreaming about a Hellcat Charger in red I frankly do not have budget for. Maybe a red SXT would be a reasonable way to go…if it had a turbo. But then I’d miss renting… See you in 60 days…

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Crec’s Corner

BY ANTHONY

CRECCO

What are we, the Jetsons?

“You can keep your self-driving cars - if anyone gets a ticket for pulling a holeshot, you can bet it’s gonna be me!”

AM ALL FOR TECHNOLOGY and I can appreciate advancements… but, man, when does it end? When is enough going to be enough? You talk to a tech at any dealership, and they all sing the same song. These friggin’ engineers keep packing more and more crap into today’s cars with no idea on how to fix them when they break. How much further do we really need to go with technology and the automobile? Safety is one thing, but c’mon, man! You guys and gals know exactly what I’m talking about. You work a long day, with many of you looking at a screen as part of your job. It really doesn’t matter what you do, blue collar, white collar, no collar, odds are you working with technology. (Even Ehrenberg uses his “Eber” app when calculating his tips from his side gig as a male escort). You leave work to escape in your daily driver only to be met with—what? Oh, yeah— another screen, telematics, creature comforts, power everything, steering, brakes, heated seats/steering wheel, blind spot alerts, backup camera, etc. Now you even have the option of having Alexa ride shotgun (no, thanks, I already have a female voice at home telling me what to do). Everyone’s daily driver does just about everything except take a leak for you, and rumor has it that option will be available in 2023 with a Google assistant to do

MOPAR ACTION

the wiping. It doesn’t end…drink holders to keep your soda cold and your coffee hot? Seriously? I never had a problem with either lasting long enough to get cold or warm. Luckily, Ehrenberg provides everyone enough tech to keep our old Mopars performing like the newer stuff without turning them into a fullblown spaceships. As for me? I am old school. I enjoy manual steering, brakes, the tunability of a 4-Bbl, the sound and feel of real clutch when hitting the perfect powershift. I love owning a bare-bones Mopar. How bare? It had nothing when it began life as a Swinger special as a no options, no rug, rubber mat car, with manual brakes and steering. Hell, even the windshield washer works off a foot pump. Radio? Lemme tell ya,’ owning a radio delete car just amplifies everything that I want to escape from. If the car had an 8-track? Back in the day, I would enjoy having to wedge a matchbook under the tape so it could play, which takes me back to a simpler time before MP3, WMA files. Do you know how many times I hear, “are you ever going to put a radio in that thing?” Enough times to know my answer is always “no” and then firing it up to drown out the dimwit suggesting it. Hey? You do you, and I’ll do me. If you like to be connected 24x7, that’s great. Me? I have enough Alexa bots and smart devices in my house and garage to know that when I close the door and get behind the wheel of plain Jane… I can enjoy the mental enema of a tech-free world. A couple stabs of the long pedal on the right with a turn of the key and hearing that smallblock breathe is music to my ears. This is to improve my mental health… something we are all desperately trying to improve here at Mopar Action. Keep your self-driving cars, if anyone gets a ticket for pulling a holeshot, you can bet it’s gonna be me! –Crec

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Tech Topics

BY RICHARD PHOTOS BY

EHRENBERG, S.A.E.

RICHARD EHRENBERG, OR AS CREDITED

Change a blown head gasket in an hour? phone one week, next week operator says line no longer in service, I’ve finally saved enough money for one for my ’69 Road Runner, but I find no motors out there. Carter Cincotta Ossipee, NH

RB and 2G Hemi crate motors are on intergalactic backorderÑno blocks!

CRATE CRUNCH Richard– Other than Indy, is there a company out there that still makes big-block crate motors for sale, like 440, 500 cubic-inch and 500 horse power range? There used to be lots of them, now only one. I called Muscle Motors, but they don’t answer the

SLINKY LINKAGE

Carter– As of this writing, the Mopar Performance stock-type bare big-blocks are pure unobtanium, and have been for quite a while. This means crate engines are also unavailable, unless the supplier builds an engine from a used cylinder block. If you can scare up a good used 440 block, shops such as Hughes Engines or Indy can likely put together a complete engine pretty quickly. Alternately, you could order an “internals” kit from 440 Source and have a local shop do the build, just be sure that they have a good honing setup and deck plates (source: BHJ)—straight and round cylinder bores are essential.

The trend seems to be stroker 400s, since the supply of used blocks is more plentiful. The 400 does have advantages, too. Muscle Motors ceased to exist several years ago, they are now into something totally different (non-automotive).

REV-OLUTION Mr. Ehrenberg– I just bought a very clean 1996 Ram 2500 4X2 pickup, it has the 5.9L Magnum engine. It is replacing my 1978 1500 which finally got so rusty I had to scrap it. The 360 in the later truck is amazingly more torquey than the ‘78, and the overdrive transmission is a huge improvement. But that trans is the question: I am told it is related to the old 727, but with a connection to the computer and an overdrive in the rear. The seller recommended that I switch the overdrive off when doing any serious towing, which I will in the spring. Anyway, today I was on I-25, at 70 MPH, and I hit the overdrive kill switch. The revs, which had been about 2100, shot up to just under 3500. I was expecting a lot less of an RPM increase. I looked up the gear ratios (you taught me some of this), third is 1.00:1 just like my old 727, and OD is 0.69:1. My math shows that it should come out to 3053 RPM at the same 70 MPH. Is there something going on here that I should worry about? I can’t afford a new transmission at this point in my life. Fred Foster Colorado Springs, CO

BACK IN THE DAY, everybody I knew who bought a Mopar with the crummy Inland A833 4-speed shifter (1966, ’67, and early ’68s) ripped it out—the Hurst was just so much better. Today, some folks weld the Inland lever to the Hurst “stub” to keep the stock appearance. Others, however—the purists—wanna keep the entire Inland setup (which is readily identiﬁed by the reverse lockout). I have received, coincidentally, four emails within the last few months asking how to adjust it properly. Three of these people actually made the tool described in the FSM—only to learn that it won’t ﬁt as the FSM described. What’s up with that? Simple: The FSM had an error, the book said to make the simple tool out of 16-gauge steel (1/18ʺ thick). This is too thick, it needs to be 18- or 19-gauge. The TSB is reproduced here for your viewing pleasure, ironically, it was released just as the factory went back to Hursts.

10 MOPAR ACTION

Fred– I think all is well, and your math is also correct. What’s going on is simply this: When you hit the “OD Off” button, not only does it come out of OD, but the computer unlocks the torque converter, accounting for some of the RPM increase. ’96 was the first year for the computer control, (mostly the shift points are handled by the JTEC PCM), the trans is likely a 46RE, which is decoded thus: 4 –total 4 forward speeds

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-step how to swap a 2021 Hellcat Redeye 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

6 –relative torque capacity (on a 9-scale) R –RWD E –Electronic (computer controlled) governor As you said, the “main” trans is very similar to a 727. In earlier years, w/o the computer control, this was designated 46RH (Hydraulically controlled shift point), and, before that, A518.

WIPER DIAPER Rick– I have a ’67 Belvedere II with an original ’67 GTX powertrain. I purchased the car already restored. My problem is my 2-speed windshield wipers: When I turn them on, they start to travel in the wrong direccontinued on page 89

Resto Topics

BY RICHARD PHOTOS BY

EHRENBERG, S.A.E.

RICHARD EHRENBERG, OR AS CREDITED

Did wheel cylinders mount with gaskets?

The 1971 Charger was, you could say, revolutionary, as it shared zero body panels, interior parts, or glass with the ’70. From the ’71 thru the ’78, changes, while significant, were evolutionary. Reader Harvey’s ’74, seen in this factory brochure, shared many body parts with the 1973.

changes were sometimes obvious, other times, not at all. Here are a few examples: • From 1971 to 1972, the most obvious change was the side marker lamps, along with a vastly reduced options list. • The 1973 received massive suspension and chassis changes, the ’74s were very similar. • For 1975-up, nearly every body panel changed, and gone were the front fender aprons. Instead, there were full wheelhouses. The interior was also changed drastically (dash, I.P., etc.) So you can look to ’73s for many of your needs. Glass, however, especially the windshield, was interchangeable for many years, and the backlight was almost certainly the same 1971–’74.

SE ME, FEEL ME By 1975 (shown), far fewer parts swapped, even the doors were different.

BARN CRUSHED CHARGER Rick– I have a ’74 Charger that I have had since 1981. I’m finally in a position to get it back on the road. My issue is finding replacement body panels and glass. Could you tell me what other year Charger parts will interchange? I bought it in Louisiana when I was in the army. It was a Texas car and pretty rust free, but all these years of sitting a tree and a barn fell on it. Now I need stuff! Mark Harvey South Bend, IN Mark– Simple question, very complex answer. From 1971-onwards, the RWD Charger B-body shared the same basic platform, but there were many changes, and said

Mr. Ehrenberg– Our ’70 Dark Burnt Orange metallic Challenger R/T is equipped with the SE package with overhead console, deluxe interior and power everything including power windows that some claim was an option and not part of the SE package. Can you provide additional information as to the power windows being part of the SE package or as an option? Additionally, I am calling upon your knowledge of reliable parts suppliers for the potential replacement of the motors for the power windows. Advance Auto advertised a “universal” motor for the Challenger, but as one clerk observed, “universal means it doesn’t fit anything.” I will take him at his word. Bob Anderson Via email Bob– Power windows, code P31, were not part of the SE package, which included vinyl

Wanna submit a resto question? Please follow the instructions on page 11. roof cover (mandatory to cover the backlight “plug” hack required for the smaller glass), misc. exterior trim upgrades, leather-faced buckets (vinyl downgrade available), carpet on lower door panel, and roof consolette, which included some electrical upgrades. On the power windows motors, the only sure thing I can advise is that Challenger and Barracuda motors interchanged, and the assembly (w/o regulator) on the E-body fronts were identical to the quarter panel units on ’71-up B-bodies, P/Ns were 3454240 (right) and 241 (l.) I very vaguely recall cannibalizing motors from a P-body (Sundance, Shadow) to fit on muscle-era Mopars, I think most other ’70s and ’80s Mopar junkyard motors would work—even B-van (most camper-type vans were PWequipped). I do, however, think the universal fitzall “parts store” motors would also work, as would the Dorman gear kit (P/N 12464RS)

COLOR ME CONFUSED Dr. E– After 23 years I am doing a proper restoration on my ‘68 Charger. The car is exterior paint code 661 and it has the green interior code C6F. I am wondering what color should the exposed metal inside the cabin be painted (dash, steering column and headliner trim)? Currently they are green but do not appear to match exactly with the original surfaces that have the

Apart from connectors and wire lengths (easily changed), there was a lot of power window motor interchangeability. continued on page 93

12 MOPAR ACTION

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RARE: ONE OF TWO DEPT

Hi, There! Do real men drive pink cars? They do now.

story & photos by AL DENTe

O WHAT’S THE DEAL with hot pink Mopars? To get the answer, we checked with Nick Taylor, who runs the pantherpink.com website. Focusing on Panther Pink (Dodge) and Moulin Rouge (Plymouth)—paint code FM3—makes Taylor’s the only site dedicated specifically to a single Mopar vehicle color. Now, Ma Mopar wasn’t the only car company to field pink cars. But the competition, such as the special-order-only Playmate Pink ’64 Mustang and even Ma’s own ’66 Barracuda, were always of a lighter, more feminine mauve hue than the shocking high-impact, eyeball-twirling shade of FM3, which is a complex tone that’s more of a magenta shade than a true pink. Not all Mopars dealers went along with the program. According to Nick, at least one dealer painted a pink Mope black because it wouldn’t sell. Panther Pink/Moulin Rouge was intro’d by Chrysler for some 1970 models along with other HIP (High Impact Paint) colors, which were an option that cost of less than $20. The color was dropped for 1971, although Nick says that some ’71s were specialordered with FM3. Back then, many muscle Mo’fans wouldn’t be caught dead behind the wheel of a pink Mope, so more than a few of the FM3s were repainted different colors over the years. In time, however, the “pink muscle” stigma wore off and the pendulum shifted, with FM3 Mopes being sought after to became collectible for their rarity since the color actually was only offered for four months, from March until June 1970. Real FM3-painted cars began adding value, especially the high-performance models. The ’70 Challenger R/T you see here is one of just 10 examples that rolled off the assembly line in Panther Pink paint with the matching pink stripe (V6M),

14 MOPAR ACTION

47,000-original mile Challenger R/T was first sold to a Mary K cosmetics saleslady who passed on the signature pink Cadillacs that were a trademark of the company. Options include blackout performance hood treatment, air conditioning, power brakes and steering.

MOPAR ACTION 15

 HI, THERE!

Dodge built 10 Panther Pink Challenger R/Ts with the pink stripe, but this car is only one of two that packed the 440. The other 8 came with 383s.

and is only one of two such cars that came bolstered with the 440 under the hood. Nick Taylor says the other one is in Canada. Scott Ewing motored into the 2021 MATS show in Vegas with this one and says that he’s been into classic Mopars since 1990. with his first ride being a ’69 Charger (nope, not pink). His passion for owning and driving Mopars expanded more and more into restorations.

This Panther Pink Challenger originally came out of Beverly, Texas. From what Scott was able to find out, the original owner was a Mary K cosmetics lady. If you remember, Mary K was known at the time for awarding their salesladies signature pink Cadillacs. ’Course, there was more to this program than meets the eye if you do a little research. We can’t go any further here because of legal concerns (can you say “sue me?”)

Challenger was repainted the correct FM3 Panther Pink by Marco Guzman— a locally renowned spray gunner who works in Scott’s shop. Rear is a 3.23 Sure-Grip.

16 MOPAR ACTION

 HI, THERE!

Hood callout is for standard 440 Magnum (4-Bbl) engine, which allowed for factory A/C on auto tranmission cars. Silenced air cleaner with dual snorkels helped keep engine noise down when Ms. Mary K laid on the loud pedal.

Engine compartment is nicely restored after Scott sourced all correct 1970-dated components. The 440 is 0.030˝ over and blueprinted by Vrbancic Brothers Racing.

Anyway, our Mary K lady didn’t want a Caddy like everyone else, so she ordered the pink Chally with the matching stripe. That was as pink as she could get, as pink upholstery and exhaust tips were

never available. We don’t know if the Mopar vs. the Caddy helped her sales, but we like to think it did. The Challenger remained in her family until the mid-’80s when it died (no mention of the lady). A

guy named Randy Smith from the Michigan area heard about the Challenger and he drove down to look at it. He bought it on the spot, as Randy was already a pioneering collector of the FM3 pack-

Interior is all original except for Legendary replacement headliner and carpets. One cool option is the expensive high-output AM/FM that came with 5 speakers—3 up front and two in the rear.

18 MOPAR ACTION

ages and owned four or five at that time, including a Challenger T/A, Super Bee and a ’Cuda. It was a clean car and didn’t need much, but Randy began a restoration anyhow. That got sidetracked and the Challenger was put on the back burner, in back of the garage, in back of the house. That’s as far back as it would go and still be on his property. The Mope was partially apart at that point. The drivetrain was out of it and some trim pieces were missing. It sported a repaint, but the color was not correct. Who knows what might have become of the E-body if Motor City car locator Dean Herron had not heard about it. Dean’s a collector who buys and sells cars he doesn’t keep for himself. Scott says that Randy is pretty wellknown in Mopar circles. Randy and Dean are good buddies, so Dean, not interested in adding this Chally to his own collection, rang up Scott about it in 2004. Scott grabs it and says that he’d always wanted another pink car. “I used to have a pink Challenger R/T convertible before this one. That was one-of-four made. I got talked into selling that car and I’ve regretted it ever since. “I’m also a Challenger fan—my favorite car,” he adds, “so whenever I find a Challenger that’s unique, I try to buy it.” Scott hauled his new prize home where it joined about 15 other cars in various stages of restoration populating his shop, which he calls SNS Mopar Muscle. The shop was set up for his “overgrown crazy hobby,” as he puts it. Tearing into his new purchase, Scott and his shop buddy, Marco Guzman, stripped the car all the way down, and Guzman would get the fresh paint back on it. Scott started sourcing all ’70 correct parts and also went through the drivetrain, sending the 440 mill out to Vrbancic Brothers Racing in Ontario, California for a .030˝ overbore and blueprinting. The black vinyl interior was in very nice original condition, so the only items to be replaced were the headliner and carpet, which came in a box from Legendary. With Panther Pink performance cars coming into their own these days, even he-man Mo’fans need not be ashamed to be seen behind the wheel of one. So, if you own FM3 skin, now you can keep that joke-store face disguise tucked away in the glove box. Hey, we won’t laugh…maybe…

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ELECTRICAL BANANA DEPT

Dave Watt gets small and runs away with his FAST Factory Stock class

Yella Streak

20 MOPAR ACTION

1971 was the second season for the A-body fastback Duster design, and many agree this year was the pinnacle release in terms of color and options. While this drag car does not have the Go-Wing, the vertical-slat sharks-tooth grille is makes it instantly identifiable. Car was rebuilt for FAST racing program.

12-second 1971 Duster 340.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY GEOFF STUNKARD

EY, remember those old days of bench racing? For you youngsters, it was when guys sat around at night and chatted… err, discussed…err, ok, outright lied about fast cars they had seen, or once owned. It became really shovel-ready once it turned into “my company’s better than yours.” Every smallblock Camaro was a wheelstanding 9-second street car, and every ’67 Mustang came with a factory 427 nobody had ever seen. The smart guys just listened, knowing that when it came down to midnight’s “drag it out and show us,” they’d make like ZZ Top had crooned and “let the machine speak.” And then walked away with a stuffed wallet.

Dave Watt

MOPAR ACTION 21

 YELLA STREAK

Still running the factory OE 340 cubes, the 1971 Duster of Dave Watt is built to run yet retains nearly everything that the original car came

So, when Dave Watt, who’s sort of in that quiet guy group of defenders, decided he’d go from his ’69 6-Bbl / four-speed Road Runner to this gorgeous ’71 Duster 340, it had to be for a reason. Like winning. And besides, he had raced the beeper at only a handful of FAST events before somebody made him such a nice offer, he would have been a fool to refuse it. “So, the big-block car, it was a four-speed,” says the Indiana resident, who is a tool-and-die maker by trade. “That had its own challenges, trying to launch it on the smaller tires. Basically, you have to always get just the right rhythm with the clutch and the gas pedal to get it to launch without wailing the tires.” Anyhow, running in the FAST series like he does means cars look just like what rolled off the dealership lot before all the bench racing BS started. There, when you want to be as close

from the factory with. Best time is 12.40s at 110 MPH, with great weight transfer a key to getting any hook with OEM width tire.

to what came on an old-school factory supercar as possible, the class is Factory Stock, which means minimal changes. With the big-incher gone, Dave first went with a ’73 Duster, which gave him a lighter A-body package to race, but he was Jones’ing for the desirable classic shark-tooth-grilled ’71 version. One was finally found and purchased, and he knew he and his home box of tools would be getting a workout. “I purchased this Duster in 2015 out of Wisconsin,” he notes. “It did not have a transmission, intake manifold, exhaust manifolds, carburetor, air cleaner, wheels, or a back seat. The front seats were buckets out of a Mercury Cougar, and I had to replace the driver side quarter panel and taillight panel due to previous accident damage. The hood also had to be replaced due to a hole cut in it for an air cleaner.”

Rules mean displacement is stock as-built. Careful blueprint and assembly is key to 6200 RPM redline. Valvetrain is Engle custom grind flat-tappet hydraulic cam, factory 273 mechanical rockers, Isky springs. Carter fuel pump, 800CFM Thermoquad to provide fuel, spark from Mopar,TTi pipes hook to OEM manifolds. Missing LH heat shield puts ignition wires at risk of meltdown.

22 MOPAR ACTION

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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), 950 cfm carburetor, Trick Flow billet aluminum carburetor spacer (TFS-2141501B), 93 octane pump gas, Hooker headers with 2" primaries, 31∕2" dual exhaust with Flowmaster mufﬂers.

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230

186

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288

222

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322

243

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343

253

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352

262

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2206MATF

Tests conducted at 28" of water (pressure). Bore size: 4.350"; exhaust with 2" pipe.

 YELLA STREAK

Spartan A-body cloth-vinyl bench seat interior is set up for saving weight, car is radio deleted, has column shift, handful of gauges. Quality is solid, but E-berg noted headliner is a little funky.

Once the metal shop work was repaired, the Duster was sent out and media blasted. Dave then sprayed on a Zinc Chromate primer and used a second high build primer to allow the car to be block sanded smooth. This was all done at home. “On January 1, 2019, I painted the car with Nason urethane enamel paint in the factory Curious Yellow color and added the graphics as well. By May 2019, I had the car reassembled and was testing it at Muncie Dragway.” ’Course, you need a motor to go testing, and to that end, Dave went to one of the gurus of this stuff, Detroit’s Bob Karakashian. Bob K. has a stock-style specification LA-engine camshaft that Engle grinds out to his secret specs. That would end up in the center, while the 340 block itself ended up with Bruce Parsons High Performance for balance, assembly, and blueprinting. Again, an OEM crank, NHRA legal Stock Eliminator pistons, factory cylinder heads massaged by Brad VanLant, and a set of carefully selected cast exhaust manifolds feeding mandrel-bent TTi pipes rounded it out. The engine also retains the OE cast intake, 800 CFM Thermoquad 4-Bbl, factory electronic ignition (aftermarket wires), and correct engine paint. How about that stock-pressure oil pump and pan, even with a 6200 RPM redline? “You don’t want to run high volume because that actually takes away a little too much horsepower. Plus, we don’t need to pump a lot of oil into the top end of the engine and then have it sitting up there on the cylinder heads.” This is backed by an A727 ’flite that Dave and Bill Randles built, which uses a 2400 RPM converter and a TransGo shift kit. The handle is on the column. The 8¾ factory diff houses a 4.30 Strange gear set, Sure-Grip and Moser axles. OK, Dave, you need to tell us some speed secrets. “Since I built the car from ground up myself, I put a lot of thought in the all-stock front and rear suspension required. It’s the way they’re assembled,” he begins. “First, I clamped the front leaf segments. The bushings are honed out and now have a nice slip fit. You want to get all the suspension bushings to be low drag. This helps with weight transfer when running on stock tires. Trim down the upper control arm rubber bumper to allow more front-end travel.” Quick front end travel is crucial to making the

Classic rear view shows chrome tips, fastback body lines. Narrow tires need all the help they can get, car runs 2400 stall converter and 4.30 final gear ratio as a result. 24 MOPAR ACTION

DUSTER logo was part of new A-body model release when E-body moved Barracuda name to new platform. Popular model was for those who wanted more than Valiant, less than Road Runner

340 graphics tell displacement tale, add to white graphics package that runs the length of the upper body character line.

narrow Goodyear Polyglas F70-14 tires mounted on stock 14 x 5.5 steelies get any sort of grip. As is, the package, 340 cubes and column shifter, has run a 12.43 best at over 110 MPH, 1.78 60´, and Dave has the time slips to back that up. The interior is in Rodney Dangerfield plaid-cloth-and-vinyl, a front bench outfit not really in character with the hot Curious Yellow paint. Hey, it just means you can put 2 girlfriends up front instead of just one! At least, that might be one of the stories somebody would tell on a bench-racing Saturday evening. NOTE: Want to be honest at bench racing and run 12s in your stock-displacement 340? The rules are at https://www.fastdrags. com/fast-rules. Some reassembly will be required!

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BIG SHOWOFFS DEPT

MAKING DOUBLE TIME The 2021 MCACN made up for the 2020 Wuhan delay with great Mopes from all over and then some. STORY BY GEOFF STUNKARD

PHOTOS BY GEOFF STUNKARD AND DAN GALLO

The crazy FM3 Panther Pink Challenger T/A of Corey & JoAnne Flick was among the highlights of this huge group of AAR/TA invitational cars, another 2020 plan that took an extra year to complete. 26 MOPAR ACTION

The Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, is minutes from O’Hare Airport and is the location of this show each year. Hotels and food are all within walking distance.

HAT A DIFFERENCE a year makes. Especially when that year was 2020 and everything under the sun was being cancelled by the CCPlague (which was no fault of the oppressed people living over there, either). That in turn meant the long-running Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals would also not take place as usual. In mid-2021, manager Bob Ashton told us that he had gotten a personal letter directly from the Illinois Governor’s office stating that the 2022 edition of the show in its Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont would be allowed to happen. So, once again on its traditional weekend before Thanksgiving, cars arrived in both personal trailers and by the semi-load to fill the cavernous building, while fans filled up O’Hare Airport’s travel vans for the biggest indoor extravaganza showcasing the musclecar hobby. For the first time, my arrival to the event was by highway, as Dale Mathews was invited to display his 1970 Bobby Isaacordered Challenger R/T in the year-late ’70 Challenger Reunion area, so I rode up with him. Meanwhile, a number of great other cars made their debut here, as did celebrities galore and even some Brand X iron worth seeing. We’ll stop the praises here, leaving some space for the photos to prove we again have “been there, done that.” We’re already looking forward to 2022’s event. But you knew that already, didn’t cha…

These days, it doesn’t need to be a high compression Hemi to rate space to display here. Right inside the entrance, Mark Sekula and the crew from Magnum Auto in nearby Lasalle had four cars on display, including this beautiful and quite rare 1973 440 GTX-trim Road Runner. Great work as always.

Once again, Zoo gathered the guys the who made history for a lively roundtable discussion on both Saturday and Sunday. Left to right—Paul Rossi, Butch Leal, Stunkard, Arnie Beswick (ran a Dodge in the 1950s, you know), Ted Spehar and Joe Pappas. MOPAR ACTION 27

 BIG SHOWOFFS DEPT This original-owner Hemi Dodge Daytona came in with Robert and Betty Krebs, and here the car had just arrived on Thursday to get ready to go on display.

Getting our Celebrity Choice award for ’21 was Mark Hoffman and his highly-optioned 1971 tri-color 383 ’Cuda, which was delivered new to a southern California PR firm that supplied Hollywood with cars and shows up in a B-type horror movie called “The Velvet Vampire.”

Bob Riggle, seen with his legendary Hurst Hemi Under Glass Barracuda, takes a rest in his custom “header recliner” after being asked for the 1000th time if he’s has given Jay Leno any rides lately.

Swinger’s Got a 340, Eh?

ONCE THE FASTBACK DEMON arrived, Chrysler no longer offered a 340 performance model of the standard roofline 111˝ wheelbase Swinger. Except...in Canada, where two dealerships made a deal with factory to build them some specials. According to owner Joel Cooper, Windsor turned out 85 of these Swinger 340 Specials in the spring of ’71, and then did just 30 more in the late part of 1972’s model run. This ’72 car is one of 5 of that batch created for Pembina Dodge in Winnipeg (the other 25 went Crosstown Motor City in Edmonton) and is 1-of-1 as a FY1 / threespeed manual package. Built on June 16, 1971, it is likely one of the last 340 Specials built. Joel had a crowd of people checking it out over the weekend, as very few knew the package even existed.

Joel Cooper of Connecticut runs the 1970 340 Swinger Registry but also has a couple of Canadian versions that were only offered north of the border. This ’72 is one of 30 built that year for just two dealerships.

28 MOPAR ACTION

The little 340 tags were mounted on the front fender, but the big giveaway was the factory hood scoop.

 BIG SHOWOFFS DEPT

Seen up on the lift during the Vintage Certification process, the highly-original SuperBird of Doug and Chris Hammond received honors for its preservation after forensic work by the likes of Frank Badalson.

Among the celebrities on hand here was Wayne Carini, the star of the show Chasing Classic Cars. We are guessing this was a target-rich environment for his interests at this event.

Michigan Mopar man Opie Stark was on hand with 2 cars this year. The first was the Duster he and daughter Alex have been reworking since before she could drive, and the second was a stunning 440-6 GTX

Among the true rarities that made their debut here for 2021 was this 1969 Coronet Hemi R/T convertible owned by Brad Lovering, one of just 10 built and one of just 4 equipped with the A833 crashbox.

30 MOPAR ACTION

Baby, it’s cold outside while we run down N. River Rd. in the original Bobby Isaacs’ ’70 Challenger back to the parking area Sunday night. Yes, that’s Gibson’s Steakhouse, which will be ready to take more of our budget again next year.

Leading off the pack in the Barn Finds / Hidden Gems section managed by Ryan Brutt was this original Hemi Daytona owned by Bob Jennings, which has been in storage for 45 years.

Parts and memorabilia vendors are also on hand at MCACN and this fragile Chrysler Sailboats dealership sign priced at $795. quickly sold soon after the show opened.

Also with the Barn Finds was an A12 Super Bee that Jim Kramer of Kramer Automotive brought in. That is none other than Ted Spehar of Motown Missile fame checking it out.

Racer Joe Gouger had his special Dodge Daytona on hand, a 1980s version he runs on the Midwest Nostalgia Pro Stock series. This car is a tribute to the late Reid Whisnant.

Among the stellar cars in the Mopar Trans Am Invitational was this sinister Black Velvet AAR owned by Michael Ross of Ohio. The overall group was sponsored by the Wellborn Musclecar Museum.

Garage Squad’s Joe Zolper came in from Joliet with his supercharged ’69 Daytona, which he races as time allows. It has a 512-CI aluminum Hemi with a 14-71 huffer on top, and was on special display out in the lobby where people came in.

SOURCE For vintage racing fans, two of the original Motown Missiles were on hand, and Steve Atwell brought in the unrestored 1973 Rod Shop Hemi Dart, which ended up in the sportsman classes back then due to NHRA’s heavy pencil.

2022 MCACN DATES November 19-20, 2022 Donald E. Stephens Convention Center www.mcacn.com MOPAR ACTION 31

BLOOD BROTHERS DEPT

As usual, any car that Tim and Pam Wellborn buy is tuned for enjoyment, as the 1970 Hemi R/T and R/T SE 440 Six-Pack Chargers make highway miles fly by on a sunny Alabama afternoon.

32 MOPAR ACTION

The Wellborn Collection Finds and Adds Two More Amazing Chargers, Both Unique Survivors but from 1970. story and photos by GEOFF STUNKARD

HE 1970 MODEL YEAR saw Dodge offering what would become some of the hobby’s most desirable cars. Big-block Coronet R/T and Challenger R/T convertibles and Charger R/T hardtops all met the need for deluxe appointments for upscale purchasers. Truth be told, however, most guys who could afford them kept them only a few years before trading in on the next shiny bauble. The cars would often then go though a descending group of owners until primer and Bondo filled in paint and body issues and the original engines met a demise through some form of stupidity or another. Tim Wellborn, who operates his noteworthy car museum in Alabama with his wife Pam, is well-known for his ownership of 1971 Hemi Chargers. However, today Tim is more enamored with truly original machinery, cars that likely were treasured from day one and perhaps stayed with the same owner as well. The two cars here represent

a pair of fascinating 1970 Dodge Charger R/Ts showcasing divergent optioning and remarkable originality. One was the lifelong but well-hidden pride of a North Carolina truck driver, the other tucked away by a second owner who purchased it showing 12,000 miles in 1987 and hardly drove it after that. I actually came into this story a little sooner than Mr. Wellborn’s ownership, when my pal Dale Mathews and I were planning on meeting to go to Rockingham several years back. Dale had gotten a line on a quality-focused local moonshiner and drove over in his GY3 ’71 GTX to meet the craftsman and score a couple of quarts. That man, James “Monroe” Clark, lived right in nearby Morgantown, and told Dale, “I’ve got something to show you here, but no pictures.” Dale entered the garage to lay eyes on the 29,000-mile white Hemi car you see here, a Mope that even he and his local car buddies were not aware of. We told Tim about

MOPAR ACTION 33

 TOP BREED While the body lines may be the same, the cars are pretty different. The Hemi sports tri-color, with white paint, black top, and blue interior decorated with pinstriping, while the Six-Pack is EV2 Orange is tri-color, with black top and interior complimented by a white scat stripe and hood blackout.

it apocryphally soon after, and Wellborn (not a guy you want to play serious poker with) never let on that he was not only aware of it but had actually been in contact with “Monroe” for a couple of decades, first hoping to buy it, then later more as a friend. The 81-year-old Mr. Clark’s passing in 2019 allowed the family to follow his instructions to sell the Hemi Charger to “that guy from Alabama.” The orange 440 Six-Pack came about from Tim’s reputation for buying quality as well, though Tim was not sure he might simply be getting pranked when the call came from Nick Fedorchak, up in the steel city of Pittsburgh. Nick told Tim that he had long owned a Six-Pack ’70 Charger R/T SE he had bought from a friend, the original owner, Steve Carco. It was very uniquely equipped, in that Tim has even referred to it as a “quad car,” featuring four optioned colors—body paint, interior, scat stripe and hood trim. This was a very upscale factory build which research later proved this expensive Dodge had been on the dealer lot for several months before selling in the summer of 1970 as young Steve’s high school graduation present. After 17 years, the babied musclecar went to Nick, who only drove for about 10,000 more miles before putting it into his garage for good. 34 MOPAR ACTION

Obviously, the SE package gave the car better overall trim, but it was also built as a Super Performance Axle package (A32) with the A727 ’flite and 4.10 Dana 60, hood blackout, Tic-Toc-Tac, AM/8-track radio, power steering and front disc brakes, and the odd off-color rear stripe. Loaded is the word on this one. Tim was recommended to Nick, and after seeing it, the car was purchased and honored to be added to the Wellborn collection. In the meantime, restorer Mark Coates and his crew had their work cut for themselves removing the extensive Ziebart undercoating treatment that had been applied to it in the early Seventies. This is why the engine bay and body did not suffer damages from the Keystone State’s road salt (yes, that engine bay is original), and Coates’ expert work meant everything was left as unmolested as possible, not even repainting the chipped valve covers. We noted these cars are different. The white Charger was ordered in University of North Carolina colors and tastefully optioned, save for that he-man Hemi, 18-spline A833 four-speed and Super Track Pak 4.10:1 9.75” Dana. Like the Six-Pack car, the original ordering customer likely could not complete the buy and the dealership was stuck with it for a time. In fact, James Clark, who paid cash for everything, was supposed be buying the family a new four-door Buick Electra when he was sidetracked by the Dodge on the way and was then offered a deal not to be refused. Thankfully, his wife Nancy forgave him; the new Buick came home soon afterward (Clark told Dale he never moved his long-haul semi empty) and this Hemi Charger was truly treasured. Nobody ever drove it but him, and the dealership kept up with any scheduled service faithfully. In fact, Mark Coates and Dale later talked and Dale was able to help locate some of the local “old-head” wrenches from the dealership who could clarify half-century-old details and parts updates as Mark also blueprinted this one. As for us, each of these cars could get its own story, but like Tim, we’ve got a lot of great Chargers sitting right now and pages are tight. Check out the pics. The pair debuted at MCACN (seen elsewhere in this issue) and are now on display in the museum for anybody to enjoy. Hey, Tim, who says all the fun came in ’71?….

Annual

Presented By; Tri-County

August 12 –14, 2022 National Trail Raceway, Columbus, Ohio

bute to the ’62

Featurin :            

’72 Models”

The 1962 & 1972 Anniversary Vehicle Displays Special Display – Barn Finds / Original Owners Exhibition Race Cars/Trucks – Pro Mods/Rails World’s Fastest Hemi & Hellcat/Demon/RedEye Race All Mopar Manufacturer Midway & Swap Meet – Find that illusive part only here at the Nats! World Renowned Burn-Out Contest! Nats OETM Certification & Concour’s Judging Enter the Mopar Model Car Nationals Contest Friday/Saturday Night Mopar Super Cruises Mopar Technical Seminars – Renowned speakers Free Spectator Parking See the “Mopar Survivor” Display- All Original Cars

(See website for more activities and all the details. www.thenats.com)

Confirmation Package/Tickets will be mailed to pre-registered participants approx. 3 weeks before the event.

WANTED: 1972 Model Year & Unique/Historic/ Vehicles for Special Displays Looking for past Mopar Nats Grand Prize Cars

Please Print Clearly – All years/models of Chrysler-AMC vehicles welcomed! Must be Mopar Bodied with Mopar Engine. * - Required for correspondence.

Name __________________________________ Age ____ Address ________________________________________ City ________________________ State/Prov. ___________ Zip ___________ Phone ( ) _______________________ Year ____ Make/Model _____________________________ Color ________ VIN# ______________________________ Plate# ___________ *E-Mail Address _________________ Entry Fee

(Photo required with every entry unless same car as entered last year. Prices subject to change. (Goody bag to first 1500 pre-registered participants)



Check box for 1962 or 1972 Model Year Participation & entry type below. Mail in associated fee. Only Regular/Judged entries have reserved parking in tribute display area. See Special display form for Invitational displays.



$75 Regular Entry. If postmarked by June 30, 2022. Entries postmarked after June 30 are $90 and must be paid by money order only. No mail entries accepted after July 12. Admits Car & 2 Adults to all three days and Trophy Race. Note: If raced, vehicle must pass NHRA Tech. You can enter at the Gate, fees different. This Entr not allowed on a trailer. Trophy Race Participant? (Circle One) YES NO



Race Entry. If postmarked by June 30, 2022. Entries postmarked after June 30 are $15 higher and must be paid by money order only. No mail entries accepted after July 12. Admits Car & 2 Adults to all three days and entry into race bracket. Note: Vehicle must pass NHRA Tech. You can enter at Gate on Thursday through Saturday. No entries on Sunday. Gamblers Race on Friday (Box & No Box classes).

Tow Vehicle Permit Required?

Add $25 for License Plated vehicles (Circle

One)

YES

Race Class:(Circle One) (Race class based off rules/class information listed on the website).



$95 Judged Show Entry. Must be postmarked by June 30, 2022. Admits Car & 2 Adults to all three days, plus entry into the Judged Show that takes place on Friday, August 13th. Must include a photo of our car with entr form. NO ENTRIES AT GATE. Vehicles judged by year/class. *Senior Class $110. Send a S.A.S.E. or visit our web site for Class Descriptions/Info/Trailer parking. (Circle only one class) Young Guns, please also state whether vehicle is Original or Modified. Add $25 for a trailer permit if trailer and tow rig will be parked on grounds. Trailer Permit (Circle and add $25 to entry fee) YES NO Original

Clone

Street

Modified Pro-Street

Street Rod

Young Gun

Senior*



$95 Car Corral Entry. If postmarked by June 30, 2022. Thereafter and at the gate is $110. Entries postmarked after June 30 must be paid by money order only. No mail entries accepted after July 12th. A special area reserved in a prime location for those wishing to sell their Chrysler/AMC. NO PARTS FOR SALE ALLOWED. Includes one admission pass.

Make Check/Money Order (US Funds Only) payable to Mopar Nationals and mail to:

THE NATIONALS P.O. BOX 2303 DEARBORN, MI. 48123-2303 Info: 313-278-2240

www.thenats.com

Send a SASE for more information; Entry Application, Motel Listing, Car Show Judging or Racing Classes/Rules, Mid-Way Application, or visit our website and download the info.



$95 General Swap Space. (10x25), Includes one pass/space, Price for pre-registered entries postmarked by June 30, $110 at the gate. Additional passes $45 ea. NO T-SHIRTS, HATS, APPAREL or FOOD/Beverage sales allowed for sale in general swap area. NOTE: Transportation vehicle must fit within your space(s) OR you must park in the general parking lot. NO EXCEPTIONS. Spectator Admission Prices: $25/day, $40/2 day, $45/3 day (Thurs Swap 12 Noon $25ea) Children 12 and under free with a paid adult

_____ Qty. of extra participant passes @$45 ea. Total Amount enclosed with entry $ __________

Signature – By my signature hereto, I acknowledge that I have read the rules/regulations and agree to abide by them in regards to liability, event advertising rights, conditions and decisions as set forth by the Nationals event. No Rain Dates. No Refunds after closing date. NO GENERAL CAMPING or PETS ALLOWED ON GROUNDS. All Rules/Regulations, advertising rights are available on the web site or send a SASE to the Nationals for a copy. MA

This is the Ultimate Event for the Mopar Enthusiast! (Chrysler,Plymouth,Dodge,SRT,Jeep & AMC Vehicles)

 TOP BREED

’DAT WHITE HEMI!

Dale Mathews and Tim Wellborn with North Carolina’s Monroe moonshiner special.

Notes on the ’70 Hemi R/T by Tim Wellborn WELL, the white Hemi Charger R/T was a 33year “call every year” around Christmas to have a nice chat and hope that someday you would get the car, but the answer was always the same, “no, son, not for sale.” Then, about ﬁve years ago, he drove down to Montgomery, Alabama, and he had stopped by the museum and it became a strong possibility that I would probably get it. When I asked him that day, the answer was still, “son, not yet, but when I do pass away, my daughter will have your phone number,” and that’s exactly how it happened. So, what does it mean to the collection? This is probably one of the most original 1970

36 MOPAR ACTION

Hemi Chargers existing. It important to me not just because the originality but because of the pursuit. Since I’m partial to white cars, I like that, and that blue interior just stands out. So you have this Hemi/Pistol Grip/4.10 Dana in this beautiful body. Mr. Clark stopped driving it after the ﬁrst few years, but it was driven to Talladega at least once; his daughter still remembers that trip. He was just always real careful with it. Kept in a humidity-controlled garage, kept up on blocks, he even kept covers on the wheels like a motor home. He would drive every few months on Sunday afternoons and he cleaned

the engine bay so often, he kept a slip-stick he would use to depress the accelerator to warm the engine to dry it off! Mr. Clark was so particular. He even saved the original batteries; he had the original battery and then a replacement battery after that which was never had acid put in it. He saved every part he ever replaced. So really, we didn’t do anything to it but clean up and detail on this car. It had original hoses, and I had a set of original belts in my parts collection. Thanks to the artistry of Mark (Coates), it looks just the way it did was when it was delivered.

Engine is original 426 that was dealer serviced since new. Mill retains original carbs, detailing, carb linkage (four-speed), and paint.

Note insulation on factory choke design, tiny engine overspray on valve cover. As original as they get; never raced, never wrecked.

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Stunning all-original interior of garage-stored Hemi car included Tic-Toc-Tac, Pistol Grip in console, factory blue carpet, woodgrain trim. No burgers ever eaten in this one!

Hemi was optioned with chrome door edge guards, wrap-around pin stripe, and 15˝ Rallyes with F60x15 Polyglas rubber. Big dollar car was seen on lot, bought instead of family Buick.

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)

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 TOP BREED

JOE SIX-PACK Notes on the ’70 Six-Pack R/T SE WELL, I’ve always been a fan of the R/T SE and this happens to be the only R/T SE ’70 Charger I have ever owned. Luckily it came in what I call the tri-color color package. You know, the white butt strip, Vitamin C paint, and black interior and top. Add in all that SE stuff—the leather upgrade, little things like the different steering wheel, woodgrain instrument panel and door panels, pedal dress-ups. Now, when all that is added to a lowmile 440 Six-Pack with the A32 4.10 Super Axle option, a great survivor with no scratches, no dings, no nothing... man! That the way it was when it was delivered, and when you sit in the car, it still smells like new. Especially coming from Pennsylvania. This car was shot with Ziebart, and that preserved it. Mark cleaned all of that up from the body and trunk, then it went it out to Gary Riley at Level One in Denver who used a dry ice process underneath that preserves all the factory markings. In fact, we did both cars’ undercarriages this way. The undercarriage looks new, and the engine bay is all original. I know there’s a little paint missing off the engine, but that is how it is. In my opinion,

38 MOPAR ACTION

by Tim Wellborn

when you repaint a survivor car engine or engine bay, you ruin it from being original. You know, I see three levels of survivors. You have “real” survivors, which are cars that have faded paint or wear, or some changes. They are mostly original, and while you could repaint or restore them, these cars are now worth keeping original because, it is original. Then you have “good” survivors. These are cars that may have some scratches or small areas of wear, but you still don’t want to mess them up by repainting them. You can show them and most of the cars you see are in this category. Finally, you have “great survivors,” which are how I consider these two cars. They do not need to be repainted, have all their equipment intact and not needing replacement, and were cared for. Especially like these where they have not been in the hobby; neither of these cars were in a car show before we got them. So this is probably the ﬁnest of any unrestored 1970-1971 Charger I’ve ever owned, even a slight step up above the Hemi because of the undercarriage. The only car that comes close is my 8,000mile AAR ’Cuda. It’s that nice.

View from rear shows chrome exhaust tips, ’70 year taillamps, flying buttress rear glass inset, chrome lower rocker trim that was all standard on R/T.

RB mill shows some signs of 22K miles and 50 years since assembly. Mark Coates at ABM oversaw clean-up and detailing while leaving everything intact except dirt and post-sale undercoating. Bay paint was saved by Ziebart, which is now removed. Carbs, linkage (automatic), worn paint are original to car.

SE emblem replaced Charger logo on vinyl roof, car got unique white scat stripe, extra-cost hood blackout, R/T door scoops, and locking fliptop gas cap. F60x15 on Rallyes added more $$ to cost.

Posh SE appointments inside include deluxe buckets with console shifter, pedal chrome, driver remote mirror, plus AM-8 track, TicToc-Tac. Note plastic dealer bag slid onto shifter handle.

HTMv A

TALES FROM THE CRYPT DEPT

I had the chance. I blew it. by RICHARD EHRENBERG, SAE

Imagine finding a brandy-new Hemi Challenger R/T, 4-speed, and it is offered to you at $1000 off dealer cost. And you walk away. Stupid? Stupid! The actual car was white.

40 MOPAR ACTION

’VE BEEN INTO MOPARS since the fall of 1956, but in 1965, I bought my first new Mopar, a Valiant 200, TT1 medium red metallic, 4-door, Commando 273, 4-speed. Why a 4-door? You couldn’t get vinyl seats on a 2-door 200 sedan, and, while I could’ve come up with the extra coin for a Signet or hardtop, I wanted the extra rigidity afforded by the full B-pillar. I also wanted the full frame sedan door glass and figured having the B-pillar farther forward would provide the driver (me) additional side impact protection (a narrower opening—more likely to prevent intrusion). Yes, I was only 20 years old, but I was paying attention. This, you should know, isn’t one of my usual boring tech stories—it is even more sleep-inducing, straight prose. In fact, it is really about interrupted sleep. Read on. The dealer I bought the Valiant from was E. Koeppel, located on Hillside Avenue in the Jamaica section of Queens, N.Y.C. Although a family operation, it was a very professionally-run business, with the senior Koeppel (“E.”), quite aged but sharp as a tack, there virtually every day. However, his sons ran most of the actual operation. One son, Noel, befriended me, and we worked a deal: I was permitted to use the large, wellequipped shop on evenings and Saturdays, in return, I would handle (on the spot) any quickie problems that brought customers back with nearly-new cars, usually quite irate. Mostly it was carburetor adjustments, door latches, etc. The peak was 1967, when Noel loaned me his nephew’s trade-in, a low mileage, but very abused and neglected 1966 Hemi Satellite, 4-speed, for a long weekend, in return for fixing a slew of mechanical issues. You probably read that story on these pages long ago.

it out in record time, and in less than a month Shelley called me with the news. I caught a ride down to pick it up one evening, it looked like a new B-van should look, the color was similar to B5 blue. Once around the block, it also ran great, but then Shelley made a good point: “Don’t you want it lettered?” Of course I did. This was just before the CNC-cut vinyl lettering system started to appear, and Shelley mentioned that they had a good sign painter on call. I quickly sketched out what I wanted (on the back of a napkin, don’t ya know?). He also mentioned that the building had a nearly-empty back shop, pretty much disused, where it could sit for a few days while the enamel hardened. I signed up. Only a few days later, Shelley called with the news that the van was totally ready. I bummed another ride down, ASAP, and Shelley walked me to the dungeon as it was called. In the dim light, the van looked awesome, but as I glanced around the near-empty shop, just a few 40-watt bulbs dangling from the rafters, I spotted a white Challenger in the distant corner. Immediately trotting over, I realized that it was a new R/T with a shaker hood. Remember, this was ’73, the R/T had gone away after ’71, as had

the Hemi. Hemi! Could it be? Yes! Shelley gave me the inside story. Seems that the son of some rich Arab sheik had walked in to price a Hemi R/T. They quoted him sticker, which he went for, but they insisted on the princely (literally) sum of $1,000 up front. Apparently, they were worried that they’d get stuck with it, and perceptive they were, because that’s exactly what happened. Besides being filthy, and having a totally flat battery, it was 100% mint, the odo read 00,002.2 miles. I remember the “clang” the door made when closed. You never forget this kind of trivia. Now I didn’t know that this would eventually become a bazillion-dollar car decades later, but I did know that there would be no more. The prince had not ordered it because of Vanishing Point, as the car was built well before the flick’s release date. In fact, it is possible that he never completed the transaction because of V.P.’s notoriety? Certainly, the flick would not have been not approved by Sharia councils! Who knows? What I do know, however, is that they offered me the car at invoice less $1,000. I also know that I was financially maxed out and hadda walk away, something I regret to this day. I still wake up sweating. Nightmare on Northern Boulevard, indeed.

A year or so later, my world crumbled. Koeppel abandoned Chrysler-Plymouth and went with the Tin Indian (Pontiac). I gravitated to Stapleton and Schneider Dodge-Plymouth, in the Jackson Heights section of Queens. While I never really got “in” with management, it didn’t take long for me to worm my way into parts and service. Frequently I was the go-to guy for hard-to-solve problems, and in return I got parts at ten over. Having been out on the street for a while, I also hedged my bets, ingratiating myself with Future Motors in Long Island City, who sold damn near every taxicab rolling in NYC, and had a massive parts operation to back it up. Others were Dodge Trucks, Inc., a HD truck and parts operation in Maspeth, and Motor Parts Depot, a Chrysler-franchised Mopar parts-only warehouse just off Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside. Needing race parts “right now” meant an hour drive to Ebbet’s Field Dodge in Brooklyn. Those sure seemed to be the golden years—yeah, every cop car, taxi, and it felt like everything else, was pure Mopar. Imports? Yeah, a few VW Beetles, but nary any other import tinboxes in sight. Fast forward to 1973. I had just opened an electronics repair shop in Westchester County, an hour north of the city, so I needed a new B-van. Strictly by coincidence, a friend of mine, Sheldon Jarmel, had just taken a job as a salesman at Stapleton and Schneider. I quickly ordered a B250, 360, Sure Grip 3.55:1 The scene of the event that haunts me to this day...here it is, back in the day, it is virtually unchanged today, except ironically, Koeppel now owns it, and they push Asian tin out of the facility. cogs, etc. The Windsor, Ontario Mo-plant cranked

MOPAR ACTION 41

T T

’ T

UNDERDOG DEPT

Can a 5.7 Challenger R/T smoke a Hellcat, or are we smoking our underwear? by AL DENTE photos by TheBRUNTBros

42 MOPAR ACTION

ACE Baron von Shields.

S THIS NOT-SO-INNOCENT-LOOKING 2014 TorRed Challenger R/T a Hellcat’s worst nightmare? To some, yes—like those getting their photo taken in the loser’s circle, empty hand outstretched in what would have been a trophy. Or others at the track sitting in their Challenger and Charger Hellcats late at night after everyone has gone home quietly babbling to themselves, “How is this possible?” Does that R/T pilot throw marbles under the ’cat’s tires? Does he somehow alter the space/time continuum? Hang with us for a few dozen words or so and we’ll spill the beans. But first, the star of our saga—Pat Shields.

2014 5.7L “The Little R/T That Could” Challenger went from an easy life as a garage queen to earning its keep on the track. It can beat Hellcats under the right conditions.

Before video games (way before), young car guys (car lads) used to spend time hanging out at the corner gas station. That’s what Pat did way back when he was 14. Lucky for him, the service station family were true Mopar die-hards and Pat caught the fever notwithstanding his dad being a Chevy guy. When the gas station crew got tired of Pat just hanging out, they put him to work—sweeping up, pumping gas, cleaning parts, and eventually doing oil changes and related chores as Pat started picking up mechanical smarts.

Pat’s first Mope was a solid-lifter 273 4-Bbl ’67 Barracuda —a screaming fast little car. He raced it in the early ’70s and blew it up a couple of times. He swapped in a 340 and beelined down to Beeline Dragway in Mesa AZ. Because the 340 didn’t come out in the Barracuda until 1968, the techies made Pat run in a hot rod class. Now like many Mo’fans, Pat has one particular race that stays burned in his mind forever (your brain may vary), be it a heroic win or an infuriating loss. Pat had the latter as he ran against a 400 Pontiac Grand Am. The track announcer noting MOPAR ACTION 43

 TO CATCH A ’CAT

Coilovers make this street ’n’ stripper “ride like a truck” on the street according to Pat. But they help getting the power to the ground on the track.

Body, except for hood, is stock but those decals and stickers warn this Chally means business. Vanity plate reads “Miss Hot Wheels” after wife’s ribbing got to Pat’s last nerve.

the difference in the cars on the line said, “Hey, Barracuda, you’d better watch out.” It was close—very close. Pat said that he had the Poncho by a nose all the way down to the end and swore his bumper broke the beams first. But the win lights

flashed for the Tin Indian. Back in the pits, his excited buddies told him, “Pat, you don’t realize it, but you had the crowd on its feet.” So much for ancient history. In 2014, Pat brought his daily driver Dodge Caliber to the dealer for an oil

change. There on the used car lot was a TorRed 2014 Challenger R/T with 4500 miles. Pat made eye/headlight contact with the car and he swore he heard a soft chirp from its horn. It was destiny. Back home, the Challenger became a garage queen and Pat’s wife would dig him, “are you driving your hot wheels car today?” To her, the Chally looked like Hot Wheels car. She finally bugged Pat to the point where he told his wife the car’s name was Miss Hot Wheels, and he ordered a vanity plate with that moniker. Pat had been out of racing for some time, but that changed after had owned the Challenger for about a year. He hooked up with the local chapter of Challengers Unlimited. Two of the members convinced Pat to hit the track with them. Stock, the

5.7 Hemi runs stock internals and finds more power through the magic of bolt-ons. Note the strut tower braces. See full list of mods in the sidebar. Hemi produced 400 HP on a fixed chassis dyno but showed only 370 ponies on one of those portable dynos.

44 MOPAR ACTION

 TO CATCH A ’CAT

The Little R/T doing its thing at the Vegas dragstrip. Demon run timeslip. Breakout!

Kendig It. Then a rear gear change from 3.08 to 3.73s from a manual trans car. That required axles as well (from the boneyard) because of the different spline count. Pat says the rear swap alone was good for a half-second. A Snow water-meth injection setup gained him another .2 sec. Blue Top trans solenoids from Chrysler netted firmer shifts. See the sidebar for the complete list of modifications. When Pat first got his Challenger, he sent the VIN to Dodge for more info on the car. He says they were super coopDash is stock, Seats were redone at a custom upholstery erative and sent him the build shop with “Hot Wheels” stitched into the headrests. sheet and told him that his car was only one of 10 built with that color and options. Back to racing, Pat and his bud with a 2010 Challenger were having sort of a friendly rivalry running close to each other and trying to gain one-upmanship with their modifications. When Pat was Dash-mount gauges let Pat see Air/Fuel, having trouble getting off the Water and Trans temp in real time. line, another Chally buddy didn’t blink an eye and told him Chally turned 15-seconds flat—but that “torque converter.” Swapping to a 3200was at 4000 feet. Pat claims that running stall helped considerably. at Vegas shaved a half-second off that. The car runs consistent flat 13s or high Now, with all the current modifications, he 12s on a good day. Hellcats turn 10.5-11s. recently ran at Sacramento (zero altitude) It would be no contest in a street race or and turned a 12.5. heads up on the track. But bracket racing So, what modifications did Pat make? makes it a different ballgame. “These guys, First was a Shaker and headers from they buy these Hellcats and they go, ‘oh 46 MOPAR ACTION

my, you know, I’ve got 700 horsepower’,” says Pat. “I can go out and kick on anything. Well, you gotta know how to get it off the line first. You gotta know how to hit a light to begin with and you gotta get that 700 horsepower to the ground.” Pat adds, “So they go buy a Hellcat and bring it out to the track and smoke the tires, or they can’t hit a light. So they’re easy to beat.” In essence what Pat’s saying is that the Hellcatters beat themselves. When Pat cooked up the idea of Hellcat kill stickers—the Hellcat logo with tire tracks running over it, his buddy with the 2010 Challenger thought it was a joke—until he beat a ’cat. Then he was all in on it. That started another rivalry—who would be the first “Ace.” Fighter pilots achieve that status after 5 kills, so the Chally pilots adopted the same standard. Pat won the Ace war and his fender displays six kills. “I have more Hellcat kills,” notes Pat. “I quit stickering after six, it shows that I’m an Ace. My wife said I should have put another sticker on the fender that said ‘…and counting.’” Pat does have a new sticker that he hadn’t applied when we took these photos—a Demon kill. Pat found the timeslip of that run and you can see it printed here. Pat describes how the run went down: “I got him at the light by a thou, but pushed him out. He broke out by 3 thou. It was close and he didn’t have time to lift.” Pat’s really into his Hot Wheels Challenger. He calls his car, “The Little R/T That Could.” We’d have to say that it did.

Miss Hot Wheels Build Specifications and Upgrades

Custom Hellcat “kill” stickers that Pat

• Custom Shaker Hood by Kindig-It Design had made up. Only five were needed • Kooks Long Tube Headers & Green High Flow Cats, for “Ace” status. Plenty of room left Q.T.P. Exhaust Cutouts, Magnaflow Mufflers for his new Demon kill sticker. • Diablo Tuner—Race Tune by Johan • 3.73 Ratio Gears, Blue Top Transmission Solenoids • 6200 RPM Shift Point Transmission Control Module • 3200 RPM Stall Torque Converter • Mickey Thompson Street Radials P305/35R18, M&H 4.5/26.0-17 • 85mm Throttle Body, BBK Fuel Rails, MSD 40,000 Volt Coils • Snow Water/Meth Injection System • Rear Strut Tower Bar, Petty Garage Front Strut Tower Bar, BC Racing Coilovers, Hawk Brake Pads, Front Brake Line Lock • AEM Air/Fuel Mixture, Water and Transmission Temperature Gauges • Altronics Weather Station, and Raceworks Software

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

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SAVE MONEY. SAVE THE PLANET. SAVE MY JOB DEPT

QUIT SMO No nicotine patch, no hypnosis, no waterboarding. Just good valve stem seals and

IL BURNING. No, not the Saddam-sabotaged sands of Kuwait, but in the combustion chambers of your Mopar. Now, if your Mopar is burning, not leaking, a quart every few hundred miles, likely it needs a rebuild—as in overbore, O/S pistons and rings, valve guides, yeah, the whole shebang. This kind of stuff only gets worse; besides the possible bottom-end damage from running the oil level low, there’s another insidious factoid at play: Carbon buildup and detonation. This is a two-edged sword, and both are ready to slice and dice your Mopar. See, any oil that gets into the combustion chambers leads to massive carbon buildup. Worse, motor oil is very low octane, so detonation / knocking is an unfortunate by-product of excess oil burning. Then the plugs get fouled, and soon a few cylinders are misfiring—if firing at all. This article can’t help you with those issues, sorry. More common, however, on old Mopars, even those in generally good condition, are trashed valve stem seals. This is due to heat and age, not wear. Even with good valve guides, if you shut your Mopar down, then restart it a few hours, or weeks, later, and see a plume of blue exhaust smoke that ceases after a minute or two, odds are great that all you need are new stem seals. Note that even this small amount of oil burning can foul spark plugs, so it should be addressed. Soon. Conventional wisdom would have you remove the cylinder heads, a full weekend project, even longer

THIS TRICK TECH APPLIES TO:

Go ahead, light up and get smoking into this great tech how-to… and stock up on those cough drops and an oxygen tank.

48 MOPAR ACTION

B /RB engines, all (350-440 CID, 1958–78) all Slant-Six, all LA engines, 1964½–1992 (not for Polys, nor ’92-up Magnums).

KING FAST

your 10 fingers.

by RICHARD EHRENBERG, SAE

Factory valve stem seals are really just shields—kind of like mini-umbrellas. They move up and down with the valve stems. They provide a skosh of lubrication to the valve stems from oil splash. As long as they don’t get rock-hard, the stem hole doesn’t wear out—because there is zero friction. Racers prefer positive seals, because, as noted, oil is super low octane, but for long-term street use, the stock type is the way to go.

should you decide to take them to the local machine shop. Even for a D-I-Y Saturday project, performed with the cylinder heads still firmly screwed to the block, usually you’d require a supply of compressed air, to keep the valves closed while you remove the split locks, retainers, and springs, replace the seals, and reassemble. Yours truly, however, grew up on the mean streets of NYC. Alternate side of the street parking meant that, even if you timed it just right, you’d not have a very long time to leave the car incapacitated, and a compressed air source was just a dream (today’s little 12VDC units were still decades off, and probably not up to the task at hand)). So, I devised a method for swapping valve stem seals (or failed springs and/or retainers) using little more than clothesline and grey matter. As usual, I’ll spill the beans using the attached elCheapo Android phone pix and captions.

Bad seals (or too-far-gone valve guides) results in oil-fouled spark plugs...

...and very carboned-up combustion chambers. Both flaws are to be avoided.

You’ll need two special tools: A hand screw type spring compressor, our favorite, for 50 years, has been this now-disco’d Lisle 16550. Chinese copies abound, at a glance, they seem OK. The other type in frequent use (not shown) is a lever that hooks under the rocker shaft, I am not a fan of those: First, you need to strip down the rocker shaft (or use a different one), secondly, you need at least 3 hands (or a lot better dexterity than yours truly). You will also need a length of clothesline. We spared no expense and went for the premium Ye Tong brand. If you have a reliable source of compressed air, you can ditch the rope, but I actually find the rope trick preferable—read on!

With the heads off the car, valve springs, seals, etc. are a snap to change. But howzabout on the car?

Start by removing the valve covers (duh), and the rocker shafts. Pushrods can remain, and, if you set the rocker assembly down carefully, you won’t need to fiddle with it at all.

MOPAR ACTION 49

 QUIT SMOKING FAST

Remove all the spark plugs.

Since it is 7° F. (that’s negative 14° C.) as this is written, we’re gonna cheat and show the rest of this procedure on a cylinder head on the bench. Begin by smacking the edge of each spring retainer smartly at an angle with a hammer, just once.

With the spring and retainer removed, pop the seal up and off.

If you have compressed air, you can hook it to whichever cylinder you wanna do first. But the easy way is to shove a few feet (typically, three is about right) of clothesline in the plug hole.

Slip the compressor over the spring and retainer. Try to arrange the setup to have the jaws (circled) as low as possible.

Now is a good time to check guide wear. Depress the valve just a bit and feel how much lateral wobble there is. Exhausts normally have more than intakes. This is a judgement call, but, trust me, you’ll know if the guides are shot.

Now rotate the crankshaft until you feel resistance. The rope is now mashed in between the piston head and the valves, holding them shut. If you weren’t able to insert the full three feet, rotating the crank will create room.

50 MOPAR ACTION

Tighten the compressor enough to expose the split locks (a/k/a/ “keepers”) and remove them. Keep the tool, spring, and retainer together, do just one valve at a time. Trust me on this—big time and hassle saver.

There’s no shortage of new shields to choose from, rockauto.com has a bazillion. The stock exhaust umbrellas are S173P, stock intakes are S222P, but, for little more coin, the premium silicone, spring-loaded S2888 are the way to go.

Quali

Since 1979

Gears | Pumps | Conversions | Pitman Arms | Hoses | Seal Kits Our custom rebuilt gears customized to your personal feel. Choose: Stock, Modern, Sport or Rally The new stuff slips right on, no drama. Button ’er up, reversing all procedures, but, if the rope comes out really chewed up, cut off and do not reuse that length. Sorry, Joe Camel: No more startup smoke!

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TICKETS PLEASE DEPT

Holy Sweepsn

The raffle is not sponsored, endorsed by. or affiliated with, Athlon Media or Mopar Action. 52 MOPAR ACTION

akes, Batman Dream Giveaway’s 900-mile Viper ACR will strike your fancy or anywhere else if you’re not careful. by AL DENTE photos by DREAM GIVEAWAY

EY MOPARINOS, looking for a Viper? Well, look no further, your wish can be fulfilled right here. ’Course, you know that Dodge hasn’t made any Vipers since 2017, so any Viper you might come up with today is gonna be “used.” And you know how that can go. But do we have a deal for you—a oneowner, climate controlled-stored, 900-original-mile, top-of-the-line 2009 Viper ACR—being given away, plus 25 grand more to take care of the taxes you could be bit with. Too good to be true? Not when we tell you that it’s the latest giveaway from those giveaway fanatics at Dream Giveaway. This baby carries a sticker price of $107,170. That’s a hefty chunk of change in our book and probably in yours, too. Included in the MSRP is the ACR package—a $13,550 option and selecting that ACR Driver Stripe added $1650 more to the deal. Hmmnn…maybe we should go into the stripe business instead of picking through the coins in our Mopar Action pay packet. How’d you like to see this on your bumper in your rearview mirror? Sure looks more intimidating than a Fiat 500. Win the sweepstakes and you can be the intimidator.

MOPAR ACTION 53

 HOLY SWEEPSNAKES, BATMAN

Optional Graphite Metallic Clear Coat with Two-Tone Black Center Band and the Customer Preferred Package which included the ACR equipment (competition suspension, front and rear spoilers, upgraded 4-wheel antilock discs and more) added $13,550 to the sticker.

The 8.4-liter V10 punches out a competition-crunching 645 HP/600 TQ. Hooked to the 6-speed manual, this package will zoom you to 60 MPH in 3.9 seconds, so you’ll need to adjust your pacemaker (if you’re so equipped) accordingly. On the track, you’ll top out at 192 MPH if your cojones can handle it. The DG folks found this gem at one of the Mecum Auctions. The Viper already had an owner-installed 5-point safety harnesses and a fire extinguisher indicating it may have been driven once or twice at the track. The only modification made by DG was to switch the still like-new but 5-year-old Michelins to fresh same-size Continentals. You don’t mess with a Mope as original and collectible as this unless you’re Mopar Muscle, and you know what happened to them. The Viper will go to the winner with the 5-point harnesses intact, but DG will source correct OE seabelts and include those in the package. To date, DG has not had any luck locating the Viper’s original owner to get his input on its history. By the way, this is the second Viper that DG is giving away. The first was one of the 2017 special Laguna Seca editions of which only 28 were made. The uniqueness of both Viper packages make them highly collectible while offering the 54 MOPAR ACTION

driving experience that only a Viper (and a driver with heavy shoes) can deliver. If you think the Viper is too much car for you and you’re happy tooling around in your 1991 Dodge Dynasty, and you only entered the raffle just to confirm that your astrologist said this was your lucky month, you can opt for the 35 grand alternate prize which should more than cover your Dynasty’s next oil change with a little something left over for a cup of coffee to present to your astrologist. The Viper giveaway is running until October 10, 2022. The winner will be drawn and quartered, er.. the winning ticket will be drawn on October 20, 2022. The Viper will be awarded at the King of Mopar’s place, Don Garlits’ Museum of Drag Racing, so better check flight schedules now. You know how fast time flies (even faster than this Viper), so don’t put off taking a shot (at this, that is). As a special bonus for Mopar Action readers and the hot dog vendor on our corner, we’ve arranged for you to get double tickets on your donation of $25 or more. Use promo code PQ0122P. You can enter using the following direct link for your convenience: tinyurl.com/winaviper

Check the window sticker. Original buyer was hit with a $1700 gas guzzler tax. Wonder if high performance electric cars will get hit with an ampere guzzler tax?

Side view shows offset forged Sidewinder wheels (18x10 front, 19x13 rear) that carried OE 295/30ZR18 and 345/30ZR19 Michelins. So it bites even harder, DG has replaced rubber with same size and performance-rated Continentals.

ACR package adds a lot of cool stuff to the regular SRT10 Viper like this rear wing. Note side exit exhaust, red body-length driver’s stripe.

MOPAR ACTION 55

FLORIDA VACATION DEPT

METAL MEETS

MONEY! Mecum’s big winter auction in Kissimmee hosts great cars, grosses over $200M, and wait until you see what car was the top Mopar seller for ’22!

STORY AND PHOTOS BY GEOFF STUNKARD

“NOW LOOK AT YOU, George Bailey,” Mr. Potter said.

The Barton Hemi in F107.

56 MOPAR ACTION

“A miserable little clerk crawling in here on your hands and knees and begging for help. No securities, no stocks, no bonds, nothin’ but a miserable little $500 equity in a life insurance policy. You’re worth more dead than alive!” Had George Bailey, of It’s A Wonderful Life, stuck around until 2022, he would finally have shown Mr. Potter a winning hand in Kissimmee, Florida. The top selling Mope at what ended up being the largest grossing car auction ever ($217M gross) was the 1919 Dodge Brothers Model 30 touring car (Lot U167) used in the classic Frank Capra Christmas story, hammering sold at $522,500 on Sunday as things wrapped up for Mecum’s 10-day extravaganza at the Silver Spurs Arena. The car collector market is strong right now, and both buyers and sellers were ready to do business. There was a total of 244 Mopars offered (36 Chryslers, 126 Dodges and 82 Plymouths) of which 199 sold. While a handful among those left on the table were big dollar machines (including a real ’70 Hemicuda convertible that went all the way to $2.1M before closing), most cars brought solid numbers and reserves were lifted over and over again as sellers said, “YES!”

This picture tells the story. The RESERVE IS OFF, and the price is $300,000 on Lot F107, a well-done modified 1970 Charger built with a Barton Hemi, Tremec 5-speed and excellent overall reconditioning. The gross total for the event was $217M, a record for a car auction.

George Bailey could have bought his wife a lot of wonderful things had he still owned this 1919 Dodge touring car from the 1947 movie, which topped all Mopars sold at the event at $522,500.

1970 ’Cuda converts in the “Glass House.” The Hemi in the foreground went to $2.1M but did not sell, while the other one, a 6-Bbl version, hammered to a new home at $247,000.

MOPAR ACTION 57

 METAL MEETS MONEY!

Quality A-bodies are staying hot. This 1971 Duster 340, which took Gold at the Mopar Nats and had AACA Senior status, climbed to a big $71,500. amidst spirited bidding. FE2 Red and 4-speed combo helped a lot.

Snake hunters holiday meant the opportunity to buy a very rare final year 2017 Dodge Viper ACR Coupe (8.4L/645 HP, 6-Speed, 141 Miles) from the Jerry Brewis Estate, with the final sale price of $275,000.

For original cars, one thing that seems to be happening is that quality restored street A-bodies are growing in interest. Best of these was a 1971 Plymouth Duster (F231.1) that found a new owner at a stellar $71,500 (340 / A833 driveline, FE5 Red, with Mopar Nats and AACA Senior judged provenance). There was a very original LO23 Hemi Dart (S154) that changed hands at $302,500, but even some of the more common examples of Mopar’s budget machines with mild hot rod changes were topping $20,000 in most cases. These cars are moving into the place where B-bodies had once been. Of the Bs, most notable was the top-selling non-wing car, a well-built ’70 Charger (F107) with a Barton 2G 426 Hemi, Tremec 5-speed, custom paint and completely rebuilt suspension that soared to an incredible $330,000 on Friday afternoon. Indeed, modifieds were hot all around this event, and if the build was done well, people were spending money. A modified Satellite with SuperBird trim and a Hellcat driveline (F275) stayed with the owner despite a healthy $170,000 closing offer, but many others found new homes. Restored B-bodies in general again are still strong, and options matter. This group was led by a gorgeous ’69 paint 58 MOPAR ACTION

Homebuilt Hellcat-fortified Satellite-to-SuperBird conversion drew attention, but owner took it home when high call was $170,000, which is still a big number for a conversion. Modifieds of all kinds had a lot of interest at this year’s event, and prices showed it.

code 999 Omaha Orange Hemi Road Runner (F141,1) hitting $192,500 to get new ownership. Beyond that, there was a group of four restored B-body cars from the Walter Hawk estate. Each sold for no reserve, and all had been off-market since at least the year 2000. The total was a cool $1M when totaled up, with Hawk’s 6300-mile 440 / 4-speed ’69 Charger Daytona in silver (F212) topping the all the wings on hand at $352,500. E-bodies still remain in blue chip territory, though the top two convertibles offered went unsold. The aforementioned ’70 Hemicuda (F136) was not numbers matching and, though exceptionally beautiful, might have been soft at just over $2M as a result. The ex-Steven Juliano 440/6-Bbl ’71 convertible (F137) was a no-sale at 900K, but no matter how good it is (and this one is perfect), there may be a roof in the current market without a Hemi, in my opinion. Best of the bunch changing hands was an unrestored white ’70 Hemicuda (F141) at $341,00. to become the top Plymouth sold and a 1970 Plymouth ’Cuda convertible (F138) with a 6-Bbl engine was sold for honest money at $247,500. Vintage Challengers sales were led by a documented

Did you put your new $100,000 Demon away when you bought it? Prudence paid off for the owner of this 9-mile Plum Crazy example, offered at no reserve on Thursday evening. $198,000. was the final price.

Panther Pink T/A (F269) at a huge $198,000, again, an exceptionally-optioned car whose rarity played into the value. Still, a Plum Crazy version (U149) at $165,000 was not far behind. Number-matched drivelines matter. Finally, limited-build late-models are strong, led here by a 2017 Viper ACR (F126) that went to $275,000, but more telling was the vindication of Demon owners who bought and stored their cars, as a 9-mile highly-optioned version in Plum Crazy (T276) hammered sold at $198,000. and a 299-mile example in white with a Whipple blower upgrade and the unused Demon Crate package included (T304) soared to $189,500. There were a few other late models at considerably less, but these mentioned were stellar examples of collectability. As we put this issue to bed, geopolitical upheaval is taking center place on the world stage. As a result, people are pulling

Mecum’s first Cackle-Fest was held outside with real nitromethane as a number of the Runyon collection drag cars got warmed up for the crowd. This real 1968 Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen dragster eventually sold for $110,000. on Saturday afternoon.

Pretty (pricey) in pink found the top selling 1st gen Challenger to be this FM3 ’70 T/A (F269) at $198,000., solid money unthinkable 10 years ago. A second Hi-Impact Plum Crazy version was not far behind at 165,000. Both Dodges retained numbers-matched drivelines.

money from some traditional places and putting it into collectibles as a hedge, which is the normal sway of things. As a result, based on how you feel positioned, it is a good time to both buy (to hold value) or sell (to take profit). As always, the truth is, good cars, either OEM exact or well-executed modifieds, remain bellwethers for educated buyers.

SOURCE

To see details on any of the lot numbers noted, go to Mecum.com and create a free account to view all results.

68-69 CHARGER

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668

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OUTER LIMITS DEPT

’70 Sport Satellite careens out of control through the ionosphere into the Meshuggasphere as a hand-hewn no-expense spared custom (you want fries with that?)

60 MOPAR ACTION

BITCHIN’ BAD BONKERS B-BOD by SCOTT “INSTIGATOR” LONGMAN photos by TheBRUNTBros

Clunker ’70 Satellite is transformed into a jaw-dropping custom through the magic of Randy Weaver’s incredible imagination, skill and a whole lot of coin. Tinkerbell would have been cheaper but she was on vacation.

AKE ONE CLUNKER MOPE, stir on a fortified Gold Card, cook it in Weaver Customs’ fusion-power oven and…stand back! Okay, you want crazy? Okay, you GOT crazy. All kinds of crazy. That’s what’s required to work around here. And, what’s more, YOU gotta be crazy if we intend to write about you. The only way you get onto these pages is by being certifiably unhinged. Enter Randy Weaver. Randy is as stable as a cannister of Uranium 235 stirred with Schweppes and put in a paint shaker. We offered him a job, but he was too busy doing crazy things to cars. Maybe just as well. And you know what? Crazy begets crazy. We mean, like, attracts it, the sort of way the black holes pull in competing solar systems. Which is how he found the owner of this ’70 Sport Satellite. The owner got the car in ’72, and never let it go. That much we understand. What is less clear is why it took him half a century to do the work. Maybe it was money. Whatever else the guy was doing in that half century, he was very good at making money. Because Randy is a professional, he would not divulge a thing about the owner, plus he probably figured we’d hit him up for a payday loan. Anyway, the guy dropped it off at MOPAR ACTION 61

 BITCHIN’ BAD BONKERS B-BOD

Sport Satellite rides and on Scott’s Hot Rod tubular front end with Ride Tech adjustable coilovers, while the rear is held up by a Strange Fab 9 spinning 3.70s and supported by Scott’s Hot Rod 4-link setup.

Randy’s shop, and launched a high-velocity copper-plated checkbook at him, after it had been stripped of common sense. Now, of course, we are starting with an “Excellence In Engineering” product. The Chrysler/Plymouth folks were well ahead of the curve when they built this thing to begin with. Simply

Modded Hellcat now cranks 889 ponies and gets fresh, cool air thanks to custom billet screens on top of, and at rear of hood.

62 MOPAR ACTION

restoring it near-original would have made for a beautiful, exhilarating ride. But remember who we are dealing with. Crazy. Plus that aforesaid high-velocity checkbook. So…what did Randy change? Everything. Right. So, let’s start with the drivetrain. Out went the excellent original, replaced with a crate motor—if you can call it that – from an outfit with the wonderful name of “Modern Muscle Xtreme,” in Martinsville, Virginia. It had started out as a Hellcat motor, but, of course, if you are crazy, 707 horsepower simply won’t do. I mean, think about that for a second: what if you found yourself in a set of circumstances where 800 HP might have saved you, but all you have is 707? See? It’s the sort of decision that makes itself. Best to make even a little more, like 889. We mean, just to be safe. It exhales through a set 17/8inch headers and a set of Flowmaster 3-inchers and sounds simply magnificent. How about the transmission? Think our much-loved A833 is going to put on some Old Spice and go a’courting with a 900 HP sweetheart? As Inspector Harry Callahan once observed, a man’s got to know his limitations. So, in went a Tremec T-56 unit, alleged to be rated at north of 1,000 HP. This is “allegedly” because they have not let Gromer test one. Or Stunkard, for that matter. And Ehrenberg is kiting around

Flush-fitting gas cap pops up when sprinkled with fairy dust (available in 1-lb. bags from Weaver).

someplace in Latvia after some chick and therefore could not be reached for comment. But we’ll go with it for now. So, how do you put all that to the ground? The answer is—not very well, though way better than stock. The thoughtfully-named Scott’s Hot Rods came up with what appears to be some really good suspension work, and it went in both at the bow and at the stern, but there is only so much you can with 889 HP and street tires. There is a narrowed Strange Fab 9, knocking torque sideways out to set of very literally one-of-a-kind wheels from an outfit called Evod Industries, because if you are crazy, none of the 1,100 available off-the-shelf wheels will do. They are comfortably wrapped in rubber from none other than our dear old Mickey Thompson. It’s 20 by 15s out back and 18 by 8s for the nose.

MOPAR ACTION

 BITCHIN’ BAD BONKERS B-BOD

Rear shows Randy’s handywork with billet license plate frame, highly modified taillights, reworked bumper and deck spoiler.

How do you stop all of that? Wilwood. 14-inchers, drilled and slotted even though that’s ridiculous, 6 pistons in the front and 4 in the rear. Naturally, in keeping with the theme here, it’s completely crazy to have 20 pistons on a street car. But he can go stop comfortably at Talladega or Bonneville. How about inside? Yes, there are a few of you who care about that. Of course, not a thing from the stock interior could possibly remain. Now it’s got an instrument cluster sporting Dakota Digital gauges, custom-fabbed ProCar seats with Hydes Italian leather, and custom console and door panels. Our favorite part of the interior is a custommachined tribute piece to the original Hurst Pistol Grip shifter, done by Mike “Makr” Atkinson. Those of you familiar with Randy’s work know that he is a grandmaster metalworker, so, of course, the whole exterior had to be changed. One of the most obvious changes is to the hood, with its Hellcat blower sticking out, and custom billet screens, one of which feeds the induction and the other one of which feeds the intercooler. The drip rails and door handles are MIA, as are the original rocker panels, now extensively but subtly reshaped. The original gas filler pipe left its comfortable home behind the rear license plate and resurfaced as flush unit in the top of a quarter. And while on the quarters, they, too got an extensive reshaping, and he made the scoops functional. The decklid got an integrated spoiler. Refined interior features custom leather ProCar seats, exceptionally clean Dakota Digital dash and D-shape wheel from Billet Specialties. Screen to the right of the dash is head unit for Kicker audio system.

Custom billet shifter with pistol grip cues is positioned behind the under-dash control panel for the Vintage Air A/C system.

64 MOPAR ACTION

One-off billet wheels from Evod Industries measure 18x8 front, 20x15 rear, all wrapped in Mickey Tee rubber.

Billet mirrors from Ring Brothers are part of a dozen custom billet pieces that Randy added to the project.

And just as with the wheels, he couldn’t possibly use one of the 2,000 off-the-shelf colors. That wouldn’t be crazy. What would be crazy is if he developed a paint that neither he nor probably anybody else would ever use again. He went with Axalta (formerly DuPont), a mid-range green from which he specified removal of the gold component, to be replaced with silver and pearl. And as one look against the light will show you, it’s been immaculately applied. In addition to the sheetmetal, both the front and rear bumpers

were extensively reshaped and smoothly blended in. Other exterior touches include a set of Ring Brothers billet side mirrors and LED headlights. Where you expect to see inboard highbeams, there now reside twin intake vents that cool the engine bay. They came in just under the dollar limit where the checkbook exploded. But what the customer got was a drop-dead gorgeous custom ’70 B-body, with massive modern horses, along with a bulletproof 6-speed, modern suspension and gigantic brakes. If you don’t like that, you’d have to be…crazy.

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AIR TODAY GONE TOMORROW DEPT

Tire pressure monitoring---even for your classic Mopar!

FLAT OUT Avoid the heartbreak of a flat or worse with Ebooger’s words of wisdom.

by RICHARD EHRENBERG, SAE

ACK IN THE DAY, it was commonplace to see Joe or Jane Doe riding around with a nearly flat tire, or jacked up on the side of the road, with a spindly bumper jack and a spare, often also low on air, being swapped on. Two things have made the aforementioned scenarios pretty rare these days: Steel belted radials, and TMPS—the acronym for Tire Pressure Monitoring System, which was installed, by federal law, on every MY 2008 and newer car sold in the US. Many Mopars had them as early as 2003. This system also significantly slows tread wear, improves cornering and braking capabilities, and saves, by US Federal guesstimates, 2

66 MOPAR ACTION

billion gallons of fuel annually, by prodding the driver to correct tire inflation. There were (and still are) two basic types of TPMS: Direct and Indirect. Quick explanation: The indirect system, by far the sleazier of the two, was, thankfully, never used by Ma Mopar. This uses the wheel-speed sensors, and if it detects one wheel turning faster over a certain period of time, turns on the low-tire warning. This requires the operator (driver) to properly inflate all tires, then “teach” the computer, via some I.P. buttons, that this is the “normal” wheel-speed relationship. Clearly, this is garbage. There’s no actual tire pressure monitor, and most (if not all) systems do not tell you which tire is

underinflated. Since Mopar never used this crap, this is the last we’ll speak about it. The drivers of $100,000 EuroTurds are welcome to it. The direct system, used on all Mopars, uses an actual pressure sensor, one per wheel, mounted to the valve stem. The sensor also contains a tiny radio transmitter, which transmits a signal to the car’s computer, then onto the display. Early versions simply reported that “a” tire was low. Later incarnations read out the actual pressure of each tire, or at least which tire is underinflated, and this data is updated often. Anyway, this is gonna be a two-forthe-price of one article! We’ll enlighten

Later Mopar systems have a full display of each tire’s pressure. No guesswork.

Luckily, the valve stem can be replaced separately, but no two ways around it, this construction was a lousy idea.

Early TPMS systems had a simple “low tire” graphic as the only indication. Still way better than nothing.

Not to be confused with the PMS warning graphic

you as to what gives with the OEM 2003—’22 Mopar systems, and, as an added bonus, we’ll show you how to install TPMS in any Mopar! Why would you wanna retrofit this? Simple! Even if you’re one of those “check everything twice” people, going over everything (including inflation pressure) top to bottom before any road trip, picking up a nail is always a possibility. Besides the obvious pitfalls, running any tire very low on air often causes irreparable damage, not to mention the serious handling deficiencies if you need to take an evasive maneuver. The latest stats are 40,000 crashes per year caused by under-inflation. And tires aren’t cheap these days! (What is?)

The first iteration of the wheel-mounted sensors used an aluminum valve stem and a plastic nut, even on a steel wheel. You can image how well this worked in roadsalt splash conditions. FYI: There were two RF bands used, 315 and 433MHz. All Mopars are the latter. More factoids: The valve cores used in the aluminum stems are special, they are nickel-coated.

If you live in Phoenix or L.A., you’ve never seen this. Detroit? Cleveland? Pittsburgh? Chicago? Anywhere in the People’s Republic of New York? All too common, a truly bad design which resulted in class action lawsuits.

Later sensors use a familiar snap-in rubber valve (for the standard Mopar 0.453” rim hole). Much better in every way. Schrader, Continental, Siemens (VDO), Pacific, ZF (formerly TRW), and HUF are the big industry players, with over 90% of the global market. No matter which name appears on the package, it is a good bet that one of the above is the actual manufacturer. Most are German, no surprise since Euro cars were first to market with TPMS.

The stems can also be easily replaced. Inexpensive at rockauto.com .

MOPAR ACTION 67

 FLAT OUT

There is potential to damage the new sensor if you over-angle it during installation. Go easy, go slow.

You don’t need to go to a tire shop to replace a failed stem or sensor (aluminum or rubber). Just deflate the tire (remove the valve core), and break the outer bead with a bumper jack. Place the jack’s base a few inches away from the TPMS valve, this will provide access with no danger of damaging the sensor.

Be sure to lube the stem well with soap, silicone spray, or Ru-Glyde (non-petroleum-based products) and try to apply minimal lateral stress.

Can an old sensor be fixed? Well, the failure problem is usually a dead battery (technically it is a cell, not a battery). If you can solder, most Mopars use a CR2050HR (with solder tabs), a 3V. button cell. Cheap on eBay, but!—sealing the cover back on tight would not be easy. With Rock Auto’s pricing on new sensors, battery replacement makes little sense. Why is TPMS great? Here’s a prime example. This is a properly inflated (36 PSI) 60-series steel belted radial. Looks normal, because it is.

Same tire at 15 PSI! Looks normal, but it is dangerously underinflated. Steel belted radials have such stiff sidewalls that the pressure needs to get down close to single digits before it is noticeable.

Hit a pothole at 15 PSI and this is the result. Drive 80 MPH and it can be far worse.

We tried this add-on unit from Summit Racing, P/N SUM-ID1000. You use it with any 4 Ford 315 MHz sensors. A very clever setup procedure lets the sensor know which tire is which. Very slick and dead-accurate. Unfortunately, Summit says they are in short supply as we go to press.

Several alternatives appear regularly on eBay. This one uses an Android smartphone as the display. Low priced, but not as useful as the Summit setup, since you have to keep your phone on, and the app open, to read the pressures. Not all that useful if you’ve already kissed an Armco barrier.

For the last 6 or 7 years, there’s been a transducer at each wheel. Setup (sensor recognition) is as simple as driving a few miles.

Many of the new sensors (even for old cars) somehow self-initialize. If not, you’ll need either a fancy scan tool, or, for under $10, a “ELM327” DLC-to-bluetooth adapter. This lets your phone communicate with the DLC (a/k/a “OBD-2 port”)

Then you download an app, the best, for a few bucks, is “Torque Pro” from Ian Hawkins. It is amazing what this can (and will) do. There are also no shortage of TPMS-specific apps that are free.

Another design has a continuous readout, but uses sensors that screw right on to your stock valve stem. Seems slick, but I’m not crazy about this—the sensors keep the valve cores constantly depressed.

Ready To Roll Early OEM TPMS used one transducer (receiver), you had to “teach” the car which was which—in some cases, by inputting the serial number for each sensor. Jeez.

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HE SAID, SHE SAID DEPT

The silver Charger and orange Challenger have become familiar sights at the MSHS series races in the past few years, but few know the legacy of HemiWoman, the late Bobbi Kimak.

70 MOPAR ACTION

United by a tragedy, Geoff Bracken and Darla Kimak race for family honor in 10-second late model Mopars.

story and photos by GEOFF STUNKARD

HERE IS NO WAY to describe how each person deals with personal loss. For MSHS (Modern Street Hemi Shootout) regular racer Geoff Bracken, a tragic highway accident cost him a dear friend, while that same incident left Darla Kimak grieving for her own mother. But even though this situation occurred while attending a racing event, it was not the end of their story. Indeed, the legacy of Bobbi “HemiWoman” Kimak would be a catalyst that has since blossomed into an enduring interaction between the two. “You know, I rushed up there as quickly as I could,” recalls Darla now about the fateful night when Bobbi was fatally injured in her black street/strip Challenger while driving near Detroit, Mich., though no fault of her own. “It was about 4:00 a.m. and Geoff was the one person there at the hospital with my dad, Ken. He cared.” Geoff, who works in the petroleum industry, had been racing with the Kimaks at the Modern Street Hemi Series for some time. In fact, Darla jokes now that some people thought he was their son. Father Ken was already known as “HemiMan” in the series, and Bobbi was known as “HemiWoman.” This was because they

MOPAR ACTION 71

 THE ROD COUPLE

Geoff Bracken

had met in 1970 when Bobbi, working as a young car hop at a local A&W hot dog joint, had asked Ken for a ride in his car. That car was a reworked, red ’66 Hemi Belvedere II, and eventually they got married and both drove this beast at local Ohiobased race tracks, towing it with a factory 4-speed ’68 Hemi GTX street driver. This was throughout the 1970s, until Bobbi was pregnant with Darla. In 1985, they sold these two cars as well as a third ’65 custom-built Coronet with a Hemi heart so they could buy their first house. However, when the new breed Hemi Mopes arrived, they both decided to buy late-model Challengers, racing locally and

Darla Kimak

beginning to take in races with the MSHS group. That led to mods and speed, and eventually led to Darla’s first runs down the quarter-mile, albeit at 15-seconds. “We had only met once before the accident,” recalls Geoff, who lived about an hour from the Kimaks at that time. “But I came and helped with the funeral and was around a lot with the family.” He then deadpans, “And that’s how Darla fell madly in love with me…” “Oh, here we go,” she says in mock response. Geoff has always been a Dukes of Hazard fan (he actually has a real ‘69 Charger for street fun), and when the new Chargers

Bracken’s Charger is a 5.7L 2007 model he bought new. Erik Storms / BFNY Performance built the 426-CI engine package based on a 6.1L factory block now force-fed by a Magnuson blower and 11.0 compression (yes, it lives there). Charger interior is stripped down and car no longer sees street duty. Scooped hood (opposite page) is blacked out.

72 MOPAR ACTION

Philosophy of Racing:

GEOFF BRACKEN “IT DIDN’T HURT to have a kid at all,” laughs Geoff. Darla and Geoff each have a child from previous relationships. “After I had my daughter and got out of the bar scene, I was saving a ton of money (laughs). Once we had stroked the 6.1L to 426, it immediately went 11s with the blower. It became a solid 10.50 car and won championships that way, but Darla was coming in and she wanted me out of that class. Once I got hooked up with Erik Storms, the tune had come in, and when we upped the compression, it really took off, but the 9.50s were a surprise. “So many guys want to have that car hitting exactly on the number and they’re concentrating so much on that in qualifying. For me, since most races are won or lost at the tree, I work on the tree. I always run the car a little fast and then pedal it at the top end. Staging is critical, and I’ve really studied it.”

arrived, he decided he needed one. That was in 2007, and it is the car he has raced ever since. Painted silver, after he made a couple of testing day passes, the racing needle was in. He ended up first working with Arrington for power, and since his latest upgrades, the car is capable of running mid-9-second times. The previous combo had won Geoff a bunch of race crowns as well, including overall 2019 and 2020 10.50 Modified Points Champion in the MSHS season-long points program. For 2021, he had the car reworked to run in the 10.00 class, and that meant some serious changes. Advanced Chassis in Antwerp, Ohio, caged the car up and set it for new-found ponies. The suspension uses A2 Speed shocks, AAD rear supports, and 15” Wilwoods all the way around. The body is still in its factory silver, with the interior now stripped down and equipped with Kirkey seats and aftermarket gauges and a rebel flag on the roof. A set of Weld Racing Wheels keep it on the pavement, at least the rear end, as the nose now climbs at launch. The overall weight is at 3,790.

 THE ROD COUPLE

Kimak’s SRT8 Chally shed collector ideal for speed. Engine is also 426-CI by Storms, came from HemiWoman Challenger. Interior is lightened and car scales at 3600 with Hemi Kid in it. Racing changes make it strip-only now.

The fresh engine (the OE 5.7L has been gone for a while) came from Erik Storms of BFNY Performance, a 426-CI package based on a 6.1L factory block. A forged stroker crank, K1 rods and 11.0:1 Diamond pistons were balanced by Billy Briggs and

then pieced together for a safe 7,000 RPM. That was needed, as the mill is topped by a Magnuson blower fed by dual Walbro pumps, with valve timing courtesy a custom Arrington-designed cam/head configuration. Kooks headers make the racket. A 5-speed NAG1 automatic reworked by Enhanced Transmission couples to the mill though a 3600 RPM ProTorque converter, while a 4.10 gear in an 8.8 aftermarket diff hooks between that and the ground thanks to a Driveshaft Shop shaft. It was more than enough, Mini Tub as running the car under optimal conditions at Rockingham last year produced a 9.57 best at 140+ MPH, and he will be stepping into the MSHS’s new 9.50 class for 2022. Spring

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Philosophy of Racing:

DARLA KIMAK “MY BIGGEST THING is that I make sure I learn something with every pass. Something about the car, about myself, or the way I raced the car, did I do it right. Geoff gets everything checked over before we leave, so we do not do a lot at the track except figure out the number. When I go up in the stage, I’m kind of antsy and nervous and trying to breathe, but as soon as the burnout starts, everything just clicks and it goes into automatic mode. So, yes, I still ask for help and I’m still trying to learn things, but that win will come.” She has runner-upped a few times already.

2021 MSHS SEASON CHAMPIONS

Darla’s car is a real first-year 2008 numberededition SRT-8 in factory orange with carbon gray graphics. “People ask me about it, what number GEARHEAD FABRICATIONS BARTH TUNING KING OF KINGS it is, being a first-year car and all, but I don’t really MODIFIED CLASS • Champion – Ron Polidora care about that collector stuff. This is a racecar.” • Champion – John Roscoe EAST COAST MOPARTS PENTASTAR After the insurance company had totaled out • Runner up – Jessica Duger BRACKET CLASS her mom’s car, the driveline came out of it. Her LEGMAKER INTAKES SUPER • Champion – Alan Scanlan dad and sister bought the ’08 in 2017 as Ken’s STOCK CLASS • Runner up – Ron Polidora new racer, and Darla got busy wanting to drive it. • Champion – James Burnthourne Jr DIABLOSPORT AND HOLLEY HEMI After it was parked for a while to get upgraded, • Runner up – Greg Green OUTLAW CLASS Darla pestered him enough times asking when it ALLPAR GARAGE STREET CLASS • Champion – Al Gennarelli would be back on the street / track that Ken finally • Champion – Alan Scanlan • Runner up – Kevin Helmick decided just to sell it to her outright. He bought a • Runner up – Joe Tan DEMON PERFORMANCE SUPER new 1320 version in its place. PRO CLASS Since the plan was to run the 10.50 class • Champion – Ron Polidora (after all, Geoff was moving out of it), the worked • Runner up – Chris Harrigan driveline from the black car is now between the fenders of this car, with a tribute to HemiWoman THITEK HEAVYWEIGHT CLASS noted under the hood. Darla goes by “Hemi Kid” • Champion – Danny Mortenson herself. This is another mill done by Erik Storms • Runner up – Tommy Falk creating a 426-CI package around a 6.1L factory HIGH HORSE PERFORMANCE block. No forced induction or juice, it’s all motor 10.00 CLASS with Thitek heads, an Arrington cam and headers, • Champion – Mike England 13:1 Diamond pistons and a 7,000 RPM redline • Runner up – Brian Brunt Ron Polidora that gets the car right at the 10.50 number. The dyno needle went to 550 ponies when it was finished. A 5-speed NAG1 tranny with a stout 4800MADE IN stall ProTorque converter and THE USA 4.10 final gearing complete the driveline. Suspension mods include Lakewood front and Viking rear shocks, Wilwood 15˝ conversion and Weld Wheels, AAD rear mounts, M&H tires and enough creative weight reduction (plus Darla’s “personal advantage” size) to get the car to scale at 3,600 pounds. The final result was a 10.25 at 132 MPH in the sea-level fall air of Cecil County Dragway in Maryland, and wheelstands on most passes regardless of location. The couple still must tow in MAGNUM 500 CHRYSLER RALLYE O.E. CHRYLSER separately, as Geoff says there is 54 SERIES 56 SERIES 63 SERIES no room at their home to turn a bigger trailer around. In the end, they enjoy the racing series and its camaraderie, and are now committed to each other and to carrying on the legacy of Bobbi “HemiWoman” Kimak and their front SHOP NOW! wheels toward the finish line. SCAN CODE WITH

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MOPAR ACTION 75

FLYING TOOTH FILLINGS DEPT

Exorcizing Your Mope’s “Relax-a-Cisor” Effect BY RICHARD EHRENBERG, SAE

BOUT 20 YEARS AGO, I penned one of the most popular, and presumably appreciated, articles I ever wrote, in which I explained how to diagnose and repair vibration issues. For several years hence, the slew of tech questions on this topic slowed to a crawl, then, bit by bit, they increased to virtually the pre-article level. Conclusion: Time for an update! Diagnosing vibrations isn’t terribly difficult—it just requires a scientific, planned troubleshooting approach. We say there’s two basic categories of vibration: engine, and everything else (chassis / driveline, etc.). Each of these categories has two sub-categories: Parts failures, and owner-induced problems. So, getting your malady localized to the problem area is a huge step in the right direction. Usually, the fix is then pretty straightforward. So—let’s get buzzin’!

76 MOPAR ACTION

If this is you, we can help.

IS IT THE ENGINE? This would seem to be a simple question, yet we’re constantly amazed by the number of people who fail to make this diagnosis. Simply run the engine, car stationary and in neutral, slowly up the RPM band. One thing that helps change a “subjective feel” judgement into something you can see is placing a simple saucepan or soup plate of water on the hood. If the H2O begins to dance wildly at a certain RPM point, you’ve found your problem area. (There are also vibration cellphone apps). If you can run the engine, car stopped, at all speeds without feeling what bothers you on the highway or track, you can—whew!—cross the engine off the list. OK, you find the engine shakes more than a porn star’s Dow Corningenhanced double-D “units.” What can you do? 97% of engine vibrations are

there from day one. Read: you (or your engine builder) did something wrong! The first step is to be sure the defect isn’t caused by some external accessory. Do this by removing all belts and repeating the test. (Obviously, with no water pump or fan rotation, you don’t want to take 45 minutes doing the re-test!) Vibes gone? The fan is the number one culprit (bent, blade missing, etc.), followed by— believe it or don’t—the alternator, mainly because it rotates at many times engine speed, and correct dynamic balance is therefore quite critical. Reinstalling belts one at a time can help you pinpoint the problem area. Next stop is the motor mounts. This is, typically, a visual-inspection thing. If the rubber’s wussed out and collapsed (this mostly afflicts spool-type mounts), fossilized and rock hard, or just plain missing, you’re home, Vern. Missing fasten-

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

 ALL SHOOK UP

Excepting mismatched external components, typically which consist of vibration dampers and flywheels or torque converters, true engine vibration problems require complete disassembly. Usually, it’s not a good thing if this suddenly occurs! However, one failure that’s easy to correct is a bad engine mount (any of the three). Even spool type mounts, theoretically fail-safe, are not immune to failure (as shown here). While the engine won’t fall out onto the macadam or smash though the hood, failure will transmit lots of vibration to your pampered butt. High-torque engines using spool mounts can avoid this malady by pre-filling the rubber’s voids (before installation) with either RTV silicone (good), or windshield urethane cement (best).

Factory torque converters have a weight or weights—large—welded on to create the external balance. Knock the large weight or weights off, and—presto—you have a zerobalance converter. Factory vibration dampers (“balancers”) come in many sizes, shapes, and amount of external balance (or none at all, for internally balanced engines). There are also aftermarket dampers with swappable external-balance weights.

78 MOPAR ACTION

ers, especially at the rear engine mount (called the transmission mount by the whole world except Chrysler Engineering), are also pretty common. New screws, installed with, can you say: “Loctite”? Of course, if you’ve installed mounts with firmer-than-stock insulating material, a modicum of vibration can be expected at certain RPM levels and is normal. Unless you’ve restored an Imperial, this is a small price to pay for the improved durability and torque-handling capacity these harder mounts provide. About the only other “failures” you’ll find are internal to the torque converter, or an engine problem—like, one con rod is disconnected and no longer moving, pushrods are bent, cam lobes are wiped, lifters have collapsed, or plug wires are disconnected or misconnected. However, if you haven’t already figured out those defects by their other, much more macroscopic symptoms, close this magazine immediately. You would have qualified as a lifetime Mopar Muscle subscriber, but they are now six feet under. Beyond this, any engine vibration is almost certainly down to something you—or your engine builder—did wrong. Usually, this boils down to incorrect external balance components. Yes, it is possible that a torque converter weight came “unglued”—but this is extremely rare. More likely, you simply have the wrong

torque converter, flywheel, or vibration damper for your combination. There are myriad possibilities here, and we don’t have space for all of ‘em. So let’s just get to the bottom line: Excepting 318s, all cast-crank Mopars were externally balanced (some forged motors were, too, mainly early-‘70s 440s), and there was precious little interchangeability between the stuff. Got a 360? You need a 360 damper. These can and do fail, and Pioneer, Inc., has provided us with this list of additional warning signs, accompanying the vibration problem: • A leaking timing cover seal • Visible deterioration of the rubber between the balancer hub and outer ring • Visible cracking or warping of the balancer hub or outer ring • Slipping, squealing drive belts, belt damage, accelerated belt wear • A highly polished spot on pulley grooves (from warped balancer) • Elongation of the balancer keyway or wear on the balancer hub/crankshaft snout • Alternator, power steering pump, air conditioner or water pump failure • Engines that do not run properly when adjusting the timing, or poor performance and irregular idle (inaccurate TDC, outer ring slipped)

Machine shops much prefer to internally balance an engine whenever possible, for good reason, they know everything is right when the engine leaves their shop.

On the engine’s back end, wrong stuff means dropping the tranny—with one exception: if you’ve erroneously used an external-balance (counterweighted) torque converter on an engine that is now internally balanced, just chiseling off the large weight or weights usually does the job. Again, this may not be Swisswatch precision, but 99% sure, it will cure the symptom! Also, internal-balance converters can have the correct weights added via the MP weight kit. Alternately, you can use one of the aftermarket’s balance-correcting drive (“flex”) plates. In fact, if your buildup is currently in process, this has become our preferred method of handling this hassle. Wrong manny-tranny flywheels can be redrilled (if you’ve erroneously used a zero-balance one in an external-balance engine, specs are in the MP “Chassis” book), or rebalanced to zero at a machine shop if you erred the other way. The aftermarket now also offers bolt-on weight kits for manual trans flywheels, these are especially useful in externally-balancing aluminum flywheels. Beyond this, you’ve really screwed up. E.G.: used 360 rods in an early 318, or “Six Pack” rods in an earlier 440, etc., without rebalancing the engine. Vern, you made your bed, now you’ve gotta lie in it. Pull the sucker out and do it right. One other engine-related vibration-causing defect: An exhaust system not properly insulated from the chassis or body. Obviously, if any pipe, clamp, or muffler is in direct contact with any part of the chassis, vibration and/or droning will be the result, as will way-too-stiff exhaust hangers.

Some internal balance jobs require heavy metal slugs added to the crank’s counterweights.

OK, SO IT’S NOT THE ENGINE Chassis and driveline vibration problems can be a real hassle. Always check engine balance first, but the fact is, a high percentage of these problems relate to wheels and tires. (Remember last month when you locked all four at 85 MPH, avoiding the treehugger doing 20 MPH in a Prius? Can you say “D-shaped skins?”) Alright, you just had your fancy new rollers computer balanced, and they’re perfect. No argument from this camp. But see if you agree with this statement: “A perfectly square wheel and tire could be perfectly balanced.” It’s true. Hey, your crankshaft isn’t perfectly round, and it can be balanced. A seesaw isn’t round, either! Now picture how smooth the car will run (not!) with square tires. Got the picture? Runout, lateral and radial, counts even more than perfect balance! We’ll not dwell on how to fix your rolling stock—you’ll get it right eventually, even if you have to enlist the aid of a local tire shop. Just one hint: The lowest point on a steel wheel rim is marked by the valve stem hole. The highest point on a tire is marked by the little paint dot or sticker on the sidewall. They should be mounted adjacent to either other, the theory being that, if your stars are also properly aligned that day, the respective wheel/tire runouts will cancel each other. Yeah. Right. But it’s a start, and can’t hurt. The bottom line is this: The very first thing you should do, once the engine has passed the vibe test, is substitute another complete known-good set of wheels and

Summit Racing carries Quick Time’s line of external balance weights, which sandwich under the crankshaft screws and can solve your external balance problems quickly.

tires. Begged, borrowed, confiscated, outright stolen, whatever it takes—just do it. Don’t chintz out on this, it will come back to bite you later, after you’ve spent a few hours in the room with the rubber walls.

STEERING WHEEL OR BUTT VIBES? Once you’ve eliminated the engine and wheels / tires as the vibration source, you need to begin the narrowing-down process. Generally, we can easily categorize the symptoms as either driveline related, which, although they can shake the entire vehicle, can be felt strongly through the seats, or front-end shaking, which can be sensed most strongly through the steering wheel. Discounting the occasional out-of-balance brake rotor or drum (not impossible!), most front-end maladies aren’t truly vibrations, they are more akin to a shake. MOPAR ACTION 79

 ALL SHOOK UP

Shaky manual trans problem? The required “unbalance” weight holes for external balance engines can be drilled as shown, or Summit also offers McLeod bolt-on weights (inset), which are the only way to go with aluminum flywheels. Your choice.

The number one cause of propshaft issues is a simple bad universal joint. (Number two is the rear mount).

Constant-velocity U-joints, such as this double-cardan style, used on Imperials, and at the front of some Jeeps, allow for a smoother outcome—and permit increased U-joint angles (as on 4X4s, especially with mod’d ride height.)

80 MOPAR ACTION

If a rotating component is even slightly out of balance, and there’s slop in a tie-rod end or ball joint, the symptom can be greatly magnified. Luckily, a simple physical inspection (yanking on steering joints, prying under a tire with the car jacked by the lower conThe front angle should be less than 1°, and the rear, trol arm, observing steerfor a street-driven car, should be no more than 1.5° ing box or coupler play, etc.) will quickly pinpoint and rear, for any slop. Failing that, visuthese defects—repair and correction is ally inspect the following: All three engine usually straightforward. mounts, paying special attention to the Driveline problems are the biggest headrear mount, for collapsed rubber and/or ache for most classic Mopars. In this area, missing hardware, as we mentioned earthere’s a multitude of pitfalls, ranging from lier. Inspect the driveshaft for obvious road simple worn components to mismatched hazard damage. Inspect the rear springs parts, incorrect angles, etc. But why is the for broken sagged or leaves, or loose propshaft area so damn critical? Simple! It U-bolts. On cars with the sliding-spline rotates at 3 to 4 times rear axle and wheel style transmission yoke (i.e., 1965-‘66-up RPM, and it’s a length of relatively thin Mopars), physically grasp the propshaft in steel tubing totally unsupported over its the area of the front U-joint and attempt to span of quite a few feet. move it vertically: finding any noticeable If you think about the way the U-joints play means the tranny’s output bushing on our classic Mopars operate, you’ll is toast (at that point, also inspect the slip come away amazed that vibration isn’t yoke for excessive wear patterns.) actually more of a problem! With any Many vibration issues arise when an operating angle greater than zero, the engine and / or tranny swap is made. entire propshaft must speed up and slow Often, the propshaft installed will either down twice per revolution. This is why any defect, excessive be simply incorrect for the application angle, bent or twisted shaft, bad rear (length wrong), or damaged, out of round, engine mount, etc., results in a truly or out of balance. annoying, destructive, cyclical, droning The propshaft length must be correct. vibration. In other words, it sucks. The simplest way to check this is a visual If your Mopar is stock, and the vibration observation, which must be made with just showed up one day, troubleshootthe car either sitting on all four wheels (or ing is usually pretty simple. First on the a drive-on type of service hoist or alignlist would be checking the U-joints, front ment rack,) or with jack stands placed under the rear axle housing or shock plates. Assuming a sliding-spline front U-joint, the front edge of the yoke should be anywhere from just barely touching (but not compressing) the seal boot, to about one inch rearward. If the boot is significantly compressed, the shaft is too long and will bottom out. If too short, the trans’s output bushing will be eaten alive— quickly. If the seal a cheap-o and has no boot, there should be ’prox 1½˝ clearance. Much has been written over This factory drawing clearly illustrates the years, mainly in factory pubwhy leaf-sprung drag race cars require a greater pinion “nose down” angle. lications, about “field balancing” propshafts, typically using

The factory tool (they show up on eBay, P/N C-4244) makes angle checking a cinch. I am amazed that nobody re-pops these, but a magnetic protractor (top) is just as accurate, it simply requires more setup time and mental gymnastics.

The rear suspension must at ride height to check the running angles. Note that in this pix, there is clearance between the lift pads (circled) and the chassis. The lift arms are there as a “backup plan,” the red jacks are doing the actual supporting.

clamp-on weights consisting of gear-type hose clamps. Our advice: forget it. Waste of time, for several reasons. With the RPM most of us see at least occasionally, a professional balance job, and nothing less, is needed. Secondly, if the ‘shaft needs balancing “all of a sudden,” you need to ask yourself: Why? Odds are that the ‘shaft is bent, twisted, or otherwise

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 ALL SHOOK UP

This stock setup illustrates what I consider to be the minimum slip yoke engagement. Even more important, there should be nearzero radial play at the slip yoke, a firm upand-down yank tells the tale. Leaky seal? Unfortunately, this usually accompanies wobbly slop, caused by...

With the tool, measure both front and rear angles carefully.

Within limits, rear U-joint angles can be corrected with shims at the rear axle or between the transmission extension housing and rear engine mount (those thick rectangular flat washers that were sometimes supplied in a non-functioning position under the bolt head.) Building an axle from scratch? Leave the perch pads un-welded until the angle is dialed in.

...a worn output bushing. Ideally, replace it, preferably, with an Oilite (not aluminum) one, as shown at right. Also inspect the slip yoke for scoring. Factoid: These parts swap from an A727 to an A833. Any part of the exhaust contacting any part of the chassis or suspension can create vibration, or noise, rattling, and harshness, which fall into the same general category (NVH).

Tools to swap the bushing without transmission disassembly can be had, lacking this, the trans must come apart.

You need a dial indicator to check actual propshaft runout. Maximum at center of shaft: 0.025˝, less as you near the ends. This ancient stocker is about 0.018˝, and ran as smooth as silk.

82 MOPAR ACTION

Stiff local muffler-shop hangers transmit much more NVH to the body than these OEM-design hangers.

Some aftermarket exhaust vendors do it right. Accurate, Ltd., uses OEM-spec hangers, and performance exhaust supplier TTi takes extra care to insure that their superbeefy setup (seen here) minimizes NVH.

damaged. A quick, on-the-car runout check will bring this defect to your attention (see photos), but bear in mind, a worn tranny output bushing can make a perfectly good ’shaft “seem” defective. We’ve saved the gnarliest for last: U-joint angles. This is a helluva can of worms for most folks. The factory information written over the years has been both contradictory and confusing. But there’s actually a reason for their seeming madness: Different applications require different angles. A leaf-spring-equipped drag car requires a significant nose-down pinion angle, to assure that the angle is in the normal range during that allimportant max-torque first 60-foot launch (see drawing on P. 80), and much has been written about this setup by Mopar Performance. Since the main target audience for this article are guys who drive their Mopar on the road, yet occasionally hit the strip (with street tires), we’ll make out usual bold recommendation for that group: The front pinion angle should be approximately 0.25° to a maximum of one degree, in the “shaft hanging down”

configuration, and the rear should be 0.5 to 1.5 degrees “pinion nose down.” (Ideally, the front angle should be zero, but this results in the grease hardening from lack of agitation). Excluding a drag-only car, in no case should the difference between the front and rear angles exceed 1.5 degrees. Driveline vibration can be diagnosed, to a certain extent, with the car parked in your driveway. Just support the rear axle with stands, and, for safety, be sure the car is either tied down securely, or nosed into an immovable object, and run ‘er up through the gears. This type of testing is also useful in locating an out-of-balance rear brake drum because the car can be “driven” with no drums at all.

CONCLUSION The key to successful, economical, rapid vibration diagnosis and repair is a logical, step-by-step diagnostic approach. Do yourself a favor, leave the parts cannon in storage, throwing parts (read: money) at the car is useless. Hopefully, we’ve pointed you in the right direction.

Wheels and tires cause more than their share of vibration problems. Remember, even a perfectly balanced setup will vibrate like mad if there’s excessive runout—this can be checked on or off the car, here we’re using a “pointer” and wheel balancer. Be sure to check the mounted tire, and then, finding excessive runout (generally, anything over 0.030–0.040˝), check the bare wheel—both radially and laterally, and then the mounted tire. In the case of steel wheels, moving the tire on the wheel, in 90° increments, can improve the situation, this can be automated with a fancy road-force balancer.

Brake rotors can also affect wheel balance. Rusty rotors, even if the wear surface is perfect, can lose one or more of the pressed-in weights.

Mope or NOPE!

Rides from readerland.

EDITED BY PHIL

DEPAGES

CLOSE TO FINISHED

KEVIN AZAR didn’t have any pix of his own car, so he sent some of his best friend’s ride. He didn’t bother to give us his friend’s name, so we guess John Doe or Joe Blow from Kokomo (choose one) will work as a placeholder. Kevin is from Portland, Oregon, which has no bearing whatsoever on this writeup. Anyhow, best friend’s original ’65 Coronet 500 was said to be a 426 Hemi / 4-speed car. Something worth preserving? Apparently not. Now, according to Kevin, the Mope runs with an 8-71 Mooneyham-blown 440 with 440Source heads, 750 Dominators and MSD ignition. It still packs a 4-speed that hooks to a narrowed Dana 60 with 3.73 whirring inside. Kevin goes on to explain that this was Ken Blake’s racecar that is being turned into a street car. When Ken passed away, his dad Jerry Blake, who was the head of the Mopar Parts and Performance division of Chrysler in the 1970s and ’80s Mopar Parts, took over his son’s project. As a side note, Jerry also owned the 1970 Challenger R/T convertible that Chrysler used to model and design the modern Challengers. The car spent 8 months at their design facility in Oceanside California where they modeled the new body off of it. Back to the Coronet, it shows 54,000 miles and is said to be rust-free. The Dodge has had one repaint—for racing.

HOT CAR THIS READER (name, city, state, gender and IQ withheld upon request) sent us this photo of his Mope that he named “Napoleon.” The product of a big-buck build, No-Name (NN) was going for ultimate horsepower to show the local big dogs where the porch was. Starting with a 440-CI wedge, NN had it bored and stroked, and stuffed with the best recip goodies money could buy (so NN says). NN went with a twin-turbo setup, fuel injection and a big nitrous system. The chassis was beefed with an added tubular subframe while the suspension was built with a custom tubular front end and 4-link rear supporting a Strange Fab9 spinning 3.73s. Coilovers all around damp the ups and downs while Wilwoods handle the decel. It’s all rounded out with a high-dollar custom paint job with a myriad of colors, graphics and special effects that you can’t see here. “Napoleon” met its Waterloo on a portable dyno when NN went for broke (literally). So that’s the story on “Napoleon…yeah, Napolean Blownapart.”

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’.

84 MOPAR ACTION

Cool Stuff

The Latest Products for MoFans!

WANT TO BE COOL?

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

SEE PG. 5!

CONCENTRATED COOL

REDLINE SUPERCOOL CONCENTRATE FROM SUMMIT RACING DON’T BLOW A HEAD GASKET because your engine coolant wasn’t up to the task. Spend a few extra bucks and get Redline SuperCool Concentrate with Water Wetter. This synthetic formula can be mixed with new or used antifreeze and provides superior heat transfer that can drop the temperature in your cooling system by a whopping 20 degrees F! SuperCool Concentrate also protects your water pump and cooling system from cavitation, corrosion, and erosion. Safe for cast iron, aluminum, and brass. Get Redline Supercool Concentrate with Water Wetter, now offered at Summit Racing! Contact Summit Racing Equipment, www.summitracing.com, 1-800-230-3030

BUMPER CROP

SEE COV. 4 & PG. 59!

ALL-NEW TOOLING FOR ’68-’69 CHARGER BUMPERS BY AMD AMD HAS COMPLETED DEVELOPMENT and now offers Front Bumper Replacements for the ’68-’69 Dodge Chargers with all new tooling. Made from heavy gauge steel and featuring OE quality chrome finish, these feature correct holes for turn signals or back-up lamps and installation is fast and easy. These parts are designed to be a direct bolt-on utilizing OE bumper brackets and hardware and are the perfect touch to your restoration. This Mopar Official Licensed Restoration Part is offered under Part Number: 100-2668-1. Call 1-877-575-3586 today for full details or visit us online at www.AutoMetalDirect.com.

SEE PG. 47!

RACE BASED MODERN STREET HEMI SHOOTOUT SCHEDULES 6-EVENT SERIES FOR ’22

MOPAR ACTION

Cool Stuff NUTS ’N’ BOLTS

SEE PG. 25! BIG NEW 2022 ARP CATALOG AUTOMOTIVE RACING PRODUCTS, INC., more popularly known as ARP, has just published an expanded 180-page, full-color catalog for 2022. The catalog contains details on the 5,000+ fastener kits in ARP’s product line, plus a wealth of tech information that will benefit any builder. Used by leading race teams and car builders the world over, ARP offers a wide variety of fasteners in SAE coarse or fine, plus metric sizes, as well as a variety of specialized tools to aid in engine assembly. All ARP fasteners are proudly manufactured in-house. The catalog can be viewed online at ARP’s website (www.ARP-bolts.com), and a printed copy is available free of charge upon request. Write to ARP, 1863 Eastman Ave., Ventura, CA 93003 or call 800-826-3045.

UNDER CONTROL

SEE C0V. 2!

ROCKAUTO.COM’S AUTOMATIC FUEL PUMP REGULATOR CONTROLLING POWER to an electric fuel pump does not have to be hard. RockAuto.com now offers a simple switch that uses engine oil pressure to power your electric fuel pump on and off. Go to RockAuto.com’s “Part Number Search” tab and enter “OS75” or find it in the “Tools & Universal Parts” tab under “Electrical-Switch & Relay.” Contact Rockauto.com.

BLOWN AWAY

LATEST 250 BLOWER MANIFOLD FROM INDY CYLINDER HEAD THE FOLKS AT IHC (Indy Cylinder blower is the new power craze that Head) have just released a new can increase HP by 150 to 300 on an Supercharger top plate to use with engine with good, forged internals. the latest 250 blower that will fit The Indy ModMan intake options all of ICH ModMan intakes. The 250 are for LA, Magnum, W2, 400, 440,

MOPAR ACTION

SEE PG. 13!

426H, 5.7/6.1/6.4 Hemi, and AMC. Call the shop and they can email you the price list! Go to indyheads.com (937) 708-8563 email INDYHEADS@ GMAIL.COM.

WANT TO BE COOL?

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

REAFFIRMATION

SEE PG. 65!

FIRM FEEL OFFERS LOWER CONTROL ARMS SERVICES RE-CONDITION AND REINFORCE the lower control arms on your classic MOPARs. This service is offered on ALL models, and FIRM FEEL offers complete assembly with powder coating service. Options for urethane or nylon bushings are available for A, B & E models along with greaseable pivot pins; urethane is available for C, F, M & J models as well, and C-bodies have greaseable pins available, too. Finally, urethane bump stops can be added as well along with lower ball joints. Contact Firm Feel, Inc. (360) 546-3633 firmfeel.com

EMBELLISHMENTS

SEE PG. 37!

YEAR ONE’S 2008–PRESENT CHALLENGER CHARGER RETRO 426 HEMI EMBLEM FOR USE ON YOUR HOOD, Shaker, or fender, Year One now offers these retro emblems in silver or chrome with Hemi orange detailing. This new 426 HEMI emblem is made of injection molded plastic with an adhesive backing. These were designed for use on newer Chrysler products using the vintage font and colors of the ’60s–’70s emblems and are also great for cars with Gen III Hemi swaps. The emblem measures 6˝ long x 5/8˝ high on the numbers x 3/8˝ tall on the Hemi. Get yours by going to yearone.com ph. 1-706-658-2140

STUFF AND MOUNT

SEE PG. 63! NEW HOOKER BLACKHEART ENGINE SWAP MOUNTS FOR YOUR 1973–1976 MOPAR A-BODY 3G HEMI SWAP. NEW FROM HOLLEY PERFORMANCE are Hooker Blackheart engine swap mounts, allowing easy installation of the Gen III Hemi engine in your 1973–1976 Mopar A-Body. An engineered solution that works together with the transmission crossmember and headers will optimize the engine placement & component clearances along with ideal drivetrain / U-joint operation angles. The engine placement eliminates modifications to the firewall and the engine mounting brackets fit the K-member on cars that originally came from the factory with a V8 engine. Use with 2009 & up 5.7L, 6.2L, or 6.4L car style factory accessory drive system (variable valve timing accessory drive system with low mount alternator), or Holley Mid-Mount accessory drive system. Part #BHS571. Contact Holley at 866-464-6553. www.holley.com

MOPAR ACTION

Cool Stuff

WANT TO BE COOL?

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

ALL THAT GLITTERS

SEE PG. 83! GET OUT OF THE PITS WITH CUSTOM PLATING SPECIALIST, INC CUSTOM PLATING SPECIALIST, INC. is an awardwinning chrome restoration company, accomplished in repairing pot metal and specializing in the restoration of metal parts. CPS works with cars, motorcycles, bikes, boats, old antiques of all kinds. Call today 920-7563284. https://customplatingspecialist.com.

PRECIOUS METAL

SEE PG. 81!

OEM 1964 DODGE 50TH ANNIVERSARY TRUCK MEDALLION / LATCH COVER FROM KRAMER KRAMER AUTOMOTIVE SPECIALTIES is proud to offer this beautifully-finished 1964 Dodge Trunk Medallion & Latch Cover. This large version came on cars built during the brand’s Golden Anniversary year, 1964, and fit all models except the station wagon. Now $295. each. Contact them about these and other rare and hard-to-find Mopar pieces. Phone: 724-285-5566, info@kramerauto.com.

MUSEUM QUALITY

HUGE AUTOMOTIVE LIBRARY AVAILABLE FROM QUARTER MILESTONES YEARS AGO, the Zookeeper purchased the remaining film and book library of the late Tom Shaw, who edited Muscle Car Review magazine. With Stunkard now done with his book projects, this is an opportunity to own approximately 60 cubic feet of reference materials, including Shaw’s extensive, sorted 35mm slide collection of collector cars of all makes, assorted factory research literature, and a large magazine morgue of over 1500 magazines starting in the 1940s. The Zookeeper is also letting most of his own extensive 35mm slide library from his days at Mopar Muscle and other mags go with this sale as well. In storage 25 miles from Bristol Motor Speedway, may need a trailer. Money talks $3995 OBO. Contact Zoo at qmpsales@quartermilestones.com for more info. PSÑDart is SOLD!

88 MOPAR ACTION

SEE PG. 81!

 TECH TOPICS

continued from page 11

Two-speed Chrysler-built wiper motors are pretty simple...

tion (toward the hood). I have disconnected the arms from the wiper motor and can operate them manually like they should. The other thing I have noticed with the arms disconnected from the wiper motor: The wiper motor turns the full 360° circle, but when the switch is turned off the motor stops randomly at any point in the 360° circle. My question is; Should there be a specific stop/ restart position in the 360 degree circle, to allow the wipers to travel upward on engagement, then retract on the other half of the 360° circle? Mike Yablonski Gimli, MB Mike– The 2-speed setup on your B-body is pretty simple—it has no off-glass park setup. Sounds like two things going on here. The “wrong direction of travel” issue is probably easy to fix: The crank arm (on motor) is likely installed backwards (180° out), or the wiper arms are installed wrong. You can only correctly install the arms once the motor is in the park position. There are three possible causes for the “stops anywhere” no-park symptom: • Bad park switch • Open parking circuit • Open field circuit. The park switch is #1 culprit. It can be cleaned; this requires disassembly. Failing that, you may want to procure a replacement motor. Obviously ensure that bulkhead connectors are all in good condition.

MATCH GAME Mr. Ehrenberg– I have a dead-stock 1972 Demon, 318. I would like to install a 4-Bbl intake. I have

...the park switch (circled), is what actually shuts off the motor.

a stock one from, I think, a 1982 Dodge Diplomat. But online, they say that this will result in a huge port mismatch, hurting power. But the ’82 was a 318! I guess I need some guidance here. Stanley Maxwell Port St. Lucie, FL Stan– Simple: All factory ’70s–’80s 318 4-Bbl engines had, as original equipment, 360 heads. Therefore, there was no mismatch. So much for internet wisdom! Having said that, the mismatch isn’t horrendous, and you’d still gain power. Of course, a set of 360 heads—any— would be the icing on the cake. The best were the ’89–’92 truck variety, casting #...308.

DUSTED What size rear 14˝ Rally tire and wheel combination can I run to correct the width to match the front. We have owned our ’73 Duster 340 since 1973, we bought it new, it has factory Rally wheels, all factory car. VIN is VS29H3B466XXX. I enjoy Mopar Action. Roger Hilbert Charlestown IN

Rog– Yeah, everybody always complained about the too-narrow rear axles on Demons, Dart Sports, and Dusters, it became ridiculous looking in ’73 when the single-piston front discs moved the front wheels outboard even more. The car always needed a wider rear axle. There was even a TSB saying “the look is normal.” If you found, or ordered, some wheels with some negative offset (maybe -1 to -1.5˝) it would help. If you are OK with

the big-’n’-little look, 15X8˝ Rallys would do the job. I have often thought that swapping the entire 8.25˝ axle with one from an F/J/M body would be the way to go. Should be a cinch, no U-joint/propshaft mods, just under 1.5˝ wider drum-to-drum, but you would have to relocate the perches.

 TECH TOPICS Tires would be up to you and will depend on wheel dimensions chosen. If you swapped the axle, and wanted otherwise stock appearance, the OEM E70 X 14˝ (repro Polyglas) could be retained, or something updated, but similar size, such as 205/70-14. For me, personally: 15X8˝ wheels at all 4 corners, shod with 225-50-15. I like cornering grip. I enjoy Mopar Action, too!

PUMP AND DUMP My 1973 Scamp was originally slant 6. A previous owner swapped to 318 (I’m told, can’t access motor number without removing headers). I am attempting to address overheating issues with new water pump, fan, radiator, shroud and electric fan. I realized the inlet pipe on the water pump is on the driver’s side of the car and all smallblocks I’ve seen have the inlet on the passenger side. OK, sorry, a 3-part question: 1. What motor do I have? Is it possibly out of a B100 van or? 2. Will conventional water pump interchange? 3. Are there other differences to the motor I should be aware of? Nick Rath La Vernia, TX

PHOTO: N. RATH

Nick– From what I can see from your pix, it would appear that you simply have a pre1970 LA engine, which could be a 273 or a 340 but is more likely a 318. The engine numbers are on the front of the cylinder block, just below the cylinder head parting line, driver’s (left) side. Clean off the grease, etc. It is there.

Reader Rath’s LA engine is clearly a pre1970—note lack of water pump inlet nipple on passenger side.

90 MOPAR ACTION

The tipoff is that your pix shows no radiator hose nipple on the passenger side. Here’s a condensed history of the LA water pump / timing cover changes: • 1964–’68. Cast iron water pump. Nipples for bypass and heater hoses screw into pump. Timing marks are on the driver’s side, as is the inlet nipple, and the timing scale bolts on via the two lower water pump screws. Bypass hose I.D. = 13/16˝. • 1969. Unique year. Everything same as above, except that the timing scale is cast into the timing cover. • 1970–92. Water pump changed to aluminum with cast-in nipples for heater and bypass. Bypass hose now 1˝ I.D. rad iInlet (lower) nipple moved to right side, as are timing marks. This was a major redesign, requiring the ’70-up pump, timing cover, damper (or a reTDC-marked earlier one), Virtually everything else on the front of the engine changed—pulleys, brackets, etc. Note that in 1972, the pulley-to-damper screw pattern was changed to symmetrical (no longer one hole offset). This is a very minor fix (rat-tail file). You have a choice of fixes: Either swap everything described to 1970-up, or get a 1969-down radiator. My preference, long-term, is the ’70-up stuff, but it is a lot more involved. Overheating cause may well be a rusted-away water pump impeller. The iron water pumps are not hard to find, just ask for a 1969.

BRAKING BAD Rick-O– My girlfriend was driving her mom’s 2010 Caravan the other night, as she tried to stop for a stop sign, the brake pedal went to the floor. Luckily, the roads were empty and she didn’t wipe it out. I drove slowly it back to my place, and it looks like all the fluid leaked out from the top fitting on the right front hose. I won’t have time or indoor place to work on this for a few days, so I thought I’d ask you first. What happened? The hose itself looks fine, as does the fitting at the top. Manuel Lopez Jersey City, NJ Manny– If you look at the hose, you will see that it is covered by a rubber strain relief at the top few inches, this is

Many late-model Mopars have this rubber strain relief at the top of the front brake hoses. Unfortunately, this hides corrosion from view, when it fails, the outcome can be scary.

designed to reduce bending stress where the rubber hose is crimped into the steel fitting. Unfortunately, especially in an area where the roads are salted, it can stay wet with brine for long periods, promoting unseen corrosion—as your GF just found out. If you slice away the rubber cover, you’ll see that actual failure. Replace both front hoses, rockauto. com part numbers are 220766 (right) and 220767 (l.). Be sure to change them both! Other Mopars that use this lousy design are: • Chrys. T&C, 2008–’16 • Dodge G. Caravan, 2008–17 • Also the 2012–’14 Ram C/V version of the Caravan. If you see this design on any other Mopar—worry! (See pix, above).

NO-FIRE DOME Richard– 1956 DeSoto, 330 Hemi. Suggestions for an electronic ignition for this DeSoto Hemi, no, 1955 or ’57 don’t work. I need some magic here! John Oroski Hagerstown, MD John– All 1956 and ’57 DeSoto Hemis, 330, 341, and 345 CID Hemis had the same deck heights and distributors, therefore, will interchange. Earlier DeSoto Hemis, right back to the original 276 in 1952, had a shorter 9.54˝ deck height, so those distributors may not interchange, I’m not certain. None of this matters, however, since, even in 1957, electronic ignition was not even dreamt of. Dual points for increased coil saturation dwell time was as good as it got. You can use a typical ’70s LA (340, etc.) electronic distributor, unmodified, if you swap in the longer oil pump (inter-

mediate shaft) designed specifically for this swap, it is available from Hot Heads, hothemiheads.com.

BUCKET LIST Are bucket seats from a B-body the same as those in an A-body, I’m looking to replace the buckets in my ’76 Duster 360 with B-body buckets. Do they bolt right in? John Enos Coventry, RI John– 1970-up, the seats do interchange, but the tracks (sliders) are different.

BRAKEDOWN I had a disc brake conversion done on my ’69 318 Charger about 25 years ago by a garage (shop) and the brakes work great with 10 in. discs up front and the 10 in. drums in the back. No crazy driving done with the car. Too old for that. My question after looking at the setup, I noticed that the proportioning valve was connected to the disc brake port along with a 10 PSI residual valve. The rear original drum setup had a 2 PSI residual valve installed. I thought the proportioning valve had to be connected to the rear drum port on the master cylinder. Does it matter where the proportioning valve is connected to? Victor Munoz Daly City, CA Vic– Yes, it matters, very much! Let’s go through this a few steps at a time: 1. Just for clarification, the port (fitting) on the master cylinder closest to the firewall (i.e., rearmost) is for the front brakes, be they disc drum, or disc/drum. 2. No Mopars built after 1966 had external residual pressure valves. If so equipped, the valve(s) was/were beneath the brass tube seat(s) in the

On all RWD Mopars, the port closer to the firewall must feed the front brakes. All the time. Every time.

master cylinder port(s). Dunno where that 2 PSI number came from. 3. Residual pressure valves are generally unnecessary, and superfluous if the drum wheel cylinders are less than 40 years old. 4. Any proportioning valve must be installed in the line feeding the rear drums. And “polarity” (in/out) is very important.

SLIPPERY SLOPE Mr Ehrenberg– My grandmother, who is 83, has a 1987 Dodge Omni with only 77,000 miles, she bought it new. It is the 4-cylinder, stick, zero rust. It started overheating at the end of the summer, they told her it was a bad head gasket and to junk the car, much too expensive (they quoted her $1200, and more if the head needed to go to the machine shop). We put it back in her garage. Her brother, who is 81, worked at the Dodge dealer when she bought it. He says he remembers the mechanics having a shortcut to do the head gasket in just two hours or so, but he has no idea what they

did. The mechanic says he is willing to listen. Do you have information on this? Jacob Nordstrom Minneapolis, MN Jake– Sure, I remember watching the dealerships mechanics use the sleazy method on the 2.2 and 2.5L Trenton “Trans 4” engines, and then bragging how much money they were making by beating the flat rate book hours by a factor of like three or four. They called it “Slip ’n’ slide.” The initial steps are the same as usual, and only take a few moments, such as draining the coolant, removing the valve cover, etc. Then the sleaze starts. Remove the cam sprocket (one screw), and, being sure to maintain tension on the belt so it doesn’t slip out of phase, bungee cord it over to the hood hinge. Remove all the head screws, which, unless you are going to be a dirtbag beyond belief, should be replaced. Now put a nylon strap (sling) around the center of the camshaft, and lift the head up a small distance with an engine crane.

 TECH TOPICS Now simply slide the gasket out forward, and slip the new one in place, taking care not to displace any dirt, corrosion, etc. Drop the head back down, torque down and yield-tension the new head screws, screw the sprocket on (torqued and Loctited) and you’re almost done. The mechanics bragged about how quickly they could do this, and they also swore that they never had any comebacks—this second statement I took with a grain of salt. With 35 years on ’er, I am making no claims or recommendations whatsoever as to the viability / reliability of this method. Even when these cars with new, I thought it was incredibly sleazy. You asked, I answered.

SHIELD ME I am doing a disc brake swap on my 1972 Charger. The kit I bought came with the tin plates that go behind the rotors and screw onto the spindle. My buddy says that you recommend not installing them. Is that right? Why? Anthony Lombardi Cleveland, OH Tony– Those are splash shields, designed and intended, as the name implies, to keep road splash off the rotors. Chrysler passenger cars have not had them for at least two decades. Rain is wiped off instantly by the pads, and they (the shields) significantly block cooling air through the rotors (read: brake fade). If your car is destined more for the show circuit (i.e., never hammered), you could leave them on, but none of my cars have had them since the turn of the century. They are still installed on many SUVs and pickups, where the road splash could include heavy mud, etc.

Most disc-swap kits, which are patterned after MA’s groundbreaking “Disc-O-Tech”, include the splash shields. Do you need them?

92 MOPAR ACTION

PACIFIC COASTER Rick– I have a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica, only 99K. It has been great (I bought it in 2009 with only 26K), it is fabulous in the snow. Just the other day, I was driving it, only a few miles from my house, and all of a sudden almost all the warning lights on the dash came on, and the wipers and heater quit. I made it home OK though. Once in my driveway, I wanted to move it into the garage, but I could not get it out of Park. I Many 1990s–2000s Mopars had a slew of ground guessed it was that setup that prewires connected to weld stud(s) on the left front of vents shifting unless you are stepthe frame—right where road salt corrodes everything, ping on the brakes, so I checked (some used sheetmetal screws). A bad ground can the book and it gave a procedure cause no end of problems. (see text). to get it out of park, pretty easy, pop off the chrome ring around the shifter and press a red button. 8 inches in front of (and below) the batSo I got it in my garage, which is pretty tery, you’ll see one or more studs protrudtight. I started checking, besides the wiping from the rail. Each will have a crimp ers and heater, the windows don’t work, lug with several wires attached. One of neither does the horn, radio, and probthem will have obvious copper oxide corably more. I am not much with electrical rosion (green slime). Cut all the wires off stuff—where do I begin? that one, unscrew the nut, throw away Carl Donegal that lug, and install a new lug, crimped Jackson, MI and soldered. It is OK to install several smaller lugs, with each one having fewer Carl– wires than original. Solder is the preventative measure for It is unusual for several components to fail all connectors that will see “weather”— at once, so you have to look at the commoisture cannot easily penetrate solmon denominator. While all these circuits dered joints. are supplied by “ignition on +12V”, they are all individually fused. It could be a major connector failure (meltdown), or the NEED MORE TECH? ignition switch, but ignition switches usuLOVE TECH Q&A? Can’t get enough? Check it ally go “intermittent” before they totally fail. out: There’s new Q&As posted weekly online I’ll make this easy (cheat: I have seen at www.moparaction.com! That’s the best this several times): This was a pretty complace to submit your tech question from, too. mon problem on ’90s and 2000s Mopars. Heads up! You can now browse If you look at the left frame rail, about 6 or and search a super tech-article index, order back issues and the awesome 7-volume Tech Special CD-rom, at www.moparaction.com

No, in fact, they impede brake cooling. No modern Mopar passenger cars have ’em.

RESTO TOPICS

continued from page 12

1968–’70 B-Body interior paint colors.

661 paint (floor pans and areas under the roof drip rails). Garratt Bucher Austin, TX Garratt– This info is absent from the ‘68 FSM, but ’68–’70 B-bodies are similar if not identical. The chart shown is from the ‘69 FSM. Note that the first section of the chart where reference is made to exterior colors is not a typo, exterior paint is used where indicated. In your case it would be Dark Green Metallic (66-1), which was a lateinto (spring) color addition. To be 100% sure, pick up a Ditzler 1968 Dodge paint-chip card, they appear on eBay regularly.

FLITE TIME Mr. Ehrenberg– I just bought a low-mileage 2020 Charger Scat Pack, 392, 8-speed TorqueFlite automatic. I love it! I took my grandpop for a ride, and he loved it, too, but he said his 1962 Chrysler 300 also had a TorqueFlite 8. He says he’s 100% sure, and he’s still pretty sharp at 81. Can he be right? Guido Bianchi Staten Island, NY

Guido– Yes, he is 100% correct, and 1962 was the first year for the A727, to which the TorqueFlite 8 moniker was attached. The confusion stems from the fact that “TorqueFlite 8” referred to the first all-aluminum 3-speed T’Flite for eight cylinder engine applications. Yours is, as you know, an 8-speed transmission, engineered by Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen, in Friedrichshafen, BadenWürttemberg, Germany, although your ZF 8HP70 is built under license in the USA by Chrysler (Stellatis) in Kokomo, IN, USA—the very same plant that built your granddad’s A727! The current ZF-design TorqueFlite transmission (shown) has 8 speeds, but shares nothing—except the name—with

the 1962 TorqueFlite 8 (A727), which, in various incarnations (overdrive added, beefed for Cummins, electronically governed) was produced into the 2000s (although the TorqueFlite name was dead well before then).

BLACKOUT

Hello– I have a 1970 Hemicuda painted FJ5. I was wondering if the rear glass pinch

weld “fence” area is blacked out (like the front windshield area) to prevent body color from showing around the moldings? I don’t see this addressed in the assembly manual that I have, like the front windshield. So, I assume it is not blacked out. I was hoping you could provide me with a definitive answer. John Gould Battle Creek, MI John– Easy...no blackout. At the front, it was there primarily to prevent body color from being visible through the hood’s rear grille (for cowl air), this was discontinued at some point in the 1970 model year.

MANUAL NOT POWER I purchased the original 1973 Dodge Charger service manuals (Chassis & Body) published by Chrysler and the Body manual is next to useless. Where can I get a manual with exploded views or more detailed information? Gary Ivanye Chesterfield, MI Gary– The factory “assembly manual” (actually, a huge set of blueprints) is what you are after. They were never intended to be distributed outside of Chrysler Corp., they were never published. I have a large collection, courtesy of retired Chrysler engineers, but my B-body collection ends at 1972 (and I have no A-body, either, but I do have some L-body.) There were even more detailed labor operation sheets for each and every assembly-line process and/or station. MOPAR ACTION 93

 RESTO TOPICS the windows of all its cars? Would it have been 1959 or maybe a year in the 1960s? Would our 1963 Chrysler Newport and 1965 Dodge Dart have safety glass only in the windshields? I am quite curious about this lately. Jack Hamlett Myerstown, PA

The oldest Mopar I had ready access to was a ’57. All side glass is tempered (single pane).

UNSAFETY GLASS? Hi Rick– I have a question. From what I have read, it seems all American car manufacturers used laminated safety glass in all windows of their cars from the mid-1930s through 1959. Then, they started using tempered glass which breaks in little

pieces for the side and rear windows while using the safety glass which does not break only for the windshield. From what I see on the Internet, brand new cars have safety glass only in the windshield too and use tempered glass for all the other windows. When did Chrysler Corporation stop using safety glass in all

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The etching on all side) and backlight) glass reads: PPG SOLEX HERCULITE AS2 (plus a date code). Herculite was PPG’s trademark for tempered glass, the windshield reads “DUPLATE.” AS2 indicates tempered safety glass with at least 70% light transmittal. AS1 = laminated, minimum 70% light transmittal. AS3 = laminated or tempered, less than 70% light transmittal. This glass cannot be used on the windshields nor the driver or passenger side front windows.

Jack– Tempered glass is safety glass. The laminated windshields are meant to keep your head and torso from launching through the windshield in the event of a frontal impact. Both your cars have laminated windshields and tempered everywhere else. Tempered side glass began in some Chrysler models in 1936, and was universal by the 1950s. Cheaper, lighter, safer. The ultimate safety glass is Corning Gorilla glass, which had its automotive beginnings in the side glass of 1968 S/S Barracudas and Darts, called “Chemcor.” It is chemically, not thermally, tempered. Your smartphone likely has it, even if the phone is Chinese-made, the glass is made in your home state of Pennsylvania. I checked a local 1957 Mopar. The side glass is tempered, see pix, left.

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from the Past

Southside Hacksaw Club Dodge PHOTOS BY THEBRUNTBROS

Graphics are artfully applied with much effort into the choice of font and spacing. Wonder if these guys do stuff besides cars and trucks?

Green wheels are a brilliant touch for a contrast to the acres of gray primer. Truck is certainly a cut above. Don’t ask these guys what they do in case of rain, or you might just walk away with only one arm.

FEW YEARS AGO, we joined the Motor Press Guild—a west coast organization of auto journalists and PR professionals. The fact that we were on the east coast made no difference to the overenthusiastic member-recruiter at the time, who wanted to impress the higher ups with how many new recruits he could bring into the organization. So, we became a member. For about five minutes. Once they realized who we were, and what we did, they politely asked us to leave. Actually, they just kicked us out—something about standards, character, height, and a bunch of other lame excuses. No big deal, we would never join an organization that would have us as a member, anyhow. Except one. The Southside Hacksaw Club of Louisville, KY. We don’t know if this is a local chapter of a national or global group or what, but that doesn’t matter. These guys really have it together. I mean, just walking around with a .45 cal. hacksaw on your hip has got to make you feel five feet Exhaust flame setup adds just the taller (a real boon to the vertically challenged right touch. Warnamongst us). And the ing label demonstrates high regard name itself—bold, honfor safety. est. There’s no mistaking

Neat tonneau gives the truck a clean finished look. It took a lot of fine bashing and tweaking to give that fender just right appearance of random damage. Hey, are these guys artists, or what? This shows they’re as talented with the welder as they are with the ’saw.

what these guys are about, unlike some organizations with vague names like the Green Grass Society—you don’t know if they are growers, or mowers, or smokers. Honest name aside, these guys do good work. No filling and filing here, just good sharp edges that’ll take your fingers clean to the bone— essentially what Mopar Action does to your mind. MOPAR ACTION

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