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ACTION

Read the difference: MA staff is now grass-fed and cage-free!

MEMORABLE MOPARS

18 IT’S A MOD MOD MOD WORLD

Here’s a ’68 Road Runner like no other. Starting out as a stock restoration, the technically-savvy owner switched gears and packed lots of late-model technology into this beeper while still maintaining a stock appearance. This is our first “Gee, Mr. Wizard” on steroids feature (and maybe our last).

24 THE CHASE

Keep that box of Kleenex close by for this heartwarming, tear-jerking, stomach-churning tale of a one-of-7 2013 Mr. Norm’s Challenger and what it put its owner through the good times and the not-so-good. Actually, we ran this same story, just substituting a beagle for the car in our sister pub, Woof Action, and it got great reviews (your review may vary).

36 TIP O’ THE SPEAR

Our Zookeeper gets to the point on this cool ’68 Dart right after going through his usual “setting the stage” intro of reviewing popular vocal artists and tunes of the day. When you’re finished humming along, you’ll learn how this GTS tribute was upgraded to modern performance standards with all kinds of neat stuff, including a dose of alky—and not for the motor.

46 FIRST FISH

Imagine getting your first ‘Cuda, a ’71 model bought before you were old enough to drive. Well, stop imagining and start reading what this youngster had to go through in order to pay for this ride. He also ended up restoring and rodding it into a 10-sec. street/stripper. Should be a good example for the ne’er do wells that seem to fill today’s news.

58 TRUCK DRIVER’S SPECIAL, PLEASE

The hero in this tale wanted a ’70 Super Bee in the worst way since he was 14. Did he get it? Well, we’d have 6 blank pages in this issue if he didn’t. But not just any ’70 Bee, his had to be numbers-matching, have the N96 Ramcharger hood, 4-speed, and C-stripe. We crunch the numbers for you to reveal how many of these were produced and the twists and turns of fate for our Mo’fan to finally snag one.

70 HARDENED WITH TIME

Not about cheese, but a 1979 Volare coupe. After going through that ‘70s music thing again, Zookeeper finally gets into the car. If you think these F-bodies don’t get no respect like Rodney Dangerfield, think again, as unlike Dangerfield, they can be built into a very respectable performing/handling machine as this one is. Follow along the wrench twisting and toe-tapping to Donna Summer.

TIMELESS TECH

52 PROJECT(S) DOUBLE A’S

Recovering from another wardrobe malfunction, our tireless tech editor launches into a new groundbreaking series with two projects that feature installing a 3 Gen Hemi into an A-body. One will be a lo-buck version with a junkyard 5.7 for all you folks on unemployment insurance, while the second will be an all-out hi-buck deal with a new 6.4 crate motor into the Green Brick. This is gonna be great. We can hardly wait for the next installment (and our pay packet).

IT DOESN’T GET MUCH HOTTER than it did at the Mecum Auction in May where money changed hands at a whirlwind pace, sending record-setting prices into the stratosphere and beyond. Our cover car is a ’69 Hemi Daytona that hammered for an astounding $1.3 million. See even more of the insane market activity on other cars in the ’22 auction world as well.

62 FLOOD CONTROL

Just back from a near-death experience “I was flat-out when she told me to hit the gas and my (heart) valves floated,” our beloved tech editor gives you a dose of wiper tech. Yeah, wiper tech. (Hey, he’s even able to give you 10 pages on emptying your ashtray). Here, he shows you how to replace your wiper pivot seals to prevent under-dash leaks, so as not to ruin your new Air Jordans. You wouldn’t want that to happen, would you?

FAR-FLUNG FEATURES

40 THE DOWN-UNDER DUO DOES THE DISTANCE…AGAIN!

It’s the Ehrenberg-Dowell show! This time the dynamic duo attempt another 3500-mile cross-country trek from west to east. Here’s the kickoff of what is hyped to be a chair-gripping, nail-biting, tooth-chipping adventure series that will keep you on the edge of your pool float for many issues to come.

66 HAVE GUNS, WILL TRAVEL

Nope, we’re not going to Chicago for this story but to Rockingham, NC, where the big guns are fine-tuned Hemicars assembled for the Modern Street Hemi Shootout. You want action? We got action. You want excitement? We got excitement. You want crazy? We got crazy. You want snooze? We ain’t got no snooze.

74 COILED & READY

The saga of Austin Coil, undeniably the greatest crew chief in drag racing history. Follow his career in this documentary from his early days with the Chi-Town Hustler to his finale with John Force. Written by master wordsmith Paul Stenquist, who was there to see and report on it first-hand. This one’s a not-to-be-missed.

moparaction.com

ACTION TM

Editor’s Notes

Call of the Wild

&

Jim Coen

&

BY CLIFF GROMER

and jammed the driver’s door. Back to the Darrah crew, and they used wedges between the door and fender to re-align the fender—15 minute job, no charge.

The last incident occurred about 10 p.m. on NY route 458—a wide rural 2-laner with zero traffic. Jo is tooling along at about 65 per when something plows into the passenger door—hard!

MOPAR ACTION™ (ISSN 1059-0692) is published bimonthly by Athlon Sports Communications, Inc., 2451 Atrium Way, Suite 320, Nashville, TN 37214. Single copy price is $8.99 in the U.S.A. and $9.99 in Canada. Subscriptions are $23.97 for a year in the US. Periodicals Postage paid at Nashville TN and at other additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send subscription requests to: Athlon Media Group, PO Box 292167, Kettering, OH 45429. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Mopar Action, PO Box 292167, Kettering, OH 45429. Submission of manuscripts, illustrations and/or photographs must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. Copyright © 2022 by Athlon Sports Communications, Inc. All rights reserved under international and Pan American Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in whole or in part, via electronic or any other means, without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. Printed in the U.S.A. Athlon Sports Communications, Inc. is licensed to use MOPAR, a trademark of FCA US LLC, in the title of the magazine MOPAR ACTION™. No other connection with FCA US LLC is expressed or implied. The editorial opinions are those of the publisher and do not necessarily represent the views of FCA US LLC. Volume 35 Issue 6.

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

PT CRUISER. Not exactly my cup of macchiato, but my late wife Josephine’s dream car. Back when the PTs first came out, I had brought home a press pool car for a road test when I worked for Popular Mechanics, and Jo was smitten with the car. Problem was, so was the wildlife in this rural upstate New York area. Or maybe they were smitten with her.

Jo’s first foray into the Wild Kingdom occurred in her Honda CR-V when a large (very large) female moose wanted to join her inside the car. Moosie figured it was easier to come through the windshield rather than trying to open the passenger door with her hoof. The moose ended up as someone’s road kill dinner while the Honda, still drivable, ended up at Darrah & Darrah Autobody in Lake Placid.

About 3 years ago, I wanted to surprise the little woman with a PT Cruiser. You know, happy wife, happy life (so they say). PTs don’t fare well up here in the rust belt, so I did a Craig’s List search in Florida and found a nice 2002 model with 70K miles. The PT was a Ron Jon surf shop edition (a 2-year option). This PT was a base car with an exterior package—surf shop decals, rear wing, side moldings and fancy wheels. The key fob was a small wooden surf board. The pix looked good as were the vibes from the seller. I had the car shipped to New York from the “silver hairs” state with no problem. The PT was immaculate, but not for long.

The first incident, and a harbinger of things to come, was a love tap from a deer on the left front fender. Negligible sheetmetal damage, but the fender was pushed back

A deer? Moose? Big Foot? It completely smashes the window with the force of a shotgun blast and damages the windshield. The tsunami of glass shrapnel would have sent any front-seat passenger to the hospital or the Great Beyond. There were glass fragments everywhere—in the rear corners of the car and blowing out the air vents. There was even animal hair wrapped around the passenger headrest post(!) (see photo). Jo, the trooper that she was, kept her foot in it and arrived home safely.

The insurance company wanted to total the PT, even though the damage was mainly to the door, glass and windshield. I worked a deal with them to have the car repaired, as otherwise it was in great shape. Now back on the road, it remains excellent, reliable, if rather uninspiring, basic transportation.

And lucky for me, I’m not a wildlife magnet, just a typo magnet.

’til next time…

Minimal exterior damage but note the glass blast and hair on headrest post.

Back on the road good as (almost) new.

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Zoo Keeper’s Diary

Last Minute Details

THIS COLUMN IS LATE. Actually, not the sort of late that gets you in trouble, but simply outside-the-comfort-zone late that sometimes makes more grey hair show up. Magazines run on press-time deadlines, and we keep to a pretty tight schedule here to make sure our designer, John Flannery, can start the herculean task of making our jigsaw puzzle of parts fit into 100 pages an issue. My deadline to get everything over to him is only 24 hours away, and the crazy summer work and travel pushed me to wait until the last minute to get this thing done, over to Cliff for a final OK, to John, and eventually into the format you’re reading here.

Hey, it’s not like I’m the only one dealing with this process. “Last minute details” are part of most automotive, shall we say, campaigns. For racers, of course, it comes down to those last tweaks on an engine build or chassis setup. In drag racing, even more so, because you’ll get one shot at the track, not 10 laps to figure it out. Forget to tighten that hose clamp, and they’ll shut you off after the burnout. Fail to get that tire pressure right, and a high horsepower car will rattle (shake) the tires or go up in smoke. If you have a crew chief, the driver can focus on his or her own last-minute detail, a 100% focus on that killer .001 light.

Or, maybe racing is not your thing. Instead, you are finishing up that car for the Nats or another judged event. Now the focus is on exactitude. For the really high-end stuff, does that alternator have the right date code? Is the brake line routing correct? Did you ever hear what Ehrenberg thinks about poor blackout paint and overspray? You can rest assured that everyone else who is in your class or chasing that “best

BY GEOFF STUNKARD

of show” award is doing the same thing. As the clock ticks down, it’s crunch time.

Former factory racer Paul Rossi found himself in the same boat at Carlisle. He and a friend drove from California to central Pennsylvania in about 80 hours, and we had agreed we would get a photo shoot done on his just-completed tribute to the legendary 1970 Six-Pack Challenger that ruled the roost back in the late 1970s. After body work, he had just sprayed the paint himself on the 4th of July and put the car together. He informed me that, despite his last minute thrash attempts, the engine had not been completed so the car was not running yet, and it was also short “a couple” of final details. With just a few hours of sleep under his belt, we met in the early afternoon on Thursday at the Carlisle Fairgrounds to get the photos done.

Since the car was not running, I asked my friend Dennis Kohr, who helps Ed Buczaskie keep the Carlisle Mope show running smoothly, if he could come with me to where we were taking pictures to help push the car around “for a few minutes.” What I didn’t know was that Paul still needed to get the headlights and grille trim installed. This type to stuff tends to become a recipe for disaster if I’m on the wrenches. On the other hand, Dennis, who is a world class restoration guy, not only got the process finished, he figured out some little stuff in Paul’s stash that would need to be replaced to get it right the first time, meaning sending somebody out on a couple of trips over to the swap meet.

I don’t know if Ed B. was frustrated when Dennis returned “only” 2½ hours later, sweaty and dirty. Sorry, pal. All I can say both Paul and I were extremely grateful for Dennis’ tireless effort to make this project, one he had nothing previously to do with, and our photo shoot happen. Last minute details are often that help you get from friends as you finish something up. We will show you the car and Paul’s secrets as soon as the motor is completed.

Anyhow, back to work. See you in 60 days with Carlisle coverage!

Good guy Dennis Kohr went above and beyond the call of duty, with tireless Paul Rossi extremely thankful.

Crec’s Corner

Claim Game

YOU KNOW THE RULES , no politics but let’s talk about the rising cost of... I don’t know… everything! You see it on the news, online, and everywhere you go in your daily life, so you don’t need a reminder from yours truly. Wanna know what else is on the rise? The value of your trusty Mopar sitting in your garage or driveway. Care to guess who won’t call you in your best interest to look out for yourself and check out your policy and increase the value of it? Most likely your insurance company. I’m not saying all insurance companies are bad, but I have heard and seen way too many horror stories to not put this out there so you can protect yourself.

Go to your very worst scenario, you’re out driving your prized Pentastar and some idiot runs a stop sign and bam! Or... that tie rod, wiring harness, or fuel line replacement you’ve been putting off finally said enough and now you have problems. In an instant, all your hard work is gone. After the emotional aftermath... it comes time to contact the insurance company and begin the dreaded claim process. You don’t need me to say they love getting paid but hate paying out. So what if they do honor your policy? Did you have enough foresight to insure it for enough $$$ to replace it in the event of a total loss? In your mind, it’s priceless. In theirs, it comes down to what you once put on the dotted line to the right of the dollar sign.

If this sounds familiar, it should, because we all know someone who went through this BS. I am not here to slam the bad insurance companies or praise the good ones, I’m trying to

BY ANTHONY CRECCO

help keep your sanity in the event your luck runs out and you’re facing a situation that could result in a total loss with a payout that won’t even come close to repairing or finding a replacement. I am just as guilty for not doing this, but trust me, it’s high on the list of to-do’s.

Food for thought— keep all your receipts. Why? Because when they ask, “how’d you come up with that number?,” you can shove it up their “um uh file” file and cover yourself.

Carry a fire extinguisher. If you chuckle at this one, trust me, you won’t if you ever need one. Ever see a car on fire and the guy using his shirt to hit the flames? Stops being funny when it’s your car and shirt. Take all safety precautions, make necessary repairs. Ehrenberg preaches bypassing the ammeter non-stop and for a good reason. You can Google the result of any dash fire out there; trust me, the results aren’t pretty. Review the total value replacement in your insurance policy and increase it as necessary. If you have had your car for 20 years, that is great and that means you were paying prices from two decades ago. Go online look at what parts are going for, what cars like yours now sell for if you had to replace it

Finally, use word of mouth. Hey, you’re already a “car guy/girl” and hit every show, car cruise, cars and coffee, etc. that you can, so talk to people and see what they have to say. Eventually someone will have some useful info on what happened to themselves, their spouse, friend, etc. Car people look out for each other regardless of make, and no one wants to see anyone suffer a loss like this. See someone with some 1-of-5 brand X car? Ask em’ who do they would trust if they had to ever file a claim.

Keep it greasy side down and may the only flames be in your paint job.

–Crec

Better call Saul? No, the fire department.

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TechTopics

B-Body K-Member Variations

on to your ’73. They used a unique pushrod, 2409978 (see photo, left, but one of the adjustable ones commonly seen these days lately will do just fine. Yep, the standard B-body master bolts right up.

K GAMES Hi Rick–

BY RICHARD EHRENBERG, S.A.E.

PHOTOS BY RICHARD EHRENBERG, OR AS CREDITED

You shim the steering column down and use a smaller steering wheel (Tuff, etc.), which, to my mind (and torso) improves the ergonomics. Depending on how far you want to go, you may need to modify the firewall or column-to-firewall plate.

IGNITION REGULATION

Rick–

STOPPING THE C Rick–

Recently I picked up a ’73 Fury lll. The brake booster is leaking badly, and I would just as soon prefer to do away with it. Did these cars ever come with non-power-assist brakes? Is there any interchangeability in master cylinders and pushrods from the other body styles that I could use on this car?

Kevin Clickner Demotte, IN Kev–

Yes, they were available with manual brakes in the early years and will bolt

Chrysler Engineered

I STUMBLED on a great old YouTube video explaining and showcasing the best of Chrysler’s engineering advances just prior to World War II.

Amazingly, they were analyzing even atomic changes in metals, aerodynamics. Check it out at tinyurl.com/ chryslerengineering.

What is the difference between the ’70 B-body K-frame and the ’71? I know they all bolt in but are there differences? I heard there were variations in the angle of the steering box.

Is the E body similar to these?

Ralph Vaquero Covington GA

I am getting ready to convert my ’67 Dart, 273 4-Bbl, to electronic ignition (Chrysler style). I am told that I must also convert to a squareback alternator and electronic voltage regulator. Is this really necessary?

Bryan Phelps Frankfort, KY

Ralph–

From 1970 to 1971 (B-body), the K-member steering box mounting angle changed, as did the pitman and idler arms, and, most importantly, the center link. E-body shared this update with only minor differences.

I have used the ’71 K in ’66–’70 B-bodies, with all the correct later components

Electronic ignition and electromechanical alternator voltage regulators (seen here) co-exist peacefully.

–R.E. A Mopar puts the pedal to the metal against a 90 MPH headwind, simulating a mountain climb.

The

HOW TO GET HELP:

Address all queries to this address: RICHARD EHRENBERG PO BOX 302

ORO 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

Bry–

In a word, no. The battery itself acts as a capacitor, smoothing the voltage fluctuations, even with the stock pre-’69 VR; even if it did not, the ECU, despite rumors to the contrary, is not very sensitive to voltage variations or fluctuations.

440 CRASHED

Hello Sir Richard–

My 1971 440 CI engine I purchased from Las Vegas, NV took a tumble during its delivery to me in PA, crushing the crank pulley in addition to other external parts. See attached photos. Manufacture date is 9/1971. The engine is currently installed in my 1972 Charger, heading for first fire. I believe this is an externally bal-

on

RestoTopics

Distributor cap terminals—brass vs. aluminum.

I guess this is another case of “never say never” in the Mopar world.

Vic Porcher Via e-mail

BY RICHARD EHRENBERG, S.A.E.

Wanna submit a resto question? Please follow the instructions on page 10.

Vic–

Good catch! I was thinking only passenger cars. My error, but remember, I did confirm the existence of 2-Bbl RBs—the RB383, so I stopped thinking at that point!

I’d not be surprised if the manifolds were identical.

2963R,

DRUM ROLL PLEASE

Rick–

My 1971 Dodge Charger (318) has wornout Kelsey Hayes KH87087-3 (10 x 2½˝) finned rear drums with 8.25˝ rear axle). I can only find 1973 Dodge Dart non-finned drums that share a common denominator with ’71–’74 B-bodies P/N 3580-553, yet Raybestos has a finned drum #2963R that fits ’73–’76 Dodge Dart and also is compatible with Chrysler p/n 4049661. Would these fit or did the 1975 Charger/ Fury/Cordoba 10 x 2½˝ drum with 8.25˝ rear axle change dramatically with different backing plates or axle flange depth?

Frank Janicek Pensacola, FL

Jack, yes, they will slide right on and are a worthwhile upgrade. Go for it!

DEUCES WILD

Hi Rick–

I just read your response to readers James and Cooper in the August issue about 2-Bbl RB engines. I’m sure you have the resources to confirm this, but I did see an L600 truck a few years ago that had the “industrial” 413 engine in it with a Holley 2-Bbl carb on it. Until I saw that in person, I would have fully agreed with you on the 4-Bbl only comment. I’ve been working on and playing around with Mopars since 1960 and had never seen this manifold before. That L600 was a highway tractor unit and was awaiting restoration.

Vinyl protectants are said to minimize sun damage. We have been happy with “ArmorAll Interior Detailer,” just be 100% certain to get the “No Shine / Natural matte Finish” formula.

PAD PROTECTION

Mr. Ehrenberg–

The dash pad in my ’72 Challenger is in pretty good shape, just some very fine hairline cracks. What should I do to prevent it from getting worse?

Jason Caffee Providence, RI

appearance. One product I have used for years is ArmorAll “No Shine” interior detailer, it has worked for me without the appearance negative.

WAGONMASTER

Jay–

The #1 killer of crash (dash) pads, and interior vinyl in general, is sunlight. If you can consistently park it out of the sun’s direct rays, that goes a long way. They also sell formed / cut carpet covers which also do the job, as do those accordionfold foil covered windshield reflectors, if you must park in direct sunlight.

There are also chemical compounds that claim to both prevent hardening and cracking of the vinyl, supposedly by providing an SPF. Some have the downside of giving the pad a very unnatural glossy

Mr. Ehrenberg–

I just inherited a 1966 Plymouth Belvedere II wagon with a 361 big-block (twobarrel) and the automatic. Is this rare? How many were made?

Joe Andrews Lincoln, NE

Joe–

The best numbers I have:

• 6 passenger: 422 (automatic trans)

• 9 passenger: 391 (automatic trans)

The very rare ones are the 4-speeds, some combos were single digits built.

PHOTOS BY RICHARD EHRENBERG, OR AS CREDITED

’66 Bel wagons were quite popular— except 4-speed manual versions.

Missing Mopars

BY WES EISENSCHENK Untangling the tangled web of some 1964 Plymouth Factory Lightweights

What Happened to the Black Max Mayflowers?

HAVE YOU EVER GONE UP into the attic to retrieve your fishing gear you parked from the previous year only to find that every rod and reel has had their lines tangled into a mess that looks like your spaghetti dinner? That’s what I came across when trying to unwind the history of the thirteen 1964 Plymouth Sedans that were painted Ebony with a Red interior.

Indeed, a good friend of mine has a 1964 factory lightweight Plymouth. When he purchased the car in the early 1990s, he was told it was a very famous racer’s old racecar. After I got to know him, together we began to take a closer look at his lightweight and really began to dig into the history of the car. It was there we found that things weren’t lining up.

Here is what we know—in 1964, Plymouth built seven 1964 Super Stock III and six Super Commando Hemi Plymouth Savoys in black with red interiors. Thanks to the wonderful work by Darrell Davis and his fantastic book, The 1964 Plymouth Super Stock and Super Commando Guide, we had our starting point in order to find out my friend’s cars history. However, it wasn’t just his car we’d be researching—it would become necessary to unwind all thirteen of these incredible factory lightweight Plymouths.

By

After entering all the data into an Excel spread sheet on each car (serial number, region, dealer, ship date, engine, sheetmetal, transmission), I

A friend’s black/red gut ’64 Savoy led the author to research the entire lucky batch of 13 racecars with this color combo that left Plymouth in ’64.

1964 Super Stock III

My friend’s car was purported to be a Race Hemi Plymouth new. However, the ship date just wasn’t matching up with the known ship dates of those Super Commando cars. Of the seven MWs built, four of the SS III cars were shipped to the Los Angeles region and one each to Dallas, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. Immediately, we were able to determine the SanFran car was Lee Brown’s Wild One Plymouth. One off the board. With help from Darrell, we were able to determine which dealerships the other six were sent to. This aided greatly in lining up historic imagery and sponsorship on racecars (most wore the name of their receiving dealership). Mind you, finding art on some of these cars was very difficult and took years to locate. In time, we were able to slot three of the Los Angeles delivered cars and paired them up with Jerry Grosz, David Doheny and Earl Wade/ Mike Lenkes. We still had three SSIII cars to work out while also unwinding the Super Commando (Race Hemi) cars at the same time.

1964 Super Commando

There were three Hemi package cars shipped to Dallas, two to Washington D.C. and a lone car assigned to “Company Accounts Field”. The last one we figured would be a factory-backed driver.

The West Coast wedges were represented by Lee Brown’s Wild One from San Francisco, and Los Angeles campaign ers Jerry Grosz, David Doheny, and Earl Wade/ Mike Lenkes. Wade would go on to be tuner of Dyno Don Nicholson’s Mercury program.

After getting the dealership info, the cars fell in place rather quickly and unbelievably five of the six racers were still alive. The Fenner Tubbs (Dallas) car driven by Joe Smith was an easy slot. A car delivered to Beaumont, TX (one of the Dallas cars) campaigned under the name Infamy (read more about this one in my book Lost Muscle Cars) and was driven by J.D. Feigelson, while the last Dallas car was raced by Bill Brittian and ran under his own name. Three down.

The two Washington D.C. cars had been confused due to the fact that the cars were campaigned by friends who had even driven one another’s cars at times! Clayton Wynham of Wynham Motor Co. and Pee Wee Wallace of Richmond had matching

The Texas Hemi racers include the Fenner Tubbs car driven by Joe Smith (who became the 1965 NHRA World Champion the following season). At right are Infamy driven by J.D. Feigelson, and Bill Brittian’s Dallas-based machine.

cars and the same fonts for their lettering. The Wynham car was delivered right to his dealership while Pee Wee’s car went to Pettit Motor Co. in Louisa, VA. Both were delivered within the same 3-day window. In time, they’d be accidentally mixed up, but with imagery and hard facts on shipping info, I was able to set the record straight on them.

With the two D.C. cars off the board, that left just the Company Accounts Field car to figure out…

Hayden Proffitt

Easily the most photographed of the Black/Red cars was the Race Hemi of Hayden Proffit, who raced out of Downey, CA under the Yeakel Plymouth Center banner. After a couple of lengthy conversations with Hayden, we knew he was the factory driver and the person with the Company Accounts Field car. This was also the car my friend believed he had, though the ship dates told a different story.

With the Hemi cars unwound, it was back to the three remaining SSIII cars to finish the mystery.

The Last 3

These three MW cars had a very wide shipping range in where they were delivered (L.A., Dallas, D.C.). We knew my friend’s car was received at Jack Rieger Chrysler Plymouth in San Antonio, TX (Hayden was from Tow, TX, 2 hours away), so we eliminated the two other cars and really concentrated on finding imagery of MW SSIII Plymouth sedans running the wedge hood scoop in Texas. We saw how the cars could have been confused based on proximity. The next step is where the wonderful world of Mopar historians comes together.

The Grey Ghost

Another ’64 Plymouth researcher was also trying to document the history of his lightweight. George Panek had been painstakingly trying to find imagery of his racecar and had collected any and all info he could on the SSIII cars. In doing so he logged a photo of a ’64 Plymouth MW sedan running at Houston Drag Raceway and covered in the September 4th, 1965 issue of Drag News with Larry Chabert as the driver. Our next step was trying to find Mr. Chabert to ask him about his old racecar.

This ad from Jack Reiger shows they tried to sell the Super Stock III but it ended up being traded to River Oaks Chrysler Plymouth, and…

Flying Wedge

Unfortunately Mr. Chabert had passed away in December of 2007 in a motorcycle accident. I was able to reach his son Larry, Jr. and daughter Stephanie and they were eager to help me determine if the car in my friend’s garage was their dad’s old racecar.

Larry’s car raced with River Oaks Chrysler Plymouth sponsorship out of Houston, TX and was nicknamed the Flying Wedge. After pooling all their family members together, Larry, Sr.’s sisters told them a story of going down to the dealership to watch the car come off the trailer that was coming in from San Antonio.

As we began to backtrack ownership history on my friend’s car and also bring it forward from new using the serial number, we came to the conclusion that Larry Chabert’s old ’64 Plymouth was, in fact, the car in his garage.

The Flying Wedge was delivered new to Jack Rieger Chrysler Plymouth and dealer-traded to River Oaks Chrysler Plymouth. From there it was campaigned by Larry Chabert for a couple of years and sold to another drag racer out of Pasadena, TX (a suburb of Houston). Four more owners later, it found its way into my buddy’s garage. The Chabert’s rejoiced in the fact that their dad’s old car had survived the test of time and we couldn’t have been happier to have found complete ownership history and fixed some misinformation along the way. Hey, and it only took 50+ years to figure all of this out! Spaghetti, baby!

…the mystery was solved when a photo of Larry Chabert driving it in 1965 with that dealer’s name and the moniker “no, it AIN’T a HEMI!” turned up in an old race newspaper.

AT TURNER SAYS that he been fooling with cars all his life. “My grandfather was a mechanic for General Motors dealerships pretty much his whole life,” says Pat. “So anytime I was around my grandfather, I was around cars.” In the ’70s, Pat worked part time after school at a Chevy dealership, which allowed him to buy parts at near cost while modifying his own ’57 Chevy. Pat resto-modded his ride before the term became popular, swapping an (old-school 1970s, then modern) LT-1 Chebbie motor, Muncie “rock crusher” 4-speed, and Camaro rear disc brakes into the Fifties-era Detroit iron.

Goal was to use as much new technology as possible while keeping the stock Road Runner look. Good fuel economy and high reliability were also a major design criteria. Restoration took 10 years. Car, not surprisingly, is a multi-show award winner.

The Chevy was a distant memory when, in 1974, Pat bought his wife Shirley a 1968 Road Runner from the original owner for $792 plus a ’65 Mustang. The couple happily tooled around in this daily driver until ’89 when they parked it. Until 2012. That’s when Pat decided to wake the slumbering bird by launching into a restoration. The original plan was to rebuild the 383/727 drivetrain and keep the car fairly stock, again as a daily driver.

Then Pat took note of the restomod craze that was in full swing at the time—especially in the Chevy camp where the Bow-Tie crowd was dropping new LS motors into anything with four wheels. With his background in electrical and mechanical engineering, Pat was especially intrigued with the advances in technology by the aftermarket. So he opted to build back better. Much better—and again before that phrase became a political slogan.

The 10-year project started with addressing body issues. The beeper suffered from typical B-body rust issues— driver’s floorpan and trunk floor rusted out, and the vinyl top had leaked and rusted the B-pillar and the leak continued down into the trunk. The quarters were rusted, and one fender had been hit in a minor accident. But overall, the body was straight and a solid starting point. Pat built his own rotisserie and tapped AMD for all the panels they had for the car at the time. What they didn’t have, Pat had to improvise with his own patch panels from his previous experience doing bodywork on his ’57 Chevy. He says he has a decent metal shop in his home garage. Pat soda-blasted the bare metal body and made a gun so he could even blast the inside of the rocker panels.

With the bodywork completed as far as Pat could take it, he now needed paint, but who could do the job? Pat passed a local collision shop on his way to work and stopped in one day and said, “hey, I need someone to finish this car.” Joe Johnson, owner of the one-man shop, explained that he couldn’t turn away his insurance busi ness just to work on the ‘Runner but he’d work on it between jobs. Pat agreed as long as Joe wouldn’t screw it out for years. Pat had to agree to pay Joe weekly. Joe explained that some customers who were supposed to pay at job completion would

Pat

say “Gee, I didn’t know it was gonna cost that much,” and they didn’t have the dough and the shop was stuck with the car.

Pat said, “I’d stop at Joe’s shop on a weekly basis, he’d show me what he had done and the materials he used, and I’d go to the bank, get the money and pay him the next morning.” Joe had hired a guy to come out of retirement and help on the project. His helper said, “I do final filler, that’s what I did for 30 years. I don’t do the rough filler. If you need a lot of filler here, that’s not me.” The guy sat on a little stool for probably six weeks taking something like a paint stick, applying filler and sanding and rubbing it out. The Road Runner was completed in three months.

Attending a car show with some 300 Mopars in Knoxville, Tennessee, Pat says a guy asked him how much body filler he had in the car, Pat replied about 12-15 gallons. The guy started laughing until Pat explained that all but a small fraction of that was sanded off, the Runner was blocked about five times to get it superstraight. The body filler guy would go through a gallon of the stuff every two or three days, and when Pat stopped by to see the progress, he’d see a pile of filler 4 inches deep on the floor.

The motor came from the now defunct Muscle Motors who’ve since moved on to a higher calling. “They told me they started with a 400 block out of a motor

home,” notes Pat, “because it had better cooling passages.” A stroker Molnar crank ups displacement to 505 CI, while Scat rods swing forged slugs. Muscle Motors said the big blocks were notorious for pumping too much oil into the valvetrain so they restricted the flow. Up top are aluminum heads that are ported and polished, Pat’s not sure whose heads they are as there are no markings.

Fuel economy and reliability were top priorities for Pat, and he wanted to use as much new technology while keeping the stock Road Runner look. He called the folks at FAST for their single-point EFI system (this was before Holley came out with their own EFI setup). He told FAST that he wanted their EFI and and CDI box and everything related to the fuel and igni tion systems. The FAST guy asked why Pat wanted all that stuff. “Because I want to call you when it doesn’t run, and you can’t point a finger and say it’s the other guy’s CDI or whatever.” The EFI outfit mates to a FAST-modified Eddy Performer RPM aluminum intake.

For exhaust, Pat went with TTi ceramic-coated stepped headers and had a local shop fab the rest of the stainless system that terminates in TTi stainless tips. He has big ol’ stock-type Walker mufflers because he likes a quiet car and doesn’t mind giving up a tad of performance to get it.

’Runner rides on RMS suspension front and 4-link rear with Viking coilovers all around. Wheels are one-off Custom Forgeline CVC3 19x8 front and 20x10 rear shod with Michelin Pilot Super Sports.

Pat, a control engineer for 46 years, relied on his electrical and mechanical engineering smarts to design the awesome electronics in this era-spanning machine. The custom carbon fiber console houses the Kenwood radio, EFI and Ignition handheld, plus Schneider fingerprint reader which activates pushbutton start/stop, window and door lock control and USB ports. A Powertrain Control Solutions (PCS) transmission controller uses CAN communications to work with the PCS push-button console-mounted shifter.

All lighting is LED, including Digi-Tails taillights, all marker lights and Green COB head lights. Rear is a 3.23 8¾ . Custom stainless exhaust ends in stainless TTi tips. An Aero motive in-tank Phantom 200 fuel pump, filter and pressure regulator send the go-juice through stainless hardlines.

Legendary refreshed the stock bench seat. Tilt Steering Column by Ididit mounts Momo Prototipo 6C carbon fiber wheel. Intellitronics digital gauges readout from stock Road Runner dash opening—pretty trick. Classic Air A/C is added to the originally non-A/C beeper.

In keeping with his fuel economy goal, Pat wanted an overdrive tranny with a lockup converter. He said that Mopar didn’t have the goods so he dialed up Phoenix Transmissions. They recommended a ’91 and up GM 4L60E that has a removable bellhousing so a Quicktime bell can mate with the big-block. The trans has a lower First gear for more torque. Pat says that he wasn’t building a racecar and rarely exceeds 70 MPH. Underneath that laser-straight, white Porsche Carrera-paint code body and keeping company with that custom exhaust is a full aftermarket suspension (sadly, the OEM world-beating T-bar setup has been round-filed), plus Wilwood discs with a Hydroboost system.

The interior is where Pat really got creative. He built the dash himself from components made by Intellitronics. Pat got to know the owner of the company who helped him engineer all the digital readouts, including trans temp, into the stock Road Runner dash.

Pat’s “Pale Runner,” as he named it when the original plan was to make the beeper just a “super clean” car, is deceptive in its outward appearance (wheels and 505 hood callouts excepted) by hiding almost all of the 143 modifications. Pat says he counted ‘em, from the powertrain down to minor details such as custom bracketry on coil, horn, and spark plug wire holders. Take a look—how many Waldos can you count (unless you have better things to do.)

All trunk mounted electrical controllers with wiring terminated at hidden Din Rail terminal blocks. It’s all care fully mounted on swing-out doors for servicing. Infinity Box Intelligent Wiring System uses a 20-circuit kit for everything including interface between phone and Kenwood Exelon DNN 922 control, wireless key fob, active battery management system, and power windows. No relays are used anywhere. Infin ity Box uses MOSFET solid-state semiconductors for control of all power.

“Oh, where, oh, where has my Challenger gone, oh, where, oh, where can it be?…”

MEET THE CHMIELEWSKI’S—Zac and Marilla. Married as teenagers, they quickly adopted Mopars into their family. First was an ’05 Hemi Magnum R/T. A year later they bought their first house, which put a financial squeeze on their car payments, so the Magnum was replaced with a well-used 300C which unfortunately was less than reliable. In 2010, back when Zac was still in high school, he saw a purple Challenger with white stripes on a car lot. It became his dream car. So, in 2013, when Dodge brought back the Plum Crazy Challenger, Zac sold the 300C to come up with a down payment on his Challenger R/T Classic dream at a local mom & pop Dodge dealer.

Zac and Marilla Chmielewski now keep their limited edition Mr. Norm’s Challenger on a leash.

Challenger sports Mopar Performance T/A hood and SRT front lower valance conversion.

Zac and Marilla were living the dream when they drove their Challenger to a Monster Mopar Weekend show in Indianapolis. On display was a Mr. Norm’s Challenger that Zac thought was just the coolest thing. Coming from a GM/Shivvy family background where the buzz was about Chevelles, Camaros, and Corvettes, Zac didn’t know Norm from the man in the moon (to coin a cliché.) He contacted Larry Weiner, who was handling the Norm

projects, to see what it would take to put the Norm’s spin on his ride. Larry came up with the numbers which was a bit (quite a bit) more than Zac (20 years old and coin-challenged) could swing. Larry said he’d talk to Norm to see what he could do.

Norm, who never passes up a deal (he once took a wristwatch as a down payment on a car back in his Grand Spaulding Dodge days), came up with a hot rod layaway plan. Norm was going to make only 7 of his 50th Anniversary Challengers in Plum Crazy and would reserve the Number 4 slot for Zac if he could pay it all off within 6 months. Norm’s cars were built by shops in Florida, California, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Zac didn’t have the dough to ship his car anywhere. Larry was able to contact 2 shops in Zac’s area to handle the interior and striping and the Dodge dealer where Zac originally bought the Challenger to install some of the suspension hardware.

From there, Zac upped the ante and bolted in a Petty’s Garage Strut tower brace, big Brembo binders, and various other suspension upgrades he did himself for autocross and road track action where handling and braking are more important than horsepower. “It’s more of a just for fun thing for me,” says Zac, “rather than going all-out competition.”

Zac also went with a Mopar T/A hood to add some race persona to the Dodge. He worked with Larry to come up with a custom stripe as the Norm’s 50th Anniversary cars never came

spoiler,

delete.

To make matters worse, Zac’s family tool and die business, Zac’s source of income, was closing their doors. The financial burden was overwhelming and Zac couldn’t make the payments he still owed on the Challenger, so he had to let it go after owning it a little over 2 years.

Zac didn’t want tire kickers and rowdy test drivers coming by to see the car, so he contacted a local dealer who specialized in high-end exotics—Fer raris, Lambos, those sort of cars. That dealer didn’t really know what to do with a Dodge, so he hooked Zac up with another dealer who flipped cars a couple of notches lower on the snob scale— Corvettes, Porsches, those ilk of cars. This dealer had a collection of his own and said he’d keep the Challenger for a while and then maybe sell it.

Zac was beside himself having to part with his dream machine and was determined to keep tabs on it the way some people can’t let an ex-heartthrob go and keep track of their new life on social media. Yeah, an automotive stalker...

The wholesaler kept the Dodge for a year and then parked it for sale on a lot. Zac and Marilla would drive down regularly to visit their wayward dream car. Musta been gut wrenching for the couple who had no way of buying it back what with house repair bills and Zac starting a new career as a truck driver.

When the Challenger didn’t sell, the dealer took it to auction where it was picked up by a Ford dealer. The car floated around for a few months and was listed on eBay, eventually ending up at Penske Chevrolet in Indianapolis. In late 2016, Zac took a day off from work and the C’s drove 3 hours down to Penske just to see the Dodge and take some pictures of it. Zac had been in contact with every dealership the car had been in to stay on its tail. The trail went cold when Penske sold the Dodge and Zac, at a dead end, gave up the chase.

Some time went by, and Zac was selling some car parts on Facebook Marketplace. An interested buyer’s Facebook page said that he worked at Penske Chevrolet. Zac asked him if he knew about the Challenger. “Sure do,” came the reply. “I’m the

with that hood. He swapped the lower valence to the SRT piece which has ducts for better brake cooling. Some duct tweaking was needed to clear the power steering pump which differs between the R/T and SRT. “The stock shifter was lousy,” notes Zac. A Barton short-throw stick solved that problem.

So, life was good, and Zac and Marilla lived happily ever after. Not!

In 2015, disaster struck as a raging fire that burned up half their house. The Challenger, parked in a detached garage, was spared. The contractor they hired for repairs was a scammer. “He said that we owed him a bunch of money for work he didn’t do and it turned into a whole legal nightmare. My house was half repaired, and I had to pay someone else to finish the job just so I could live in it, and the insurance was not being helpful,” says Zac.

Barton short-throw shifter instructs the Quicktime steel bellhousing-equipped Tremec 6-speed manual trans.

Norm throws in a Katzkin premium leather interior with embroidered logo seatbacks.

The Mr. Norm’s package includes a plethora of goodies including graphics, plaques and emblems, quarter panel scoops, lowered suspension and more.

person who told the manager to buy it at auction.” Zac asks if he knew what happened to the car. “I sold it to a guy a couple of months ago.”

Zac’s heart rate was nearing the rev limiter. Zac asked if the parts buyer could reach out to the new owner. “I could tell him about the car’s history or whatever, I’d love to talk to him. I’ve kept all the important documentation and stuff for the car, ’cuz I was just afraid that if I gave it to someone who didn’t care, they’d just throw it out. When I got the car new, I told the dealer not even to wash it. I’ve kept every sticker, every wrapper. I’d love to reach out to this guy and, maybe pass this stuff onto him.”

The Penske guy made the connection with Verne, the car’s new owner, who was located about 2 hours from Zac. The two started talking and became friends with Verne promising Zac first shot at buying back the car should he ever sell it— an unlikely prospect as the Challenger was now his dream car and he enjoyed driving and showing it. Verne was in his 60s and was a truck driver, same as Zac. The two would talk cars to each other on the road but that was kind of a pretense as Zac’s real intent was, “if you ever want to sell it, let me know.”

In 2018, life was back to normal for Zac and Marilla, Zac was in better financial shape and finally accepted the fact that Verne would never sell his beloved Challenger, so the C’s went out and bought a new Challenger R/T in GoMango. It was fun and they enjoyed it, but it just didn’t have the same magic of the first car. In late August of that year, Zac was getting out of work and missed a call from Verne. Zac called back and got some bittersweet news. “I’m thinking of selling the Norm’s car. Just got back from the doc, says I have Stage 4 cancer and he gave me 4 weeks. I’d love for you to buy the car back because I know how much it means to you.”

Verne had kept the Challenger immaculate. ’Course Zac wanted it back, but he was now stuck with a brand-new Challenger, and he couldn’t afford both. Fortunately, Zac’s parents were looking for a new car and the GoMango Challenger fit the bill. Also fitting—back in Zac and Marilla’s garage—was the one-of-7 Mr. Norm’s 50th Anniversary Plum Crazy Challenger (just remember to keep that fire extinguisher handy, Zac!).

The unique 1972 Plymouth Scamp built by Steve Strope and his team at Pure Vision Design using ARP fasteners throughout was a standout at the SEMA Show, winning several important “Best Mopar” awards. Under the hood is a formidable 408 c.i.d. “LA” series powerplant from Ed Pink Racing Engines that’s also fortified with ARP components.

ARP manufactures high performance replacement fasteners for all popular Mopar engines from the 1950s to date, plus important driveline and accessory applications.

See the big new 180-page catalog online or request your free printed copy. For those of you with Gen III Hemi engines, please download our dedicated product guide.

5.7 Hemi shows added AEM fender pull cold air intake, DiabloSport Trinity Tuner, Billet Technology PCV catch can and their engine dress-up kit.

TIM WELLBORN was up in the Motor Trend channel’s broadcasting booth with commentators John Kraman and Scott Hoke on May 23rd as lot F111 rolled forward.

Back in early 2015, Wellborn had presented the world with its first-ever opportunity to publicly purchase the Hemipowered Charger Daytona he owned. At Mecum Kissimmee that day, the car had sold via an agent to actor David Spade for a huge $990,000. Today, at Dana Mecum’s 2022 Indy Classic, the next opportunity to buy a comparable example of this model was being offered. This particular car is an example that Wellborn notably refers to as an “elite musclecar,” meaning not just rare but with the correct optioning, condition, and

provenance to set a record price. Within the first 30 seconds, Wellborn’s record price was eclipsed as the green aero warrior almost instantly hit $1M, then $1.1 and finally settled at $1.32 with buyers premium to hammer “SOLD!” It only took about 2 minutes to change hands.

Wellborn, among the most savvy of buyers when it come to investor-grade muscle, was philosophical about losing his former notoriety as a seller, saying he knew this day would come. The car being offered itself has been well-heralded as being likely to set a record prior to the event. Painted in rich F8 Dark Green Metallic with a black wing, the car retained the original line-installed Hemi driveline, A34 Super Track

X From Ray Evernham came the prototype Charger Daytona that set the 200 MPH World Record with Buddy Baker in 1970. The restoration brought $550,000, which seem to be in line with what bet ter stock-type racecars bring. Two restored Indy cars here topped the $1M mark, however,

W This amazing Dodge Daytona, 1-of-1 in F8 with matched green interior and its factory Hemi intact, took home a large $1.32M to go to a new owner during Mecum’s 2022 Indy auction.

S This Paxton supercharged Mr. Norm’s Demon 340 from 1972, rarely seen in any condition, may have been the nicest in existence, and a record-setting final price of $165,000 reflected that.

One surprise buy may have been this 1967 Dodge Coronet Hemi convertible, very low in production at 3 units (and the only automatic ever built) that sold for just $82,500, a price that reflected its likely need for a serious 21st century restoration that could well cost as much again.

A late consignment 1971 ‘Cuda convertible, one of 33 383-powered built with a 4-speed, featured EL5 Bahama Yellow paint and some day two OEM upgrades. It was a stunner price-wise as well, rising to an amazing $214,000 when it sold late on Saturday.

This 16-mile Demon with literally no dealer prep and everything including the unopened crate intact, jumped to $220,000 to show what “investment preservation” can result in.

More visible than the Dodge at 17 units built but still a factory Hemi droptop was this 1967 GTX in red, selling at $112,750.

Pak with 4-speed and 4.10 Dana, and 1-of-1 provenance on its documented, matching C6G green interior. The original engine likely made a difference in desirability, but regardless, with just 22 4-speed Hemi Charger Daytonas of any sort released in 1969, the term “elite” applies.

At this price, the car made Mopar history as well as headlines nationally, with the record being broadcast on a number of news programs that night. The Daytona has often been noted the rarer of Chrysler’s two best-known aero-specials, having had just 503 total units built. Rules changes by the organization FIA/ACCUS resulted in Plymouth being required to create over 1900 SuperBirds later in 1969 as 1970 models. Nonetheless, two of these Plymouths also topped the million-dollar barrier at two Barrett-Jackson’s events earlier this year, both of them being automatics and reportedly both to one determined buyer.

Truth be told, while it has been some time since a real ‘71 Hemicuda convertible has changed hands publicly, those Hemi E-body Plymouth droptops remain the true bellwether priceleaders for all Hemi-powered production cars. Even $4.8M was not enough to buy a unique one last summer. While many B-body convertible models are very limited in factory production, the wing cars have a mystique. There was nothing like them ever offered as street cars before or since. Their desirability among the collector car set is well-established, and the high-stakes drama that played out in NASCAR (on track and via rules changes) aids that heritage. For an owner to be able to state, “yes, it is a factory Hemi car” helps this notoriety, and adding value in any instance is the as-delivered driveline being intact, especially a car like this most recent Daytona. Furthermore, the Charger’s R/T level pre mium options as well as this car’s 4.10 final gear, never available on the SuperBird, made this car very special.

The records did not end with this car, as immediately after it drove away, a documented Mr. Norm’s 1972 GSS Demon from the same collection (Motor City Muscle) featuring an NOS Paxton blower hammered sold at a huge $165,000, by far a record for any smallblock A-body Mope. Overall, there were 19 Dodges and 19 Plymouths that topped the $100,000 mark here, with the Mayflower gang highlights topped in drama by a $214,500 sale of a 1971 ’Cuda convertible 383 in EL5 Bahama Yellow paint with day-two OEM added accessories (certainly this is a very big number of any 383 model),

MoPower to You.

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Improvements over stock: A356-T61 aluminum castings; enhanced intake ports; CNC Street Ported runners; stronger rocker arm shaft bosses; and 3/8" pushrod clearance. There’s also standard features like bronze alloy guides, ductile iron seats, 11/32" stainless valves, PAC Racing springs, steel locks, and chromoly or titanium retainers. PowerPort 190 heads fit all non-emissions, LA and Magnum 318-360 engines. That’s right, Magnum owners can now—bonus!—use LA parts on their builds using these heads. What a great time to be a small block Mopar owner!

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Put Trick Flow’s advanced engineering to work for you with a Track Max harmonic damper. Engineered for safety and power, these SFI 18.1 rated, carbon steel dampers contain an injection-molded, bonded elastomer and removable counterweights. They also have engraved timing marks for easy adjustment and a corrosion-resistant black powdercoat finish.

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The Green Hornet TV program gen erated a number of replicas, and this Barris-displayed version sold for $93,500, complete with signa tures from the Batman show stars (guess they got into the wrong ride one day, or maybe the Batmobile was getting an oil change)

Soon after at Tulsa, the prices reflected that Indy was not a mere outlier.

A ’69 Hemi Road Runner hardtop at $165K and a ’70 V-code Charger R/T at $152,900 made the top 10 there.

and $242,000 for a 440-4BL SuperBird that had once been a pacecar at Bristol Motor Speedway. The prototype race Charger Daytona that set the first 200 MPH record would have also headlined the event’s results for us at $550,000 had the green car not taken all of the oxygen out of the room for that model.

For big car fans, the leader at Indy was the Barris’ showcar 1966 Imperial that was used for static displays in Green Hornet TV series livery with noteworthy star signatures at $93,500, fol lowed by a classic ’48 Town & Country woody convertible at $82,500. Still, a number of C-body models were nicely bought, and this is an area to watch going forward as the “too much is just enough” crowd seems to be growing in popularity.

Late model, low-mileage supercharged Dodges continue to be very strong as well, giving pause to the once-pooh-poohed idea of absolute preservation. A Demon showing 16 miles, minimal dealer prep, and the unopened accompanying Demon Crate accessory package soared to $220,000 on Saturday afternoon and a ’19 Hellcat Redeye Widebody sold for $115,500.

Mecum action continued at Tulsa, where a 1969 Hemi Road Runner hammer sold for $165,000 among the Mopars offered, and at Orlando in July, with a beauti ful, highly-optioned 3-row 1972 Town & Country wagon with 46,000 miles went to a fresh home at $29,700.

With dollars now bringing less every day for general purchases, for some buyers the potential values of quality cars like these are expected to be a hedge against inflation. That said, it will be interesting to see what happens in ’23, and whether these new records sales shake even more quality iron out of hiding to be hammered, “SOLD!”

Also from Evernham’s garage was this Power Wagon he rebuilt and gave to his late father as a gift. Somebody else drove the nicely-engineered modified heavyweight away for $110,000.

TIP O’ THE SPEAR

For Mark Somma, this long-term ’68 Dart project was the culmination of blood, sweat, gears... and a highball or two.

Looking almost like a period show car, Mark Somma’s Dart was born to run and took 20 years to complete after he bought the fuel injectors.

LEGENDARY SOUTHERN ROCKERS the Allman Brothers once sang a bluesy tune called, “Dreams I’ll Never See.” Molly Hatchet stepped it up a notch a decade or so later with a heavier rendering and made it a hit. About 10 years ago, this 1968 Dodge Dart GTS tribute was about to become just that for Mark Somma, after a lengthy stay in body shop prison to get the sheetmetal tuned up.

Now, you can see from “them purty pho-tos” here that the car was finally done, after over a decade and a couple of stints in storage trying to find the next builder. We caught up with Mark at the Mopar Nats when he had the just-finished car on display in the HDKbacked celebrity tent, where Denny and John Laube host the best of the best each year. Mark had bought the 225-CI GT-trim car 18 years earlier, and he already knew he was in for some sweat equity when he got it.

“I had always wanted a ’68, and this one was local. It was a western Pennsylvania car, and that meant rustier than hell,” he grimaces. “It needed frame rails, floors, trunk floor, trunk extensions, quarter panels. The first body shop had it five or six years! Finally, the guy calls me up and says, ‘Uh, I can’t work on your car anymore.’ And this after I’ve already paid him, of course.”

Mark Somma.

Dart now hosts 340 mill—stock displacement, standard build with Edelbrock aluminum heads, Doug’s headers, rare smallblock Mope Hilborn injectors converted with self-tuning Holley EFI setup.

Still, the sheetmetal is now basically done, so Mark picks up the car and puts it back into storage. A buddy, Todd McKillop, does body work on the side, and agrees to get on it next. That effort finds the widened tubs put into it and the car is in primer, but Todd also has a situation and needed to let go, and the undone car again… yes, again, gets moved to storage.

“That time, it was back in storage for six years,” he says. “So, one day, I was talking with Denny (Laube), and he said, ‘why don’t you call and see if Mark Boutwell can do it.’ Boutwell Customs had it for three years and he’s the one who finally got that done.”

Now, we know you are dying to ask, “hey, what’s up with those injectors!” We were, too. The truth may seem stranger than fiction, because Mark bought the injectors first , then chased both an LA engine and an A-body car to use them on! The reality is, these vintage smallblock Mopar

Custom opening in Dart GTS hood was edged with custom-milled metal surround made by Ross Gordon. Car is all steel.

Hilborn units are tough to find, and Mark had stepped up for a big cash hit when he found this set back in about 1990.

“I bought this intake manifold and paid $1,200 for 20 years ago. At that time, I said to myself, I’m going to build an A-body, and I’m using this intake on it. So, the intake manifold was my idea for the car.”

As many people know, those old mechanical stack injectors can be a real pain to get tuned right, especially for street use. For that reason, Mark sent the scarce iron down to Fran Olsen in North Carolina. Fran prepped them for this project, blueprinted the mechanicals, and added Holley HP EFI to them. In the meantime, Jim Pranis of Penn Hill, PA, was busy putting the touches on a stockdisplacement 340 engine. That included Eddy heads, Doug’s headers feeding a stainless steel exhaust, mostly OEM internals, MSD ignition, and a Holley electric fuel pump in a new tank to keep the injectors fed. The battery is also in the trunk now. Mark says the finished package tagged the dyno needle at 390 ponies.

Mark has had other cars, many of them 2G Hemi powered, but this one would be a cruiser. To that end, Jamie Passon supplied one of his 5-speed manual builds to go in behind the crankshaft, and Mark opted for a narrowed Dana 60 with 4,10 gears and Moser axles out back. Hey, you can never have a tough enough rear, right?

Suspension changes included the HDK front end swap with a power rack-and-pin ion and QA1 shocks, better factory springs

TIP

and Monroe shocks out back, and Wilwood front disc brakes. The exterior was finally finished and Mark Boutwell and Chad Rentz sprayed the body with PPG factory red. The hood opening for the injectors has a custom surround made by his good friend Ross Gordon, and Mark added his own custom Sox & Martin-themed decals under the GTS front quarter trim. The inte rior is stock in pearl white material, and the finishing touch was period-look Cragar S/S wheels and black wall M/T tires. Finally, a special thanks to buddy Tod Hoffmann, who handled the wiring for the project, including the EFI stuff.

Rear tubs let fat Mickey Thompson 295/65R/15 tires and Cragar wheels fit underneath. One look out back and you know this one is not a stocker.

There’s one more thing—a little button when you open the trunk is labeled “VODKA”. When the bar is open, a coiled tube that looks like it came off right off of Grandpappy’s still (“That thar road goes up to it, but it don’t come back!”) is attached to a small outlet below the left taillamp and fresh martinis can be mixed at will, you know, for friends or medicinal purposes.

It was a long time coming, but once done, Mark’s Dart really…hit the mark! Bullseye! Arrow straight! To the point!

…Go ahead, Mark; mix me up another one!

Interior is mostly OE with white factory buckets, stock dash design, no console. Floor shifter has 5-speed knob for Passon crashbox beneath.

“Hey, bartender…”

It’s ain’t stock, and Mark has provenance…

COVID: What a huge impact it had on our lives—and Mopar activities. If you were with us back then, in the fall of 2018, we drove a slammed-together 440-6 1970 Plymouth Road Runner from NY to San Fran, with only a leaky (40-year-old) power steering pressure hose causing a minor hiccup (see page 45 for the article index).

Yours truly has driven the US coast-to-coast at least 25 times, starting in approx 1967. About half of those trips were made while competing in the One Lap of America, sponsored back then by Car & Driver Magazine. 100% of those trips were in Muscle-era Mopars.

Since the Beeper 3 trip in 2018, we had began planning another cross-country flog, but the Kung Flu kept interrupt-

ing. Then, about a year ago, my son, Marc, relocated from Central Florida to the hills northeast of San Diego. So, we (myself and my alter-ego, Brian Dowell, from Melbourne, Australia) decided to reverse course, and drive a Mopar to the East coast from the Pacific Rim, catching all the stunning southwest sights along the way. Problem: We had no place to work on a car in SoCal, so we needed to find a Mopar that would make the cut with little to no wrench-twisting, neither before, nor during, the shlep.

First by remote control (read: online listings), and then while in SoCal for about 10 days, we searched for something from the 1962–’72 era that would make the grade to no avail. Then we widened our search parameters, to include later ’70s

Mopes. Brian hit pay dirt with an original-owner 1977 Cordoba, 360 4-Bbl. This car blew our minds, with a documented 77K on the clock and zero, and I mean zero rust.

The only obvious (and admitted) defects were the “fine Corinthian Leather” had turned to dust, and all the R12 in the A/C system had vanished into the ozone layer. It had recently passed California Emissions testing (“Smog Check”) with room to spare. Still 100% dead stock, it ran like a top, although the CA emissions clearly did an excel lent job of horsepower reduction. With a stack of service records as thick as an old Manhattan phone book, we bought it, hoping against hope that we could get the A/C functional. Thus, you should know up front, this would not

be a project car, just a cross-country travelogue vehicle.

Once in our possession, we quickly found, much to our chagrin, that the power seats had bought the farm. Stuck in an “on the floor” position, it’s not the greatest for spinal health, so fixing those seat mechanisms required nearly a day of wrench-twisting, using little more than a $20 (really) Harbor Freight Barbie tool set.

We weren’t so lucky with the A/C. We bought a R134 conversion fitting set, and had it charged locally, but it leaked out quickly. Out of time, we faced the fact that this was gonna be one hot trip, with predicted temperatures in the southwest hovering at triple digits. At least the sunroof worked great, and nothing leaked, not one drop.

We wish the ’Doba had as much teeth as these dinosaurs at Anzo-Borrego State Park in Califor nia, our first stop on the long trip back east.

A smog-choked 360 with single exhaust and two cats, in a nearly 4,800 pound (2,131 Kg) late B-body does not a performance car make. The only non-original parts we could see were the voltage regulator, radiator, ECU, belts, hoses, and ignition secondary wires. A true survivor, it used zero oil. At all. Ever.

EASTWARD HO!

At 9:30 on the morning of June 4th, we left Ramona, California, with no pre-planned route or even destinations. I knew that all roads east from Ramona were awesome, and they did not disappoint. The Shelter Valley (SR78) route east from Julian was right out of the best Hollywood car-chase movies. Our first break was Anza-Borrego State Park, primarily checking out the giant sculptures in the Borrego Springs area. We had also wanted to take a noted canyon hike, named simply “The Slot”, but the brutal temperatures put the kibosh on those plans. From there we turned north along the shores of the hor rendous Salton Sea, a true environmental disaster. We passed through Joshua Tree National Park, with lots of enticing walks and hikes around every bend—but, again, it was simply too toasty. Summer is not the best time to be in the desert (duh!).

Lunch was in Twentynine Palms, with steak sandwiches that required the teeth of the steel dinosaurs we had just seen, or at least a carbide chop saw, to get through. Complaining to the waitress, she allowed “My husband won’t eat here either.” Thanks for telling us earlier, bitch. Somehow, we lived through this, but, stom achs aside, the temperatures were really getting to us both and it was only 2:00 p.m. Where’s the A/C?

We paid $120 to have the A/C sucked down and charged. It blew ice cold—for about 30 minutes. That’s $4 per minute of cold air. Ugh. And we were outta time to chase the leak.

After blasting across the aptly named Sheephole Valley Wilderness, we made our first gas stop at Vidal, CA, 226 miles from Ramona. With regular hovering close to $7 bucks a gallon, I was pleased when the pump clicked off at $75, it seemed that maybe the ’Dober was getting decent fuel economy—11 gallons for 200-plus miles, not too shabby. Wrong, the pump had clicked off because the credit limit was $75! It took another gold card, and another $40, to top off the 25.5 gallon tank. This set the stage for a crazy expensive transcontinental fuel bill, the car averaged 13 MPG, despite the 2.76:1 cogs and large diameter tires!

LEAVING CALI BEHIND

We soon crossed into Arizona at Parker on a rather mundane highway bridge, in the shadows of a historic 1908 truss Santa Fe ne BNSF rail bridge. Following the Colorado River did mitigate tem peratures a bit. Still, the temperatures in the 4-wheeled Chrysler steam cabinet were wearing us both down, as were the seats—we had been forewarned that the Cordoba seats were nowhere near as supportive and long-term comfortable as earlier (or later) Mopar buckets, and we validated this factoid, the hard way (really, too soft ). In fact, the passenger seating position seemed to be slowly destroying the hamstring in my right leg, something that continued for the entire trip—and beyond.

The good news was that, with the smallblock under the hood, the car exhibited surprisingly good road manners, and the OEM rear swaybar added to the good handling, especially con-

We even ran the ’Doba at the local Indian reservation dragstrip (really). Good weight transfer had us hopeful, but it was a dog, barely 45 MPH in the 1/8 mile. Headers and dual pipes would probably add 50 HP.

Joshua Tree N.P. is a must-see if you’re in the ’hood, as the the tree-like cacti are cool. That’s figuratively since it was 99° F. in the shade here.

The SoCal car culture is alive and well, we’re happy to report, $7 gas notwithstanding. The city of Ramona is loaded with gearheads. They have an actually rally-type cruise every Thursday evening. Over in Escondido, they close down several blocks for an upscale show, which is very well attended.

PHO

T O: MA R C EH R E N BE RG

sidering only 6˝ wide road wheels. Brakes (stock 11.75˝ rotors) were adequate, although with a fully laden weight of over 4,600 pounds, adequate is the best that can be said. Steering, for unmolested, original, pure stock, was surprisingly precise. Overall, the car’s road manners cannot be faulted (when taken in context). Cruising speeds in the high double-digits was also acceptable, as were noise levels. Acceleration, however, was barely adequate. Passing on 2-lanes needed to be planned carefully, using every inch of available macadam.

We crossed the Colorado River

Arizona at

highway bridge was boring, but the 1908 5-truss rail bridge was anything but. Pre-China,

is 100%

steel from Pittsburgh.

40-odd miles up the Colorado, we stopped at the real London Bridge, which had been built in—duh—London in 1831, and was moved to Lake Havasu City, AZ,

Yes, that is really London Bridge in Arizona. No bull. It was taken away from the Thames in 1968, and by 1971, was reassembled here. Loaded into containers, it went through the Panama Canal, and was trucked in from Long Beach, California, then reas

sembled stone-by-numbered-stone. It is much more attractive than the “new” one in London, though able to carry less traffic. An artificial bypass channel from the Colorado River was routed beneath it.

The Mohave Desert is crossed by excellent, very lonely, highways, such as Route 62. Hammer time!

Roadside attraction? Just off 62 was this unattended Loran-C (I think) radio station, unattended but seemingly operational, with FAA warning signs. If I am right, this is a backup for aircraft navigation if our GPS system is jammed or somehow fails.

SUPER SHLEPS

We slammed together this 440-6 Road Runner in record time, this would have been impossible without AMD body panels. The assembly process was greatly eased by the fact that both Brian and I knew exactly what size every fastener is, what color each wire in the loom is, etc. We drove it NY to SanFran in less than ideal weather. No worries, no has sles. Mopar or nocar. Indeed!

in 1968. It was reassembled on dry land, and a river channel created beneath it. Today, it is a popular boating and watersports spot, Brian dipped his toes in the cold Colorado water.

We hadn’t decided where to spend the night, but a blowout and subsequent roadside tire change in the heat on the side of I-40 burnt us out. We overnighted in Kingman at a nice Holiday Inn Express, with zero chance of buying a new tire on Saturday night, then started Googling for a Sunday tire swap. After all, a new week begins on Sunday. So, with that noted, we’ll be back to tell you more next issue.

PRIOR TO THIS CORDOBA RUN , our most recent transcon trip had us driving west in a 1970 440-6 Super Track Pack Road Runner, built in record time from a shell, which we covered in macro detail in our Dec. 2018—Dec. 2020 issues. The car ran, literally, like a quartz watch and was a total pleasure. 1962 ’72

B-bodies were fantastic cars one and all, from a 225 Slant to a Street Hemi, you can’t go wrong. As you’ll fi nd out, this trip was not as pleasurable

The Beeper3 Trip Remembered (print index) INSTALLMENTISSUEOVERVIEW

112/18Intro & overview, look back at 2 previous Beepers.

22/19Starting on the body and chassis.

34/19Drivetrain prep and installation.

46/19Install suspension, brakes, steering and tires.

58/19Exhaust, wiring / electrical, dash / IP, steering column, seats / interior, heater. 610/19 Install windshield and backlight; first drive. 712/19 L ast minute tweak before setting out cross-country.

82/20Rick & Brian begin their epic 3,800-mile cross-country adventure. 94/20Travelogue from New York almost to San Francisco.

108/20Dropping the Beeper 3 off at the shipping yard for its voyage to Oz. 1110/20Beeper 3 arrives in Australia. 1212/20Paint and interior details in Brian’s shop. Fini! –RE

FISH

WHILE OTHER 8-year-olds were watching cartoons on TV or shooting marbles, Jayden Hawker was rebuilding alternators and starters in his father’s auto repair shop. So instead of having fun, Jay was absorbing automotive smarts and picking up a few coins for his services that he stashed away. In September 2014, this ’71 ’Cuda showed up on a local classifieds page in northern Utah. Jay, his dad, and his uncle (the dog took a raincheck) went to check it out on Jay’s 15th birthday.

The Plymouth didn’t look too bad (at first). It was a roller with no motor, a TorqueFlite instead of the factory-installed 4-speed, and the original Dana under the rear. The interior was all there. The car had been hit in the front and the rails were bent up. The body was lacking fenders, grille, and hood but no worry, the seller included a front clip that supplied all the missing parts. Jay’s dad pulled the trigger on the ’Cuda for 5 grand with the intention of selling it to Jay when he had the dough.

Jay’s dad originally bought the ’Cuda as a crashed roller with the intention that his son earn the coin to buy it from him, which Jay started paying back when he was 15. Jay restored the E-body himself includ ing engine and body, eventually motivating it with an EFI stroker bigblock. The 10-second ride currently sees 50/50 track and street action.

Jayden Hawker bought and started restoring this ’71 ’Cuda before he was old enough to drive.

Jay cut about 9 inches off the front of the 2015 Challenger dash to get the ’15 center console to line up with the shifter hole. Hurst stick cranks the 4-speed (correct for the car) cogs. Holley Pro Dash readouts was the easy way out instead of trying to hook up the late-model Mopar to the Holley system. Vintage Air keeps Jay comfy in his Neon seats.

Jay started restoring the ‘Cuda from a hit and rusty roller. He did all the bodywork himself. His original resto plan turned into a full-on mod rod.

Jay rolled up his sleeves (easy when you’re wearing just a T-shirt) and immediately got elbow deep tearing into the car, pulling the front suspension and drilling out spotwelds to remove the bent frame rails. That’s when rust reared its ugly orange head in the cowl and floor pans. “Somebody had actually tried to silicone the floor pans back together so there was silicone everywhere. They even tried to silicone the seats which had some holes and they siliconed the cracked dash.” Jay called it a Home Depot restoration.

AMD panels gave Mr. Rust the boot, and Jay welded on the donor front clip. But there was this big empty space between the fenders. That was easily filled by a 440 running a Mope Purple Shaft cam that had been laying around the shop just waiting for an opportunity to be of service. Jay came up with a 4-speed to replace the 727 and had the ’Cuda running and driving by June of ’15, but it would be a few more months before Jay was old enough for his driver’s license. A local track did allow him to race occasionally on his learner’s permit. But sweat equity alone wasn’t sufficient to buy the ’Cuda from dad and the money he was getting for working in the shop on paying jobs was going towards parts and only slowly adding up for the purchase payout.

Just before Jay turned 16, his dad bought a non-running Dodge Neon cheap. He said if Jay could fix it, they would split the profit when the Neon sold. Jay tackled the job, got the Neon running, and even drove it for a while before it sold. That boosted the contents of his cookie jar by 2 grand—still not enough to buy the ’Cuda. Later on, Jay came across a broken 2011 Dodge Avenger that he picked up for $2500. He fixed that and then flipped it for $5500, which meant Cha-Ching!

He handed the money to dad and the ’Cuda was now his. Now, with a fresh driver’s license in his wallet, Jay drove the ’Cuda on the street and turned 14s on the track. Swapping on some “decent” heads quickened the car into the 12s. Jay drove the ’Cuda like that all through high school before returning to again molest his E-body.

We’re now into the early spring of 2019 on Jay’s timeline. He’s saved enough coin for a paint job and a stroker motor build. Prepping the body, he discovers yet more rust and Bondo in the roof rails and quarters, so he dials up AMD for more of their parts. His plan

Cylinder Heads

500+ inch stroker kits, these have the potential to make 650-700+ Horsepower with port work. Also available fully CNC ported. Call us or check our web site for details.

the box when used with

Billet

Main Stud Girdles

Fluid Dampers

for a quick paint job and motor build turns into a full resto-mod project and he admits that he got a bit carried away.

Jay’s carrying away starts with what’s under the hood. He says his goal was to build a streetable, carbureted mid 11-sec ride and keep the factory interior and suspension. He ended up building a still-streetable 10-sec ride flavored with

late-model technology to make it more interesting.

His ’71 440 block is punched and kitted with an Eagle stroker rotating assembly for a 518 CI displacement and a CR of 11.5:1. Up top Jay says he has Indy 440-2 heads with Max Wedge porting. Feeding chores are handled by an Indy multiport fuel injection intake supporting

’71 440 stroked to 518 cubes features Indy heads, Eagle rotating assembly, Comp hydraulic roller cam, and coil-on-plug Holley multipoint injection. Jay’s wiper motor was out being restored hence the hole in the firewall.

Control Freak 4-link rear suspension works in tandem with stock Mopar front setup. Viking shocks damp the ups and downs. The nar rowed rear hosts Moser axles while Dynomax Super Turbo muffs keep exhaust music down to a reasonable volume.

a Holley HP system. Jay says he’d like to upgrade to the Dominator when time and money allows.

The coil-on-plug ignition is all controlled by the Holley. TTi coated headers channel out the climate warming fumes through a custom exhaust that Jay fab’d himself. Pretty talented guy, we’d say. The big-block sends those ponies packing to the 4-speed via a Centerforce clutch, and thence back to the 4.10 Dana.

Jay fab’d the exhaust himself. Once the car was drivable, it was Jay’s ride all through high school.

Supporting the AMD-fortified body is a stock front suspension spiffed up and powder-coated with QA-1 shocks. Out back is a Control Freak 4-link setup with Viking coilovers. Brakes are Wilwoods, natch!

The slickest deal on this car is inside the cabin where Jay managed to install the dash and console from a 2015 Challenger. It took a lot of trial-and-error cutting and fitting to get everything, including the shifter, lined up in its correct position. Hooking up the stock late-model gauges looked to be too big of an issue for Jay, who seems to know his limits, so he went with a Holley Pro Dash that’s fully compatible with the Holley HP system. Since Jay thinks he has the only E-body with a late-model dash, don’t disappoint him if you also have one. Front and rear seats are out of a 2005 SRT Neon. “I had an SRT Neon years ago and I just thought the seats were really comfortable, so I put ’em in there.”

Is he finished? Heck no! He considers his ride as a work in progress as is this story. And as far as coming up with the added dough, well, there’s always another starter or alternator that needs rebuilding.

The Plymouth seeks out new adventures rolling on 15x12 Weld Racing V-Series double beadlocks with 5 backspace and Mickey Thompson 275/60r15 drag radials out back, while15x7 Jegs SSR Spikes with Tiger Paw 205/70R15s handle the steering end.

Brian supervised the body drop of his ‘69 Dart onto the freshened ’73–’76 K-member which we dropped the boneyard 5.7L onto.

This is the Dart, as it came off the transporter from Oklahoma. A few rust perforation areas, but, overall, extremely solid.

3G

HEMIS. No question they have been the mainstay of Chrysler’s performance cars since their first appearance (5.7L) in the 2003 Dodge pickups. Their predecessor, the 360 Magnum, was actually quite good, but was never installed in a passenger car. With a more HP-oriented intake manifold, it would have been one of the ’90s best engines, as we have proven in one project car (Savvy Savoy) and one project pickup (Scat Dak). But that was then, 25 years ago. Today, with roughly LA-engine overall cylinder block dimensions (including the bolt pattern on the back of the block), the 3G Hemi mill is an easy and popular swap into B, E, and even C-bodies. Yet A-bodies, the affordable, svelte, goodhandling 1967–’76 variety, have been a bit tougher. The exhaust (headers) is tight, the alternator hits the chassis rail, and air conditioning is even tougher.

Holley set out to correct this. As you may have noticed, Holley has been playing corporate Pac-Man on a grand scale, gobbling up speed equipment manufacturing companies like M & Ms. They also hired bright engineers away from Chrysler / SRT. This gave them the ability to engineer and manufacture virtually any and every part needed for 3G Hemi swaps.

So we’re going to do two Hemi A-body swaps and document every inch of them. Numero uno is a ‘69 Dodge Dart 2-door hardtop which was dragged out of a field in Oklahoma and shipped north to New York at the height of the pandemic. This vehicle’s actual owner will be Brian Dowell, our wonder from down under. Brian likes creature comforts so it will have air conditioning,

The Green Brick, our famous ’69 Valiant Corvette killer, looks pretty good after 15 or so years in Kevin’s garage, near Lansing, MI. Now the Brick is back in the MA project car garage, where it will receive a 6.4L Hemi crate engine.

The Valliant’s engine compart ment is also no thing of beauty Yes, that’s original Bell System (telco) Olive Drab paint, only 53 years old. Acrylic enamel might not be as glossy as the modern urethane 2-stage stuff, but it seems to be at least as durable.

a basic 727 with the shifter on the column, air conditioning, and power steering. Power will be supplied via a junkyard 2014 5.7L Hemi. Suspension and brakes will receive low-end upgrades.

The second 1969 A-body, our Green Brick Valiant 100 pillared sedan, will be getting a 6.4L crate engine backed by a 5-speed manual trans. And little else.

Both will use some of the Holley components: mounts, oil pan, and shorty headers. Only the Dart will use their unique timing cover, this is a clean-sheet design which moves all accessories closer to the crankshaft centerline making swaps a cinch. It isn’t cheap, but it makes the swap so much easier we deemed it a worthwhile expense. Plus, this car will be saving us over $5,000 by the use of the junkyard 5.7L. One of the ramifications of the

Holley hardware is it moves the engine and transmission forward 1.75 inches. This makes the exhaust a whole lot easier but makes things kind of cozy up at the front of the engine, especially because their timing cover setup, despite being smaller in diametrical dimensions, is also considerably longer than stock.

One area where we will significantly deviate from the Holley recipe is the electronics and harness. Since we will be keeping both engines dead stock, we see no need for Holley’s program mable computer systems and complex wiring. Instead, we will go with the Squier family’s HotwireAuto (hotwireauto.com) systems. These use dead stock PCMs which are modified only in that they have been reflashed to ignore the fact that they are seeing no other microprocessors on the CAN bus. In other

Dart’s pretty sad underhood.

This is the Junkyard 5.7L, circa 2014, that we’ll drop into the Dart, with A/C.

words, they are now standalone engine control systems. Perfect!

The HotwireAuto brain trust also produces absolutely awesome wiring harness systems that even someone who can’t change a lightbulb could install. There is not one superfluous wire, and only a few wires need to be connected to the vehicle systems such as fuel pump, charging system, ignition-on, etc. No hacking required, and factory reliability.

Two key components make said swap D-I-Y feasible. First is the HotwireAuto (hotwireauto.com) harness and reprogrammed ECU.

For this, the first installment, we are going to primarily concentrate on the Dart, although we will be engineering various details and purchasing parts for the Valiant. The Dart showed up with the Slant-Six long gone, and the transmission held in by bailing wire. We quickly gutted everything else from the engine compartment, then cleaned and painted it. If you have done this type of pure-tedium work, you know that is very time consuming, but there’s not much we can teach you about this, so we’ll just say that the job is done. Yes, we painted it in nature’s spray booth—the great outdoors, using 2-stage urethane enamel (PPG) and a HVLP spray gun.

PROJECT-ING MOPARS: MA’S CONTINUING SAGA

Porsches, Benzes, ’Vettes, L amborghinis, Vipers, you name it. There were two primary reasons for our success, and money was not one of them. First was my mission to build the car as light as possible. Second was the incredible driving skills of Kevin Wesley.

with other projects, so the Brick simply sat at Kevin’s place in Michigan, where he had plucked out the smallblock for inspection. It is time for it to reappear, now with a 6.4 L Hemi crate engine. It will be true to its bare bones origins, with manual steering, no air, etc. Since I am now well over half deaf, even the radio will be s**tcanned.

FOR MUCH of our 35-plus year existence, we have had a current project car. The fi rst was project Beeper, a 1972 Road Runner (above) which appeared in the mid-’90s, and still pops up here and there in some kind of component testing capacity.

Clearly the most famous Mopar Action project was the reader-named Green Brick, a stripper 1969 Valiant 100 that went from being a Slant-Six telephone company foreman’s car into arguably the best-known A-body on the planet, primarily through our entries, with usually stunning results, in the One L ap of America. The car (and us) ran at least a dozen times, usually winning the vintage American class, and frequently fi nishing in the top 10 overall, one time as high as second, beating factory-entered

Eventually we simply wore out the Bartonbuilt stroker 340, after something like 90,000 highway miles and over 150 racing events, including road courses, drag races, dirt and paved ovals, even road rallies. We were busy

While the reincarnated Brick will be a 100% street vehicle that will easily make the trip from coast to coast and back, as many times as the gold gas card will allow, we also know that not everybody wants such a bare-bones buildup, and we know that not everybody wants to shell out for a seven-grand crate engine. L et your fi ngers do the walking to the main text, and you’ll see that we’ve got everybody covered, with green A-body twins.

–R.E.

The Green Brick, a smallblock 1969 Valiant 100 2-door, was surely the most famous. Here, it is making a hot lap at a road course in Wisconsin, probably late 1990s, when it still had a 360 MP crate engine. Ironically, it will be reincarnated with a current MP 392 Hemi crate engine.

Mopar Action’s first project car, circa 1994, was this tweaked, but 100% stock appearing, 1972 Plymouth Road Runner. Today, it mainly sees local cruise duty, this photo was a local show in Kingston, NY.

The

The

Next, we began the search for a suitable 5.7L engine. We found one, circa 2014, locally for $1,500, which is about the going price. It looked rather nasty externally, and we were chagrined to see that several components were missing, but the seller assured us that the engine was truly low mileage and had been sitting under his bench for 6 or 7 years. Apparently, the donor Chrysler 300 was rather toasty, but the engine itself, other than some soot and fire-retardant residue, looked OK, plus the valve covers were not melted (that would have been a deal breaker). A twist of the crankshaft reveled that it was not seized. We took a chance—hey, we know where the seller lives!

Lots of other details to deal with on the Dart: Oil pan and filter relocation, rear axle (the 7.25˝ would last maybe 2 launches, even with street tires), front suspension, ditching the 4˝ bolt circle 9˝ drum brakes (scary!), plumbing, etc. The Valiant had most of this stuff upgraded decades ago, so only quick freshening will be in order on that car.

Lots of food for thought—and installments. So, follow along as we get both of these projects under way.

BUT WHICH 5.7L?

5.7L HEMIS have been around since 2003, so the junkyards are crawling with them. But there are differences : All had 16 sparkplugs (mostly for emissions), but the early (pre-2006) engines had a weird wasted-spark ignition system. While they were perfectly reliable, there’s really little sense in purchasing one of those, unless you live in Afghanistan and can find nothing else. In 2006, the modern ignition coil system was introduced, along with M D S (a cylinder deactivation system), which significantly improved fuel economy (auto. trans. only), but probably should be avoided in any swap application.

The big change was 2009, when the Eagle cylinder heads, and variable valve timing appeared. The heads greatly improved HP output, and the VVT cam phaser was amazing for both low-end torque and HP. So, 2009 should be considered a baseline minimum vintage for your swap.

Thru 2008, the crankshaft tone ring was 32 teeth, this changed to 58 teeth in 2009. The computer hardware and software were subject to a major revision in 2013. Therefore, for compatibility with current electronics, 2013-up is the way to fly. These engines, remember, are now 10 years old, and, since they were very reliable, junkyard prices are rock bottom. We scored a 2014, with low miles (actual unknown, but you can run the engine’s (or car’s) VIN on Carfax).

A 2009-up 5.7 L , with headers and no cats, is an easy, cheap, 425 true net HP deal, with low end you have to drive to believe. Envision (and feel) a new Charger R / T that just shed 1,000 pounds !

THE YEAR 1970 was the start of a new decade and heralded a lot of changes. For many, the new vehicle offerings were almost bewildering. E-bodies, wing cars, Hemis, and Six-Packs were all there at Ma Mopar’s place, and add in all those Brand-X beasts like the LS6, 455 W-30 and SCJ429, and everyone only got a slice of the overall buyer pie. Then if Johnny Law or your friendly State Farm agent showed up, things got tougher. So the car seen here is not super common. Only about 18,000 performance models of the 1970 Coronet were built, and this would be the final year a musclecar was based on this particular Dodge design (or that the model would even be offered as a two-door).

As far as musclecars go, this was the street package to get in 1970—V-code Six Pack engine with fresh air hood, 4-speed/A34 driveline, buckets, console, and TicTic-Tac. Even the AM radio played cool music back then.

You could delete the stripe and just leave the metal bee emblems on the car, but black on FE5 looks just right here. This would be the final year the Super Bee was on the Coronet shell, switching to Charger for ’71.

Still crazy after all these years, the 440 Six-Pack mill is the same one installed on the assembly line decades back. Mark has done some additional detailing since we took our shots (the dual point is shown from MCACN), but much of the tough resto work was already done when he found the car.

Ohio’s Mark Obenour was smitten by the unconventional styling of that year, wanting a ’70 model in the worst way since he was 14. “I think it was the first year I went down to the Mopar Nationals in the 1980s. I saw one in Limelight Green and I just fell in love with the body design. I’ve wanted one ever since.” Meanwhile, he did get a wife, JoJo, and son Mitchell, so waiting on that dream wasn’t all that bad.

He told us his family was big into Mopars, and that between himself, immediate family, an uncle, and one cousin, they now own 21 Mopars. In fact, all 7 Mopars he listed for us on the tech sheet ends in the dates “XX-present.” Mark buys keepers. He says his family once owned a garage in Dola, Ohio, that served as a Hudson franchise. That building and business is long gone, but the car thing still runs in the family. Still, the full-time truck driver was going to be picky when it came time to put his money on the barrelhead for his mechanical mistress.

“Yeah, it had to have four things,” he says. “It has to be numbers-matching, it had to have the N96 Ramcharger hood, it had to be a 4-speed, and it had to have the C-stripe graphics.”

That C-stripe meant Super Bee, and that is where things begin to tighten up. Of the 1280 Six-Pack versions of this model the factory built in 1970, who knows how many were still with their original drivetrain? Of that batch, most would have likely been stripped-down street runners with first or second owners like…us. And while standard on Hemi models, you chucked up even more dough if you wanted that N96 scoop package on a V-code. So, though Mark has a number of other A, B, and E-bodies, the dream went unrealized for over 30 years.

“So I was googling ‘1970 Super Bee for sale’ every day, and this car popped up. I looked at the ad for a couple of weeks, wondering if I really wanted to spend that much money. Finally, I decided to figure out exactly how far away it was. Just two hours, up in Michigan. I contacted the owner and went and looked at it. After I left, I had called a couple of local buddies from up there who know these cars pretty well to go see it, to give me a second opinion.”

Once Mark Young and Andy Kabarowski went to see the hardtop for Mark and looked it over, they quickly let Mark know that this car would be sold regardless, because one of them would it buy if he did not. It was that nice. He closed the deal and the dream came true. The whole history on it is still not known, except it had come out of Iowa at one point and had already been given a full restoration. The provenance on it was solid and the combination was right on.

Outside, instead of one of the crazier colors, this car is classic FE5, Bright Red. It is indeed numbers-matching, with the V-code E87 Six Pack engine, 4-speed box and A34 Super Track Pak pack age, which meant a 4.10 SureGrip Dana, 7-blade Torque Drive fan, shrouded 26” 3-row radiator, Hemi Suspension Handling Package, and power front disc brakes. The A34’s Hemi suspension included the shocks and frame changes, which are original here. And it was indeed optioned with the twin-scoop Ramcharger package, with

Interior was deluxe for any ’Bee, as 6-way driver’s side bucket seat, console, and tach all added bucks to the bottom line. Pedal dress-ups are also unique. Sold as a budget beast, lots of these cars were bench-seat with column-shifted ’flites and thrashed onto oblivion.

the functional underhood fresh air system and J45 hood pins.

However, the car gets a little unique after this. First of all, after the buyer put down coin on the driveline, there was still enough left in the piggy bank to do the interior. Few ‘Bees got this level of trim—Rally dash with Tic-Toc-Tac, radio, pedal dress-ups, and even the C16 console with front bucket seats (including the premium 6-way manual driver’s seat) and that cool Hurst Pistol Grip. These are all original pieces, and the 56K showing on the odometer is believed legit.

That seems to have meant no money left for wheels, or maybe the Cragars were coming from the local speed shop. Regardless, the car rides on low-budget 14˝ steelies with poverty caps and Goodyear Polyglas F70-14 tires. The paint has been redone and the car is correctly-optioned with the ’Bee C-stripe as well. When we took the photos at Carlisle, where Mark first debuted it, he was getting some final touches done. Bob Ashton saw it

The tail end of the car is nearly as dis tinctive as the front. A previous owner added the Hurst emblem, and with that OEM Pistol Grip, it’s true. Wanna go?

there and invited Mark and car to display at MCACN in late 2021. There, Mark proudly pointed out the Prestolite dual-point distributor was now on the engine, but the car had already taken a 3rd Place at Carlisle even with the little fixes needed.

Truck driving can make for a long day work in 2022, and Mark has no regrets having bought his dream car. The more we looked, the more we liked it. After all, 1970 was the grand finale of the American supercar in the minds of many, and, had it been possible, a V-code ’Bee might have been our way to roil as well… (after all, that expensive Hemi R/T convertible was even out of our MA dream’s budget).

Flood Control

DRY FEET: Any podiatrist will tell you that keeping ’em dry is important for lower extremity health. If, however, you have a ’66–’70 B-body, or any year A-body, you may well be plagued by under-dash leaks that you can’t track down. Good chance that the water ingress is via the windshield wiper pivots. This is an easy few hours’ fix, and may well save, in addition to your carpet and floor pan, maybe even your marriage and my job. Water can (and does) find its way down the wiper pivot shaft, or exterior of the pivot assembly. Either way, the pivots must be unbolted from the car, which is a cinch, although some physical contortions may be required for the under-dash work. You’ll also need one rebuild kit (the kit does two pivots) from Detroit Muscle Technologies (detroitmuscletechnologies.com), and, if you want ’em even better than new, screw in ¼˝-28 self tapping Zerk grease fittings after drilling with a 7/32˝ drill bit. You will need some grease in them—duh— while the greasy cellphone photos nearby will tell the tale in my usual overblown macro-hyperbole style. Read on, and let the dryness begin.

Don’t be caught in an under-dash deluge and be swept away never to be seen again. Fix those leaky wiper pivots instead. We make it child’s play (as usual).

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 &35&UHFHQWO\¿QLVKHGXSGDWLQJDOLVWRIPDVVSXEOLFVKRRWLQJVZRUOGZLGH

FACT:2YHUWKHFRXUVHRI\HDUVWRWKH&35&IRXQG DWWDFNVDQGDWOHDVWVKRRWHUVRXWVLGHWKH86DQGDWWDFNVDQG VKRRWHUVZLWKLQWKLVFRXQWU\7KHVWXG\IRXQGWKH86

NE

The Second Amendment Foundation

Place

Bellevue, WA 98005 • 425-454-7012 www.saf.org

The factory installation diagram illustrates the general wiper linkage layout.

The FSM sectional view shows the potential leak path, which is first past a failed seal, along the shaft inside the pivot casting, then past the brittle, dried-out polystyrene foam gasket, onto your feet or even filling your footwells. The kit from DMT includes both the seal and gasket (as highlighted).

Only A, and 1966–’70 B-bodies are sus ceptible, as on these cars the wiper pivots pass from the cowl plenum, which can be literally awash in water, through to the under-dash area. To get this pic, we hadda remove the windshield, dash assembly, and cowl top panel (screen). Amazing the lengths we at MA Tech Central go to help you out—and to make a buck!

Once the pivots are removed, you will know instantly if the seal is shot. If you can wiggle it on the shaft, or it is firm or brittle to the touch, it is done. Crispy.

Wanna make ’em better than stock, and last for your grandchildren? Drill a 7 / 64 hole in the housing, just inboard of the flange. Exact location is not critical.

Then screw into that hole a standard ¼ ˝ -28 self-threading grease (Zerk) fitting and pump in wheel bearing grease until it oozes out (see bottom left). An angled fit ting may make lubing easier, this should be done religiously every 12 years or so, regardless of mileage. Make a note.

The DMT (Detroit Muscle Technologies) kit contains everything you need to stop the leaks.

Snip off the brittle old seal, and...

...slide on the new one from the DMT kit. Bolt the pivot back in and drive on with dry feet and a dry copy of Mopar Action from your news butcher!

The foam gasket slips right on.

The diehards gather for the 3G Hemi race program at its stop in Rockingham as the 2022 season rushes forward.

Jessica and John Sipple’s transmission and car business were backers for the MSHS event here at the Rock, and Jessica’s new tiger-stripe paint scheme was a big attention getter. You’ll see a feature on it on these pages next year.

Old meets new here. Young Austin Melton was wheeling the family Dart, a car that some readers may remember from the old King of the Street series days, when his father Lenny was kicking butt in it with a smallblock nitrous combo. Now running a 3G Hemi on NOS, Austin went to the runner-up spot in the Modified Class, which has a 10.50 index.

THEY COMES FROM ALL OVER. We are talking about the people who race in the late model Modern Street Hemi Shootout, or MSHS, series. From Texas to New York, Florida to right here in the North Carolina hills, they gather. Whether they are flat-out in the Outlaw class ripping the throats from their competitors or taking run-by-run consistency to win the 12.5 bracket, the guys (and many gals) show up for a weekend of enjoyment and racing camaraderie, then let the machines speak because the BS stops when the lights drop ! (so says the series T-shirt).

Lorie, wife of continual victor Ron Polidora and his Hellcatpowered ’64 Dodge, was in her new SRT Hellcat Durango, which clocked several consistent runs. She went to round 4 of the bracket race before losing on an 11.55 breakout.

Kevin Helmick took home the Outlaw honors here Sunday afternoon, but on Saturday night, great track prep pushed the Grumpy Cat’s nose into the stratosphere. Our shot is from when he was about ½ up. He beat new track owner Dan VanHorn in Sunday’s final.

With MSHS founder Dan Van Horn and business partner Al Gennarelli recently buying Rockingham Dragway southeast of Charlotte, the event covered here would mark the 3rd of MSHS season’s 2022 6-race program. A number of rules changes have come into effect for this year, one being fluid retention devices on the faster cars after a couple of lengthy oildowns in ‘21. The Outlaw class is 1/8 mile, while the 8.50 bracket and Heavy weight divisions still take on the quarter. Heavyweight, like every heads-up mixed induction class in drag racing, now has a sub stantial group of weight-to-power-adder indexes as well.

One thing is certain. Racers already good at running bracket cars continue to regularly show the way to the final rounds. Indeed, one seasoned pilot, John Govenettio, was in

Saturday’s bracket race and dialed a time just a tick below his competition. When he then played on/off/on throttle at the finish line to win the round, the other guy (newbie) was so mad it almost started a top-end fistfight! When the smoke had cleared, many usual suspects were in the winner’s circle.

By the time you read this, the grand finale at Maryland International Raceway will likely be the final event left for this year, with a non-points event in the mineshaft air of Cecil County Dragway slated for mid-November. Once again, we are wishing the entire MSHS crew and supporters a great 2023 when the next season kicks off. Go to hemirace.com for the latest updates.

Meanwhile, check out the pics and see what you missed!

Gabe Marcum was on hand with his new Hellcat, which he is thor oughly enjoying. He would post the runner-up spot in the rookie class.

With Dufresne in his new old-schooler, MSHS founder and new Rockingham Dragway co-owner Dan VanHorn is piloting his turbo Challenger now. He went to the runnerup spot in the Outlaw category.

A

A

entry, John Govenettio of New York

consistent racer and good at winning brackets. He posted

runner-up in

division and avoided fisticuffs with a sore loser earlier in the event.

Driver Chris Dufresne showed up with his freshly-built ’65 Coronet in primer for a series of Outlaw shakedown runs, and finished third after he got it settled down following this wheels-up pass. 8s are in the offing.

No, Amaris Daughaday is not hitching a ride. She’s telling her dad Rob, “Pop, keep ‘em spinning!” She drives as well…

As Chris Fuller does his burnout in the 10.00 class, Charlotte resident Preston Patterson, the selected Chief Donut Maker for the Dodge brand, was on hand doing social media. The prize for being named “the man” was 150K and use of a Hellcat Chally.

Zdung Ho of Texas made the long tow north with his hot red Charger and took the Heavyweight title by default when the other competitors sorted themselves into nearby categories. He is likely to be the champion for 2022 in the class and is putting in some real road time to do it.

HARDENED WITH TIME

THE END OF THE 1970s means a lot of different things. Saturday Night Fever and Donna Summer. The Warriors and Zeppelin’s final studio album. Cookie cutter Camaros, the Lil’ Red Express and, yes, the Plymouth Volaré. The successor of Ma Mopar’s beloved A-body model line, the F-body Volaré and sister Dodge Aspen became the brand’s

last-ditch effort at domestic mid-size production until the dark days of Chrysler’s bankruptcy, when it was superseded by the new front wheel drive K-platform for 1981.

For Tony DeNoble, the F-Troop members have just been part of the family all these years. Now a seasoned citizen, Tony’s first encounter with these Mopes had been back just after his

Three generations of the DeNobles, Tony, Ben and young Joseph, show off the latest iteration of the family’s long-time appreciation of the F-body Volaré. This ’79 is now reworked to hot rod status.

high school years, with a ’76 model bought in 1977 and used as family transportation until being replaced in 1981. In 2002, he had a chance to buy a rare production F, the 1977 T-top model with the 360 mill, which he hot rodded and ran 12.4 quarter-miles with. Alas, he sent that one down the road in 2010, in part because all those T-top pieces are harder to find then even most Hemi car components.

“I’ve always liked these cars,” he says, “and so I wanted another one as a father/son project. However, I decided it needed to be a hardtop this time.”

The car here came into the family in 2014, as Tony’s son Ben was now interested in cars as well. This one showed up as a 45,000-mile 1979 coupe edition, and once again, leaving well enough alone from the late 1970s was out of the question.

The

318

Named

with

with

nicely

a

smattering of polish and paint.

Eddy heads and a Comp valve train are

On Dr.

Not leaving the 1970s is the factory’s posh deepcushion red interior, which retains a feel from back in the day (just sit in it to find out). Aftermarket gauges have been added, and yes, that is an MSD 6AL box bolted onto the tranny tunnel.

Another look inside shows light chrome trim and folddown arm rest. Interior is quite inviting and represents this era of American auto appointments in many ways. Do not drop that milk shake!

However, just glancing at that rich, red velour interior brings up memories of the way it was back then, in crazy rented prom suits and latenight activities. Today, the inside still remains stock save for the Autometer gauges and tach.

Nope, it’s under the hood where the action still takes place on this Mayflower mover. To that end, the factory 318 came out and Sloan Racing Engines in Sanford, N.C., built up a 410” LA-series stroker engine to go back in. With an 0.040” overbore and a Scat 4340-alloy steel crank, the bottom end is pumped by 11.0:1 pistons and a torque-focused 5600 RPM redline. A set of Edelbrock heads was reworked for the top of the mill, with port matching to the Mopar Performance intake and a Comp Cams hydraulic setup moving the valves up and down. A Holley 750-CFM carb blueprinted by Sloan is atop that, with TTi headers feeding the atmosphere and spark hitting it via factory electronic ignition, MSD and Mallory pieces, plus an Optima battery. A smattering of brightwork goes a long way to make it all shine when the lid gets flipped open.

And that was not all. The trans was reworked with a Turbo Action valve body and 3200-RPM B&M converter, while the fresh 8¾-489-case diff got treated to an Auburn Sure-Grip, 3.23:1 gearing and Dr. Diff axles when the factory 7¼” unit ended up in the parts pile.

Since this is a cruiser, not sprinter, the car is streetable fun, and that was addressed as well. Steering is now a quick-ratio manual setup, with KYB shocks mounted on all four corners. The OEM disc/drum package is fully rebuilt but works just as Mopar intended. Finally, the car rides on a set of Keystone Klassics with Cooper 245/60-15 radial tires.

Tony himself gets full credit for the well-done body and paint, which is in Spinnaker White with an added factory-design twin snorkel scoop and the OEM rear window louver inserts. Likewise, the graphics were also completed by him.

When we saw the car at Rockingham’s Mopars at the Rock, we didn’t walk away, as Joe Walsh had crooned. Tony, Ben, and third-gen fan Joseph were enjoying the event and, after a chat, we decided you would appreciate this hot Volaré from the past as much as we did. Even if you still prefer Donna Summer and T-tops…

Haul in the family, indeed, as Ben gets on it. “Gee, dad, can I borrow the keys?”

View from behind nicely displays the body lines, graphics package and updated wheel/tire choices.

USTIN COIL swung open the door of John Force Racing, walked across the lobby and dropped a letter of resignation on the receptionist’s desk, ending the most productive partnership in drag racing history, two days after the pair had won their fifteenth world championship. While it was Force’s fifteenth title, it was Coil’s seventeenth. Before taking Force from drag racing’s outhouse to its penthouse, Coil had won two championships with Frank Hawley at the wheel of the Chi-Town Hustler, a car arguably more the stuff of legend than any of the Force machines. Turn back the clock half a century from the day Coil called it quits, his story began in a two-car garage halfway down a dirt and cinder alley in metro Chicago.

A young Austin Coil primes the fuel injectors of the Chi-Town Hustler during a 1970 match race with Don Prudhomme at Sacramento Raceway in California, a year the team’s legend ary long rolling burnouts became famous. 25 years later, John Force was wear ing that big number 1 and was the new “king of the burnouts” as he does likewise in his Coil-tuned Hemipowered funny car at Race way Park in New Jersey.

1970: JO N S T EELE A R CHI V E QU A RT E R MILES T O N ES.COM/1996: G EOFF S TUNK A R D PHO T O

The Chi-Town Years

In the early 1960s, John Farkonas built a series of racecars in a little garage behind his parents’ home. There were stockers like his 300C Hemi Chrysler and Super Stockers, including a Mr. Norm-sponsored Hemi Dodge. Almost all driven by his longtime pal Pat Minick, by the winter of ’65, Farkonas was unhappy with the state of super stock racing and began building an exhibition race car—a supercharged factory experimental ’65 Plymouth that the factory had absolutely nothing to do with. It was purely the creation of this young engineer who hoped to earn enough match racing to support his hobby.

One night a guy he didn’t know stopped by the garage. The stranger was a line mechanic at a Plymouth dealership who had just purchased a 4-speed equipped ’66 Hemi Plymouth intended for Super Stock racing. His name was Austin Coil, and he was trying to go racing with a minimal bankroll. If we’re being generous, we could say his driving skills were, well, modest. Missed shifts had resulted in bent valves and general carnage. He knew Farkonas and Minick had successfully campaigned Hemi S/S cars with manual transmissions, and he was hoping to get some clutch and trans setup info that would make his car drivable.

Coil liked what he saw, and he enjoyed talking to Farkonas who had an engi-

neer’s grasp of drag racing science. In the months that followed, he would stop by to hang out occasionally, and he got to know Minick, who was also a frequent visitor. Coil could see Farkonas was brilliant, but he also noticed that little things, like tightening the oil drain plug, would sometimes be missed.

“I volunteered to help without pay,” Coil said. “Wrenching cars at a dealership had taught me that if you make a mistake, you get to do it again for free. We made a good team.”T

“Coil didn’t know a lot about drag racing when he first came to work for Farkonas, but he was brilliant,” said Minick when interviewed years later. “He got a whiff of nitromethane while hanging around the garage, and he was never going to be the same.”

Minick and Farkonas were coming off a bad experience with the Mr. Norm Super Stock Dodge and had lost the sponsorship deal. The car performed well but Minick didn’t believe in consulting Norm and things went haywire. Disillusioned with the loss of the sponsorship, he joined the Summit, Illinois police force, and by mid-’65, he was pounding a beat rather than a 4-speed. So, when the Plymouth exhibition racer was ready for action, Coil and Farkonas went on the road without Minick. A driver with limited experience was in the hot seat.

However, shifting that 4-speed behind a supercharged fuel-burning engine was no job for a driver of modest skills, and the car either didn’t make it to the end of the quarter or was late for the party. Coil suspected that the problem was in the driver’s seat. He had witnessed Minick hammer a gearbox in a Super Stock car and knew they needed him. So Coil talked Minick into hanging up his pistol and badge and taking up the shifter once again. History suggests that was a good call.

With Minick back in the seat, the trio loaded their Plymouth on an old trailer in July of ’66 and headed for U.S. 30, located in nearby Gary, Ind., for a practice session, hoping to turn a decent number and impress drag racing booking guru Ira Lichey. They also wanted to watch their buddy Gary Dyer take on Arnie Beswick in a featured match race.

Beswick and Dyer had the spectators on their feet as they reeled off low 9-second ETs on the bumpy pavement, with Dyer setting a track record for full-bodied cars at 9.07. With the match race settled, many fans left the stands. They should have hung around.

From out of the pits came the nameless silver and blue Plymouth of John Farkonas Racing Enterprises. Minick fired the motor, and those who remained stood at attention as the Hemi barked commandingly. He burned through some resin and backed up in the black tracks that Beswick and Dyer had left. The starting line light went green and Minick worked his magic, controlling the throttle and keeping the car on the ragged edge as he hammered through the gears—8.91, 159 said the clocks. No

PA U L S T E NQU IS T

Minick, Farkonas and Coil with their dual nozzle intake manifold in the Farkonas garage near Chicago, 1975. The legend was growing.

The legendary Jungle Jim Liberman, sidekick Jungle Pam Hardy, Coil and Merle Mangles at a holiday get together in Coil’s Chicago area apartment, December ’75.

PA U L S T E

NQU

IS T

CHI-TOWN

After a stint with Mr. Norm, Farkonas built a blown, steel-bodied exhibition Plymouth for the ’66 season. Coil signed on as an unpaid mechanic just before Minick took over driver duties. The beginning of something special.

Seen at the legendary Lions Associated Drag Strip in Long Beach, the new Chi-Town Charger’s burn out action brought the fans to their feet.

A Challenger body on another Farkonas engineered chassis replaced the Charger for ’71. The wins kept coming but only at paid appearances. NHRA national events—Coil once called them 32-car burndowns—were out of the question, given the need to pay the bills and bank some money.

Local journeyman driver Ron Colson “hustled” the car as well, when the mid-1970s found it with a Charger body again. The car ran a Chrysler shell though ended up in Mustang trim late in the decade.

Wheels up and tires hazing, Minick keeps the Char ger right on the ragged edge. Coil attributes much of the team’s early success to Minick’s proficiency at the wheel, but the team later expressed some regret that, after the fans saw the burnouts, they sometimes didn’t consider the huge performance numbers the car also achieved as being important.

The garage built ’67 ’Cuda Chi-Town Hustler came off the trailer running as quick and fast as the best.

full-bodied car had ever gone that quick or that fast at U.S. 30.

That Plymouth never wore the ChiTown Hustler name but ran well for the rest of the ’66 season, winning 12 of 14 events. By then, it was a dinosaur like every other steel-bodied funny car, and in Minick’s words, “an un-aerody namic mess.”

“I had to work the throttle to keep it from getting loose, but we ran in the eights on good tracks,” added Minick.

“We wanted a flip-top car like Schartman’s or Nicholson’s,” said Coil. “Problem was, none of us had any money. But we set to work building a car in the garage.”

Farkonas had been watching the early flops, and his engineering background enabled a well-reasoned assessment of their strengths and shortcomings, so he designed a tubular steel chassis that was at least the equal of the best. He fabricated parts, and Coil welded it together. An offset cockpit kept Minick in the position he knew best.

Minick, who had earned a reputation as a hustler in Chicago pool halls, called track owners across the country and hustled up some bookings. Because of of his reputation as a shooter, the Super Stocks he had driven were dubbed “Hustler”.

Since this car would hopefully establish a national reputation for Farkonas, Coil and Minick, a prefix was in order. Thus, the Chi-Town Hustler ’67 Barracuda.

Not Smoke and Mirrors

The name and the garage-built car premiered loudly and aggressively at the York, Pennsylvania Funny Car Nationals in April 1967. Most of the big-name flops were on hand and jaws dropped as the Hustler set a track record of 8.19 coming off the trailer.

Although they didn’t win the event, they left their mark, setting low ET at 8.17.

They would leave their mark on much of the drag racing world that summer, competing against Nicholson, the Ramchargers, Beswick, Dyer, Lindamood and other heavyweights in the Midwest

UDRA’s super fuel funny car circuit. On Saturday of Labor Day Weekend, the Hustler became only the third funny car to run in the sevens, winning a UDRA show in Muncie, Indiana with a 7.92. The day previous, two other floppers competing in Comp Eliminator at the U.S. Nationals had also eclipsed the eight-second mark.

Their stunning performance wasn’t the result of secret fuels or new technology. It was simply the product of meticulous workmanship and solid, scientific thinking. Farkonas reasoned like an engineer, and he taught Coil to do the same. Farkonas was a deep thinker; Coil was a perfectionist. Minick could feel what a car was doing and work the throttle accordingly. It was a nearly unbeatable combination.

Coil has said he owes much to Farkonas. “He taught me that if you can’t explain why something happened with science or physics, it didn’t happen. There is no magic involved.”

It’s that way of thinking—scientific method—that led to the Hustler’s suc-

With a “new Challenger” skin, Motor Magazine , a Hearst publication, subsidized an appearance at the ’81 Summernationals in Englishtown.

Fuel pump failure took the Frank Hawley-driven car out first round but good performance set the stage for the following season’s title run.

cess and later to John Force’s as well. Research and testing were always key. Coil built a fuel-pump testing rig powered by a motorcycle engine in the Farkonas garage. In the early days of mechanical fuel injection, no two fuel pumps delivered exactly the same volume of fuel at every speed. Thus, to ensure you had a good pump and to arrive at an optimum air/fuel ratio, testing was necessary.

“After building our fuel pump test bench, I wanted a blower dyno,” said Coil. “That would give us control of another variable, but we didn’t have the resources to pull it off.”

Much later, Force would have those resources, and the blower testing Coil would do in Force’s shop helped set the stage for their dominant performance. Blower dyno or not, the Hustler was among the most dominant funny cars of the ’60s and ’70s. The team rarely appeared at national events, opting instead for match race money, but they were consistent winners.

Winningest of all the Hustlers was the 1969 Charger. Some still consider it the

greatest funny car to ever run the quarter mile. The chassis was another Farkonas design, and it was lighter than the Barracuda. Coil changed the engine calibration, upping the blower drive percentage and adjusting other variables in a way that had been pioneered by the Ramchargers but perfected by Coil.

The car was one honking mess of a hot rod, and it ran 7.30s, as quick as the best in early outings. What no one knew was that Minick was backing off the throttle before shifting to second. If he kept his foot planted, the transmission shaft would break.

Coil has said Minick’s driving skills were an integral part of their success: “Other teams were making plenty of horsepower with Black and Pink motors, but they ran them detuned to get the car down the track without smoking the tires or breaking parts. Minick could manage big horsepower with his foot.”

Enter Bob Stange of Strange Engineering, a friend of the trio and an expert engineer and machinist. Bob created an input shaft for the Hustler Torqueflite of a steel alloy called LaSalle 300. It proved bulletproof, and Minick was able to drive the Hustler to the finish line without lifting

for the one/two shift. The result was 7.10 at 207. At the time, no funny car had ever run quicker than 7.25.

Success came often that season. NHRA had not yet admitted that there was such a thing as a funny car, so the Hustler battled on the UDRA circuit, wrapping up the championship at the finale with a 7.02, 209. The closest the competition came was 7.24. Along the way, Minick perfected the rolling tire-smoking burnout, and the Hustler’s dance card was full.

By 1970, Coil was solely in charge of engineering as Farkonas retired but continued to consult with Coil for years thereafter. Though Minick also called it quits just a year later but continued in a management role, Coil remained full time and fully dedicated. Succeeding Minick at the wheel were Clare Sanders, Ron Colson, Russell Long, Denny Savage, Pete Williams and, during the NHRA championship years, Frank Hawley.

Farkonas and Minick remained partners, and the car provided a good return for all involved. “We were paying the bills and banking money,” said Coil. “Our philosophy was that running without a cash guarantee would be an insult to the track

Race

AMD Sheet Metal

and Scoops.

THE FORCE ERA

Coil discusses options for the next round with Force. How safe do they want to play it?

No doubt John Force had the method and mouth to put money into the car. Coil smiled and let the machine speak. Englishtown 1986, creeping up on that first event title.

This legendary Mopar ad prominently featuring the Hustler may have been directed right at Force—he is not reported to have ever had a Chrysler body on his car, and certainly not after Coil showed up.

Shortly after signing on as John Force’s crew chief, Austin Coil met Lisa Divitto while racing on the east coast. It was a life changing encoun ter, and they would soon become Mr. and Mrs. Coil.

Driving into the chutes at Atlanta in 1994, Force had painted flames on the car following his fiery ’93 season. Moments after this shot, he accidentally ran off the track, under a fence, and into the woods!

Coil said he and Prudhomme rarely spoke about technical issues. More often it was just a “how ya doin’” talk or a few words on the economic issues the sport was facing.

“We had to wear the stupid red pants at Indy in 2008,” said Coil. “At that race, Lisa drove the Drastic Plastic fuel altered to a 5.63 at 263.”

Coil has left the building, Force is back in a Chevrolet, and the crazy days returned due to NHRA track prep changes. After the boom, Gainesville 2019. Fuel Hemi 1, Camaro body 0.

G EOFF

S T U NK A R D G EOFF S T U NK A R D

G EOFF

S T U NK A R D

owners who were paying us.” Interested parties, including track owners and others, sometimes paid the Hustler to appear at NHRA events, but those were few.

Coil saw a problem in skipping national events. “For sure, you’ll sooner or later lose track of where you’re at in respect to the rest of the world when you’re match racing, “said Coil in a 1984 interview. “We were running the best cars but mostly on crummy tracks. It was hard to tell if your mess was stout enough to win when it matters.”

Then there was the Hawley factor. Frank had proved to be an excellent shoe, but he wanted to compete against the best in the big show. “About halfway through the ’81 season, I beat (the World Championship-winning Blue Max of Raymond) Beadle at Englishtown on a Wednesday, and he didn’t care. It was as though it didn’t count as a win.”

It had to happen, and at the 1982 NHRA Winternationals it did. The team showed up unannounced, qualified number one and came within a thousandth of a second of the national record before losing in the semifinals. Those who knew Coil were not surprised when the Hustler ran away with the ’82 NHRA championship and repeated in ’83—on a budget that was dwarfed by that of their quickest competition.

Coil didn’t stand still. He experimented with high volume fuel pumps, precision machined supercharger rotors and more. A ten-cylinder engine was in the works when an NHRA rule shelved the project.

Coil rarely if ever exhibits even a shred of self-doubt and displays a quiet stoicism that some mistake for coldness, but he’s a great friend to those he holds close and, despite his tremendous intellect, a very modest man. Minick once said that when he asked Coil what his most outstanding technical achievement was, he answered, “Keeping our truck running.”

The ’84 season was not a success. Misfortune and new car woes depleted the bankroll. While the Hustler recorded good numbers, wins were few. At the World Finals, redemption seemed possible as Hawley drove the car to a record ET but lost on a holeshot. That was the last run the car would make with Coil as crew chief, although Pat and Wayne Minick would continue to campaign it, and a new version of the Hustler runs match races to this day with Mike Minick in the seat. But the story of Coil and the Chi-Town Hustler ended as the curtain closed on the ’84 season.

Making a Brute of Force

Austin Coil was not feeling good in October 1984 as leaves fell from the trees in Chi cago. “I was at home trying to figure things out when I got a call from a funny car racer I barely knew named John Force.”

Force told Coil he wanted to put him in charge of his funny car act and outlined a lucrative deal. Coil said he had to think about it for a couple of weeks. Force, who has never been shy about going after what he wants, figured that meant he had to sell harder so he called four or five times a day. Eventually, Coil agreed to meet him in Phoenix to talk it over. It seems close proximity was all Force needed to seal the deal, and Coil went to work for John Force Racing (JFR) on the day following Thanksgiving 1984. At the time, he was the only paid employee.

It wasn’t Force’s record on the racetrack that convinced Coil to put the Hustler days behind him. If anything, that was a negative. Lacking substantial mechanical help most of the time, Force had a proclivity for fire and destruction. In a YouTube video that Castrol produced in later years to show how their assistance had elevated the team’s act, Force’s wife Laurie said, “He was in a ball of flames or some catastrophe every single run, and he didn’t know what he was doing, and his crew was free...he was absolutely horrible.”

Force knew he needed expert mechanical help and Coil could provide it in abundance. Coil on the other hand, saw a guy who could potentially sell the team to sponsors and bring in the resources nec essary for success in the ever more challenging world of professional NHRA drag

racing. Whether Force could become a top shoe was an unknown, but the desire was there.

“It was hard to pick right up where I had left off with the Hustler,” said Coil. “Our budget wasn’t unlimited at first and there were distractions I didn’t have to deal with when I had my own car, but I eventually got his mess sorted out. We had some runner up finishes in ‘85 and ‘86 and won our first NHRA national event at Montreal in ’87.”

“Force was a wild man in the early days,” Coil said. “After the races, we’d drive from saloon to saloon in a station wagon and he’d want to ride up top, hanging onto the roof rack. It all seemed good fun at the time.”

But intensity and fearlessness are part of the formula that makes Force a great competitor, and with Coil’s mechanical expertise and cautious, systematic approach to achieving results, the JFR team made great strides.

Some of that success was probably due to a life-altering change in Coil’s life. Racing on the east coast in the ’80s, he met a gracious and beautiful lady named Lisa Divitto. They quickly became inseparable and were wed on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California on February 7, 1989.

Thirty years later in describing the roots of his success, Coil said, “To keep yourself focused, it takes something that doesn’t get mentioned nearly enough. And that would be a really good woman by your side to tell you that you can do this whether you think you can or not. That’s what Lisa did for me during so many years when I was losing faith in myself and thinking, well, my best years are gone.”

Coil and Force roared to their first NHRA championship in 1990 and repeated the following season. They finished second to Cruz Pedregon in ’92 and started the next season with renewed focus, determination, and confidence, along with a partner for Coil—Bernie Fedderly.

Fedderly was a Canadian drag racer who had teamed up with a high school pal, Terry Capp, in the 1960s to race a series of race cars that culminated in a Top Fuel dragster. The pair won the U.S. Nationals in 1980, which earned Fedderly an opportunity to tune Gary Beck’s fueler for the Larry Minor team. He and Beck qualified atop the field 14 of 16 times during one stretch in the early ’80s. He achieved similar success tuning Ed “The Ace” McCulloch’s funny cars. If there was a guy who could match Coil’s record of success and complement his way of thinking, it was Fedderly. Coil and Fedderly were a formidable team, tuning Force’s car to an unprecedented ten consecutive NHRA funny car championships, a record that will likely never be broken.

With numerous wins and lucrative sponsorship deals, Force generated a lot of cash, and invested much of it in more cars and a crew chief for each car. Although not always acknowledged by Force, Coil maintained a leadership role.

“Coil ran the whole deal when I was there,” said Jimmy Prock, who was one of Force’s crew chief’s during Coil’s tenure and recently returned to the JFR operation as crew chief on Robert Hight’s car.

“Coil is the smartest guy I’ve ever met in the business. I learned more from him than anybody.”

“Austin ran the whole show,” said John Medlen, another hugely successful funny car crew chief who worked with Coil on Force’s team. “Austin was everything that had anything to do with the performance of the Force cars. He wrote the book. “

Force never hesitated to invest in research and equipment in an effort to maintain the huge performance advantage that he enjoyed. Coil spent many hours in the Yorba Linda shop, developing and testing parts and theories. That work led to many engineering breakthroughs and a substantial advantage on the racetrack.

“Almost all of the stuff Coil came up with is still used in this business,” said Prock. “Coil is responsible for numerous innovations from tuneup programs to hardware. Others have contributed as well, but no one has done more for the development of fuel drag racing than Austin Coil.”

Coil, Frank Hawley, Hawley’s mom, and his wife Lana at E-town after the disappointing firstround loss at the ’81 Summernationals. Coil is undoubtedly telling Frank that they won’t be doing this again for a while because the piggy bank is empty.

PA U L S T E N QU IS T

In a speech Coil made when accepting NHRA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, he said that at times 27 CNC machines were running simultaneously in the team’s shop, turning out experimental components and special parts. “Some of it never made it out of the shop,” he added, “but they were ideas we needed to try.”

“It made for a heck of a season,” he continued, “and I think I was lucky enough to be in it at a time when innovation really paid off.”

The intake manifold under drag racing’s Roots-type supercharger had changed little over half a century when Coil decided to reconsider its design. He had built a test rig for the JFR shop that could test super chargers—a capability he had craved in the Hustler days—and he realized he could also use it to study the way the manifold worked.

“We made fixtures for the blower dyno with windows and lights, said Coil. “We watched to see where the air came out of the bottom of the supercharger. We designed a manifold that captured the air at that point and engineered runners that directed it to the intake ports.”

Flush with cash, the team was able to build prototype manifolds at a cost of $19,000 per. The manifolds were a breakthrough. They increased engine power substantially and reduced the tendency of the engine to run overly rich in some cylinders, causing them to “drop” or stop running. It gave Force a performance advantage that continued for almost two years until other teams were able to copy the design.

NHRA eventually made that manifold and a similar one designed by Allen Johnson mandatory for flopper engines. Coil took some pride in that, but he didn’t like the fact that NHRA was managing engine specifications so tightly that there was little room for innovation. To maintain an advantage, he took to refining tuning programs. With excellent drivers in the cockpits and Coil and Fedderly in the team’s control center, they continued to win. Until disaster struck.

At a tuning session on March 23, 2007, young Eric Medlen suffered fatal brain injuries at the wheel of a Force car when half of the sidewall separated from a slick. The section of tire slammed the track repeatedly, generating what was later calculated to be 56,000 pounds of force and violently hurling the roll cage from side to side.

In another incident that same season, Force himself was nearly killed when a tire exploded near the finish line and the

car hit the guardwall, ripping it in half and tearing up his legs.

Those two incidents changed everything. “When you had to attend a funeral for a young guy you cared about, a kid who drove one of our cars, it was crushing,” Coil said. “And to watch John almost die in the Dallas crash was wrenching. Our focus changed from how can we win to how can we make the cars safer.”

The result was the Force safety chassis. With three frame rails rather than two and a carbon fiber tub for the driver, it was much more crash resistant. But it was also heavier, and it didn’t flex and transfer weight like the old-style cars. While the flex of conventional cars transferred weight on acceleration, it also made the cars subject to breaking in half and exposing the driver. The re-engineered Force cars were safer but there was a performance penalty. NHRA effected some rule changes based on the team’s research, but it chose not to mandate three-rail construction, so other teams didn’t adapt the Force chassis, and it proved a handicap for several years.

The Force team eventually went back to running lighter, more flexible cars like those of the competition. “After I left, the

focus pretty much reverted to ‘let’s win’,” said Coil. “The cars are safe enough but not as safe as the 2008 car.”

By 2009, the nation was deep in a recession, and Ford told Force his sponsorship money would be cut. Force in turn cut everyone’s pay. He also seemed to have developed a resentment of Coil. Perhaps he was tired of hearing how Coil had turned his leaker operation into a winning race team. His actions may have been almost unconscious, but it seemed he was attempting to diminish the reputation of the guy who had made him a winner.

“When the first pay cuts came around, I assumed Force was telling the truth about his finances, so I said, well, I’ll work with you. But as time went on it became clear he was pinching pennies for everyone but himself. Bigger pay cuts came at the end of the 2009 season, but Force kept buying new equipment for the shop and continued construction of a 19,200 sq. ft. house. I felt betrayed,” added Coil.

When his accountant told him he had enough money to go fishing anytime he wished, Coil called it quits.

Jimmy Prock, when asked why Coil had walked away, said, “I feel it was both an emotional thing and a financial thing.

I understand why Coil was unhappy. But none of that matters in the end. What matters is that without Austin Coil, Force would never have gotten to where he is. Force understands that. I believe Coil is one of the greatest to ever do this. No one has more wins or fuel championships.”

Today, Coil is concerned about the sport he loves. “The uncertainty of drag racing’s future works on me every day. It can’t survive without good sponsor support. And the sport can’t function without people in the seats. There are many bright and ambitious young men and women who are hoping to build a future in the sport, and that may not happen. That’s a painful thought.

“But I look on the past with no regrets,” he added. “There were an awful lot of good times amidst a lot of craziness.”

Force and Coil mended fences long ago and remain friends, and Coil has at times served as a technical consultant to the JFR team. As the years have passed, Force has undoubtedly come to appreciate his genius engineer more than he ever did back in the day. At that 2019 awards ceremony he described Coil this way: “Greatest tuner, greatest friend, greatest husband.”

High praise indeed.

MI N IC K FAMILY A R CHI V ES

Strange Engineering and longtime sponsor Rislone stepped up to help finance an NHRA campaign in ’82 and ’83. The result was two world championships for the Hustler and Hawley.

Mope or NOPE!

NO-JIVE FIFTY-FIVE

Rides from readerland.

ERIC BROWN in North Port, Florida owns the only 1955 Hemi Plymouth Belvedere. No, it’s not some owner swap but a conversion on the original 260 Polyhead V8. Here’s the deal. SJ “Stoney” Denham, owner of a Plymouth-DeSoto dealership (est. 1945) in Redding, CA, ordered a ’55 Belvedere 2-dr. for his wife. The car came with Plymouth’s top power option, the aforesaid 260. SJ knew Chrysler had a Hemi in their lineup as the ’55 DeSoto could be had with a 271-CI Hemi. SJ called the factory relentlessly requesting a Hemi for his Plymouth, which the factory wouldn’t offer for that marque until 1966. After quite a while, the factory fi nally threw in the towel and sent SJ assembled Hemi heads plus all the factory parts required for the head swap, which SJ’s mechanics did between dealership oil changes.

After his wife drove the Bel for a bit, presumably blowing off all the other ’55 Plymouths in town, SJ parked the Bel in his showroom where it resided for the next 27 years. A customer from Arizona bought the showroom queen, and he owned it for the next 10 years. The next owner brought the car and shipped it back to Oklahoma where he undertook a meticulous refreshing and converted the electrics to a 12-volt system. The Plymouth subsequently changed hands after being sold at auction in Branson, MO for $24,200. In 2020, the Plymouth, showing 76,000 miles, crossed the block once again, but this time under the Mecum banner. And that’s where Eric pulled the trigger.

The Denham dealership, originally started by Stoney as a gas station in the 1930s, is still in business today at the Redding location with thirdgeneration Denhams “at the wheel.” You won’t find any more Plymouths or DeSotos sorry to say, but they’ll give you a good deal on any of Stellantis’ current offerings. Maybe a nice Fiat 500? (Hemi heads in the trunk.)

EDITED BY PHIL DEPAGES

EDITED PHIL EPAGES

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Mope or NOPE!

MARITAL BLISS—OR BLISTER

IT WAS THE LAST SHOT on the wedding photographer’s last roll of fi lm—THE WEDDING PICT U RE to be cherished in the family album for decades. The title would be TR U E L OVE. And so it is. Rick and Alyssa Pelligrino from Harwich, Mass. were posing by his 1968 Charger when the photographer noticed a big grease spot on the Charger’s front wheel. Rick had to use what was on hand to wipe off the grease. It was either the photographer’s tie or …

We don’t have the specs on Alyssa, so you’ll have to get by on what’s in the Charger—a .030-over 440 with forged bottom end, Eddy RPM heads treated to a port and polish job, RPM intake mounting a Holley 850 DP ( no, say it isn’t so –Ehrenberg ). Beyond the mill, Rick rows his own cogs with an American Powertrain 5-speed with an 0.64 top gear. It all goes back to a 4.10 8¾ rear.

Rick’s had the Charger since 2004. He bought it down south from he believes was the second owner who found it in a barn. It sat for over two decades untouched. Rick repainted it B5 blue with a silver Argent stripe. He added Torque Thrust wheels and Autometer gauges where the factory ones were located and new upholstery.

Rick has had Alyssa since 2015 and so far, has kept her stock.

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anced engine, as the flywheel has a specific rotation to the bolt pattern, as does the damaged crank pulley which has a rubber core and milled indents for balancing. The other non-balanced pulley sets I have do not bolt up.

My question is: should I slightly modify the non-balanced pulley by grinding one mounting hole and hope for the best? And would this potentially damage the front crank bearing / effect vibration? Or should I search for another balanced pulley that may not be correctly balanced? I would greatly appreciate your wisdom.

Craig Yoder Gettysburg, PA.

required external balance was never done via the pulley, and these dampers were very obvious.

I’d be interested to learn if this engine has “HP” on stamped on the ID pad. If it were a standard-perf (C-body) 440, this would all make sense; of course, 50+ years later, the potential for component swaps are immense.

Swapping from a one-hole-offset crank pulley to a symmetrical-pattern one is of no consequence.

FUEL FOOL?

Richard, thanks for your article on improving fuel economy (MA 10/2022–Ed.) But you didn’t mention adding a magnet to the fuel line. My father has used these for years on every car he has owned and swears they improve mileage by at least 10%. They install in minutes!

Charlie (last name and address withheld out of pity)

4. 10%–30% fuel saving, increase ignition efficiency

5. Low rotation and high horsepower and torque output.”

I don’t know where to begin, this is all hyperbole gobbledegook, pure bulldoody. If you are tempted to believe any of this, think again. If fuel economy could be improved so easily, the automakers, who would kill for 0.1 MPG improvement (to save millions on low-CAFE* surcharges) would have this under every hood.

To me, these sellers should be cellmates of Bernie Madoff. Oh, wait, he’s dead. Good.

SLUGFEST

I recently purchased a set of NOS 0.030˝ oversize pistons (P4529421) and rings (P4349848) for my 1973 Dodge 340 engine. Should the machine shop set up the block to provide stock (OEM) clearances?

The 1st and 2nd groove rings were shipped within the same box. How do I physically determine which ring goes in which position?

Dave Fortin Sanford, ME

Dave–

Craig–

Something does not compute—but first things first:

All ‘60s–early ’70s pulleys and crankshafts had one offset screw. Reasons were thus:

•On some trucks, the ignition timing mark was on the pulley. (On some trucks / B-vans, the ignition timing mark was on the T/converter, visible through a window in the trans or clutch housing).

•As you mention, the externally balanced engine’s crankshaft needed to be clocked to the balance weights on the torque converter or the drilled balance holes on the flywheel.

...so the pulley or flywheel/torque converter had to be clocked properly.

Now for the computational error: All 1972 and earlier 440s were forged crankshaft engines, but 1970-up HP engines had heavy conrods and were externally balanced. The damper was very specific and obvious (and the one you showed me is not)! I think you are confusing the damper with the pulley. The drilled damper holes are for normal dynamic balance. Any

Charlie–

Sure, and I’d love to sell you 1,000 shares of Brooklyn Bridge stock. Let’s look at a typical ad for one of these gizmos. They claim, verbatim from eBay:

“Features:

1. Destroy the hydrocarbon chain of the flowing fuel molecules so that the fuel structure molecules will generate specific resonance effects under the catalysis of the neodymium compound.

2. Original disordered fuel molecule becomes a neatly arranged motion straight line, so that the fuel combustion becomes full and effective.

3. Save fuel, save money, more miles per gallon.

As far as your skirt/wall clearance question: Yes, the MP slugs you have were cast similarly to the OEM pistons, so you can theoretically go with the stock numbers, which were, for the ’73 340, 0.0005 ˝ to 0.0015 ˝. Clearances this tight were possible because these slugs were cast aluminum with steel expansion-control inserts. Actually, if it were my motor, I’d probably leave a tad more room.

Note well that most other MP pistons are aluminum forgings, requiring much larger clearances. 0.007 ˝ is about the minimum safe number for those. Then there’s hypereutectic, which are kinda in the middle.

PHO T O: C. YODE R

Reader Yoder’s

440 crank pulley.

Magnets on the fuel line are great—for the seller’s bank account.

Factory cast pistons had cast-in steel inserts to control expansion, allowing very tight skirt clearances, for both oil control and noise.

The repro bias and / or biasbelted tires on the F.A.S.T cars are subjected to incredible quantities (and soak time) of softening compound, far in excess of what is typical for the circle track use for which it is intended.

Furthermore, realize that although the cars are stock appearing , they can have 14:1 compression, 5-inch stroke, mega-flow heads, 0.650 ˝ lift cams, etc., and especially, extremely launch-advantageous torque converters. I’m betting that the tune is specifically tailored to optimize the launch.

Beyond that, as you surmised, the winners in this group are extremely skilled.

OFF BY ONE?

Rick–

I have been looking for a rebuilt transmission for my 1968 Dart, 225 Slant-Six, A904. I saw an A903 that seemed like a great deal, is that interchangeable with mine? Somebody online said it was just a slightly less beefy version, which would be fine for my daily driver.

Mack Steinberg Flushing, NY

Usually, the compression ring shipping box has two compartments, with the top compartment containing the top rings. Assuming that the packaging has been somehow defaced, the rings can be identified in two ways. First, the top ring will have the obvious black plasma-moly visible in the wall contact area. Second, generally, rings destined for top-groove use have a back-side chamfer on the top side, whereas second-groove rings have the chamfer on the bottom

Top is usually identified with a “dot.”

Note that, while your top rings are moly, some brands/types use chrome. Some vendors sell sets where both rings are moly.

LAUNCH CONTROL

Seeing 50-year-old F.A.S.T. cars doing 10s on skinny bias ply tires, can you give a technical response as to why cars like the Hellcat Challengers struggle for traction with electronic traction control systems and much wider, newer radial tires or even drag radials? Does it just come down to driver skill?

Bruce Thiem Knoxville, TN

The first factor, possible the most important, is that the F.A.S.T cars are probably 1,000 pounds lighter than the new cars; as you surely know, per Newton, an object at rest tends to remain at rest. As this applies to the science of drag racing, it is more difficult to launch a heavy car, especially the all-important out of the hole 60 feet. While the next factor is based on conjecture, I’m betting that the F.A.S.T cars also have significantly better weight distribution than the new cars.

Mack–

Not even close. The A903 was a toploading three-speed manual. It wasn’t the greatest for performance as it used the archaic pin-type synchronizers (designed to circumvent the GM Syn chromesh patents). First gear was not synchronized at all.

SPARE AIR

Richard -

I recently completed the 11.75˝ disc brake upgrade on my ’72 Demon, now with a 360 Magnum. Everything went together well with no issues. But what

Bruce–

Reader Campbell’s Demon is slick. He is asking about spare tire fitment issues.

Reader Thiem wonders how F.A.S.T. class cars, such as Dudek’s Hemi RR, run seem ingly impossible elapsed times. We discuss it, but....

...tire softening com pound, sometimes taken to extremes, is part of the secret.

The A903 was a pin-synchro (highlighted), top-loading, 3-speed manual No relation to the A904 automatic.

PHO T O: S. CAMPBELL

Clint–

Knowing whether you have manual or power brakes would have helped. Anyway, the problem is that something in your pedal pushrod or, more likely, the power booster’s pushrod is too long, preventing the M/C pistones from fully retracting.

Virtually impossible that that symptom can be caused by a bad m/cyl.

To add a chip collector magnet to an 8¾

axle, apply it to the bottom rear of the housing. A magnetic fill plug can be used, but this will be more effective, although not easily cleaned.

I need to know is, what do I use for a spare tire/rim that will fit these big brakes, but will also fit in the small confines of the spare tire storage area in the trunk? I’m thinking about a space saver, but which one?

Scott Campbell Victoria, BC

Scott-

A high-pressure “bagel” spare tire on a 16 X 4. 0 wheel from a R-body will clear the calipers for sure, however, I am not certain of the O D as far as trunk well clearance. I also think (also unconfirmed) that one from a F/J/M with factory 1 5 wheels will clear the caliper.

A tire plug kit and portable compressor is the plan B. Check YouTube’s Project Farm channel for recommendations.

MAGNETIC ATTRACTION

Rick-O–

I wanted to add a magnetic drain plug to my ’72 Challenger’s 8 ¾ rear axle, per your suggestions, I have added one to my engine pan and 4-speed. But there is no drain plug on the rear axle, is there anything that can be done? I want to keep this car, and the original 340 with just 56,400 miles, for my grandson.

Marvin Cook Elgin, IL

Marv–

Sure, it just won’t be a drain plug! Some guys have used a magnetic fill plug, and that’s better than nothing, but today’s super-strong rare earth neodymium magnets are easily able to have the chips collected on the inside of the housing with the magnet simply stuck on the lower part of the outside.

Similarly, on an 7¼

or 9¼

axle, apply the magnet (neodymium) to the bottom of the cover. No way to use a mag fill plug on the versions with a rubber fill plug (circled in green).

Prove it? Brakes locked, loosen 2 master cyl mounting nuts a few turns, pull m/cyl forward a bit. Now unlocked? I’m right! The power pushrod length is easily adjustable, see photo below.

KNOCK CENSOR

I have been using ¾

disc magnets, they are all over eBay for pocket change. You can also go larger. Just be sure they are neo dymium, as earlier ferrite or Alnico magnets may not have enough strength for this task.

See photos, above, for more details and ideas.

LOCKED UP SOLID

Hey Rick–

I bolted a new 2-bolt master cylinder to my ’74 Challenger after bench bleeding it. Drove a few miles and all 4 brakes locked up. Is the master cylinder bad?

I’d assume so since nothing else was changed. Open to any suggestions.

Clint Woods Terre Haute, IN

I have a stock 318 in my ’73 B200 van. Pistons are likely .070˝ below the deck. Therefore, if I run Magnum heads, I will not get proper quench. Will this scenario lead to detonation or other issues?

Wayne Wayne Vista, CA

WW

No, it will be fine. The CR is so low that detonation is very unlikely.

All power brake (to master cylinder, not pedal) pushrods are easily adjustable.

I presume you know that you’ll need AMC (oil-thru) lifters, different pushrods, and a Magnum intake manifold to make this work. Good swap, but a complete 318 or 360 Magnum, with the EFI, would sure be nice.

SWITCH BITCH

Mr. Ehrenberg–

My 1973 Satellite Sebring has several electrical system gremlins that have been driving me mad. Several people have said that it might be a bad ignition switch, but they also say that it is difficult to change. Is there any way to know for sure before I pull the steering wheel off and tear apart the column?

James Johanssen St. Paul, MN

Jimmy–

Here’s how I handle this: Plug the new switch in at the base of the column without installing it. Drive around for a few days, if

Happy Hardline

OVER THE YEARS, I have invested in a milk crate’s worth of hardline (steel tubing) tools, the bulk of which have been bending / forming tools. Years ago, I found a Rigid #104 mini tubing cutter at Home Depot, which has really come in handy when you want to cut tubing that is in place, but there have been times when even that is too bulky. The other day I was at a True Value store, and I happened to spy an even smaller cutter hanging on a display, a Superior Tool #35025. Better still, it is made in USA, is dirt cheap, and has a lifetime warranty. It fits in the tightest of spots. Get one. –R.E.

To confirm (or clear) the fault in a 1970-up ignition switch, do not rip the old one out of the column. Instead, temporarily hook up the new one under the dash. “A” is the female connector from the switch still in the column, “B” is the new switch’s connector plugged into the car’s harness, and “C” is the new switch. You’ll need pliers to rotate the new one, especially to the crank position. Hang it under the dash for a while using zip ties until you are certain that the switch is bad—or not.

the problems are mitigated, then you can install it. If not, you saved a bunch of work. See photo, right, for details.

BROKE BRAKES

My ’68 Charger has aftermarket disc brakes in front and intermittently my brake pedal goes down to the floor! If I pump it, I get pressure back to the pedal. Car stops excellent other than intermittent pedal to the floor issue. The brake light on dash is lit but very dim. Never this issue in past even after disc brake conversion. It started doing this recently after years of having disc brakes. No brake fluid leaks, no loss of brake fluid altogether.

Michael Bayon Massapequa Park, NY

NEED MORE TECH?

Mike–

No drips or leaks? Can only be a bad master cylinder.

L OVE TECH Q & A? Can’t get enough? Check it out: There’s new Q & As posted weekly online at www.moparaction.com! That’s the best place to submit your tech question from, too. Heads up! You can now browse and search a super tech-article index, order back issues and the awesome 7-volume Tech Special CD-rom, at www.moparaction.com

BRASS CAP

Mr. Richard–

I recently bought a NOS distributor cap for my 1971 Demon 340. It looks great, but my friend says it is junk because the terminals are aluminum, he swears the aftermarket black ones with brass inserts are much better for performance.

Is he right? Should I take off the NOS cap?

Melvin Markowitz Sacramento, CA

Let’s look at typical wires: The SAE says that wire resistance should not exceed 12,0001 per foot. The resistance of an aluminum terminal might be 0.00021, whereas brass might (might!) be 0.00011. Meaningless.

If the aluminum corrodes, the thickness of the corrosion might be 0.001˝. The spark will easily penetrate that, also with no performance loss. Even in the Everglades, the corrosion inside the cap will be minimal.

Another old wives’ tale debunked.

STUDS ’N’ LUGS

Mr. Ehrenberg–

In 2017, I bought a 1967 Plymouth Barracuda with 44K, 273 two-barrel. It was mostly apart when I got it, I have been working on it as time and my budget permits.

I am told that the wheel nuts on the left side are left-hand thread. I have also been told that there were several marks to indicate which are which. How to I tell, and why did they do this?

Steve Tufexis Astoria, NY

SPARKS FLYING

Mr. Ehrenberg–

I was on a message board, talking about Chrysler distributors. My 1966 273 fourbarrel Dart GT came with dual points. One guy swears that Chrysler never made dual-point units. He was soundly shouted down, but he was, and still is, adamant. We all agreed that we would ask you.

Aaron Harris Cherry Hill, NJ

Aaron–

From a pure-fact viewpoint, if the verbiage was as you relate it, he is 100% correct. All Chrysler distributors, 1960 (when production began in Indianapolis), through the end when Mopars went to DIS, were made in that plant, and all— repeat, all—were either single-point or electronic.

Semantics play a large role in this discussion. Plenty of Mopars left the factory with dual-point distributors, of course, but it is equally true that they were not made by Chrysler, they were purchased from an outside supplier, the original vendor was Auto-Lite, which morphed into Prestolite.

Steve–

Mel–

In a word, no, there is zero difference in performance. Zero. Here’s a short explanation: People use resistor spark plugs, auxiliary gap plugs, resistance secondary cables, etc., with no detrimental effects.

This question is pretty common. They did this to make it less likely that wheel rotation would loosen the nuts, this practice continued though 1970 model year. Eventually, it was realized that this was unnecessary, and the number of broken studs (from mechanics using impact wrenches set to “kill,” and rotating the wrong way) was more of an issue.

All left-hand thread hardware was clearly marked “L,” and most components were copper plated.

A tip-off: All Chrysler distributor castings were aluminum, while 99.9% of the Prestolites were cast iron.

STUDS OR NOT

Rick–

In 1980, when I was 22 years old, I bought a ’69 Belvedere and turned it into a Road Runner. Considering how young I was and how limited my facilities and finances were, it actually has held up pretty well, and has been a lot of fun. I have driven it almost 80,000 miles, it now shows 34K (around once, I do not know how many miles are on the 383 engine, but I am rebuilding it to stock). About 25 years ago I did your disc brake swap, and converted the junkyard 1970 383 to electronic ignition, and more.

At the time, it needed both doors. On the right side, I was able to get a new skin at the dealer, and on the left, I found a very clean one at the local wreckers. I bought new “Road” and “Runner” emblems for the doors also from the Plymouth dealer. The new ones were in sealed Mopar packages, but they were the peel and stick type. This actually was great, I didn’t have to drill holes in the doors, but I was careful to put them in the exact correct location.

Now, 42 years later, I’m retired and I’m doing the car over, this time 100% cor-

Mopar distributor caps always used aluminum terminals, at least back to 1960. They are just fine.

LHT lugs (studs and nuts) are always either so marked, or, if OEM, copper plated.

rect. The question is: should I buy repro door emblems with the studs, or somehow reattach the peel and stick ones? If I should stick them on, what do I use?

Mike Gold Daytona Beach, FL

Mike–

The peel and stick type emblems, callouts, and name plates went a long way towards reducing rust. Even though the holes were drilled at the factory before the car was painted, when the studs were pushed into the holes there was often some paint chipping, and this set the stage for rust.

Some guys did not like the peel and stick emblems because they protruded further from the panel, due to the die cut foam tape sandwiched between the emblem and the sheet metal. This was quite thin, however.

Anyway, what I would do is to carefully clean off every bit of the tape and adhesive residue that will be left behind on the rear of the name plates and reattach them, after carefully measuring and making a cardboard template to locate them. Use 3M trim cement (P/N 08061). This also moves them in closer to the panel skin, duplicating the stud-mount appearance.

HARDTOP DROP

Rick–

Why did Chrysler stop making hardtops? I had a ’74 Fury III 4-door HT and really like the styling, they seemed to be very popular.

Jake Davis Colorado Springs, CO

Jake–

4-door hardtops, though popular, were a bit tricker to build, or at least make watertight, as the alignment of the door to quarter glass could be problematic. What, however, killed them off were the Federal roof intrusion / crush standards.

The last Mopar 4-door hardtop, and, if I am correct, the last 4-door hardtops built by any automaker, were the 1978 Chrysler (Newport and New Yorker) C-body Mopars.

PHO T O: GR E G G JE R DI NG E

Al Dente’s from the PastBLAST! BLAST!

Another point that is not generally known is that Street Hemis used a small,11-inch 6-cylinder torque converter, which had the effect of raising their stall speed to the 2200–2400 rpm range. This small converter gave more slip in normal street driving, which created heat that was handled by the big oil cooler, but the higher stall speed gave much quicker jump off the line. Tests showed a difference of as much as .2 to .4 seconds in quarter-mile ETs, when compared with the usual 12-inch converter for big engines. In fact, Chrysler used 10-inch Falcon converters in their ’68 Super Stock Barracudas, with stall speeds of 2800-3000 RPM.

Chrysler engineers were tops at putting together efficient, reliable automatics for high performance cars.

FUN ’FLITE FACTS

THERE’S LITTLE QUESTION that Chrysler had the best automatic transmission system available during the musclecar period. The heavy-duty version of their big Model A-727 Torqueflite could handle the tremendous torque of a Street Hemi engine, with neck-snapping shifts up to 6500 RPM without a whimper for hundreds of brutal street and strip bashes. Internal modifications included 4-pinion planetaries, extra clutch discs, high line pressure and stronger shaft splines.

Also, did you know that every Street Hemi automatic was factory-equipped with a large radiator type transmission oil cooler positioned in front of the regular radiator? Transmission oil temps had to be controlled to around 240 degrees F. at all times to stand up in this tough environment.

Speaking of hot Mopars in the ’60s. one secret of the good performance of full-size Dodges and Plymouths is that their breadand-butter B-body models used a unit-type body shell that was considerably smaller and lighter than equivalent bodies from Ford and GM. The wheelbase of 116 inches compared with wheelbases of 120-123 inches on Ford Galaxies, Chevy Impalas, etc. and their overall weight was 200 to 300 pounds less, partly because of the smaller size and partly because there was no separate frame under the cars. This weight differential was vital in both street and strip racing. On the dragstrips, of course, the GM divisions had dropped out in 1963 so there was no fair comparison. But Ford couldn’t get competitive until ’64–’65, when they switched to intermediate Fairlane and Mustang models to battle the B-body Mopars. On the streets, the GM divisions got competitive about the same time with their Chevelles and Cutlasses and Camaros and such.

But the light B-body Mopars got a jump in the early ’60s that allowed them to dominate some Super Stock and FX classes for years, just because of those smaller unit bodies. And the TorqueFlite had a huge bearing on getting hook with a legal (and narrow) stocker tire.

Now ya know!

And the best automatic transmission of the musclecar era was…