Moparm Action - December 2014 USA

Universal
Seat
Relocation
Brackets
Magnum Wheel
Set of 4
brackets with
hardware. Used to relocate
seat rearward or forward by
1-1/2 or 2. Can be installed on
top of or below the carpet.
Chrysler Catalog:
Print:
Mopar A/B/E-Body
(1962-74)
(ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE)
2014 YEARONE
17x9
aluminum
Magnum
wheel with 5.125
backspacing.
17x8 with 4.5
backspacing.Black powder coated
with machined lip.
Ken
Harrison
Kick
Panels
with
Speakers
These allow
you to have great sound without
modifying your vehicle. Paintable
to match your interior.
3-Point Conversion Front

Seat Belt Set
70-74 E-Body AM/FM Radio
Looks like the original but equipped

with the latest technology. No
modifcations needed. Up to
180 watts of power.
Aftermarket set
for 68-70 A-Body
models with bucket
seats. Correct
dimensions for the
application.
YEARONE Muscle Car Parts

License Plate
Black background with red and
white embossed letters.
QA1 Tubular
Lower Control
Arms 64-76
A-Body
A direct bolt-on
for your factory
K-member. Sold
as a pair.
1-800-932-7663
Restoration & Performance Parts for GM, Ford & Chrysler Muscle Cars
MA014
34 MANN TOY
It took the Dukes to inspire Charger lust in

this owner who went on to acquire a few.
This one has some neat personal touches that
did not break the bank.
When you care enough to read the very best.
www.moparaction.com
66 GRAND HEFT AUTO
Like em big? Youd do well with a 66 Chrysler

300. Youd do better with the convertible, and even
better still with one thats Ruby red. So now you
have a hint that by turning to page 64 youre not
gonna nd something like a Fiat.
TITILLATING TECH
60 SLUGFEST
If youre gonna signicantly boost the power

output of your 3G Hemi, one of the rst
upgrades youll need is more durable pistons.
Heres how to swap em, step-by-step in our
signature excruciating detail.
70 SEAT TIME
Where do you spend all of your time in your

Mopar? On your butt, of course. Heres how
to make those classic Mope seats way
more comfortable while still retaining their
stock appearance.
FAST & FURIOUS FEATURES

COVER STORY
16
SOLD TO THE MAN WITH THE GREEN IGUANA

1971 4-speed Hemicuda convertible breaks all records for a musclecar sold at auction
by fetching a cool 3.5 million dollars. But did that include the mudaps?
SPECIAL 426 HEMI 50TH

ANNIVERSARY SECTION
70
26 BIRTH OF THE ELEPHANT
Part 1 of a 3-part series. The origin, development

and engineering analysis of the most iconic street/
race engine of Detroits golden era
Chryslers Gen 2 426 Hemi.
40
76 TIME BOMB
Is your Mopar a deathtrap? You could be riding on

four sticks of dynamite. Read this only if youre
interested in staying alive or dont like loud noises.
84 FISH DISH
Clint Eastwood would even enjoy

this warmed-up 72 Duster with a
505-inch bullet under the hood, but
the owner, Jesse Furr wont give it
to him. This is how the Furr ies.
4 MOPAR ACTION
54 FISH FIGHT
We compare two kits that convert your latemodel Challenger into a Cuda-ized version.
There are plenty of options up to and including
superchargers. Heres what you get and
heres what you pay.
What could be a better start for a successful

marriage than to leave the church (or house of
worship of your choice) in a blaze of tire smoke
from a 9-second street n strip 70 Cuda limo.
Sure beats getting rice down your neck.
18 FURR A FEW
DOLLARS MORE
Our Dodge 100th Anniversary Series continues

with the 64-66 period as Chrysler uncages the
game-changer Hemi for race and street while the
curtain is raised on Coronet and Charger
Chrysler continues its winning ways going

into the spring of 66 as NASCAR plays fast
and loose with the rules.
44 HERE COMES THE BRIDE
BIG BLOCK RIDES
40 SIZZLING SIXTIES
48 BACK TO RACING
HEMI MOPES
Our tasty eye candy 73 Cuda thats packed with

trick stuff and a 635 HP 528 cubic inch Hemi.
This one was a real catch.
The Mega Mopar Action Series storms into

Rockingham Dragway for another fun-lled,
action-packed event (arent they all?).
Heres as much fun and action as we could
stuff into 4 pages.
Chryslers Stock Car Connection Part 9
78 JOURNEY THROUGH HEMILAND

How the NHRA dealt with the Hemi from the
engines inception up through the present day.
Plus, the rst NHRA-legal 426 single 4-Bbl and
dual-quad crossram Hemi thats tearing up the
dragstrips.
22 BATTLE & BEAUTY

AT ROCKINGHAM
34
YOU MIGHT LIKE THIS, TOO
6
8
12
14
91
97
98
EDITORS NOTES
NEWS & NOTES
TECH TOPICS
RESTO TOPICS
MOPAR OR NOCAR
COOL STUFF
ADVERTISING INDEX
Editors Notes
TM
Stanley R. Harris
Publisher
Dennis Page
Group Publisher
Cliff Gromer
Live Editor
(email: cliffgromer@yahoo.com)
Richard Ehrenberg S.A.E.
Engineering Editor
(email: tech@richardehrenberg.com)
Jim Koscs
Feature Editor
Bill Erdman
Photography Director
Al Dente, TheBruntBros.
Contributors
Scott Longman
Instigator
Mark Grubelich
Rocket Scientist
Rory Slifkin
Art Director
Richard Ciotta
Single Copy Sales Manager
Brett Underwood
Advertising Director
(704) 896-1959
(email: bundrwood@aol.com)
Subscriptions
(212) 462-9525
subscriptions@harris-pub.com
backissues@harris-pub.com
Editorial information:
(212) 807-7100
On the cover: 71 Hemicuda ragtop,
2G Hemi and 72 Duster.
Photos: David Newhardt,
Chrysler Historical and, of course,
TheBruntBros.
MOPAR ACTION (ISSN-1059-0692) is

published bimonthly by Harris Publications,
Inc., 1115 Broadway, New York, New York
10010. Single copy price: $7.99 in U.S.A.,
$8.99 in Canada. 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
2014 by Harris Publications, 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.
Harris Publications, Inc. is licensed to use
MOPAR, a trademark of Chrysler Group
LLC, in the title of the magazine MOPAR
ACTION. No other connection with Chrysler
Group LLC is expressed or implied. The
editorial opinions are those of publisher and
do not necessarily represent the views of
Chrysler Group LLC.
6 MOPAR ACTION
Who will sign their autograph?

B
ack in 1959, a group of engineers from

increasing challenges of mandated emissions,
Chrysler Corp. put together a bizarre-looking
fuel economy and safety, that aint gonna happen
49 Plymouth coupe that they dubbed
with a bunch of guys working out of a garage.
The High and the Mighty. Fitted with a skyIts now a team effort relying on sophisticated
high intake setup (the first ram induction), the
technology. Still, the engineers have pulled it off
group, soon to bear the name Ramchargers,
as evidenced by the new supercharged Hemi
proceeded to kick butt on the dragstrip with
Hellcat. This may well be the last gasp for big V8
the Plymouth and subsequently a number
passcar performance, as restrictions such as a
of Max Wedge and Hemi-powered Dodges.
54.5 MPG CAFE start to take hold. Well bet a
The Ramchargers were innovators in go-fast
bunch of Hellcats will end up leading soft lives in
performance technology and, over the years,
Mopar collections.
and along with personalities such as Ronnie
Chrysler recently released the figures
Sox, Buddy Martin and Dick Landy have become
on Hellcat horsepowera Ford and Chevy
larger than life. The last thing the Ramchargers
shredding 707. But you can be sure, that deep
would have thought back in the 60s, was that
within the bowels of Chrysler the engineers will
50+ years down the road theyd be sitting behind
(if they havent already) come up with a different
a table signing autographs for Mofans.
engine calibration, a different size supercharger
Then the thought hit me. Fifty years from now,
pulley and a wave of their magic wand over the
who would the editor of Mopar Action look back
Hemi and Voila! 800 horsepower. But because
on as the heroes of today? Who would be the
of liability and other issues, the combination
onesif anysigning the
may never be released
autographs in 2065?
to the public. Course,
The answer begged the
performance mods in the
question of what made
aftermarket is another story.
Chrysler engineers, such
Back in the day, however,
as the Ramchargers, and
when the Ramchargers
drivers, such as Sox and
came up with a hot
the Pettys heroes in the
modification, to Chryslers
first place? In the 1950s,
credit, within a couple of
Chrysler products basically
weeks the setup was made
were old mens cars.
available to all their racers,
Sure, the Chrysler 300
instantly adding to the
John Wehrly at Carlisles Ramcharger
was a hot car, but even
stature of those engineers.
table autographs a Mofans magazine.
those were bought by
Who will be signing 50 years from now? Todays engineers are
old menbankers hot
low key, no name jumps
rods. Chrysler cars were very conservatively
out like a Tom Hoover or a Jim Thornton, with
styled until late in the 50s, and then they were
the possible exception of Dick Winkles (Viper
big and heavy. While Mopar racers such as Carl
engineer). Ralph Gilles has been racing and
Kiehauffer (NASCAR) and Garlits (dragsters)
hammering on Mopars and still runs whats left of
made a name for Mopars, kids still didnt want
the SRT brand. But these are not the household
any part of Mopars, and the few who did were
names like Sox and Hoover, so its questionable
always ridiculed by everybody else on the street.
whether theyll make the autograph table cut.
Frankly, a fuelie/stick 57 Chevy would beat a 57
Older readers know the names like Tom
Furytrue or not, thats what everybody thought,
Coddington and Dick Maxwell. But if you mention
and thats what counted.
those names to a 27-year old who happens to
When the Ramchargers came along and
have a 72 Challenger, you get a blank stare.
started cleaning everyones clocksby a lot
And if you say to him man, your car is now
at the dragstrip, Chrysler products suddenly
running as fast as the Candymatic did in 1964,
got respect. It got better when Lee Petty, and
you get the same blank stare. Personalities were
later Richard Petty, started making names for
very important and they played a huge part in
themselvesand Chryslerin NASCAR. The
revitalizing the corporation which theyve done
result was that Chrysler went from (the perceived) again recently (Chrysler is going like gangbusters
back of the performance pack to the front.
under Fiat). But the bottom line is: its the cars
By 1963, Chrysler designers produced
that survive, and its the cars that people see,
cars with youth appeal, and coupled with Max
feel, drive race and enjoy, not the people behind
Wedges under the hood, steamrollered the
them. Fifty years from now, the 60s personalities
Chrysler performance revolution.
that are now larger than life well may be
Chrysler engineers of the 60s didnt have
forgotten, but not the cars and the powertrains.
anything up on Chrysler engineers of today. But
The cars will have become larger than life, and
with current demands of meeting the everthat will be the Chrysler legacy. Amen.
News & Notes
Edited By Phil DePages
RACE RECAP
HAGAN WINS FUNNY CAR
AT ROUTE 66 NATS
e had to beat all three of his Don

Schumacher Racing teammates to
earn it, but Matt Hagan drove his
Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T to
a much needed Funny Car title win at the
17th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals near
Chicago. Hagan snapped an eleven-race
winless streak by driving past teammate
Jack Beckman and opponent Bob Bode on
his way to a semifinal showdown against
his other fellow Hemi-powered teammate,
Ron Capps. It was also the first time this
season that three DSR Dodge Charger R/T
machines have advance to the semi-finals.
It took a hole shot win against Capps for
Hagan to advance to his second final round
elimination since his runner-up finish in the
2014 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season
opener. Hagan rose to the occasion and
defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. in an all-Mopar
final, to become the first DSR driver to defeat
all three teammates en route to an event title.
Matt Hagan is a happy camper at Route 66.
Jeg Coughlin Jr. Pairs up alongside Greg Anderson

in the final round at the Southern Nationals.
COUGHLIN DARTS
TO SOUTHERN NATS WIN
fter winning the 2013 NHRA Pro Stock

Championship, Jeg Coughlin Jr. was
back in the winners circle for his first
win of the 2014 Mello Yello Drag Racing
series season aboard the Mopar/JEGS.com
Dodge Dart at the 34th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals
near Atlanta, Georgia.
The victory at Atlanta Dragway was the 57th of Coughlins
illustrious Pro Stock career and
the second for the Dodge Dart,
which made its debut earlier
this season at Gainesville with
a win by Johnson & Johnson
(J&J) Hemi-powered teammate
Allen Johnson.
Coughlin earned the win by
defeating rival Greg Anderson
following stellar 0.010 and
0.002-second reaction times
by both competitors. The HEMI
Capps Give Mopar Back-to-Back Funny Car Titles

Don Schumacher Racing
(DSR) driver Ron Capps drove
his Dodge Charger R/T from
a tenth place qualifying position to a Funny Car title victory
at the 2nd annual NHRA New
England Nationals earning a
42nd career win, his first of the
season, and enabling him to
move up into fourth place in
the championship standings.
Capps efforts at New England
Dragway also gave DSR and
Mopar back-to-back victories
after teammate Tommy Johnson Jr.s scored the teams

first win of the 2014 Mello Yello
Drag Racing series season last
weekend at Bristol Dragway.
Capps chased down Cruz
Pedregon and beat Courtney
Force to advance to his first
the final round showdown
of the season to face Alexis
DeJoria. He led the race from
start to finish to earn his first
Wally since the Brainerd
national event in 2013.
Ron Capps cleans funny Car clocks at the New England Nats
8 MOPAR ACTION
engine powered the five-time champion to a

6.558-second elapsed time run (211.63 mph)
to edge his opponents 6.588-second e.t
(212.13 mph) for half a car-length advantage
at the finish line. DSR teammates Hagan and
Capps made it to the Semis.
COUGHLIN WINS AGAIN

AT THE SUMMERNATS
eg Coughlin Jr. drove the JEGS.com

Mopar Dodge Dart to victory at the 45th
annual NHRA Summernationals in
Englishtown, New Jersey, after reaching
the final round of eliminations for a third
consecutive event. The defending NHRA
factory hot rod world champion has been
on a tear, jumping from ninth place in the
points standings to second with his two
wins and a runner-up finish, combining with
his teammate, Allen Johnson, to put the
new Dodge Dart in the winners circle
at each of the last three events.
The win was hard fought after only five
of the 16 Pro Stock qualifiers completed
runs under full power in the opening round.
Track conditions even claimed Mopar
teammate and No.1 qualifier Johnson as a
victim in his first round match-up against
Chris McGaha, after previously resetting the
track record two days in a row in qualifying with the Magneti Marelli Dodge Dart at
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. Fellow
HEMI-powered driver V.Gaines also succumbed in the first round against Shane
Gray. Coughlin also wasnt able to make a
clean run but persevered to beat his first
round opponent Kenny Delco to the stripe.
WISH COMES TRUE
on Schumacher Racing driver Tommy

Johnson Jr. drove his Make-A-Wish
Dodge Charger R/T to the teams first
Funny Car win of the season at the 14th
News & Notes

Tommy Johnson
Jr. relied on
Mopower and his
driving skills rather
than Tinkerbell
to take the Funny
Car win at Bristol.
annual NHRA Thunder Valley

Nationals at Bristol Dragway.
To get to the final elimination, Johnson defeated Cruz
Pedregon and Robert Hight,
only to be paired with his Mopar
teammate Matt Hagan. The
HEMI-powered duo treated fans
to an exciting semifinal showdown won by Johnson with a
4.201 second (299.46 mph)
elapsed time run to a 4.207
second (293.54 mph) pass by
the Mopar Express Lane Dodge
Charger R/T. Johnson then took
the victory over Tim Wilkerson
to leapfrog the Make-A-Wish
Dodge Charger R/T four sports
into third place in the championship points race.
MONTEREY GRAND
PRIX AT LAGUNA SECA
he SRT (Street and Racing

Technology) Motorsports
Viper GTS-Rs finished sixth
and seventh in the Monterey
Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway
Laguna Seca in another trying
two-hour race resulted in a

sixth-place finish for the No. 91
SRT Motorsports Viper GTS-R
of Dominik Farnbacher and
Marc Goossens and a seventhplace result for the No. 93 SRT
Motorsports Viper GTS-R driven
by Kuno Wittmer and Jonathan
Bomarito.
Both teams got caught
up in early-race skirmishes
that resulted in minor contact
weekend in California during

the fourth round of the 2014
IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar
Championship.
The team was encouraged
following strong performances
in the mornings final pre-race
practice session, but the timed
incidents. Farnbacher started
sixth, but lost positions in the
early going and later suffered
from bodywork rub following a
hit from a prototype. Farnbacher
handed off the No. 91 to Goossens just minutes after the races
halfway mark during the teams
only pit stop of the race, but the
No. 91 lacked the pace needed
to improve more than one
position by the race finish.
Jim Thornton, Ramcharger, Passes
Jim Thornton
1937-2014
10 MOPAR ACTION
James. F. Thornton passed

away Monday June 2, 2014.
Jims main hobby was mechanical things, primarily cars. His
modified cars were always the
fastest ones in town, earning
admiration from fellow students
and attention of the local law
enforcement.
Jim served as Crew Chief
for a Dodge racing team in a
mid-continent racing association one summer, where he met
Chrysler representatives, who
made it possible for him to buy
a Dodge 500 off the production line. This frankly sealed his
new-found passion of drag racing. He joined Chrysler and the
Chrysler Institute of Engineering,
a work/study program leading to

a Masters Degree in Automotive
Engineering. Within days, Jim
became acquainted with The
Ramchargers, a loose confederation of engineers that were
drag racing a Hemi powered
49 Plymouth C/Altered record
holder. That car became obsolete in 61 due to a rules change
and Jim led the effort to secure
sponsorship for a Super Stock
car. Dodge came through with a
car and engine. At the Nationals
in Indianapolis, that car defeated
every car in the sport worth beating and launched Chryslers serious participation in Super Stock
drag racing. Jim led the Ramchargers efforts racing Dodges
until 1967. Between 1961 and

1967 the Ramchargers were one
of the most innovative and formidable teams in drag racing, winning the National Championship
five times. Jim was instrumental
in designing a different class
of race cars, where the wheel
base was shortened resulting in
a strange appearance. This was
the birth of the Funny Car. Jim
proved to be the most creative
and highly motivated to win than
anyone in the field. As a driver,
Jim won far too many races to
count. His success on the racetrack led to a promotion at work
with Chrysler, elevating Jim to
Race Vehicle Design Manager in
the race group.
Tech Topics
By Richard Ehrenberg, S.A.E.

Photos By Richard Ehrenberg, or as credited
Wheel cylinder bore vs. stopping power.

ITS A WRAP
HOW TO GET HELP:
Address all queries to this address:

RICHARD EHRENBERG
PO BOX 302
MARLBORO NY 12542
E-mail: techq@richardehrenberg.com
Online submission form:
www.moparaction.com
Ground Rules:
If you want to submit your question via e-mail,
please use the online submission form at www.
moparaction.com. If we ask for more info, send
back all existing text with your reply, please.
Snail-mail must include a SASE
All letters, electronic or otherwise, must
include a full name and a least your city and
state. You can request that it be withheld,
Dion:
Thanks very much. As
you mentioned, theres
not a lot of belt wrap
on the water pump pulley, although, without an
engine-driven fan, I think it
is fine, especially on a dragonly vehicle. And, yes, the
UD pulley is the key.
PEDAL PUSHER
Rick, Thanks for all the
pointers in my 72 Dart (340,
904 Auto, 11.75 front rotors,
10.5 inch rear drums, manual
stock master cylinder, Firm Feel
level 2 power steering box, FFI
1.25 front swaybar, and spool
K-member.
I have done the big brake
conversion, as per your MA
guide. The Dart stops on a
dime. One question, I was
autocrossing the Dart a couple
of weeks ago and the height
of the brake pedal was driving me crazy. I have manual
brakes and the pedal is so
high I have to drive with 2 feet.
Is there any way to get the
12 MOPAR ACTION
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.
Soask one clear question please, were a
sleazy magazine, not an encyclopedia publisher. We wont tell you step-by-step how to
swap a 2014 392 Hemi into your 1914 Dodge.
Remember, we have one old geezer tech editor (when hes 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.
Dion Ricketts Photo
Mr. Ehrenberg, I was reading your most recent article

on the 400+HP 5.9L last night
and your comment about trying
to get rid of the power steering pump sparked a memory
for me. I saw a drag truck in
Seattle many years ago that
I snapped pictures of, and I
remembered that he didnt
have a power steering pump on
his truck, so I dug up a picture.
Not sure it is the best setup, not
a lot of wrap on the water pump
pulley. And it looks like he has
underdrive pulleys which may
be what makes it work OK,
while a stock setup wouldnt
allow for this belt routing.
Not sure it helps you or not,
but thought I would send it
your way just in case.
Dion Ricketts
Spokane, WA
ABOVE: Mike Marmorales Dart cutting corners

with lowbuck MA tricks. LEFT: You can remove
the power steering pump from a Magnum V8
if you fit underdrive pulleys.
brake pedal on a closer level

to the gas pedal?
Mike Marmorale
Rockville Centre, NY
Mike:
Sure, you can either buy an
adjustable pushrod, or cut the
stock pushrod, slide both ends
into a sleeve (drilled so it is a
very snug fit), and tack weld.
I should mention that I
always drive automatics with
two feet. When I took my NYS
licensing road test in late fall
of 1961, the inspector almost
blew a gasket when he saw me
driving my fathers 62 Chrysler that way. I whipped out a
booklet that had come with
the new car from the National
Safety Council, explaining how

this method reduced reaction
times. I passed.
I know opinions on this are
all over the map. A reasonably
unbiased discussion can be
found at: tinyurl.com/brake2feet. I have spent countless
hours probably in the hundreds
of thousands driving aggressive on the street, as well as
at road courses, where I have
also done a lot of instructing.
Other instructors have also
been, occasionally, appalled,
but really fast drivers use the
technique to set up the car for
specific corners and conditions. If the engineers werent
planning on this back in the
day, why did they make A.T.
brake pedal extra-wide so the

left foot can apply the brakes?
Anyway, all I can say with certainty is: It has worked fine
for me for over half a century,
and I split my drive time about
equally between automatic and
manual transmissions.
HOT WHEELS?
I just bought a 2000 B2500
318 van, it has 16 x 6.5 eightlug stock steal wheels. Do you
know if 16 x 8 wheels with
say 245-75/16s will fit on this
van? It is a great truck but the
stock wheels seem kinda small.
Please keep up the great tech
articles.
Eric Stanton, Niles, MI
Please turn to page 92
Fast Not Last.
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Resto Topics
By Richard Ehrenberg, S.A.E.

Photos By Richard Ehrenberg, or as credited
Can my Fury be stock with a 4-Barrel swap?

Wanna submit a resto
question? Please follow the
instructions on page 12.
ARE IT A B?
Its Ed Tobin (the crazy
Canuck) with yet another
intriguing question. Theres a
debate going on at one of the
Mopar forums Im on. Galen
Govier lists the 79 Cordoba
and Magnum as an R-body
but everyone insists its a B. I
know it was a B up until 78 but
theres heated debate about the
79. What do you say?
Ed TobinToronto, ON
Ed:
They are most assuredly
B-bodies. The ONLY R-body
cars were:
Plymouth Gran Fury, 1980-81
Dodge St. Regis, 1979-81
Chrysler Newport, 1979-81
Chrysler New Yorker, 1979-81
Having said that, note this:
While the body shells are totally
different between the two lines,
the basic platforms are virtually
identical, for this reason, some
sections of the 79 parts catalog
lumped them together under
R, creating the confusion.
LOOSE FURY
Rick, I am looking to
upgrade my 1960 Plymouth
Fury 318 single-barrel carb to
a four barrel by using a manifold #1828103 and a Carter
AFB 28065 with the matching
air cleaner. Are these parts
interchangeable, and will it still
be considered original? I dont
want to do this if it will loose
points on originality.
Michael Jacobs
Hamilton, OH
Michael:
If it was a single-barrel, you
have an extremely rare car that
Id like to see, Id sure not touch
it. If the car was originally 2-Bbl,
it could never be original with
14 MOPAR ACTION
The 79 Cordoba (shown) and Magnum were, some would say, the last B-body performance cars
(360-4 E58 equipped). Whether you agree with that or not, they were indeed, the last B-bodies,
but B-bodies they were. Because of the front end styling similarities between the Magnum and
the R-body St. Regis, some have assumed the later B-cars were actually R-bodies. They were not,
all R-bodies were, in fact, 4-doors. Yet, as you know, under the skin, they were kissin cousins
a 4-Bbl. However, if done with

OEM components, very few
people would be aware of your
slight-of-wrench.
The 4-Bbl Power Pak was an
option, which also included a
slightly warmer camshaft. The
correct AFBs were: 2921A (manual) and 2925S (automatic).
These parts are a simple
bolt-on.
Hey, loose points are better
than tight ones, I guess.
NUMBERS, GUMBERS
I was wondering if you might
have any idea what the production of the 1970 Dodge Charger
R/T 440 6-Pack with the 727

transmission was. I have seen
several different numbers given.
Todd Rodriguez
Via E-mail:
mojo9691@yahoo.com
Todd:
The most believable number
I have is 337 units.
LINKED UP
Richard, I am assembling a
71 Charger that I bought from
a guy who ran out of money
(I guess). It is an original 383
4-speed car. My question
concerns the steering: The
E-body, and 71-up B-body steering center links (engineering

number 2535877, bottom) have a bent look when compared
to the earlier 70-down B-body equivalent (1851015, top)
main drag link looks bent, but

the guy I bought the car from
swears the car was never in an
accident and drove perfectly
fine. I compared the link with
one my friend loaned me, and it
sure is bent!
What to do?
Scott Jacobs
Springfield, IL
Scott:
From the pix you sent of the
center links (Mopars of the era
did not have drag links), Id say
that the former owner was telling the truth.
In your pix, the upper link is
a stock 1962-70 B-body part,
the number 1851015 should be
forged in. The lower link, your
71, should be 2835877. Yeah,
I know everybody says that all
B-body, and E-body steering
parts are the same, but it isnt
true. Heres the rundown:
When the E-body was introduced in 1970, the steering
column and wheel were lower,
to give the car that arms-out
sports car feel. This required
major changes, although most
of them were subtle: The steering gear mount on the K-member changed, as did the idler,
MOPAR
IS MORE
THAN A
HOBBY

)- , - -+-,-

,- , *+
, !-"
#$$%&
&&'%&((,
Pro-Dough Dept.
1971 Hemicuda/4-speed convertible sells

on the block for a record $3.5 million.
But did they throw in mudflaps
and undercoating?
STORY By Al Dente
PHOTOS By David Newhardt
ou didnt squander your Bar-Mitzvah

money, and you parlayed the haul
into a tidy sum with wise investments
and your skill in Friday night poker
games with the boys. And you read the
Mopar magazines. They all seemed to run
the same story with a different byline and different pictures. But the story was always the
same: Joe blow always wanted a Hemicuda
when they came out in 1970-71 but he didnt
have the dough. So he bought a 6-cylinder
stripper Valiant instead. Then he got married
and the kids came along and the Hemicuda
dream faded into a distant memory. Then
Joe invented the Internet and made a bundle
and he bought a nice Hemicuda, had Roger
Gibson restore it and the car won a Gold at
the Mopar Nationals. The end.
One of two 1971 Hemicuda 4-speed
convertibles. According to Mecum
Auctions, it is the only one documented
with matching numbers.
16 MOPAR ACTION
So you figured, hey, I can be like Joe

Blow in the magazine story. OK, so you
didnt invent the Internet, but you did manage to accumulate a large cache of greenbacks. And yeah, you always wanted a
Hemicuda but couldnt afford one when they
were new. So you figure on buying one now
and having Roger Gibson do the restoration
on it. But Roger is backed up for the next 16
years. What to do?
Then you hear about a cool 1971
Hemicuda convertible coming across the
block at the Mecum Auction in Seattle. The
Cuda is a 4-speed, and the factory made

only 2 cars with that combination. A little
research shows that another 71 Cuda was
the first American musclecar sold for more
than $1 million in 2002, and a white convertible with an automatic transmission that was
the final Hemicuda built had a bid of $4.1
million in 2005 but was a no-sale.
In case youve been living under the proverbial rock or hanging out in Tony DeFeos
garage, heres a little background music:
The Cudas rise to legendary status began
in 1968 when Chrysler turned out big block
studio by leaving a hatchet embedded in the

clay models side that Herlitz discovered the
following Monday morning. Undaunted, Herlitz carried on and eventually watched an
exuberant Engel drive an early prototype
Hemicuda off the third floor elevator in
Building 128, roll out into the hallway
and lay down two perfect black stripes
on his way to the design auditorium.
The new-generation Barracuda and its
high performance Cuda variant scored a
hit with buyers. Sales all but doubled from
1969s total of 27,392 vehicles to 50,617,
including 652 Hemicuda coupes and 14
Hemi convertibles. But with increasing government regulations and ballooning insur4.10 Dana rear is part of the Super Track Pak package. Car has power brakes.
ance rates, buyers shied away in 1971. Total
sales tanked to just 16,159 units,
with Hemi production falling to
108 coupes and 11 convertibles.
This 71 Hemicuda convert
is documented as the only
matching numbers 4-speed
convertible in existence. The
broadcast sheet confirms that it
was equipped at the Hamtramck,
Michigan assembly plant with
the New Process 4-speed, 4.10:1
Dana axle, 26-inch radiator and
power brakes. Previously owned
by Russ Meyer, a famous cartoonist from the Southwest, who
later sold it to a buyer in Oregon
ABOVE LEFT: Mecum claims that this is the only 71 4-speed Hemicuda
for $250,000, it was eventually
convertible still carrying its original drivetrain. ABOVE RIGHT: Cuda was fully
seized by authorities there in a
restored by Restorations by Julius. Looks pretty good to us.
drug investigation and sold at
auction for $405,000. Both prices
versions in limited numbers but without
were unprecedented at the time.
such amenities as power steering and air
The buyer subsequently commissioned a
conditioning. Chrysler then took the next
restoration by highly regarded Mopar restorer
logical step in producing low-volume mutant
Julius Steuer of Los Angeles, California, who
pony cars, contracting George Hursts Hurst
completed the work around 2000. A few
Industries to build special Hemi-powered
years later it was then traded for a number of
Darts and Barracudas for NHRA Super
vintage Corvettes from the current owners
Stock racing.
prestigious collection.
Chrysler finally brought both the design
Taking the bus to the Mecum auction in
and manufacture of its big-engine pony cars
Seattle, you settle in your seat with your bidin-house for the 1970 production year, with
ding paddle. The Cuda rolls onto the stage
clean-sheet designs based on a scaledwith a high octane pitch from the auctioneer.
down adaptation of the larger B-body and
Its an 8-minute bidding frenzy. The quesdesigned from the outset to accommodate
tion is does a bidder really want to own the
the Hemi. Trimming the overall length and
car or does he want the other bidders not to
following the established long hood-short
own it. The stakes climb and youre down to
deck design theme resulted in an all-new
your original Bar-Mitzvah $25 U.S. Savings
Barracuda and its Dodge Challenger counBondsnot enough to stay in the game. The
terpart, both available direct from the factory
gavel comes down at $3.5 milliona new
with the 426/425 HP Hemi, arguably the
record, according to Mecum, as the highest
most potent powerplant ever offered in a
price ever achieved at auction for any of the
real street production car.
storied musclecars that came out of Detroit
The all-new Cuda was the work of
in the Golden Age.
27-year old designer John Herlitz. The
For you, its the bus back home to the
design was initially panned by Chrysler
Friday night poker games. You want to be
design chief Elwood Engel, who expressed
ready for the next time this Cuda comes up
his displeasure during a weekend visit to the
for auction.
MOPAR ACTION 17
FURR A FEW
Heating And Air Conditioning Dept.
For a few dollars more, the Furrs turned a phone company

green stripper Duster into the red street machine you see
here. Lowbuck theme continued when they swapped in a 340
grille but didnt repaint the grilles horizontal bars black.
18 MO
MOPAR
PAR AC
ACTIO
ACTION
TION
N
DOLLARS MORE
Father and son team can heat up

the street with a 72 Duster, or
heat up your home with a furnace
overhaul. Your choice.
STORY By Jim Koscs
PHOTOS By TheBruntBros
TS A FAMILIAR STORY. A father introduces his son to Mopars

and then decides that building a car together would be a great
bonding exercise. What could go wrong?
Now 36 years old, Jesse recalled that when he was in high school,
a flatbed would occasionally show up in the driveway with a derelict
Duster or other A-body on the back. Jesses dad, Floyd H. Furr, would
find such cars in the backyards of customers and sometimes take them
in partial barter for his work. He started a one-man plumbing/HVAC
business in 1981, and today, F.H. Furr is the largest such contractor in
northern Virginia, with 227 employees, including Jesse.
I must have stripped down a half-dozen cars before working on
my car, so I knew how to take them apart, said Jesse.
And with help from dad, he learned how to put them back
together. Floyd found the perfect car for his son while doing
a job estimate: a green, plainer-than-plain Jane 72 Duster
with the 198 slant-six, three on the tree and, as Jesse puts
it, delete everything. There was no radio, and not even
an antenna, just a set of rubber floor mats. The fleet buyer
would have deleted those too, if he had the option.
The Duster had belonged to a phone company employee
whod bought it through his employers fleet-buying program. The guy walked to work, so the car gathered only
about 19,000 miles.
We built our cars side by side in a three-car garage, said
Jesse. Id be out there afternoons after school, then my dad
would come home from work and wed be together every night
and on weekends. But instead of being a bonding thing, it kind of
drove a wedge between us.
MOPAR ACTION 19
, Furr A Few Dollars More

B&M shifter
sports a homemade handle of
flat stock
aluminum
covered with
faux carbon
fiber. Console
is another
custom item.
ABOVE: Duster still retains

stock suspension front
and rear but front end is
said to be tied together.
We hope they can untie
the knots if need be.
LEFT: Exhaust is a 3
system with Flowmasters.
Body is not tubbed, but
rear springs were moved
inboard to accommodate
the 295/50-15 M/T Drag
Radials on American
Racing rollers.
And he wasnt talking about the 440

wedge that they wedged into the Duster,
either. But we laugh about it today, he said.
That early parts hunting paid off. You see
that Duster 340 grille? Its an original that
they picked up for just $8020 years ago!
They put a 440 behind it, and a 727 automatic behind that. Then Jesse kept adding
stuff, like Indy cylinder heads and
frame connectors and everything
else to make it into a racecar. And
so he raced it, but that was starting
to twist the car and crack the paint.
So all the racing stuff came off and
went onto a 74 Duster racecar,
and a few years ago they turned
the 72 back into a street car.
The paint job, by Tubbys Body
and Paint, shows off very cool
marbleized details by Billy Van.
The marble look appears on the
sides of the hood scoop, the side
stripe, rear wing and a few other
spots. Would you like it on your car? Heres
our special Mopar Action one-part tech
piece called How to get the marble effect
on your car. You start by laying down some
black paint and letting it dry. Then you cover
it with gray or silver, but before it dries, you
wrinkle up some 1-mil plastic sheet and
stick it on the wet paint. Pull it off before it
dries, and you have your marble look. Its
probably important to know just when to
pull the plastic off, so you might want to
practice on someone elses car before you
try it on yours.
20 MOPAR
TACTIC
TAC
TACTICAL
TACTION
TIC
A WEAPONS
AL
WEAPON
WEA
PON
ON
N S Sept
Se
S
Sep
Sept.
ep
p tt.. 201
20
2
2010
010
20
Then, Jesse decided he wanted a 505

big block, going with a blueprint and everything else he needed from Muscle Motors.
Steve McFarland put the motor together.
The whole car took a couple of years to finish. The motor has a World Products block
with a 4.350-in. bore and 4.25-in. stroke,
with 7.100-in. 4340 rods swinging Icon
forged pistons for a 10.75 squeeze. Up

top, Indy 440 EZ heads have Max Wedge
intake ports and Stage 2 porting. A Quick
Fuel 850 carb inhales through a functional
hood scoop and custom air cleaner and
feeds the motor through an Indy dual-plane
intake. Below that, a custom grind hydraulic roller cam works the valves. TTI headers have the biggest tubes they make,
according to Jesse. According to Muscle
Motors, it adds up to a tall stack of cash
and about 650 horsepower.
The 727 trans hooks to a Gear Vendors
overdrive that, combined with the fairly
mild 3.55 gears in the 83/4 rear, makes the
Duster quite streetable. Purists and Mopar
tech editors will be glad to know that the
Duster retains torsion bar front and leaf
spring rear suspension, with the latest and
greatest parts, according to Jesse.
Taking pointers from an acquaintance
that races Subarus, Jesse and his dad tied
the front together, which he said made
the car much tighter. There are reinforcing
FAR LEFT:
Custom dashplain
and simple with just
the necessary Auto
Meter Pro Comp dials.
LEFT: A-body buckets
get the custom
upholstery treatment.
The Furr gets ready to fly

after some hide boiling.
Tim Soouza Photo
The cool marble paint effect is evident on the side of the scoop.
It was also used on the console, rear wing, side stripe and other
areas. See text for a how-to on marble paint.
Muscle Motors supplied the 505-inch big

block. The mill, fed by
a Quick Fuel 850 on an
Indy dual plane intake,
is good for 650 ponies.
Stout bracing is evident
under the hood.
plates welded behind all the attachment

points, too, so that elaborate system of
trusses is not just bolted to thin metal.
They hid the battery, MSD ignition box
and relays in the trunk, behind a secret
panel. Under the hood, they hid wiring
and heater lines and switched to an aftermarket heater and an E-body three-speed
wiper motor.
Inside, its all custom, with lots of work
by Jesse and his dad. The front buckets are
real A-body pieces, but with custom covers

made by Mike Oss, who repeated the pattern for the door panels and in the trunk.
The main attraction is the console, made
by Floyd. He built it from 2x6s shaped in a
band saw, then overlaid it with fiberglass
and applied the marble paint effect.
We were hoping one of those switches
on the front of the console worked an
ejector seat, but theyre just for boring
stuff including the trans cooler, fuel pump,
electric fan, line lock and a fifth switch for

exhaust dump tubes that are not currently
working. Each little light corresponds to a
switch, and those two mysterious knobs
work the lights and wipers. Thats a blackpanel radio above the knobs.
The dash, also dads handiwork, meets
Jesses requirement for clean and simple,
and as you can see, makes this a gloveboxdelete car. Jesse created his own pistol
grip for the B&M shifter by cutting down the
handle and then shaping a flat piece of aluminum into a pistol grip outline. To that, he
attached some imitation carbon-fiber trim.
Now, if you need your home heat or A/C
fixed, know that F.H. Furr takes pride in
providing quick, reliable service. But heres
a tip to get the boss on the scene even
faster: just mention that youve got an old
Mopar in the yard and, yeah, it belonged
to a little old lady.
MOPAR ACTION 21
BATTLE &
BEAUTY AT
Wheels-up action at the Rock was part of the class racing,

and included this very nice 1969 Dart running in the Footbrake
class under the handling of Allen Farmer, Madison, N.C.
Rockingham
Dragway
L
ike many regional Mopar shows,

modern times have been challenging as attendance patterns
changed during the past five
years, but Steve Earwood, owner of
Rockingham Dragway, has stayed the
course with his date and program. 2014
saw a nice increase in spectators and
cars, both for the racing and adjacent
car show. Details for the car show were
handled this year by Frog Jones, who
also runs the week-long Mopar event
in Myrtle Beach in August. The cars on
hand there ranged from classics and
hot rods to the latest Challengers and
Vipers, with all the major musclecar-era
body designs on hand as well.
With several strong clubs and a large
following for Mopars in the Piedmont
area, this years gorgeous weather
22 MOPAR ACTION
allowed some outstanding vehicles to be

on hand. In the end, it was Ancil Cross
and his 1971 Dodge Demon that took
home Best of Show. A 340 car in pristine
condition, it was up against a field of
excellent iron that included other A-, B-,
and E-body cars which also could have
taken the top prize, not to mention a
large variety of late models.
Editors Choice was given to George
Nesbit for his motor. Huh? With a racing partner, George had bought a new
1964 Plymouth Super Commando Hemi
car. Soon after, they had swapped that
engine into a 40 Willys for the gasser
wars, and when that was over, he had
sold the race motor to a friend in 1966.
He was able to buy the motor back 42
years later and had recently completed
a tribute car around it. We will have the
The Rock hosts their

23rd Mopar-themed event,
AND IT ROCKS!
STORY & PHOTOS By Geoff Stunkard

unless otherwise noted
This is the group of many winners at the car

show, surrounding the 1971 Dodge Demon of
Ancil Cross that took Best of Show.
Steve Moths and

the nitro-burning Bad
News Dodge 1965 Coronet
match racer led off the
HEMI exhibition.
ABOVE: Cool honors in

Footbrake action go to the
65 Valiant wagon of Eric
Hultberg, who pulled the
nose up like this on several
passes before being unable
to make the final.
LEFT: Late-model Mopars
are very popular in the South,
and this was a row of excellent
examples ranging from
basic stock to big power.
Here is J.W. Ray and his yellow Challenger

from Winston-Salem, N.C., which took home
the win in the Footbrake class.
B-body Modified
winner was Eddie
Gramisci of Greensboro, N.C., and this
radically modified
1968 Charger. The
car featured a lowdeck B-motor that
Eddie, who owns
a couple of restaurants, says kicks
out 450 ponies.
Its very clean,
and sounded great.
24 MOPAR ACTION
rest of Georges story and a feature on this car

in an upcoming issue.
If you were into the 21st century, the Carolina chapter of the Viper Owners Club had a
row of cars on hand, the truck guys were in an
area reserved for the stompers, and a bunch
of late-model Challengers, Chargers, 300s and
Magnums gave onlookers an eyeful.
After a test and tune on Friday evening,
things on the racetrack got off to an unexpectedly lengthy start Saturday morning due
to fluid issues during qualifying. The staff
worked very hard to prep the track again so
that the lanes would be even from side to
side after each of these, and once racing got
underway, things went smoothly without further incident. In both Top ET and Footbrake,
races were run on an eighth-mile format, as
many regional racers are often on tracks of
that length. Trophy and HEMI exhibition racing
took to the full quarter.
The S&W Challenger Challenge was won
by James Davis, of Max Meadows, Virginia,
whose 2009 car is normally aspirated but
features a couple of custom touches. In Top
ET, a mere .001 decided the final round. Billy
Varner of Stanley, N.C, took his black gentwo Barracuda to a 5.748 at 120.63 on a
5.75 dial but won despite the breakout after
David Keels fouled away his shot at the $1,200
prize money by one-thousandths of a second
at the start. In a large field of Footbrake racers, J.W. Ray of Winston-Salem, N.C., held off
all challengers with his own 1970 Challenger
but only needed to run 9.21 on his 6.15 dial-in
Need a project? Here was a manual-shift

Challenger that, despite being in pieces,
looked restorable. Asking price was
$7,500, rope and chains included
One of our favorites at the show was this 1965 Sport Fury 383/four speed combo owned
by Benson, N.C.s Danny Wood. Despite being just a C-body, the car was surrounded by
onlookers most of the event, who also wanted to see the restored pedal car in the trunk.
Photo by Gary Rowe/RaceWorks.com
when opponent Eric Hultberg and his 65

Valiant wagon could not take the tree. Trophy class went to Davey Emanuel of Laurinburg, S.C., and his notchback Barracuda.
As in the Top ET final, Emanuel broke out
but benefitted from the foul start of Jason
Thompson.
Steve Moths and the nitro-burning Bad
News Dodge 1965 Coronet match racer
led off the HEMI exhibition. With 35% in the
tank, Moths cranked off runs in the midnine-second zone at 140 mph. This was a
big day for Steve as he had just completed
getting a fresh big-inch motor together.
Bob Reed had two cars on hand, but was
plagued with mechanical issues. First, a
valvetrain problem sidelined his ride, then
the second car was shut off on the line with
a small fluid leak. The team did make two
full passes with the second car before the
day was over. Also on hand were Tank and
Ralph Crosswhite with a 1980s-era SS/AA
68 Barracuda, the Homier & Tiller team had
two cars running (another SS/AA Cuda and
an N/SS Coronet), and Mike Kayrouz made
passes in the ex-Butch Leal/Steve Bagwell
1965 Belvedere that Ron Butler had built
in the 1970s. To top it off, former New York
natives Eugene and Allen Coard had the
Ronnie Lyles Duster tribute at the event, but
it was only on display as the team was still
getting ready for the 2014 season.
One final car was the 1967 Old Blue
Belvedere of Richard Petty, which came to
the event courtesy the Petty Museum. This
car remains the winningest ever NASCAR
vehicle, with 27 victories in one season, and
had been displayed at various locations
during the past 10 years before coming
back to Level Cross, where the collection
was recently relocated back to the old Petty
shop. The museums trailer, manned by
Larry Laney and Gary Gardner, was full of
Petty memorabilia.
To see more on the Rockingham show,
visit our website. Drop by anytime.
Lehman Barfield
took home top
honors with his 1972
Barracuda; on the
dash he displayed a
photo of how the car
looked when he first
got it. Nice work
The Trophy class went

to Davey Emanuel of
Laurinburg, S.C., and
his notchback Barracuda; Gary Rowes
winner circle image
shows the trophy was
pretty impressive.
The Petty Museum chose Rockingham to bring the original 1967 Old Blue Belvedere out
for display, which has been in the museum in Charlotte for the last couple of years.
MOPAR ACTION 25
Gen 2 Hemi 50th AnniversaryPart 1
BIRTH OF THE
An in-depth analysis
of the conception,
design and engineering
of the first 426 Hemi.
STORY By Al Kirschenbaum
PHOTOS By Steve Kirschenbaum,
Al Kirschenbaum and the
Chrysler Historical Collection
26 MOPAR ACTION
TS DOUBTFUL that Frank Bialk

gave a moments thought to
the long-term impact his efforts
bent over a drafting table during
Detroits winter of 1963 would
have on our automotive world
of 2014. Fifty years ago, the draftsmans
bosses at Chrysler Engineering had
made a decision to resurrect the Hemi
engine design that theyd abandoned
five years earlier. Frank got the assignment to take the new projects first steps
toward mechanical reality and into the
next century. Those days, the lead draftsman was effectively the component or
assemblys designer, as his supervised
drawings determined the actual sizes

and shapes of the parts being planned.
There were no CAD/CAM or stereo
lithography tools for digital modeling
or rapid prototyping back thenjust
the lengthy process of hand-drawing,
dimensioning and then printing out a
copy (typically a blue-line, a reversed
blueprint) on paper. This was followed by
extensive reviewing, revising/correcting,
redrawing and printing out the changes
again and again. Until such time as the
lines on the latest-dated print translated
into the practical engineering required to
make the patterns and molds necessary
to cast metal engine parts with.
But before looking into actual powerplant design and evaluation, lets
back up a few months further to
December of 1962. Thats
when the Chrysler Corporation
President, Lynn Townsend,
reportedly influenced
by his teen sons
enthusiasm for hot
production automobiles, decided that
his company had to
do some big winning in
open motorsports competition to improve its new
cars performance image.
To this end, Townsend and
his executive committee
directed the engineering staff
to develop an engine and vehicle combo
capable of winning closed-circuit stock
car racing events on a national scale. Also
specified as part of the same design and
development program was a straightaway
version of the same powerplantan engine
for supervised acceleration trials, aka the
popular organized drag racing events that
were being conducted all across the country. Not to put any pressure on his staff, but
Townsends immediate goal was to have
his Plymouths and Dodges outrun the everfaster field of Pontiacs, Fords, Chevys and
Mercurys and win NASCARs next Daytona
500the prestigious annual oval-track
stock car race that was then scheduled for
a little more than a year away.
Facing this challenging schedule, Chrysler Engineering didnt take very long to
determine that their best shot at attaining
Townsends grand objective meant sticking
with existing engine designs known to make
horsepower and ones they were already
familiar with. As best as can be determined,
an informal meeting was called in February
of 1963 by Engineering vice president Bill
Roger. Present at that hallway gathering
outside Bills Highland Park office was his
brother, Bob Roger. Bob worked in Product
Planning and was the man known around
the corporation as the Father of the Chrysler
300. First generation (1G) Hemi performance veteran Don Moore was there, as
was race program coordinator, Tom Hoover,
assistant Chief Engineer, Bill Weertman, and
This cutaway illustration of the first

426 Hemi shows the single-four-barrel
A864 NASCAR engines cowl induction
air cleaner, oil pan kickout and solid
four-blade fan. Steel tube headers and
the double roller timing chain setup
were shared by both the A864 and
A865 versions of the 1964 Hemi.
possibly one or two others. These were all

guys that had already learned their ways
around a Hemi head engine and were familiar with the double rocker shaft designs
plusses and minuses, as well as its unique
requirements.
Following brief feasibility discussions
and some preliminary determinations,
the approach selected mirrored the boss
thoughts and was also the most direct and
theoretically doable. Turned out, that meant
fortifying an existing 426 Max Wedge RB
(raised-block) cylinder case and developing
new Hemi cylinder heads to fit it. The target
date had been set for NASCARs next Daytona 500, scheduled for February 23, 1964.
The decisions made sense. It had been
only five model years since the corporation
had manufactured a Hemi-head V8. So
engineers experienced in that 1G 195158 331-, 354- and 392-cubic-inch motors
were still on staff or accessible within the
system. In addition to their Hemi production background, the group had gained
OPPOSITE PAGE: The 1964 426 Hemi in dual-quad A865 drag race form. Chrome
valve covers were original equipment as were the new-for-64 seven-blade aluminum
fan with a viscous clutch hub. The engine was displayed with its original Carter AFB
carbs, oval-shaped air cleaner housing and dry-element filter. High-capacity fuel pump
was a Hemi- and Max Wedge-only design.
MOPAR ACTION 27
, Birth of the Elephant
With a 16-pound rocker shaft assembly, two-pounds of studs and seven-pounds of valves,
springs, keepers and retainers, one dry Hemi iron cylinder head weighs nearly 80-pounds.
Although this casting was for a 1966-71 Street Hemi, earlier iron versions are similar.
Visually, the 1964 K-heads roof is flat where this later version has two threaded plugs.
valuable experience converting production

Hemi V8s into competition iron. (See sidebar.) A decade earlier, Chrysler Engineering
demonstrated how a Hemi cylinder head
with optimized port routes, contours and
volumes could help transform a production
version of this internal combustion engine
into a way-deep breather. A few years
later, Chryslers 1956 300B equipped with
the optional dual-quad 355-horsepower,
354-cubic-inch 1G Hemi V8 was Detroits
first production powerplant output rated at
one horsepower per cubic inch. GM didnt
come close to making that kind of power
until the 57 Vettes fuel-injected smallblock
got rated at 283 horses.
Among the advantageous properties
that Chrysler engineering had encountered
in their 1950s development of its 1G Hemi
V8s was the fact that a hemispherically
shaped combustion chamber allows room
for larger valves to fit in than other chamber
designs can. Because the valves heads are
tipped to open toward each other, larger
diameters are possible within a given bore
size. Both valves in a hemi also open away
from flow-shrouding bore walls. Compared
to an inline-valve or canted-valve cylinder
head, a Hemis laterally opposed valve layout puts the intake valves close to the inlet
tract and the exhaust nearest the heads
outlet end. Extensive testing had shown
that the laterally opposed inclined valve
arrangement and the resulting crossflow
combustion chamber it forms yields high
volumetric efficiency numbersexceeding
100 percent under some operating conditionsand therein demonstrating a Hemi
heads exceptional cylinder-filling abilities.
In addition, crossflow through the combustion chamber sweeps the centrally located
sparkplug with incoming mixture that also
helps cool the exhaust valve. Plus, a Hemi
chambers low surface-to-volume ratio
makes it more thermally efficient in the conversion of fuel to heat.
With the decision to base the secondgeneration (2G) Hemi V8 on the existing 426 (RB) casting, design of the new
race motor began in January 1963. The
NASCAR single four-barrel would carry
Engineering designation A864 while the
straightaway version was A865. Plans were
to use as many performance and durability features as practical while retaining as
much existing RB-series tooling as possible. In selecting the production RB block
Sliced sideways down the middle reveals this 64 A865

Hemis distinctive crossram intake manifold, OE tube
headers and its fat oil pump sucker pipe.
28 MOPAR ACTION
as the place to start, numerous baseline

foundation points were established. For
Frank Bialk in Chryslers Engine Design
Department that meant dropping sticks of
soft 2H lead into his draftsmans mechanical pencil and compass and putting down
some lines on a fresh sheet of the transparent matte-one-side mylar media used for
large-format engineering drawings. Legend
has it that Frank actually began his preliminary roughs before final approval for the
Hemi head revival had been issued. His first
engineering drawings title block carried an
incept date of March 28, 1963.
Following the directive to maintain the
RB blocks basic architecture and the
first-generation Hemis 58.5-degree angle
between the valve rows, Frank began his
second-generation Hemi cylinder head
design by laying out a plan view of the
head gasket. This drawing would also correspond directly with a plan of the new
cylinder heads deck face (as well as with
the block decks that the heads seal to).
Had he wanted to, Frank could have used
a 426 Maxis stainless steel head-to-block
seal as a rough template. After laying down
a pair of horizontal and vertical centerlines,
four known points along the longitudinal
were equidistantly spaced 4.80 inches apart
to represent one bank of a B-series V8s
bore centers. With each holes vertical axes
added to the drawing, those five intersecting lines established the graphic foundation for all other 2G Hemi head design
elements. Setting his compass for the RBs
bore radius of 2.125 inches, Bialk struck
planned pushrod paths and whether any

head bolt or pushrod locations interfered
with planned port routing. There were also
all the practical considerations required to
manufacture myriad castings, forgings and
stampings, including material characteristics and properties like strength, repeatable
machinability and heat-treatabilityany or
all of which could come up short to hinder
even limited mass production. There were
seemingly no end to the further considerations dictated by prototype procurement,
vendor scheduling, assembly and, eventually, service in the field.
For the most part, Frank had to coordinate his cylinder head planning with ideas
being drawn up for the modified RB block
that the heads were scheduled to bolt onto,
as well as everything in between. With all
these overlapping concerns, describing
these processes and procedures in any
kind of logical sequence here makes our
coverage sometimes seem a bit convoluted. So bear with us as the subject matter
jumps among the connections between
the heads, the block, their related components and descriptions of how they all work
together. This issue, were concentrating
A section cut laterally through one

cylinder and its Hemi head reveals a
number of the new-for-64 V8s features,
including the heads large, horizontally
opposed valves, opposite-pivoting rockers, the combustion chambers centrally
located sparkplug, a head-to-block
clamping stud, internal coolant jacketing
(including the shortcut from the block to
the head) and the critically close clearance condition where the pushrods cycle
close to the head-to-block interface.
four circles along that horizontal axis to

represent a 426s 4.25-inch cylinder bores.
Bialk then added the locations of the blockto-head oil and coolant passages, a pair of
blind receiver holes for the blocks locating
dowel pins, and some manufacturing
holesall fixed by these features established placement in an existing B-series
block. A pair of drainback passages was
also specified for the heads front and rear
outboard corners.
From this outline, Frank filled in the
blanks. But the overall design process
became a complicated proposition involving countless connected factors and a
seemingly endless load of interrelated
mechanical details. Chryslers engineering
team had to first conceive, evaluate and
analyze each and every individual component, considering all for fit, strength and
potential durability. Component relationships to other parts were investigated
static and cycled, hot and coldand
especially their use over time. Then they
had to sort out dynamic aspects including
geometry changes and how the locations
of the active rocker assemblies and the
fixed sparkplug wells and tubes affected
MOPAR ACTION 29

on the legendary Hemi cylinder heads. Our
next installment will look into the block,
its reciprocating assembly, manifolds and
other hardware.
CYLINDER HEAD
With engineers Willem Weertman and
Bob Rareya looking over his shoulder,
Bialk followed Chryslers 1G series of
Hemi V8s for style and substance, utilizing
his exceptional graphic and visualization
skills to develop the rest of a cylinder
head suited to the next generation Hemi
engine. His designs included a fully
machined, hemispherically shaped
combustion chamber with
a spherical radius of
2.42 inches, a centrally
located sparkplug and
large opposed valves
seated flush with the
1.34-inch-deep dome.
In 1952, James Zeder,
then Chryslers Vice
President of Engineering, referred to the
new FirePower Hemi as
having a spherical segment
chamber. That description was
far more accurate than calling the 2G chamber shape a
hemisphere, as a true hemi head chamber
atop a 4.25-inch bore would measure an
impractical 2.125 inches deep!
Franks efforts to retain the 1G Hemis
58.5-degree angle between the rows
of intake and exhaust valves led to an
extremely long exhaust rocker arm for
the new 2G motor. In the early layout and
design processes, the exhaust rocker arms
length was so excessive that the engineering team affectionately referred to the parts
as pump handles. Rather than taking a
radical approach to a solution (like raising
the blocks cam tunnel to shorten the pushrods and improve their angularity), Frank
Bialk worked with Tom Hoover to come up
with a more practical plan. Their idea was
to roll the entire cylinder head inboard
(about an imaginary longitudinal axis), 12
degrees toward the valley. In doing so, the
exhaust rockers would be shortened, their
rotational inertia reduced and all related
geometry improved. In addition, thered
be a bit more clearance for the exhaust
pushrod where its path passed close by
the crucial head-to-block gasket bead (just
outboard, fore and aft, of each intake ports
walls). With more deck-face meat to clamp
onto, the gasket seal itself was marginally improved and the intake ports route
between chamber and mouth ran slightly
straighter. Rotating the head about its inner
30 MOPAR ACTION
RIGHT: Domed chambers

shape makes room for the
largest-possible valve sizes.
Centrally located sparkplug
benefits combustion.
BELOW: Provisions for
attaching the Hemi heads to
the engine block were cast into
the RB-based tappet valleys
upper walls.
of eight light coil springs are spread along

the pivot shafts to help the rocker arms
resist pushrod side-loads and to keep them
positioned. In subsequent Sixties testing,
aluminum rocker shaft brackets were evaluated in place of the conventional iron parts.
But when valve float was encountered at
lower-than-expected engine speeds, the
heavyweight iron pedestals became Engineerings preference for the Hemis eight
model years of production.
ROCKER ARMS
edge by lifting its outboard edge also narrowed the assembled engine, therein easing the 64 A865 (and 65 A990) drag cars
assembly line body drop. The downside of
the roll scheme was a slightly compromised
exhaust port and a minor increase in the
chambers surface-to-volume ratiomeaning that thered be a little more loss of combustion heat to coolant and a bit less heat
to do work.
ROCKER SHAFTS
Again following corporate Hemi engine
design practice, Frank specified a pair of
equal-length steel tube rocker shafts to act
as fulcrums for the 2G Hemis relatively
massive rocker arms. Separate shafts on
each head carry the intake and the exhaust
rockers, four per shaft, pivoting in opposite
directions. Each pair of shafts is carried on
a series of five malleable cast iron brackets, or pedestals, attached to the cylinder
head and the block by the five (6.125-inchlong) center head bolts. Shafts are
secured to the brackets with 3/8-16 bolts
and the brackets are positively located on
the head by a dowel pin in each machinedflat mounting pad. With banana grooves
to help lube the entire length of the rocker
arms and pedestals bushings, each
0.972-inch diameter shaft is drilled with a
series of 1/8-inch oil feeder holes. A series
The rocker arms themselves were steel

forgings, each with a full-length steelbacked bronze bushing that was finishsized only after being pressed into place
and oil holes drilled through it. A series
of 1/8-inch holes channel lube from the
grooved shaft out to the valve stem tips
and to the pushrod balls on the adjuster
ends. The pushrod end of the rocker
is drilled and tapped 3/8-24 to accept
threaded adjuster screws with locknuts.
At the valve tip end opposite, the rockers
contact pad is ground to a 30-microinch finish and hardened. After several
scuffing-related failures were recorded in
early testing, the rockers bushing-to-shaft
clearance was increased from 0.001-inch
to 0.0022 inches, therein eliminating
another potential problem in even limited
production. Theoretically, the rocker arm
ratios work out to 1.57:1 on the intakes
and 1.52:1 on the pump-handle exhausts.
But as Ray Barton has reminded us, the
ratios of a good set of OE Hemi rockers
are off by about a tenth, effectively putting
their numbers closer to 1.47:1 intake and
1.42:1 exhaust.
PUSHRODS
Fabricated from 0.375-inch diameter,
0.083-inch-wall hollow steel tubing, Hemi
pushrods have hardened steel inserts
pressed-in and welded on both ends. Prototype pushrod tests involved tubes that

were stepped down to 0.33 inches along
short sections of both ends. But when
those rods collapsed this reduced-diameter
area during extended durability evaluations
they were replaced by tubes tapered 12
degrees at each end to accept the inserts.
All inserts ball and socket contact surfaces
were finished to 65 micro-inches. Intake
pushrods in solid lifter 2G Hemi engines
measure 10.65 inches long, tip to tip. As
you might expect, the exhausts are longer,
11.58 inches overall. A Street Hemis pushrods were slightly shorter.
Along their routes from the rocker arms
to the tappets (which are detailed in later
block and cam coverage), the pushrods
pass through short passages in the cylinder heads. Viewed over-the-fender from
above, the passages for the more radically
angled exhaust pushrods are situated to
the right of each inlet port (and its head
stud), while the intake pushrods passages
are to the left and slightly more inboard
(toward the valley) than the exhaust pushrod passage. The exhaust pushrod passage is shorter and considerably closer to
the cylinder bore than the corresponding
intake passage. In the block below, four
short bosses cast into each upper tappet valley wall (alongside and parallel to
the walls longer head stud bosses) are
drilled as intake pushrod pass-throughs.
The areas of the valley walls below the
cylinder heads exhaust pushrod passages
are noticeably laid back and relieved for
pushrod clearance. Early testing (either on
Chryslers dynamic valve gear test fixture
or on its dynamometers) resulted in factory
correspondence advising owners of clearance concerns in the above-mentioned
pushrod passages, suggesting that filing
could help.
HEAD BOLTS
Franks efforts to retain the RB wedge

engines 17 fasteners securing each cylinder head to the block were complicated by
the Hemi designs port positions and dual
rocker shaft arrangement. The twin shafts,
stands and rockers, plus the ports, pushrods, valve springs and sparkplug wells
and tubes all occupied considerable real
estate atop the heads. In order to avoid
this jungle of obstructive hardware, a clever
plan was engineered to add four inverted
bolts to each head with the threaded end
of each new fastener secured in a tapped
hole in the underside of the intake port
floor. Corresponding clamping bosses,
integrally cast into the iron blocks upper
tappet chamber walls and finished flush
with each deck, were added to accept
these fasteners.
32 MOPAR ACTION
Although 7/16-18 coarse-thread bolts

were originally specified here, they were
replaced for 1965 (and later) production with 7/16--inch threaded studs (PN
2531188). The four studs (per head) have
7/16-18 fine threads on their lower ends for
hex nuts (PN 2658882). The boss bottoms
were finished square with their tops while
adjacent block walls were relieved for nut
wrenching clearance. Stress-reducing
fillets were also machined into the boss
bottoms where they meet the valley walls.
Accessible only from inside the tappet
chamber, this unique late-Hemi-only
clamping setup required a special offset
adapter tool to properly apply tightening torque on sequential assembly. Each
studs 9/16-inch hex nut was tightened
to 70-75-ft.-lbs., the same spec as the
13 other Hemi head bolts. When early
assemblies showed the studs nuts crushing their bosses, hardened washers (PN
6026141) were added to the build plan.
Note that as in Chryslers 1950s series of
early-Hemi FirePower V8s, the 426 Hemis
five long center row of head bolts also
function as rocker shaft stand hold-downs.
PORTS
Once the pushrod paths were determined and the head bolt arrangement,
coolant jacket and sparkplug locations
finalized, the ports were roughed in. Their
design began at rectangular-shaped port
mouths equally spaced along their corresponding intake and exhaust cylinder head
faces1G-style. Transitioning from these
rectangular cross-sections to round openings at the valve seats, the passages spacing not only helped designers equalize their
volumes and avoid nearby pushrod paths
but the heads abbreviated water jackets
also minimized heat transfer from coolant to
the somewhat-isolated intake charge. Once
the connecting passages between the port
entries, exits and their respective valve
seats had been roughly established, that
design data was sent to respected cylinder
head specialist Harry Westlake in Great
Britain for bench testing and flow modeling. Chrysler Engineering combined with
Westlakes development efforts to create
an intake port cross-sectional area of 3.00
square inches (at the mouth), an exhaust
port area of 2.24 sq. inches, and an intake
flow rate of 262 cfm at a half-inch lift and
274 cfm at 0.600 inches liftall measured
at a flow depression of 18 inches of water.
Westlakes refined prototype contours actually added iron inside the intake ports rather
than removed it. Resulting flow improvements were reflected in the wood patterns
for the first D-1 and D-2 Hemi heads
A Hemi for the Indy 500?
s reported in a March,
1952 Society of
Automotive Engineers
(SAE) technical paper,
Chrysler experiments with
a 331 cubic inch 1G Hemi
fitted with four single-throat
carbs, a 12.6:1 compression
ratio, a 280-degree camshaft, tube headers and 100
octane gasoline cranked out
353 horsepower. Subsequent
evaluations of this combination were fitted with Hilborn
fuel injection, and metering
methanol, the OE-based
all-iron test motor made an
optimistic 404 horsepower
at 5600 rpm. Conveniently,
the AAA Contest Board
(USACs early counterpart)
was then in the process of
evaluating the acceptance of
335 cubic inch stock block
pushrod engines for Indy
500 competition. With an
injection of meth, the early
Hemi appeared to loom as
a natural threat. But after a
400 horsepower 331-inch
A311 Hemi in a Kurtis Kraft
chassis clocked 135 mph
(nearly six miles per hour
faster than the 500-winning Offy motor had run),
old timers with vested

interests in the established
Offenhauser and Miller race
motors influenced the AAA to
limit engine sizes to a maximum of 275 cubic inches.
With the most popular Offy
conveniently displacing
274-cubes and no time for
Chrysler to re-engineer a
proper short-stroke 331, the
rule effectively legislated the
Chrysler Hemi out of Indy
cast for 1964 and 65. Although the downturned exhaust ports allowed exhaust manifolding to tuck tightly against the engines
flanks, the contours didnt do much for efficient flow. Raised and straightened exhaust
ports in 1970s redesigned D-4 heads
addressed this.
COMBUSTION CHAMBERS
During domestic head development, the

section thickness of the understandably
high-stress area at the very tops of the
combustion chambers was increased from
0.28 to 0.36 inches. In addition, 0.20-inchthick ribs were added between adjacent
chambers to help prevent deflection due
to combustion pressures. Internally, the
heads were given full water-jacketing adjacent to the exhaust valve seats and guides
and some water passages around the
intake valves and sparkplug seats. To help
500 competition. Clearly a

case of, if ya cant outrun
em, outlaw em,a situation the Chrysler Hemi ran
into a number of times during its three generations of
production. Regardless of
this open-wheel dead end,
however, the early hipo
Hemi effort continued to
inspire Chrysler engineers
for the next half-century,
maybe more.
conduct coolant from the block directly to

the heads exhaust valve seats and guides
(rather than have it travel all the way to the
back of the block before being routed up
into the heads, as it is in an RB), four new
holes were drilled into each Hemi block
banks coolant jacketing along the deck
faces outboard (exhaust) edges. Corresponding holes in the cylinder heads then
provide a flow shortcut that helps maintain
uniform thermal levels throughout the
casting. Eight head and gasket holes here
allow their interchangeability, bank to bank.
VALVES
Within each 172.7cc 2G Hemi chamber,

Frank specified valve head diameters measuring 2.25 inches intake and 1.94 inches
exhaust, all with trimmerthan-a-corporatewedge-head-V8s 0.308-inch-diameter
Mild Mods Dept.
MANN
TOY
STORY By Al Dente
Sharp looking 69 440-6 Charger

34 MOPAR ACTION
Originally a 383 4-speed nonR/T Charger in pretty rough

shape, Bill restored the car himself with some neat upgrades
and added the V21 hood callouts. Headlights are HID.
ou gotta give Chrysler credit.

Getting involved with the Dukes of
Hazzard TV show was pure marketing genius. Heck, if the Dukes
were driving Yugos, and the Yugo factory hadnt

been bombed into dust, the marque might still be
around today and there would be hordes attending the 34th Yugo Nationals. But enough of that.
Bill Mann is typical of the Dukes influence. He
was a 9-year old kid when the family flipped on the
black and white American-made Andrea TV (a company that Rick Ehrenberg once worked for as a quality
control engineer before they went out of businessone
of many such firms that were cursed with the Booger
Kiss of Death). While the older Mann male family members were glued to Daisy Maes rear quarter panels, Bill
was fixated by the car. He promised himself that one day he
would own a car like that.
with just the right custom touches.

MOPAR ACTION 35
, Mann Toy
That promise came true when Bill turned

16 and he picked up a 68 Charger, a car he
still owns. Red with black top and interior,
that Charger was inside Carlisles dealer
showroom display in its debut year. In 1987,
shortly after finishing the resto on the 68,
Bill picked up his second Chargerthis
one a 70 R/T purple with white top, gut and
bumblebee stripe. Its the flagship of his
3-Charger collection. Bill ran that Charger
through the Nats OE Certification back
in 2000 and missed Gold by 3 points on
account of an incorrect air filter. Not bad for a
car Bill restored himself with a stash of NOS
parts. Mopar picked the car for Top Eliminator at Carlisle last year and they brought it to
the Woodward Cruise. Really cool.
Life went on and Bill got married to Laurie. In about 2003, Bill got the urge to pick
Bill added the R/T emblems and bumblebee

stripe. Exhaust is TTi 2 -in. with Dynomax
mufflers. Trunk plays home to Alpine
amps and subs. You cant see it,
but hold the page close to
your ear to hear it.
36 MOPAR ACTION
1970 440 is beefed with forged crank, six-pack rods and Keith Black 10.25:1 pistons.
Edelbrock heads top it off while a Lunati 60303 cam conducts the valvetrain. Pro
Max supplied the six-pack. MSDs pro-billet distributor and Mopar 6 AL box make the
sparks. Serpentine belt pulleys are custom made and a Griffin rad keeps it all cool.
up another Mopean E-body this time. But

they were hard to find and so expensive
when a good one turned up. He still had an
entire basement full of Charger stuff so it
made sense to go after another one of those.
Bill put the word out, and a friend told him
about a Charger sitting in a guys driveway
less than 5 miles from Bills house. Like we
always say, whatever car youre looking for,
draw a 10-mile radius circle from your home,
and youll find the car in that area. (Note: this
doesnt apply to Canada where all youll find
are trees and ice.)
Bill checked out the car and found a
69 Charger pretty much stripped out and
sitting on four trailer wagon wheels. The

B-body had the usual rust issues, no interior, no engine, no transmission, no grille, a
bashed-in door and a buckled fender. But,
it had potential. Bill left his business card on
the cars windshield.
A week goes by, no response. Then the
phone rings. The owner says hes moving
in two weeks and the car has to go now.
He had planned to restore it and had all
the missing parts in his garage. Bill thinks
the guy got in over his head. Bill scoots
over and asks about the price800 bucks
including everything: engine trans, grille,
taillights, the works. Bill takes a closer look,
The seats even

smell new so Bill
didnt have to spring
for Zainos Fartz-BGone ( now with FartzGard) upholstery
freshener.
the Charger is a little more roached out

than he first noticed. He cuts a deal for
$600. It takes three trailer loads to tote all
the stuff back home.
But all is not smooth sailing. Bills
wife is pregnant with their first child. She
knows Bills getting the car and shes not
too excited about it. Course in that state
women arent too excited about anything
especially man toys. Bill tries psychology
and tells her they could take the kids (when
they come along) and all go to car shows
together (not to mention he can already do
that now with his two other Chargers.) She
looks at the car and says its not as bad
as she thought it was going to be (mustve
been one of her better days). She asks Bill
what hes going to do with it. He replies just
slap it together and make a General Lee to
beat around in. Laurie looks Bill dead in the
eye and dicates, Im not riding around in a
General Lee!
General Grant?
No!
General Mills?
No!!
No!!
Gener
NO!!!
Well, that settled that. Bill is now in
damage control. OK, he says, well do
something nice. He tells he to pick a color.
Her favorite is Sublime green. In retrospect,
Bill says hes glad he didnt go the General
route. There are six guys on his block with
Generals, its a bit overdone.
The resto takes five years. The Charger
needs a a hood, left fender, left door, right
quarter, a right wheel housing, trunk floor
extensions, trunk floor, a lower valance and
it requires a trans tunnel because when
they converted the car from a 4-speed
to an automatic they basically took a big
torch and cut a hole in the floor. They also
torched holes in the fender aprons so they
could change spark plugs easier. Might
be a tech article for Ebooger to look into.
It also appears that the car had headers at
one time. It was a mess.
MOPAR ACTION 37
, Mann Toy
Undeterred, Bill forged ahead handling
all the body work in his home garage and
shooting the paint in a local paint shops
booth while the guy took his lunch break.
Bill laid out the V21 callouts and stripes at
home and painted them in a Toyota RAV4
3-stage pearl rather than flat black. Theyre
cleared over so the surface is smooth.
Progressing with the full assembly, Bill
installed the vinyl top and the headliner.
The 440 was put together by a local
machine shop, NT Racing. Nick over there
is an old timer who has his Mopes down
pat and does a lot of work for locals. The
six-pack setup came from Pro Max. It has
their Max Pak system which makes the
outboard carbs tunable. A trip over to Pat
Nifty Corbeau seats were bought from a guy

who had them in his Mustang but were too
small for him. Bill had to modify the tracks
to lower the seats to fit the Challenger.
Musis dyno in Carteret, NJ saw the motor

punch out 518 HP and 572 TQ. Bill runs a
serpentine belt system with custom pulleys
made by Duster 499 on Moparts. The A/C
compressor came from Classic Auto Air.
They left the ends off the hoses and gave
Bill a bunch of different shaped ends. He
routed the hoses and then had the fittings
crimped on so everything would line up.
Bill funnels all those ponies through
a Keisler Stage 2 4-speed overdrive
automatic, because his wife wouldnt
drive a sticknot a 5-speed, 4-speed
or a 3-speed. Just let me put it in Drive,
sweetie. The 3.91 8-3/4 rear is just right
for cruising, normal street bashing and
good punch off the line. Bill rolls on custom
Foose Challenger wheels. Theyre made to
order, you choose the style and give them
your offset which is available in 1/8 increments. The fronts are 18x8 while out back
youll find 19x10s. To ward off the dreaded
Pretzelitis during hard launches, Bill
installed MP frame connectors. Handling
38 MOPAR ACTION
Handling level is raised

a few notches with
Hotchkis swaybars,
frame connectors,
Mopar leaf springs
and KYB shocks. Bill
sprayed the Sublime
hue himself. Wheels
are custom Foose
Challenger.
upgrades include MP leaf springs, KYB

shocks, Hotchkis swaybars, aluminum strut
rods and the larger C-body tie rod sleeves.
Not one to leave an interior stock, at
least not on this Charger, Bill went for the
Fancy Pants packageCorbeau seats
that he got a deal on from a guy five times
Bills size who had them in his Mustang.
He had sat in them just 3 times before he
finally realized he didnt fit. They even smell
new so Bill didnt have to spring for Zainos
Fartz-B-Gone (now with FartzGard) upholstery freshener. The dash is spruced up
with Redline whiteface gauges and a MP
wheel whips the Charger to the left or right.
The only thing missing was an audio system. That was easily corrected by ZNR Auto
Salon in Middlesex, NJ. Theyll give your
Redline whiteface
gauges and MP wheel
dress up the interior.
Stock shifter instructs
Keisler 4-speed overdrive auto trans.
car a perm while screwing in sound componentsin this case a Secret Audio head
unit with all Alpine amps and speakers.
The whole deal comes

to a screeching halt when
Bill stomps the drilled
and slotted Wilwoods
6-piston calipers up front,
4 out back. They work
with a Hydrotech Hydroboost system.
And as far as the looks, character and
performance wars go, the Generals on
Bills block dont stand a chance.
MOPAR ACTION 39
Dodge 100th Anniversary Series
1966 Polara 500 was Polaras

top offering. This was basically a
trim option that included special
badges, buckets, console and
some other trim goodies.
Sizzling
Its fast and furious in Dodgeland 64-66
as Chrysler uncages the game-changer
Hemi for race and street while the curtain
is raised on Coronet and Charger.
By Mack Bennett
T
The 64 Dart wore a new grille but few other changes from 63, until mid-year
when the 273 V8 increased the fun quotient.
40 MOPAR ACTION
he mid-60s was a hot time for Dodge.

1964 saw Dodge celebrate its 50-year
golden anniversarya fact noted on
the steering wheel hub of its models.
Stylingwise, the 64 Darts were mildly freshened
while the larger B-body Dodges received a more
thorough makeover. The changes were enough,
to boost sales and make Dodge the 6th best
selling car in America, with Dart coming in as
Dodges best seller.
The performance story started modestly
enough on the Dart carried over with a slight
freshening from 63. Newly available for the
A-body Dart was the 225 CID version of the slantsix and, midyear, its first V8the 273. The big
news, though, had 426 written all over it. The
426 Max Wedge barreled into 64, its final year,
in Stage III trim. With newly ported heads, bigger
carbs and a heavy-duty cast iron tuned exhaust,
the dual-quad Maxie boasted 425 HP while the
The Hemi not only

decimated the competition on the dragstrip, it
pulverized its cross-town
competitors in Stock Car
competition.
single 4-Bbl version checked in at 415

ponies. The Max Wedge was going out in
a blaze of glory by getting inked into the
record books as Top Eliminator at the NHRA
Summernats, Detroit Dragway in late 63.
That was accomplished by a young Chrysler
attorney, Al Eckstrand in his Ramchargers
Dodge Lawman. At the Super Stock Invitations in York, PA, Maxie-powered Dodges
garnered the top four spots. As the Max
Wedge exited stage left, the spotlight swung
to stage right with the debut of the mighty
426 Hemi. Check out our in-depth report on
this powerhouse, now celebrating its own
golden anniversary, on page 26.
When the Hemi-powered Dodges first
hit the dragstrips in 64, NHRA classed
them in A/FX because of the low numbers
of engines available from Dodge. As the
numbers increased, the cars were allowed
in Super Stock where they kicked serious
butt. To insure the Fords would have a bad
hair day at the track, Dodge built a limited
number of drag package cars that included
Roger Lindamoods Color Me Gone and
Ramchargers president, Jim Thorntons
Ramchargers. Thornton set a record
11.23/130.05 at the 64 Summernationals,
and smoked his way up to the winners
circle at the 64 U. S. Nationals.
The Hemi not only decimated the
competition on the dragstrip, it pulverized
its cross-town competitors in Stock Car
competition. Here again, you can get the
complete details by following our ongoing
series, Chryslers Stock Car Connection.
Suffice it to say that the Hemi-powered
Dodges, along with Plymouth, set the racing world on its ear by capturing the top six
spots at the 64 Daytona Firecracker 400.
The race was won by A.J. Foyt driving the
#47 64 Dodge Polara.
The 64 production car portfolio consisted of the compact Dart line, now with
a GT offering. The standard-size class
featured the 330 and 440 Series and the
Polara. A special Polara 500 trim option with
buckets seats, console, sports interior and
special badging, was intended to compete
with the likes of the Chevy Impala SS and
Ford XL offerings. The Custom 880 was
carried over as the big boy Dodge still built
on the Chrysler Newport shell.
MOPAR ACTION 41
, Sizzling Sixties
The Custom 880

Series for 65 was
a sporty luxury car
fielded as competition
to the likes of
Pontiac Grand Prix.
The biggest news in

66, along with the
availability of the
Street Hemi, was the
sleek fastback Charger. The model was
not a hot seller.
The 65 Darts received

the first thorough
rehashing since its intro
in 63. New were grille,
hood, decklid, bumpers
and taillights. The GT
was the top Dart model.
Dodge designers forged ahead into

1965 with extensive facelifts for the models while the engineers revamped what
was under the skin. More important was
the introduction of two new models: The
Coronet, including the 440 and 500 (which
would be labelled intermediate models)
and the Monaco displacing the 880 Custom as Dodges top of the line luxo ride.
Available only as a 2-door hardtop, the
Monaco was designed to compete with the
likes of Pontiacs Grand Prix in the luxury
sports car arena. The standard-size Dodge
880 was canned, and Polara was now the
entry rung for full-size Dodges. The 413
4-Bblentered the lineup as an option for
Polara, Custom 880 and Monaco.
1965 saw the first factory A/FX altered
wheelbase carsHemi-powered Coronets
with fiberglass doors, hood, decklid, bumpers and dash. Bobby Harrop was one of
few chosen to receive a factory Xer, and
he won the Super Stock magazine Nationals among many others in the eastern U.S.
Another Dodge dragstrip terror was Bud
Faubel who piloted one of the first factory
package drag cars in 64 with his Hemi
Honker Dodge 330. Faubel replaced the
330 with a Coronet Honker for 65.
New for 1965 was the Coronet
model lineup which would define
the Intermediate segment.
42 MOPAR ACTION
In 66, Monaco continued to be the top

offering at Dodge. It now came in four
body styles as compared to one in 65.
Interiors were plush and luxurious.
Once the Race Hemi was unleashed, the

factory wasted no time in putting together
race packages for selected drivers. This
is Roger Lindamoods Color Me Gone
injected and altered wheelbase 66 Charger.
Dodge literally charged into 1966 with

the new Charger, a mid-year intro of a sleek
fastback model with four bucket seats
that saw the rears fold down for expanded
hatch space. Sharing the same chassis as
the Coronet, Charger had a fair amount of
unique sheetmetal and a front clip featuring
a full-length grille with hidden headlights
and full-length taillights. Engine choices
ranged from a 318 V8 up to the newly
introduced street version of the Race Hemi,
a $700+ option, of which 468 cars were
sold. Overall Charger sales were disappointingonly 37,344. Pontiacs GTO, on
the other hand, sold over 90,000. While the
Hemi originally was intended for race-only
duty, NASCAR ruled that to be accepted in
their venue, Hemi engines would have to
be made available to the general public
which Chrysler did. On the NASCAR circuit,
Earl Balmer etched the Charger name into
the record books with its first win on Feb.
25th at Daytonas 100-miler.
Coronet, now in its second year
received extensive restyling and became
Dodges hottest seller that year. The ultimate sleeper was the Coronet with a 425
HP Hemi under the hood and small fender
emblems which were easily overlooked.
Monaco continued to be Dodges top
model line, a plushier version of the Polara
which still came with a 383 as standard but
now could also be had with the more fuel
efficient 318 A-series engine.
Holy Smokes Matrimony Dept.
HERE COMES THE
BRIDE
44 MOPAR ACTION
Nine-second Cuda could well be

the worlds quickest wedding limo.
STORY By Al Dente
he church was warm, but with

the overhead fans spinning
the parishioners were comfortable enough even though there were
more than the usual number present
for a Sunday. This was the day that
Chip Owens and Alexandra were getting hitched. Not the usual wedding
ceremony, according to the plan,
The pastor would call for the bride
and groom. He would then step back
and off to the side. The churchs rear
doors would open and a honkin blue
Cuda would storm down the main
aisle of the sanctuary smokin the
hides all the way. Chip and Alexandra
would get out of the car, go through
the ceremony, get back in, smoke
em back out of the church in reverse
and disappear in a cloud of smoke
and dust and a hearty Hi Yo Silv
oops! Wrong church.
That was the plan. Unfortunately,
the church board felt the expense of
ripping out pews to widen the main
aisle and then laying down a bed of
concrete over the polished wood floor
Chip and Alexandra and their

honeymoon Cuda makes for haul
in the family (Choke!) If you missed
the wedding well give you Chips
address so you can stop by and
throw some rice.
was a bit much for one wedding. So

the happy couple had to walk down
the aisle and then pick it up outside
the church disappearing in a cloud
of smoke and dust and a hearty See
ya on the way to their honeymoon.
According to Chip, all his friends
and relatives wouldnt have expected
anything less. And being as we are
Mopar Action, neither would we.
Course I know that all you readers would like to hear about the
Chip and dad, Jim, restored the Cuda (including paint) from a roller in
their home garage. Scoop is a bolt-on fiberglass 4-inch Chevy-esque cowl
induction unit. Front suspension is stock with poly bushings and 90/10
shocks. Chip qualified 18 out of 70+ cars at the Pump Gas Drags.
MOPAR ACTION 45
, Here Comes The Bride
Body is not cut (no tubs)so the 295/65-15 M/T ET Street Radials on 15x8
Centerline Warriors really fill the wells. Fronts are 28-inch M/T Sportsman on
15x4s. Caltrac suspension worked well until it was overpowered by nitrous.
Cuda still wears the interior that came with the car. Kudos to Alexandra for not
complaining (maybe shes getting a new kitchen). Front seats are out of a 72 Cuda,
rear seat is factory. 10-point cage helps hold it all together.
weddingthe flowers, the bigwigs that

attended, who cried and who didnt and
maybe a synopsis of the pastors sermon.
But my editor has informed me that if I want
to keep my job (such as it is) Id better write
about the car. So here goes.
Chip has owned the Cuda for some 18
years now, his dad, Jim, bought it for him
when he was still in high school. It basically
was a shell with no drivetraina project
that Chip and his dad got right into. Chip
was an avid reader of the car magazines of
the day and he fell in love with E-bodies. He
wanted a Cuda in the worst way.
A friend of Jims told him about this
Cuda located about 20 miles from Jims
house. Originally a Vitamin C 340 car, it now
sat with a cheap paintjob of the original
color. The interior was out of the car, the
dash, door panels and seats were missing
but the rest was all there. The owner was
going to make a street car out of the Cuda
but never got around to it. Chip restored
the car to at least make it presentable. Its
no show car and was never meant to be.
Chip says someday hell redo it, but right
now hes having too much fun just beating
on it. And beat on it he does turning 9.30s
46 MOPAR ACTION
at the strip. Since the photos were taken,

Chip has added nitrousa 200-250 HP
NOS Cheater port system--in his quest for
the eights. Traction is the limiting factor and
Chip is trying his best to sort that out.
The Cuda had the typical rust in the
quarters, but the bodywork needed overall
was minor. Chip and Jim took care of that,
including paint, in their home garage. The

first motor Chip dropped in there was a
stock 440 backed by an automatic. That
lasted, in various configurations, until 2003
when he went for a more serious big block
(14:1 compression) that propelled him
though the quarter-mile at 10.40/129. The
Cuda, also serving as a street car, required
Chip to tank up with C12 race gas just to
make a milk run. That got old (and expensive) after a while, so Chip decided to build
a pump gas motor.
Prior to his current job as a traffic engineer with the South Carolina Department
of transportation (hes laying out special
downtown wheelie lanes for high performance Mopars), Chip was a machinist
and engine builder, so he knows how to
put together a combination. He knew he
wanted a lot of horsepower (he planned
on nitrous down the road) so he figured
he wouldnt start with a factory block. He
narrowed the choice down between a B1
and a Hemi (something he always wanted
as a kid). Chip priced it all out, they both
572-inch Keith Black

Hemi has bulletproof
internals and ported
MP aluminum heads.
Of the several motors
that have taken up
residence between
the frame rails, this is
Chips built-for-pumpgas bullet. Horsepower (motor only) is
somewhere between
830-850. The elephant
is cooled off with a
Griffin aluminum rad and an electric fan and shroud from an 03 Viper.
A Meziere electric water pump keeps the coolant moving.
were expensive and the Hemi came in at

2-3 grand more than the B1. But it was a
HEMI. Chip started with a Keith Black block
topped with MP CNC-ported aluminum
heads. Stout internals, specd by Dan
at Performance Only Racing in Florida,
include a Callies crank, Oliver billet steel
rods and 11:1 Diamond pistons for pump
gas. The valves dance to the tune of a
custom Comp Cams solid roller specd
in at 0.672/0.650 lift by Dwayne Porter at
Porter Racing Heads in Vermont. All that
pump gas gets funneled in through a Ray
Barton intake and a Chip-built 1200 CFM
Pro-Systems Dominator where it meets its
match from a MSD Pro-Billet distributor and
6 AL box. The gases wave goodbye via TTi
headers and 4 collectors.
Chip has two exhaust systems but he
doesnt use them at the same time, only
Tony DeFeo can do that. For track duty
and for annoying the neighbors, there are
4 Dynomax bullets right off the collectors.
When hes up for being a good citizen,
he runs a full 4-inch H-pipe system with
Flowmasters.
A beefy 727 with billet drums and 5-pinion planetary setup runs a Turbo Action
reverse manual valve body and a custom
And theyre off! Church officials drew

the line at a smokey inside the church.
Chip didnt tell us how many sets of
rear tires he went through before the
happy couple reached their destination.
9-inch 5,000-stall converter. Atlantic Coast

Converters get the trans and converter
build credit. The power then slingshots
back to a 4.10 Dana. Custom subframe
connectors and the 10-point cage were
fabd by Joplins Race Cars.
The suspension up front is stock with
poly bushings and 90/10 shocks, while
the rear is a Caltrac monleaf setup with
9-way adjustable Rancho shocks. Course
when the downtown wheelie lane merges
into regular traffic and the front end comes

down, you sometimes gotta hit the binders
so as not to centerpunch a bus. Aerospace
Street & Strip discs up front work with
stockers in the rear to keep the 3800-lb.
E-body under control.
Alexandra was cool as the proverbial
cucumber as Chip smoked out of the
church lot and down the highway. She
just smiled and shook her head taking
all of Chips antics in stride. Our guess is
that he probably wouldnt have married
her if she didnt. Course when the kids
come along well bet theyll take after
dad. Stands to reason, being a Chip off
the old block.
MOPAR ACTION 47
RAY NICHELS: Chryslers Stock Car Connection Part 9
BACK TO RACING
Chrysler continues its winning ways going into the
Spring of 66 as NASCAR plays loose with the rules.
STORY By Wm. R. LaDow
VIRGINIA 500
A week later, on the NASCAR circuit, the

11th Annual Virginia 500 held at Martinsville
Speedway provided its fans with a racing
story of a lifetime. For Nichels Engineerings
t was now April 17th, 1966, and
driver Paul Goldsmith, the outcome of the
Nichels Engineering was racing at two
different tracks, located in two different race offered both good news and bad news.
The good news was when Goldy crossed
parts of the country. After qualifying
the finish line he captured the checkered
sixth and eleventh, respectively, McQuagg
flag and spent the next 45 minutes celand Goldsmith gave their best effort in the
ebrating in Victory Circle with his Nichels
250-miler on the paved North Wilkesboro
Engineering crew. Paul then learned the
Speedway in North Carolina. The 400bad news. NASCAR officials had lost track
lap battle took its toll on the equipment,
of Pauls No. 99 Nichels Plymouth during
though, with McQuagg losing an engine
one of his pit stops and incorrectly scored
and finishing 17th. Goldsmith had an even
rougher day losing his brakes and finishing Goldsmith with an extra lap. Jim Paschal,
with his Friedkin Plymouth sitting just behind
24th. Chrysler still took the top three spots
Goldsmiths in Victory Circle, was informed
with Jim Paschal scoring the first-ever
(as he had contended since the end of the
victory for his patron, Tom Friedkin, in a
race) that he had rightfully earned his secNichels Engineering-built Plymouth.
ond consecutive NASCAR victory. Goldsmith
Meanwhile up north, Norm Nelson raced
was more than gracious when he learned he
to his first USAC victory of the year in the
was not the race winner and publicly lauded
150-miler at Langhorne. Jim Hurtubise
Paschal for his race-winning effort. Overall,
finished second, Sal Tovella copped third,
Nichels Engineering and
while Don White in his Nichels
Mario Andretti in the
Chrysler did quite well on
Engineering Dodge Charger
USAC race at Canadas
the day with McQuagg
finished fourth. Chrysler drivers
Mosport Park. An overfinishing 16th and Mopars
took seven of the top 10 spots.
confident Mario flipped
making up seven of the
his Charger during
Photos from Conversations with a Winner

The Ray Nichels Story.
practice causing
extensive damage.
48 MOPAR ACTION
top 10 spots. It was clear that the Mopar

machines were now dominating more than
ever with the Ford Factory support gone.
However, a look at the race results showed
some Ford drivers boycotting their own
boycott and driving whatever raceworthy
race cars they could find. Many Ford drivers
began to publicly question Fords decision
to boycott and it was clear there was unrest
in the Ford driving ranks.
Goldsmith then headed to the Richmond 250, held on the half-mile dirt track
at the Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds in Richmond, Virginia. The 125-mile race on May
15th saw Paul start 12th and finish fifth,
with David Pearson, in his Cotton Owens
Dodge, getting his fifth victory in just 19
races. The David Pearson-Cotton Owens
team was on a roll.
NASCAR GETS WEIRD

The longest race of the year for the
Nichels Engineering racing effort was the
World 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway
on May 22nd. Goldsmith and McQuagg
were joined by Don White for one of NASCARs biggest stock car races of the year.
Things got interesting early on, as several
teams timing Goldy during his early practice laps were stunned by his speeds. The
THE STORY SO FAR

Part 1 Aug. 2013: GM bows out of NASCAR,
opening the door for F.R. Householder,
Chryslers ManagerCircuit High Performance Competition, to sign on Nichels
Engineering, which formerly fielded racewinning Pontiacs, to become Chryslers
stock car builder.
Part 2 Oct. 2013: Nichels debuts his 1963
Plymouths. Initial testing and competition
prove out Nichels designs. USAC drops a
bomb.
Part 3 Dec. 2013: The Hemi debuts and sends
shockwaves through the racing world.
Part 4 Feb 2014: The Daytona Firecracker
400, NASCARs bombshell and the
end of an era.
Part 5 April 2014: NASCAR bans the Hemi.
Part 6 June 2014: Nichels keeps Chrysler in the
game by running other circuits as
NASCAR tires to lure Chrysler back.
Part 7 Aug. 2014: 1966Chrysler and NASCAR
settle their differences, and Ray Nichels
expands his operation with a new factory
and new drivers.
Part 8 Oct. 2014: Chrysler unveils the new
Dodge Charger, surprises with the
405-cube Hemi and gets hit with
exploding tires.
lean, quiet, West Virginia-born Nichels driver

was absolutely scorching the high-banked
Charlotte track. Word began to surface
that Chrysler engineers and Nichels crew
members had reworked the front end of the
No. 99 Nichels Engineering Hemi-powered
Plymouth Belvedere. It was soon learned
that through a process of dropping the nose
and subtly altering the shape of the bumper,
hood and fenders, Nichels Engineering had
created a much more aerodynamic racecar.
Once the word got out and Goldsmiths
recorded speeds proved to be so far above
the norm, NASCAR Chief Inspector Norris
MOPAR ACTION 49
, Back To Racing
Al Unser, Sr. and Don White (both in
Nichels Engineering-built Dodge
Chargers) mix it up at Milwaukee.
Norm The Great Dane

Nelson and Paul Goldsmith
at Milwaukee. Nelson and
Goldsmith competed on the
track, but worked together
as car builders when Nelson
was purchasing Chrysler
Stock Cars from Nichels
Engineering.
Friel (an old friend of Ray Nichels from their

days racing Indy cars on the old AAA sanctioned Championship Trail) called Nichels
aside and asked that he and Goldsmith
hold off on qualifying until NASCAR could
appraise the impact of their newfound
aerodynamic advantage. Ray and Paul
reluctantly agreed and watched Richard
Petty take the pole with a speed of 148.637
mph, a substantially slower mark than Goldsmiths pre-race runs.
Goldsmith wasnt the only Nichels chauffeur to be challenged by the NASCAR
inspection process. Don White began to
realize that NASCAR inspectors seemed to
spend considerably more time inspecting
the USAC stars Dodge than other NASCAR
drivers cars. In time, White would come
to realize that even though NASCAR race
fans welcomed him and other USAC drivers like A.J. Foyt, Norm Nelson, and Jim
Hurtubise, the NASCAR inspectors were
not as generous with their acceptance. The
USAC drivers were not part of the NASCAR
good old boy network and it showed at
times during the inspection process. On
many occasions, White would find himself
being told his car did not meet NASCAR
standards and would be sent back to the
garages to correct the problem, robbing
Don of important practice time. More than
once White would find himself qualifying at
the end of the line and battling his way into
the field. What surprised White and others
the most was the fact the Sam McQuaggs
Nichels Engineering Dodge Charger was
set up identically to Whites, but McQuagg
never seemed to run into the time-consuming inspection difficulties that Don White
and other USAC drivers did. This was of
50 MOPAR ACTION
particular importance to Ray Nichels who

(as the house builder for all of Chrysler)
insisted his team always be above board
due to his concern that if Nichels cars were
consistently found to be out of compliance,
it would create a NASCAR inspection process where all of the Chrysler teams would
be under increased scrutiny.
WORLD 600
In the case of the upcoming World
600, Sam McQuagg qualified well in the
sixth spot. But it appeared that the Nichels
crew would have their work cut out for
them on race day when qualifying delays
relegated Goldsmith and White to 17th
and 19th, respectively, on the starting grid.
Goldsmiths starting spot of 19th was quite
extraordinary as he had laid down the
fasted pre-race lap of the entire weekend at
149.491 mph.
The results of the race were indicative

of the obstacles the Nichels Engineering team were forced to overcome. In
the end, McQuagg lost his engine on the
112th lap, finishing 29th. Goldsmith lost his
engine after battling a series of near disasters for over 300 laps. First was a broken
wheel, then an ignition problem. Then his
car stalled in the pits and Paul had to be
pushed back out on the track. It seemed as
if every time Goldy went into the pits he lost
another lap. But that didnt stop him from
leading the race for all of 112 laps. In fact,
Goldsmith was leading the 400-lap race on
lap 301, when his engine finally blew ending
his day in 14th place. That left Don White
as the final Nichels teammate to run for the
green flag. Don in his first race ever on the
high banks of Charlotte, brought the No. 31
Nichels Dodge Charger from the 17th starting position to finish third, giving notice to
the NASCAR drivers that this USAC Keokuk
Komet could indeed carry the mail.
With Charlotte finished, one part of the
Nichels team went north with White on his
way to Michigan for the June 3rd race at
the Grand Rapids Speedrome. Don quickly
made his presence known by capturing the
pole and setting a new track record of 23.87
seconds on the one-half mile paved oval in
the process. After leading 50 laps, White,
however, began to suffer tire troubles. Norm
Nelson then took the lead and never looked
back, going all the way to the victory. White
finished seventh.
BIRTH OF THE REAR SPOILER

From then on Nichels drivers and crew
members along with Chrysler engineering staff spent considerable time testing at
RAY NICHELS
ur series, Ray
NichelsChryslers
Stock Car Connection,
is based on the book,
Conversations with a
WinnerThe Ray Nichels
Story, which is the
culmination of a ten-year
effort by its author, Wm.
R. LaDow. The book relies
primarily on a six-year
collaboration between the
author and Racing Hall of
Famer Ray Nichels.
Utilizing the Nichels
Engineering Archives that
had been sealed for over
30 years, this book offers

a glimpse into the neverbefore-documented life of
Ray Nichels and promises
to be the most wide-ranging narrative outlining
Nichels almost-40-year
racing career.
The over 400-page,

500-photo/illustrated
hardback bound book
will be released in Dec.
2014 and has already sold
out. For stories related
to the book, visit www.
SpeedwaySightings.com.
Paul Goldsmith in the winners circle

again. This time for winning the 100-mile
Daytona qualifier on February 25, 1966.
Daytona. Their work was primarily with the

newly designed Dodge Charger. Since February, the various teams running the new
fastback Charger had experienced lift in
the rear of the cars at high speeds. Reports
of the cars becoming so loose that their rear
tires were spinning while at speeds of 180
mph came from several unnerved drivers,
many of them veterans. As qualifying for the
Monday, July 4th, running of the Daytona
Firecracker 400 drew near, a breakthrough
was made. Detailed testing of the Nichels
Engineering cars revealed that the placement of a metal strip approximately one
and one-half inches high across the trunk
lid of the car aerodynamically stabilized the
rear of the car tremendously. The strip of
metal was contoured to create a sweeping
effect, removing the cars inherit rear-end
lift almost immediately. Thus, the first rear
spoiler in NASCAR racing was born.
As qualifying for the Eighth Annual
Firecracker 400 at Daytona got started
it became quite clear that the Chrysler
contingent was loaded for bear. LeeRoy
Yarbrough took the pole at 176.666 mph in
his Nichels Engineering-built Jon Thorne
Dodge Charger. Of the top 10 qualifiers,
only one wasnt a Mopar, that being Curtis
Turner in a Smokey Yunick Chevy.
Meanwhile, following Daytona qualifying Don White, Jim Hurtubise, and Mario
Andretti flew to Indianapolis to participate
in the fourth USAC stock car contest of the
year. This time it was the 100-miler on the
dirt at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on the
evening of Saturday, July 2nd. Don White
put his Nichels Charger on the pole and
got off to super start. But without warning,
Don lost his brakes on lap 20. Most drivers
would have called it a night. Not Don White,
the diminutive speedster battled his mount
for the next 80 laps, holding off the field,
save for one, Norm Nelson. Whites sliding
his almost 4,000-pound stock car around
MOPAR ACTION 51
, Back To Racing
the historic Indy dirt track for over 80 laps
was a testament to his racing skill, strength
and stamina. In the end, Don held on for a
second-place finish and most importantly
kept pace with defending USAC stock car
champion, Norm Nelsons pursuit of the
1966 championship.
BACKDOOR HEMI
Returning immediately to Daytona, White

walked into a hornets nest of circumstance
with the Nichels team. On Friday, following
qualifying in fourth position, Sam McQuagg
blew an engine in practice, his second since
arriving at Daytona. Told there werent any
engines left to install in his Dodge Charger,
McQuagg subsequently learned that there
was an engine available in a Nichels car
hauler, but it reportedly was a backup for
Paul Goldsmith. McQuagg was the youngest
and least experienced driver in the Nichels
stable. Although Don White had also just
joined the Nichels Engineering team in 1966,
he had a lengthy history of racing stock
cars, winning national championships in
both IMCA and USAC. This left McQuagg
at the bottom of the pecking order behind
Goldsmith and White when it came to priorities. Although thrilled to have a factory ride
the quality of one with Nichels Engineering,
52 MOPAR ACTION
A body-in-white Dodge Charger being readied for its transformation at the Nichels GoFast Factory. The particular Charger would be driven in competition by Sam McQuagg.
no one, least of all a truly competitive race

car driver like Sam McQuagg, wanted to be
considered the number-three man on a list of
three. That being the case, McQuagg went
directly to Ronney Householder and asked
about the Goldsmith engine. Householder
quickly ordered Ray Nichels to fly in Minnie
Joyce from Indiana and install the subject
engine. Unbeknownst to McQuagg, the Hemi
that Minnie Joyce installed didnt belong to
Goldsmith; it was earmarked for Don White.
One of the advantages of having Don White
as part of the Nichels Engineering team was
he took a hands-on approach to all aspects
of his cars and engines. He worked closely
with Jim Delaney, the Nichels shop manager,
along with Cecil Van Horssen, Jerry Govert
and Minnie Joyce when it came to suspension and engine issues. This meant any
Nichels Engineering engine earmarked for
Don White was a robust powerplant, to say
the least.
DAYTONA FIRECRACKER 400
Saturday morning, resulting from his

seeking the support of Householder, Sam
McQuagg got one hell of a Hemi engine
installed by Minnie Joyce. Later that afternoon, McQuagg was lapping the vast
Daytona Speedway at an average of 178
mph. As the talk around the track about
McQuaggs speeds was beginning to surface, the 29-year-old driver still wasnt being
given much of a chance to win the upcoming
400-mile race. Many openly speculated that

the unrelenting Daytona heat would take its
toll on the young driver and he would fail to
finish. So taken for granted were McQuaggs
skills that, before the race, when the Pure Oil
Company Panel of Experts, a group made up
of 69 of the top racing writers and broadcasters, had cast their votes for their favorite to
win this years Firecracker 400. Not one listed
Sam McQuagg.
On race day, at the drop of the green
flag, Sam McQuagg in his No. 98 Nichels
Engineering Hemi Dodge Charger wrestled
the lead from LeeRoy Yarbrough on the
backstretch and ended up leading all but
34 laps on the way to his first NASCAR victory in 31 starts. In the process, McQuaggs
Nichels Engineering Dodge Charger set
a Firecracker 400 record of 153.813 mph,
breaking the two-year-old mark held by A.J.
Foyt in his Nichels Engineering Hemi-Dodge
Polara. McQuagg beat the Daytona field to
the checkered flag by over a minute. It was
the first NASCAR victory ever for the Dodge
Charger and the first NASCAR victory ever
by a stock car utilizing a rear spoiler. Stock
car racings aero wars had begun. Nichels
Engineering had dominated Daytona and
Minnie Joyce once again watched one of his
Hemi engines destroy the competition in a
major American stock car race.
Some Mopar pilots fared well that day
and some didnt. Jim Paschal finished third
in his Friedkin Plymouth, while Don White
in his Nichels Charger finished sixth and
Marvin Panch, driving a second Friedkin
entry, came in seventh. Goldsmith lost a
windshield, placing 27th and Richard Petty
ended up 29th the victim of a crash. The
Chrysler corporate marketing effort was at
Daytona in force that weekend. Both Goldsmiths and Pettys 1966 Plymouths were
labeled with the huge letters GTX emblazoned on the side of their cars, advertising
the new model name for the upcoming 1967
Plymouth sales season. Lastly, so successful
was the Nichels Engineering spoiler that just
over a week later, every Dodge dealership in
the country, now offered the bolt-on option.
As with all Chrysler high-performance parts,
the part number in the Mopar catalog started
with an N denoting that it was a product of
Nichels Engineering.
Following their spectacular win in front
of a record Firecracker 400 crowd of over
40,000 fans, the Nichels Engineering racing
operation seemingly caught fire.
Don White and his Nichels Engineering crew went to the Milwaukee Mile on
July 10th, where he took the pole with a
new track qualifying record and then won
the 200-mile race in dominating fashion.
MOPAR ACTION 53
FIGHT
Two CUDA-IZED late-model Challengers

battle it our for your attention and Gold Card.
STORY By Al Dente
he name Cuda has a very special place in the hearts of

Mofans, recalling as it does the heyday of classic Mopar
performance and the ultimate musclecar when infused with
Hemi thunder. Back a few years, when Chrysler was shuffling the deck of its new car lineup, Mofans waited to see if
the company would revive this fabled nameplate, probably in the SRT
portfolio as we all know that Plymouth aint coming back. Rumors
and sneak photos of a possible factory Cuda were circulated on the
Internet. But it wasnt to beat least not yet, and not from the factory.
The aftermarket saw an opportunity to come out with a Cuda of
sortsa late model Challenger with cool Cuda cues and performance options that would do more than justice to the hallowed Cuda
name. Mr. Norm came to the party first with a series of Cuda packages, and hes come out with a new one called the King Cuda. But
Norm isnt the only one. Another company, AFR, has just released
their own Cuda package. Both obviously are based on late model
Challengers and both are similar in several respects but also differ
in some important respects. Which is better? Both packages are
top drawer qualitywise, so the answer will depend on your own
personal preferences.
54 MOPAR ACTION
ABOVE: AFR debuts its first Cuda

offering. The companys background
is in manufacturing high quality Viper
parts, primarily for racing applications.
We like their 71 Cuda-style grille a lot.
BELOW: Mr. Norm has come out with
numerous Cuda packages based on
the late-model Challenger since 2008.
The GSS King Cuda conversion is his
latest and greatest.
MOPAR ACTION 55
, Fish Fight
ABOVE: AFR gives you stripes and

stick-on gill covers. Pretty clean profile.
Both AFR and Mr. Norm offer lowering
kits and suspension upgrades.
Norm offers original-style billboards as an option. Hurst wheels also are optional in the interest
of keeping the base package more affordable. Norms die-stamped fenders come with OE-style
gill inserts. The Challenger was provided for our photos by Fairfield Auto Group, Muncy, PA.
AFR CUDA
Paul Swanson is into Vipers, and thats

all he would have, that is, if he didnt also
have kids. Where to put a couple of kids
in a Viper? Bungee them to the rollbar?
Paul thought not. Gotta have a back seat,
so he bought a 2012 Challenger. Paul had
bought all kinds of Viper stuff from Steve
Dreyer at Autoform. Steve has built Viper
racecars from the ground up, starting
with the bare chassis. His company built
the Viper GT-R Club Racer, and also the
first removable double bubble hardtop
for the Viper roadster. Steve helped form
the Viper Racing League, and he road
raced the snakes as well as building the
spec racecars.
Looking to expand on his Viper business, Steve saw an opportunity of Cudaizing late model Challengers. He fabd his
own parts and put them on his website.
When Paul was mousing around the site for
Viper stuff, he picked up on the Challenger
conversion and liked what he sawa
supercharged, shaker hood modded Challenger with all the Cuda goodies. Steve put
the packagethe AFR Cudatogether
and trotted it out to the Mega Mopar Action
56 MOPAR ACTION
show in Martin MI where TheBruntBros

were roused from their nap, hiding underneath a Ram pickup, to photograph the
car. Its the first AFR Stage III Super Shaker
Cuda Tribute Edition built, so new that

Steve hadnt had time to install the custom
interior that Paul wanted when these photos
were taken.
The AFR full Monte Stage III kit includes
a fiberglass functional shaker hood, Magnuson supercharger (may not be 50-state
legal, no advertised HP numbers), grille,
tail panel, retro rear bumper, AFR stripe
package, fender gills, MP lowering springs,
Zoomer exhaust and AFR Track Attack
rear spoiler. Its priced at $18,500. A starter
(Stage I) kit for $3500 gets you the grille,
gills, taillight kit, retro rear bumper and
simulated shaker hood. A functional shaker
adds $600. Steve offers a variety of kits and
options, and he also sells his components
a la carte. You can see it all on his website
www.autoformgroup.com or call him at
(616) 392-4909.
MR. NORMS GSS KING CUDA

AFR (top) can give you a fully functional
fresh air shaker hood, or a simulated
one for less dough. Norm (above) offers
a very detailed simulated shaker hood
that fits all 2008-2014 Challengers.
In contrast to AFRs first Cuda package, Mr. Norm has been cranking out
late-model Challenger Cuda-themed
packages since 2008. Hes come up with
all the 71 Cuda cues that would work on
the Challenger, plus the optional tried and
RIGHT:
AFR uses a
Magnuson supercharger and functional
shaker hood.
FAR RIGHT:
Norm goes with the
2.8L Kenne Bell blower
that is carb-certifed
50-state legal and
simulated shaker.
true 50-state street-legal 2.8L Kenne Bell

supercharger for a little spine-compressing
oomph (650 HP at the flywheel, stock
engine). Mr. Norm cooked up all kinds of
fancy names for his various Cuda packages, the latest being King Cuda,(no
connection to a 60s drag car of the same
name). The name was picked around 2011,
just at the time when Chrysler encrypted
their engine management software which
stymied all the aftermarket supercharger
companies from adding their go-fast hardware to the Gen 3 Hemi. So Norm put
the name on ice. When the cyber wizards
cracked Chryslers codes last year, it was

happy days are here again. Blowers were
back. To quote Mr. Norm, a King Cuda
has got to be badass, not candyass (we,
on the other hand, would never use such
language).
The King total package will set you back
around $11,890 including the Kenne Bell
blower which costs about 7 grand. Course
you can scale back with lesser kits, but
then you wouldnt have a King. A starter
kit, sliding in at $4900 gives your Challenger essential Cuda cueshighlights of
which are new fenders die-stamped with
71-style Cuda gills, functional hood pins

and lanyards, grille, tail panel, Katzkin premium leather interior, carbon fiber handle
pistol grip shifter, serialized dash plaque
and Hotchkis lowering kit and swaybars.
You can scale up to more extensive packages (that include a simulated shaker
hood) or buy components a la carte. The
vaunted Mopar Action marketing dept.
suggested that Norm name these intermediate kits Queen Cuda Jack Cuda,
and maybe 10 of Spades Cuda, but
Norm politely declined (we cant understand why).
MOPAR ACTION 57
, Fish Fight
AFR gives you a Zoomer exhaust system and a unique Track Attack spoiler.
Both conversions give you a Cuda tail panel but with differing details.
Both AFR and Mr. Norm Cuda components install with no modifications required
to the stock Challenger. The kits can be
installed by any competent DIYer or a
local shop. AFR can handle the Magnuson
blower install at their Holland, Mich. location
or theyll refer you to one of their dealers.
The KB supercharger can be installed by
the customer or a local shop with KBs tried
and proven instructions. Mr. Norms contact
info is www.mrnorms.com. (813) 789-6179.
CONCLUSION
Comparing the two

offerings, our own personal preference goes for
the visual appearance of
AFRs larger 71-style saw
tooth grille over Norms.
Both simulated shakers
make the grade as far as
Norms snazzy Katzkin
leather interior feature
seats embroidered
with special logos. You
also get logod floor
mats and a serial-numbered dash plaque.
58 MOPAR ACTION
realism and are on a visual par with AFRs

functional fresh air unit. Norm didnt use a
functional shaker due to the placement of
the KBs large air intake tube which creates
a ram effect to the throttle body.
AFRs stripes are cool but visually no
match for Norms painted billboards if youre
not into a stealth look. Cuda tail panel treatments appear to be an even match. When
it comes to fender gills, an important 71
Cuda cue, Norms punched fenders and
original-style repop gills
win hands-down over
AFRs stick on gill covers.
The tail panels differ and
we like the Norm version
as it closer resembles
the original. But you may
prefer AFRs treatment
with their slightly more
aggressive Track Attack
spoiler. The Plymouth
badge on the tail panel
and decklid is not our
taste, but was requested
specifically by Paul
Swanson. It would not be
included as part of the
package.
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Pisstoned Off Dept.
Fatal flaw in the new Hemi? No. When used

in 100% stock configuration, itll last as long,
probably way longer, than Mopar engines of
the 60s. Having said that, the pistons, due to
emissions requirements, do have one design
parameter that was compromised to meet
emissions. Well address that.
Swapping pistons
on a 3G Hemi for
durability and power.
STORY & PHOTOS By Richard Ehrenberg, SAE
1. Fresh from the crate: A brandnew production-line 392 Hemi,

P/N 5038292GB which we bought
from monicattichrysler.com. This
baby comes with a dual-disc
clutch (unusable in most muscleera swaps), all manifolds, a TBW
throttle body, wiring, etc., but no
alternator, PS or A/C pump, idler/
tensioner, etc.
60 MOPAR ACTION
here are few components more important

to your engine buildup than those aluminum slugs we call pistons. They must take
the sky-high instantaneous pressure created by
the combustion event and convert said pressure into downward motion in the cylinder bore.
Then they must, just a few milliseconds later,
push the burnt gasses out the exhaust valve,
then suck in the fresh fuel air mixture, then
squeeze it tight against the cylinder head and
bore walls readying for the next big bang. They
must do this as quietly as possible, while sealing (with the aid of the rings, of course) tightly
against the walls, allowing almost zero escape
of the combustion products down into the
crankcase (blowby) or lubricating oil up into the
combustion chamber (oil burning, detonation).
As if this isnt enough to ask of a chunk of
light alloy weighing about a pound, each piston must do this thousands of times a minute,
typically traveling up and down in the bore a
distance coming close to the number of miles
youve traveled. (Yes, you drive one mile, each
of your pistons was just dragged, effectively,
through a bore nearly a mile in length.) It also
must reverse direction twice per crankshaft rota-
tion. It must continue to perform well for a minimum of 100,000 miles, or we rate it as junk.
Of course, down through the roughly 150
years since Nikolaus Otto laid down the basic
parameters for the four-stroke reciprocating piston engine, thousands of design improvements
have come forth, many pertaining to pistons.
Suffice to say, the old joke frequently heard at
the filling station half a century ago: Hey, boy!
Fill the oil, check the gas..., has become a fastfading memory. Piston manufacturing is now a
mature process, but theres still fairly frequent
incremental improvements.
Todays Detroit (or Stuttgart, Nagasaki, etc.)
engineer is faced with many decisions. Beyond
the requirements outlined above, hes got the
bean counters breathing down his neck (read:
make it cheap), and, for the last few decades,
also faced an even more daunting requirement: Exhaust emissions. Without getting
into the finer point of emission controls (were
talking encyclopedia now), well just say that
the pistons in your new Hemi had their design
influenced, to a fairly large extent, by pollution
control standards. There are two key areas (and
several more) where the slugs affect smog. First
is the chamber shape/flame travel. Everythings
gotta burn as completely as possible, lest a
tiny amount of unburned hydrocarbons make it
out the exhaust to be breathed in by you and I.
Following that same burn it all mantra, engineers discovered, a few decades ago, that both
valve clearance pockets (eyebrows), and the
area just above the top piston ring, are effective hiding places for molecules of pump 93.
This has forced engine designers to minimize
both areas, producing pistons with just barely
enough valve-to-piston clearance for the stock
camshaft, and an extremely thin area above the
top ring, which, in extended hi-po use, can be
prone to cracking. Both of these design limitations are well known in the 3G Hemi engine,
and have become more and more of a potential trouble spot with each sub-generations
, Slugfest
3. We were anxious to get the heads off to find out

what was up with that. Rockers come off first.
4. [Photo: The Demon] Then the head

screws, which must be removed in a
very specific sequence to thwart head
warping see the FSM. The large
screws are TTY, cannot be reused.
2. We decided to do a cold leakdown

test before tearing into it. Seven holes
were all in the 2 to 3% range, near-racequality, especially for cold. One, however,
registered close to 8%, though the intake.
5. This was the intake valve that leaked

like a sieve. But why?
upgrade: 5.7L, 6.1L, 5.7L VVT, 392/6.4L. (We

know little about the internals of the new 6.2L
Hellcat as of this writing).
Typically, California piston manufacturers
have solved our slug problems by supplying pistons make of forged, rather than cast,
aluminum. Back in the 50s and 60s, these
pistons were made from an alloy with so
much thermal expansion that they required
huge skirt-to-wall clearance numbers, resulting in lots of slop, noise (and wear) until they
came up to operating temperature. (Detroits
castings, by comparison, had invisible steel
slippers cast in, designed to force the slug to
expand at the same rate as the iron block, so
they could be fit to the bore extremely tightly
under 0.001 in many cases.)
In recent years, aftermarket (and some
62 MOPAR ACTION
6. We Prussian Blued the seat and valve,

and found nothing amiss, even though
a pre-disassembly liquid test had conformed the leak. Conclusion: Must have
been a spec of tortilla chip on the seat.
Not really a sign of good Q.C., but nothing major, either.
OEM) piston suppliers have begun to use

hypereutectic aluminum alloys. These highsilicon-content pistons have much lower rates
of expansion, allowing them to be fitted, even
in the forged (no slipper) variant, can be fitted to the bore at relatively tight dimensions,
making this type of piston the preferred
choice for high performance real street (daily
driver included) applications.
Recently we bought a new in-the-crate
complete 392 (6.4L) Hemi for an upcoming
project. Never content to leave well enough
alone, we decided to yank the heads and
remove at least one slug. What we found
was a bit scary: Cast pistons with a very
highly placed top ring land. While we have
no doubt whatsoever that the OEM pistons
meet, if not surpass, all Chryslers demand-
7. We decided to swap slugs one hole

at a time to avoid any mixups. We
also marked the piston caps (see line,
circled) even though it is pretty hard to
assemble the cracked caps incorrectly.
Note that rod screws are also TTY (not
re-useable), and have no nuts.
So that brings us
to the purpose of the
fine piece of prose youre
perusing at the moment.
Yup, were gonna rip
apart the brandy-new
392 crate engine for a
piston swap.
8. To avoid scratching or gouging the

crank journals, they must be protected
during both dis- and re-assembly. We did
this by cutting the heads off a pair of rod
screws, grinding the unthreaded end to a
bull nose, and....
9. ...hand-threaded them into the rods,

slipping plastic tubing over them.
10. Thus protected, we removed the

first slug with no drama.
11. The stock cast pistons

were obviously high quality castings, no surprise
since they are also supplied by Mahle. The crosshatch pattern was flawless
looking. Note the cooling
oil jets at the bottom of the
bore, a durability feature
of all 6.1 and 6.4L engines,
harking back to 2.4L Neon
turbo mills.
13
14
12. A white rag test, unfortunately,

came up quite dirty. Had this been a
transfer of the moly coating on the skirts?
Doubtful, but plausible. Truthfully, well
never know, but we cleaned to bores with
lacquer thinner until the rag came up
snow white.
13. After noting where the factory had placed the ring gaps (exactly where the FSM
specifies, happily), we peeled off the rings (no tools needed) and slipped the compression rings, one at a time, down in the bore, using the stock piston as a squaring
tool. 14. We then checked the ring gap, which was 0.012 (top ring), against a blueprint spec of 0.0118 - 0.0157. On the money!
ing and rigorous durability tests, we wondered what would happen should we decide,
at some later date, to ramp up the power
level, either though head and valvetrain
mods, nitrous, or forced induction.
After a bit of investigating, we learned
that the OEM supplier of the pistons to Ma
Mopar, Clevite/Mahle, has introduced a line
of drop-in hypereutectic forgings for all 3G
Hemis Yeah, you can lead a horse to water,
but can you make him drink? Maybe not,
but we sucked up the new slugs like a baby

at the teat.
So that brings us to the purpose of the
fine piece of prose youre perusing at the
moment. Yup, were gonna rip apart the
brandy-new 392 crate engine for a piston
swap. And were gonna, of course, show you
how, and what pitfalls to avoid. Well also
pass along a slew of tips and tricks that are
useful in any slug-fitting.
One important detail, of course, bears
hammering home: If your engine has more

than, say, a thousand or two miles, the cylinder walls crosshatch pattern is likely no
longer able to correctly break in new rings. If
your new slugs have the same ring configuration as the originals, you can probably get
by with a swap of the old rings to the new
pistons. If not, or if the mileage is up into 5
figures, youll want to, at a very minimum,
dingle-ball hone it. Ideally, youd have it correctly honed at a machine shop (Sunnen
CK10, etc.), and the bore measured for size,
taper, and out-of-round. If it needs more than
that, your only real choice is an overbore to
the next standard size.
OK, girls and boys, let the wrench-twisting
begin!
MOPAR ACTION 63
, Slugfest
15. An awl, with the point rounded

off, made it easy to pop out the pinretaining circlips.
16. Next, a large brass drift (blunt-end punch)

was used to tap the pins out.
18. The new Mahle forgings are seemingly configured

similarly to the OEM castings, until...
19. ...you put them

directly side by side.
Check the almostdouble distance from
the top to the first ring
groove. Frankly, this
is even more important that the fact that
they are forged. This
keeps the top rings
much cooler and
makes the top ring
land much stronger.
20. The oil rings are super thin and

small, as are the expanders. This
stuff is super low tension. It takes
great care to be sure that the
expanders butt properly and the
oil rails are positioned correctly.
22. While the Mahles are sold

as direct drop-in replacements, we, nonetheless, made
some careful checks. First was
weight, and this was a hiccup: The new forged Mahles
were, with pins, rings, and
clips, 15-20 grams lighter
than stock setup shown
here. This would have been
great were we building the
engine. Less reciprocating
mass is excellent. But we
didnt want to re-balance. We
then learned that Mahle offers
some slightly 6.4L heavier pins (P/N 09855196) so that
the combo comes in at stock weight. We ordered a set.
64 MOPAR ACTION
21. The old man

used a jewelers
loupe for confirmation of this.
23. First, we
measured the
new slugs skirt
diameter, which
we transferred to
a snap gauge...
17. The OEM forged/powdered/cracked

conrods small-end bushings are
beautiful, seamless, with oil grooves.
26. We also compared the overall

piston/righ drag,
OEM vs. Mahle
forged. As expected,
we found a tad
less drag from the
slightly greater
clearance of the
forging (cold).
24. ...which we then checked in the bore.
All good, but still, since our measurement
equipment isnt exactly state-of-the-art, we
double-checked using...
25. A feeler gauge. The result was

just a skosh looser: 0.0025, perfect
for a hypereutectic forging.
27. We made
a small plastic
tool to install
the wrist pin
circlips. They
come out easier
than they go in.
28. While weve had nothing

but total success over the
years with a wrinkle-band ring
compressor, the super-narrow
ring pack on the new Hemis
made us rethink our old way.
In the end, we shelled out
for a bore-diameter-specific
tapered compressor, which
made installation childs playthey virtually drop in with this
setup. Nice toy.
FOR GOOD MEASURE
ur Mahle slugs were designed to be 100% OEMreplacement drop-in components. This freed us
of the need, at least on paper, to measure a lot of the
parameters, clearances, and dimensions youd normally be well advised to pay heed to. Heres a checklist
(by no means is this complete):
Piston to wall clearance. We did, of course, check
this. Most aftermarket pistons are designed for a
specific, precise bore size, and the correct clearance is built into that spec by the manufacturer. EG:
Your pistons are cast, and the box indicates 4.000
bore. If you measure the skirts at the largest OD
area (careful, here, most pistons are barrel shaped),
you might find 3.985 or so. Still, if the engine being
assembled is destined for some extra heat and
pressure (nitrous, blower, etc.) you might want to
loosen this up a thou or more.
Piston to head clearance. If the pistons dome or
head is above the top of the block deck, you have
to watch this carefully. Maybe the gasket will add
clearance, maybe the heads chamber will. If clearance here is too tight, and piston contacts the head,
youll have instant junk.
Rig gap. We, of course, measured this. You should,
too. Always.
Ring side clearance: How tight (or loose) is the ring
in the groove? Check it.
Skirt bottom clearance (to counterweights). This
is only a factor, usually, on stroker engines, and a
visual inspection is typically ample.
Compression
ratio. This is a multi-step measurement
process, but one you shouldnt neglect. Nothings

worse than building your street engine, then finding
out you can only fill up with Av-gas at $8/gallon.
A= Diameter. A+ Clearance=Bore
Factory dimension spec drawing for a stock 318 piston.
Note that stock pistons came in five incremental sizes in
0.0005 increments which allowed kind of a reverse
fitment arrangement. You wont find that arrangement in
any aftermarket piston, even stock replacements.
Piston to valve clearance. This should be checked

anytime the slugs or the cam is swapped. Typical
procedures involve modelingy clay or very weak
checking valve springs.
Pin fit: With pressed pins, the pin is pressed into the
rods big end, and floats in the rod. Floating pins are
a light thumb press in both the pistons bore as
well as the rods bushing. All these dimensions and
the clearance (or interference) should be measured
and conformed.
Weight. Affects balance. if youre doing a stock
rebuild (i.e., no rebalance), the piston/pin/ring set
should be within a few grams of OEM
29. Installed in the bore, you can see the valve

clearance difference instantly. We used new
OEM Mopar (SPS) rod screws, P/N 6509243AA,
torqued to 30 ft-lbs. plus 1/4 turn. This was
after finding two different specs in the FSM and
consulting with Chrysler engineers, who told
us both numbers in the book were wrong!
30. A final step, we wanted to confirm the

rod side clearance, even tough we made no
changes to the rods or crank. We measured
0.004, right at the low end of specs. We then
bolted the rest of the motor together, secure
in the knowledge that our slugs were ready
for anything we can throw at em.
MOPAR ACTION 65
Restorations Dept.
gRand
heft
auto
Some like em big, so a Ruby red

66 Chrysler 300 convertible fills
the bill rather nicely.
STORY By Al Dente
66 MOPAR ACTION
aybe it was the New Jersey

air. Or the water. Whatever
it was, the Montclair, NJ
Police Dept seemed to be
wrecking a lot of its cop
cars back in the mid 60s. Montclair was a
suburban metropolitan community without
any highways at the time, so the cop cars,
Chevys, Fords and Mopars, were ordered
with the smallest engines available.
Pete Harringtons dad, a Montclair cop,
would bring cars home during his lunch
break and let his teenage son take em for
a short spin. Pete remembers liking the
Mopes best, and his father noted that they
held up better in service than the Chevys

and Fords. Young Pete was developing Mopar
leanings through all this, but one incident
proved a clincher.
With Montclair cops crashing cars faster
than the department could replace them with
new onesa 6-8 week wait, the department
bought a couple of cop cars from the New
Jersey Sate Police. Course these cars had
been ordered with big V8s and special police
performance options that were available.
So it was in 1970, that Petes dad came
home for lunch with a 70 Plymouth Fury fresh
from the Jersey state cop stable. He tossed
young Pete the keys to try it out, with the
admonition to take it easy and not go too

far. Course its not hard to guess what
happens when a teen, used to driving
econo Sixes, sticks his foot into a hot
Police Package 440.
Pete swung onto the entrance ramp of
Route 3 headed east towards New York
and Clifton, NJ. Traffic was light and the
Plymouth was willing. There were cops in
the highways center grass median. First
there was the cop with the radar gun.
Pete blew by him at around 100. A quarter-mile down the road was the catch
car cop who was radioed by the radar
guy about the speeders. He would step
out and wave the cars over or give
chase if they didnt stop. Pete
saw the wave. He waved
back and stuck his foot into
the water pump. The cop
never bothered to give chase, and Pete

became diehard Mopar then and there.
The big Fury made a lasting impression,
and Pete developed into a C-body man.
A few townships away, Doug Dressler
was bummed out. His father had
wrecked Dougs 60 Chevy, and you
couldnt get a date in New Jersey with no
car. Seems snobbish local girls declined
to walk to drive-ins. To make amends,
Dougs dad offered to replace the battered bow-tie with Dougs car of choice.
OK, make that a Chrysler 300red with
a white interior, Dougs dad uttered a
phrase that would become a famous
slogan: You want fries with that?
A shopping spree to all the Chrysler
stores in the north Jersey area turned up
nada. No red 300 ragtops in stock anywhere. Chrysler was on strike at the time
1966 was the first year of no 300 letter

car although the halo effect of the letter
cars was carried over. The big Ruby red
with white interior C-body attracts
gawkers wherever it goes.
MOPAR ACTION 67
, Grand Heft Auto
You couldnt ask for a better (or is that

bigger?) classic cruiser.
Restored Chrysler has had one repaint in 94.
1966 was the first year for the 440 which replaced the 413. This was the hot 365 HP
version. Pete has a 67 pie tin air cleaner decal as his 66 is being freshened.
68 MOPAR ACTION
so no one knew when new cars would be

delivered. The Dresslers did manage to find
one ragtop 300yellow with black interior.
So Pete settled, and still has the car to this
day (or at least until last Tuesday when we
last checkedstay tuned for updates).
Years later, when Doug was driving
up Route 17 in Tuxedo Park, NY (a noted
speed trap), something caught his eye.
There sitting on four flat tires at the back
corner of the Hilltop Gulf station was a
red 66 Chysler 300 with a white interior.
Doug hit the brakes, yanked the wheel and
broadslid into the station. When the station
manager emerged from under a car where
he had ducked for cover, Doug asked
him if the car was for sale. Considering
300 emblems
are everywhere
including the
hood and spinners on the
wheelcoversa
nod to the blades
attached to
Roman chariot
wheels to cut
down the
competition.
that Doug was the fourth such person to

broadslide into the station to ask about
the Chrysler, the owner figured maybe
he ought to sell it while all his body parts
were still in working order.
Doug hauled the car home to join the
three other 300s in his collection, and he
eventually restored the Ruby red 300 (we
wont bore you with the detailswe leave
that to the other Mopar magazines. Its just
like restoring an E-body, only with bigger
parts.). Suffice it to say the body was in
good shape except for typical minor rust
in the quarters, and the rest of the car was
all there. As luck would have it (lucky or
we wouldnt have a story,) Doug and Pete
ran in the same Mopar circles and became
buds. Doug asked Pete to give him a hand
with some mechanical work on the red
300 and Pete kept the car for a while. During that time, Petes wife drove the car and
fell in love it with it. A big red car with white
interior and the top goes downwhats
not to love?
Dougs research showed him to be
the cars third owner. The original owner
lived in Tuxedo Park, but Doug believes
he died. The second owner was a young
mechanicjust a kid getting started in the
Console-mounted
Performance Indicator (essentially a
vacuum gauge)
indicated whether
you were getting bad,
terrible or simply
awful gas mileage.
business. Apparently,
under the original
owner, the car had a
bad engine and they
had to change blocks
and Doug believes
that was covered
under warranty. The
mechanic also told
Doug that the timing chain went after that
and the original owner got so disgusted
that he told the mechanic Ill just sell you
this car to you and buy another one. The
mechanic probably had intentions of restoring the Chrysler but never got around to it.
So there it sat on four flat tires.
Doug had a few projects going at the
same time and he mentioned to Pete about
selling the Ruby 300. Pete passed that tid-
bit along to his wife who looked him dead

in the eye and cooed, youd better buy me
that *#%&**# car. Pete, always a sucker
for his wifes endearing whisperings immediately cut a deal with Doug.
Pete freshened up the resto, repainted
the car the original color in 1994 and he
drives the wheels off it. Hes just careful
not to bring home anymore cars for his
wife to try.
MOPAR ACTION 69
Cool Seats For Hot Mopars
SEAT
TIME
New millennium seats
for 60s Mopars.
STORY By Richard Ehrenberg, SAE
Photos by Matt Kierstead unless otherwise credited
Richard Ehrenberg Photo
Legendarys seats will

make you feel like a king,
or at least a knave.
70 MOPAR ACTION
1. Disassembly is the first

order of business. Step one
is the pivot bolts, effectively
splitting the seats into the two
major subsections: The cushion and the backrest. Then
everything that bolts on the
tracks, the side shields, and
the rear panel come off.
2. Next, pry off, or snip, all the
hog rings
around the perimeter of the
fabric cover.
3. Pull up the outer flaps and
youll expose the hog rings
holding the listing wires down
these are what give the
seats their shape. Snip or pry
off all those rings.
Our original 69 Plymouth B-body seats

(left) had been reupholstered by Legendary circa 1980s (in the parking lot of
a motel in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the
Nats), and have held up well. They were
as good as any of their contemporaries.
But one look at a more modern seat
this (r.), a junkyard specimen from an 00
Jeep Cherokee reveals large design
and construction upgrades.
King Richard the Heeb
f you just drive your Mopar off the trailer and onto the show
field, or a few miles to the local cruise night, you might never
notice. Notice what? The seats, when compared to virtually
any production car made in the last twenty or so years, simply
suck. Of course, they look nice, and why not? They were designed in
keeping with the rest of the interior trim. They, basically, grew there.
Factory bench seats are, well, benches. Not much more to say.
But back in the day, even the buckets were only fair. Some were
worse than others, the 66-67 variety were really little more than
individual benches, and the Dodge-division late-60s versions, in particular, were almost convex! The 62-65 seats, which were based on
the high-zoot 60 Chrysler 300F, werent half bad, and the high-back
70-up seats were improved to some extent.
, Seat Time
Tooling Around
5. ...the bare steel frame.

Nothing else will be re-used.
If it is rusty, you should
clean it up (sandblast) and
paint. Ours wasnt heavily
corroded, but did seem to
be somewhat warped.
4. Remove all burlap and whatever other fabric

you find. The object is to get down to....
The only special tool you need for a reupholstery job is a hog ring pliers (far right). Youll
also need a stash of the hog rings, which
are best described as HD manually-installed
crimp-staples (once crimped closed they form
a ring, hence their name). Legendary offers
both as an adjunct to any order.
7. The original latex

foam rubber (right) had
decomposed. Weve
seen worse sometimes
it crumbles to dust. The
new Legendary product
is polyurethane, which is
far more durable.
6. It took some stomping, and a wood

block, to get the twist out. Thus straightened, all four mounting points sat flat.
Still, get out of your classic Mopar, and

into, say, an 84 Daytona or Laser, and vive
la diffrence. The MA winter beater, a wellused 00 Cherokee (not Grand), has what
are virtually Recaros by comparison to the
60s/70s stuff.
OK, enough bitching. You know, unless
this is your first time to the rodeo, that we
have a fix up our sleeves. Thats the good
news. The bad news? The upgrade only
applies to 68s and 69s. It comes from, as
do most good things related to the interior
of your Mopar, from the fertile mind of Marty
Beckenbach, CEO and cloth-and-vinyl
genius behind Legendary Auto Interiors
(legendaryautointeriors.com), located on
the banks (literally) of the historic Erie Canal
of New York state. Marty has built a cottage
industry, which started in a small converted
fire station, into a multimillion dollar business with almost 100,000 square feet of
factory floor space and an employee count
approaching triple digits. While Marty has
innovated many procedures which allow
him to make exact re-pops of your original
interior soft trim, hes also cognizant of
72 MOPAR ACTION
8. Legendarys high-bolster
bottom cushion foam bun
(right) is designed to be
an exact drop-on replacement for the OEM low-boy.
It utilizes the stock springs
and frame (but redesigned,
unique upholstery).
9. This shot really illustrates the

bolster difference.
the shortcomings weve discussed. Better

still, hes stepped up to the plate and done
something about it. Home run!
The innovative seating upgrade Marty
devised takes a standard 68-69 bucket
seat frame, but totally re-engineers everything above the steel stampings and wire.
Primarily, this involves new foam cushions
(buns) with some real side bolstering, and
vinyl covers to match. This may sound like a
fairly easy redesign. Without belaboring the
point, lets just say it isnt, involving untold
hours of engineering, experimentation, and
prototyping, and a huge financial investment
in tooling and manufacturing processes.
The benefits, however, are instantly visible,
and feelable, the moment your buns touch
10. First to go on the

frame is a layer of
ordinary burlap. No
technology improvements in this material
in a hundred years!
12. New HD fabriccovered wires are

installed to hold the
buns wire recesses
into place.
11. Next up: an outer

perimeter of felt,
assuring that the
springs cant tear
the new vinyl. Kinda
like a rub strip.
13. Then the new

Sport buns slip
right on. Use a
blunt instrument
to press the listing
wire channels down
into position.
15. Add a scrap of

fabric at the front of
the bun (spray glue)
to wrap around the
lower front of the
springs more
anti-wear protection.
14. With the buns installed, you should be able to see the
receiver wires thought the slots in the buns. If the slots are
not quite through the buns, slice em open.
16. Hog the

lower edge
of this fabric
securely into
place.
the new vinyl. And yet, to an untrained localshow spectators eye, these seats are 100%
correct, visually and stylistically, for your 6869 A or B-body. In essence, they look like
they grew there. And thats the whole idea.
Yours truly has now logged almost 2,500
miles in Legendarys humbly-named Sport
Seats, and Im here to tell you they live up
to their billing. On a ten scale, theyre an
easy 11.
OK, back to the rodeo deal: Unless
youre about to be thrown by the bucking
bronco, you know the drill: Were gonna
spill all of Martys installation secrets in the
accompanying pictures and captions. The
installation is something anybody with a
17. The backrests

foam requires
some sub-pads
to be spray glued
into place....
basic hands-on skill set, and some patience,

can do in his or her garage. All you need
is a large flat work space that wont snag,
dirty, or cut the components think, a large
chunk of clean carpet laid out on your
garage floor. Or even in your living room.
Except for the vinyl-clad cardboard cover
on the backrest, the installation of the cushion and backrest covers are nearly identical.
Whatever procedure works on one, works
on both, so we show them interchangeably
for the most part.
Martys manufacturing secrets are absolutely mind-blowing, and you can get the
scoop on this deal on our website (www.
moparaction.com).
OK, enough
bitching. You know,
unless this is your
first time to the
rodeo, that we have a
fix up our sleeves.
MOPAR ACTION 73
, Seat Time
19. Heres the new

backrest listing-support
wires hogd onto the
outer edges of the
springs, this is a Legendary-designed add-on
necessary to create the
backrest bolster setup.
18. ...as well as a bit of trim-to-fit. Legendary uses an electric

knife for this, a bread knife also works fine. (Inset) Glue some
fabric scraps over the seams for extra reinforcement.
20. Legendary
supplies die-cut
upper backrest
rear trim support cards they
snap right in like
OEM.
22. Flipping the

edges and corners
into place does
require some muscle. Dont sweat
it, the covers are
plenty strong.
23. As you pull

all sides tight
and add the
rings, most
wrinkles will
disappear.
21. The foam buns fit right over the frames with no drama,
but there is a trick to installing the covers: Basically, turn
the edges inside-out. This allows better fitment and easy
access to the listings (inset).
74 MOPAR ACTION
24. E-Booger,
clearly
impressed,
takes a time-out
to pose with
a completed
cushion.
All you need is

a large flat work
space that wont
snag, dirty, or cut
the components.
25. The backrest nears completion. The few

remaining wrinkles come right out with a bit
of heat (hair dryer, sunny afternoon, etc.)
26. Legendary also supplies new

precision-cut fiberboard and vinyl for
the rear backrest covers. They are also
tooling up for new steel parts (the lower
L-channel and the oddball clips). All
thats needed now is to bolt the hinge
pivots in and the tracks (sliders) on.
27. A red setup finished and ready

to install, looks like it should have
looked in 1969. Comfort? Oh, yeah!
MOPAR ACTION 75
Dont Tread On Me Dept.
DONT PLAY
ROULETTE
WITH THE TIRE

DRY ROT DEVIL.
By Scott Longman
Scotty Lachenauer
AHHH! What could be nicer than a beautiful day, the open road and a classic Mope
convertible. The last thing you want to worry about are your tires.
ou restored your classic Mope

in 2002, and you put maybe
1,000 miles a year on it. With
only 12,000 miles on the tires,
the tread depth shows almost no
wear, and youve kept the them
sheened in tire dressing. In fact, they
look essentially brand new, and you
wouldnt give a second thought to
hitting 80 mph on the highway. But
just then is when the dry rot devil will
spring out and put you into a doublegainer-with-pirouette hard enough that
the coroner has to sort out your parts
using dental records.
Dry rot is real, and a surprising
number of people dont know a thing
about it. What happens is that ozone,
ultraviolet light, temperature, and heat
cycles cause an inescapable degradation in strength that can produce
full-on catastrophic blowouts or tread
FAR RIGHT:
Not a pretty
sight, but it gets
downright ugly
when you bend
sheetmetal, too.
RIGHT:
Dont forget the rubber
on your car trailer.
This can happen with
a new-looking tire that
has not been overloaded or exceeded
service limits.
76 MOPAR ACTION
TheBruntBros Photo
Visually, your
rubber may look
like a million
bucks. But hidden
dry rot can put the
greasy side up.
HOW OLD ARE YOUR TIRES

Courtesy of tirerack.com
TheBruntBros Photo
W
Nothing beats NOS rubber on a pristine
restorationfor looks and judging. But
theyre way over the hill for driving
thats what repops are for.
separations. The tire pictured recently

blew up on someone we know. The tire
was 12 years old, and had less than
4,000 miles on it. Lucky for our bud, he
had just slowed down from a highway
blast when it blew on an exit ramp.
NHTSA and others have tested what
happens when the dry rot devil gets his
due at highway speed. Even professional test drivers, knowing that they
were about to have a failure, often end
up losing control of the vehicle. And in
the real world, that often translates to
making all your various life memberships look like bad investments: One
attorney in Corpus Christi, Texas, has
an entire warehouse full of shattered
wrecks, every one of which killed occupants. (You can search it on youtube
under 20/20 tire age.)
The bottom line: this issue matters.
The second potential tire issue affecting us is flatspotting. If a radial tire
sits, loaded, for many months, it will
become D shaped, even if not very
old. Sometimes this will work itself out
in a few miles, but sometimes not. This
will become obvious from vibration,
which can be extreme. If driven at high
speeds, the tire can (and often will) blow
out in the same manner as the ones in
the photo. This happened recently to our
tech editor, driving the MA parts-chaser
B-van at high speed. He used the old
no brakes, hold the wheel straight
method to coast to a safe stop.
So, how long is a tire good for? Ma
Mopar herself, along with a passel of
other carmakers, tire industry groups
and NHTSA all come down the same:
six years. One European industry outfit
and some others say ten years. There
are, of course, enormous variables in
storage (dark and cool is better), use,
and abuse that interact with the dry rot
devil. But our take on it: if you do any
high-performance driving, replace all the
shoesincluding the spareat 6 years
even if they look like an Armor All ad.
For more on tire aging, check out our
website: www.moparaction.com
hen it comes to determining the age of

a tire, it is easy to identify when a tire
was manufactured by reading its Tire
Identification Number (often referred to as the
tires serial number). Unlike vehicle identification
numbers (VINs) and the serial numbers used on
many other consumer goods (which identify one
specific item), Tire Identification Numbers are
really batch codes that identify the week and year
the tire was produced.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires that Tire Identification
Numbers be a combination of the letters DOT,
followed by ten, eleven or twelve letters and/
or numbers that identify the manufacturing
location, tire size and manufacturers code,
along with the week and year the tire was
manufactured.
TIRES MANUFACTURED SINCE 2000

Since 2000, the week and year the tire was
produced has been provided by the last four digits
of the Tire Identification Number with the 2 digits
being used to identify the week immediately
preceding the 2 digits used to identify the year.
figure 1.
TIRES MANUFACTURED BEFORE 2000

The Tire Identification Number for tires produced
prior to 2000 was based on the assumption that
tires would not be in service for ten years. While
they were required to provide the same information as todays tires, the week and year the tire
was produced was contained in the last three
digits. The 2 digits used to identify the week a tire
was manufactured immediately preceded a single
digit used to identify the year.
Example of a tire manufactured before
2000 with the earlier Tire Identification
Number format:
Example of a tire manufactured since 2000 with

the current Tire Identification Number format:
In the example above:
DOT EJ8J DFM 408
In the example above:

DOT U2LL LMLR 5107
51
Manufactured during the

51st week of the year
07
Manufactured during 2007
While the entire Tire Identification Number

is required to be branded onto one sidewall of
every tire, current regulations also require that
DOT and the first digits of the Tire Identification
Number must also be branded onto the opposite
sidewall. Therefore, it is possible to see a Tire
Identification Number that appears incomplete
and requires looking at the tires other sidewall
to find the entire Tire Identification Number.
The use of a partial Tire Identification Number
on the one sidewall (shown in figure 1.) reduces
the risk of injury to the mold technician that would
have to install the weekly date code on the top
sidewall portion of a hot tire mold.
40

40th week of the year

8th year of the decade
While the previous Tire Identification Number

format identified that a tire was built in the 8th
year of a decade, there was no universal identifier
that confirmed which decade (tires produced in
the 1990s may have a small triangle following the
Tire Identification Number to identify the decade).
And finally, hold on to your sales receipt. Most
tire manufacturers warranties cover their tires for
four years from the date of purchase or five years
from the week the tires were manufactured. So if
you purchase new tires that were manufactured
exactly two years ago they will be covered for
a total of six years (four years from the date of
purchase) as long as you have your receipt. If
you lose your receipt, your tires warranty coverage will end five years from the week the tire was
produced (resulting in the tire manufacturers
warranty coverage ending only three years from
the date of purchase in this example).
MOPAR ACTION 77
Hemis Rule! Dept.
Journey Through
HEMILAND
THE HEMI, PLYMOUTH AND THE NHRA IN 2014
By Pete Haldiman P.E.

Photos by Blair Alderton, Blair Alderton Photography
he Chrysler Corporation utilized

Hemi engines in Dodge trucks and
in Chrysler, De Soto and Dodge
cars in the 1951-1959 time period. For
the most part, each Division used engines
of their own design with almost no interchangeability. The Generation I Hemis
were eventually phased out to be replaced
by wedge-head designs. These heads were
a little simpler thus somewhat less costly.
However, an even bigger cost-saver was
the fact that Chrysler chose to develop a
set of basic corporate-wide engines. The
engines that replaced Gen I Hemis would
be used by all the different Divisions and
the economy of scale would result in even
more savings.
THE BEGINNING
For 1963, both the NHRA and NASCAR

limited engine size to 427 ci for Stock
cars. In that year the Chrysler RB engine
reached 426 ci and it became obvious that
any new horsepower gains would have to
be found somewhere besides more cubic
inches. At the behest of Chrysler President
Lynn Townsend, Chrysler Engineering
began a new project, numbered A864,
to investigate a new hemispherical head
which could be used in all forms of racing.
By the end of 1963 the engineers had
developed new Hemi heads and a
pair of intake manifolds. A Track
version used a single four-barrel
carb as required by NASCAR. A
Drag version continued the Max
From a 6-cylinder/stick car to a street/
strip machine to the first NHRA-approved
single 4-Bbl Hemi. Steve Hagbergs 64
Plymouth has run a 10.07. He needs to
have the car re-certified by NHRA and go
through all the red tape in order to run in
the 9swhich the car will do.
78 MOPAR ACTION
Wedge legacy with two four-barrel carbs

on a crossram manifold. The Gen II, 426
Hemi was introduced to the public at the
Daytona 500 of February, 1964. Richard
Petty won the race and proved that the
new Hemi heads were an improvement
over the 1963 wedge designs. With the
Track version experiment a success,
Chrysler then decided to halt production
of its Max Wedge engines and start building enough Drag versions of the Hemi
to satisfy the NHRAs requirements. For
1964 then, Dodge and Plymouth made the
new engines available as both a regular
engine option (70 all steel cars built) or as
a whole package car for serious drag
racers (110 aluminum-nosed cars built).
What is notable here is that Plymouth,
considered to be Chryslers low-price
Division, never got a Gen I Hemi. Because
Chrysler chose to add the 426 Hemi to its
line of corporate-wide engines in 1964, the
Plymouth guys were able to make use of

it. Bottom line, 1964 was the first year for a
Hemi-powered Plymouth.
RACE HEMI DEBUTS
Drag versions of the 426 Hemi

equipped Plymouths didnt start rolling out
the factory doors until very late in the 1964
model year, about May/June. Total Dodge
and Plymouth production was around 180
cars. The Hemi was only offered by these
two Divisions and then only in the intermediate-sized B-bodies. The drag race package cars were simply one-step up the evolutionary ladder from the 1964 Max Wedge
cars they replaced. The aluminum front
ends of the Max Wedges were enhanced
with the addition of aluminum doors. The
lakes-pipes setup (removable caps to open
the exhaust system) was retained as was
the trunk mounted battery. New weight
reduction features were made to the cars
interiors and five pieces of thin Corning

glass or plastic replaced the standard
laminated stuff. As was done on the Max
Wedge cars, the rear axle was relocated 1
forward on special spring packs resulting in
a new wheelbase of just 115 for the Plymouths and 118 for the Dodges.
NHRA SETS THE RULES

In 1964 the countrys major drag racing sanctioning body was the NHRA.They
set up 25 classes for Stock cars based
on shipping weight and advertised horsepower (NHRA adjusted). They defined
Stock as being 50 produced. The fastest
class was called Super Stock or S/S for a
manual transmission car or S/SA with an
automatic. Just below those were classes
A, B, C etc. To fit the S/S class a car had
to weigh between 0 and 8.69 lbs. per
horsepower. Dodge and Plymouth each
produced the necessary 50 carefully engineered aluminum-nosed vehicles and sent
a list of Hemi car owners to the NHRA in
June, 1964.The 1964 Hemi cars became
legal Super Stocks later that month and
were immediately the quickest factory cars
on the planet.
For the new year beginning Jan. 1,
1965 the NHRAs 1965 Drag Rules left
the maximum engine size for stock cars
at 427.2 cu in. However a new sentence
was added which said, No car will be
accepted for Super Stock class competition with a weight-to-cubic-inch factor
lower than 8 .. Page 4. This meant that
for 1965 there would be a new minimum
weight of 3418 lbs for a 427.2 engine.
Since many regular production cars could
weigh this little, the net effect was that
aluminum or fiberglass body parts, or
other extreme lightning measures, were
not needed. Six months after they were
built, the aluminum-nosed Hemi cars were
legislated out of the stock classes as too
light. (An example of the weight of the
aluminum cars is Dick Landys 1964 Hemi
Dodge. Dick removed the front torsion
bar suspension and installed a straight
front axle from an A100 van. He then competed in the A/Factory Experimental class
weighing around 2780 lbs.) In the winter
of 1964-1965 the owners of the 110 aluminum Dodge and Plymouth Hemi cars had
a decision to make. What to do with their
no longer-legal machines? Of course drag
racing was still an option in formats such
as match racing. The Hemi engine could
be relocated to a legal 1965 body. The 64
car could be cut up to resemble one of the
new 1965 altered wheelbase machines,
etc. Chrysler would eventually build
MOPAR ACTION 79
, Journey Through Hemiland
around 10,000 Hemicars over the eight

years 1964-1971 but 1964, with only about
180 built, was by far the lowest production
number. Factoring in the legality issues of
1964 -65, when many of the cars were cut
up or junked, and 50 years of attrition, the
best guess of the number of 1964 Hemi
cars existing in 2014 would probably be
fewer than thirty.
TODAYS NHRA RULES
In 2014 then, as we celebrate the 50th

anniversary of the 426 Hemi, we know that
real, they rolled out the factory doors
cars are rarer and more valuable than
hens teeth. Could one assume that the
64 Hemicars are therefore simply irrelevant museum pieces ? In a word, no.
Some more background. First, the NHRA
conducts their events on private property
where VIN tags are not required. VINs are
not necessary on any of the professional
class machines, for any of the home-built
stuff or for your 64 Plymouth. The NHRA
does not care if your ride originally came
Rear suspension is Caltracs. Up front are

6-cylinder T-bars with Santhuff shocks.
Body is all original. Steve Runs A/SA
with the single 4-Bbl on an 11.0 index.
with a slant-6 or a 361. The NHRA knows

that 426 Hemi Mopars were built in 1964
so they will allow that combination to run
as a stocker today even though the VIN
shows it to be a 318 car. They are big
believers in the saying If it looks like a
duck. But be warned, the NHRA has
years of experience and technical inspectors waiting to tear all the feathers off your
duck to verify that it is correct in every way.
A second factor that has kept 64 Hemi
cars in the game is the NHRAs Rule Book.
Even though the 64 Hemis were killed by
the 1965 Book, they were allowed back
into the fold in later editions. By 1968, for
example, there were 34 stock classes with
A/S being the top and the weight to hp factor of 8.00 to 8.49 looking pretty much the
same as in 1965. What was also available
by 1968, though, were twelve additional
classes labeled Super Stock. SS/A was
Steve runs either a single 4-Bbl or dual-quad crossram

in NHRA competition. He builds his own engines.
80 MOPAR ACTION
rated at 0 to 5.99 lbs/hp and SS/B was

6.00 to 6.99. (The 68 Hemi A-bodies at
6.00 lbs/hp were SS/B). The 1964 aluminum-nosed Hemi Mopars were built with
the 1964 NHRA Rule Book in hand. It
would take a couple of years before subsequent books reflected reality and allowed
the lightweight 64s back into the fold.
Drag racing is interesting for those with
a mechanical mind because of the fact that
a racecar has hundreds of parts or variables. From a statistical point of view, the
number of possible combinations of those
variables would be close to infinite. But
hey, the 426 Hemi has been around for 50
years. Early on people like Ed Iskendarian,
Keith Black, Don Garlits, the Ramchargers,
Maurice Petty and others took at a stab at
examining several million iterations. Race
teams with mechanics like Jake King,
Walt Ulrich and Austin Coil tried another
million possibilities. Thats not to say that
there is only one good combination. The
weather, the track surface, driver attributes
and many other variables will still effect a
race outcome. The 426 Hemi engine was
an excellent design in 1964 and 50 years
of trial and error have only made it more
potent. So in 2014, not only is the 64 Hemi
car a legal NHRA contender, but years of
refinement have made it even more awesome than it originally was.
If you want to see how a NHRA Stock
64 Hemi Plymouth fares today in the world
of drag racing you have to look no further
than the silver car of Steve Hagberg from
Berthoud, Colorado. Steve dropped a 426
Hemi into his two-door post about ten years
ago and used it as a street-strip car. In
2006 he decided to get serious and made
the car a dedicated NHRA-legal Stocker.
Following the pattern of the original 1964
Track version of the Hemi, he built a single
four-barrel engine to NHRA specs and went
racing. He still competes occasionally with
this set-up in the A/SA class. However, in
2012 the NHRA finally approved the Drag
version of the Hemi that Chrysler originally
developed for 64. With two four-barrels on
a crossram, this combo runs in CC/SA, one
class above A/SA. (Previously the crossram was only allowed in Super Stock). The
NHRA now recognizes both versions of the
426 Hemi engine as Stock.
By testing his Plymouth with several different induction systems, Steve has made
the following interesting observations:
1. Consider the Chrysler single four-barrel
set-up as a base.
2. The Chrysler inline, dual four-barrel set
up, as used on the 66 and later Street
Hemis will produce about 45 more hp
up than the single four in 1. above.
MOPAR ACTION 81

3. The 1964 Chrysler aluminum crossram
with the two Holley four-barrels produces about 20 hp more than the inline
dual-fours in 2. above.
4. The Chrysler aluminum crossram being
sold today (The top is a separate piece
which unbolts. PN P5007534) produces
about 25 more hp than the 64 crossram in 3. above. This is the NHRA-legal
replacement for the one piece 64
crossram. Per Steves dyno results, this
Chrysler crossram is about 90 hp better
than a single Four.
So today Steve can race his 1964 Hemi
powered Plymouth in two NHRA Stock
classes by swapping engines. He has
survived several NHRA teardowns that
confirm the cars compliance with the rule
book. See the sidebar for some of the
vital statistics.
Steve Hagberg is a Hemi guy. He is
the original owner of his 1966 Hemi Belvedere, which he still has. He likes racing
in the A/SA class because it gives him
the opportunity to face off with other high
powered machines of the past. The NHRA
class system is the closest thing there is
to a real test of a cars performance. All
the competitors are using original factory
stuff (Or NHRA approved replacements)
and the races are heads-up (no timing
delays. On a green light both cars go.)
The quality of your car is reflected in your
timeslip. You dont have to refer to some
bogus test done by a magazine 40 years
ago or look to a goofy shoot-out staged
to sell something. Do the magazines
do teardowns or even have competent
inspectors?
Below is a short list of the cars that the
NHRA currently calls A-Stock. If you are
still dwelling in the glory days of the past
this is the class to watch. Hemi versus
Thunderbolt! WOW!
CARS CLASSED AS A/SA BY NHRA

2014 / NHRA HP
1964 Ford Thunderbolt with
427 ci / 2-4v 420 hp
1964 Plymouth Savoy with
426 Hemi / 1-4v 434
1967 Ford Fairlane with 427 / 2-4v 410
1969 Chevy Camaro with
427 / 1-4v LS-1 435
1969 Chevy Camaro with 396 / 1-4v 399
1969 Chevy Nova with 396 / 1-4v 405
1969 Chevy Corvette with
427 / 1-4v 434
1968-9 Ford Cobra Jet with
428 / 1-4v 380
2010 Dodge Drag Pack Challenger
with 5.7 & fuel injection 421
82 MOPAR ACTION
A few notes on the NHRAs classification system. The NHRA Weight Factor is
based on the shipping weight the manufacturers supplied back in the day. Likewise
the NHRA hp Factor was originally based
on the manufacturers advertised hp. If the
manufacturers fudged their numbers the
NHRA adjusted them as they saw fit. Note
that Ford advertised the Thunderbolt as
having 425 hp. The NHRA has adjusted
that to 420 hp. The single-four-barrel Plymouth was likewise said to have 400 hp.
Today it rates as 434 hp. Bear in mind that
these hp numbers are Factors and not
real-life hp. All of todays engines are much
more powerful than they originally were.
Note that Steves A/SA engine has been
dyno tested at 658 hp although his NHRA
hp Factor is only 43 4 hp. The NHRA could
just as well use a scale from 1 to 100.
STEVE HAGBERGS 64 SINGLE 4-BBL

HEMI PLYMOUTH SAVOY
Steves Plymouth started as an old mans

6-cylinder stick car. The guy used the car to
go fishing, taking out the back seat throwing
a sleeping bag back there and sleeping in
the car. He wasnt happy with the gas mileage so he made his own MPG improver.
In single-4-Bbl trim, the Hagberg-built 439-cube Hemi dynod 658 HP @6600 RPM.
The engine had a casting core plug in the

top with a pipe plug. The old guy rigged
up something with a hacksaw blade and a
cork. At speed, vacuum would lift the cork
and lean out the mixture. He supposedly got
25 mpg. Steve drove the car before taking it
apart and recorded 23 MPG.
The Plymouth was straight and rust-free
needing only a paintjob. Steve stripped
out the car, added a roll cage and built the
first NHRA-approved single 4-Bbl. Hemi.
At the U. S. Nationals last year, Steve

posted the second-quickest qualifying
time of 10.07 @130+ MPH in a field of 21
cars. Interestingly enough he had the only
carbureted car in the bunch, all the others
were fuel injected.
When the NHRA approved the Hemi
dual-quad crossram in the fall of 2011, Steve
was the first to build one of these (NHRAlegal) engines. He ran the car at Badimere
MOPAR ACTION 83
Custom Cudas Dept.
FISH DISH
73 PRO-STREET CUDA is a real visual appetizer

backed up with a hearty 635 HP 528-cube Hemi. Yum!
84 MOPAR ACTION
73 Cuda was picked up about

80% complete by current owner
when the seller ran into hard times
and couldnt complete the project
(especially the behind-grille blackout). The car was listed on eBay.
STORY By Al Dente
E ALWAYS APPLAUD THE BLOOD,

SWEAT AND BEERS (CLAP! CLAP!)
that a builder puts into creating a
Mopar that he wants to be different
from all the others out there. Then, for
whatever reason, the builder decides
to sell it so the next owner can enjoy a Mopar thats
different from all the others out there. Occasionally, well see a cool Mope after it has changed
hands, but the new owner doesnt know all of the
cars background details, so the story comes up a
bit short. Not the way we prefer, but in the case of
a really cool ride, the eye candy appeal is the overriding factor, especially when the workmanship is
a knockout.
Such as car is the Pro-Fish 73 Cuda now

owned by Butch Rosetti. Butch picked up this 73
Cuda from a contractor who was in dire straits
thats someplace in Rhode Island. He says the
Cuda was about 80% done after the owner had
spent 5 years building the car before running out
of dough. The body had been painted, the motor
was bolted into the engine bay and the interior was
mostly done. The rear had been back-halved with a
Chris Alston ladder bar setup, but the front end was
loosey-goosey. Butch decided to fix that with a Control Freaks tube front end that works with coilovers
(Why do this? Yeah, why?). The trans didnt shift
just right, so Butch sent that out for a rebuild/beef
up. The Cuda came with no bumpers and the interior required finishing. The 528-inch Hemi with Indy
heads had zero miles on it when Butch bought the
car, so it took some tweaking to dial it in.
MOPAR ACTION 85
, Fish Dish
Billet Specialty
wheels carry
the custom
charcoal over
2007 Chrysler
Tangerine
painted bod.
Butch has now owned the Cuda for 3 years, and

he and his son worked together to finish it up. A lot of
custom pieces, such as the billet window cranks were
packed in a boxone of many that came with the car.
One of the coolest touches that Butch came up with
is the 100-year-old Redwood console and trim. Butch
planted the tree as a young child and nurtured it to
maturity before cutting it down and putting his woodworking skills to the test to fab the Cuda pieces (Butch
is 127 years old but is as spry as any 40-year old. He
says reading Mopar Action has kept him young).
Butch says hes been into Mopes since he was 16
(mustve been a 1914 Dodge). But it was a 68 383/4speed Charger that got him hooked on Mopes. His last
car was a pro-street Belvedere, 400 CID, with an 8-71
blower. So we guess he knows what fast is. He sold the
Bel when he got the itch for a Hemi, and was actually
looking for a B-body, as tearing the Belvedere apart
and installing a Hemi wasnt really cost effective. Butch
found the Cuda on eBay, and he says it had been up
for sale for quite some time.
The Cuda obviously plies the show route, but Butch
says he drives it on cruises and intends to run it down
the track. Planning to keep his ride for a while, Butch
is making provisions for a redo, if necessary, down the
road. Hes planted another Redwood tree for another
batch of 100-year-old wood for the interior. Stay tuned
for the update.
528-inch Hemi
stomps along on
635 horsepower.
The 12:1 motor
runs Indy heads
and a Demon
1050 carb on an
Indy intake.
RIGHT:
Spoiler adorns
decklid while
TTi exits the
gasses. Trunk
holds a15 gal
fuel cell.
BELOW:
Body wears its
original sheetmetal except
for AAR-style
hood and tubs.
Pro-Fish third brake light lets folks

know what theyre following when
Butch hits the Stop pedal.
86 MOPAR ACTION
Interior is trs upscale

with leather everywhere
including the Kirkey
racing seats. rear seat
is sacrificed for those
big tubs and 8-point
cage. Butch hand-fabd
the 100-year-old
Redwood trim pieces
and console that hides
ignition switch, start
button and power
window switches.
1973 Pro Street Barracuda
PRO FISH
ENGINE
528 cu in Hemi 635 HP built by Nats Racing

Engines, Connecticut, 12.5:1 compression
CP forged pistons.
Comp Cams Solid Roller 0.612" lift.
4340 Eagle forged steel crankshaft.
Eagle forged rods.
Indy Legend cylinder heads with Norris.
roller tip valvetrain.
Indy intake with Demon 1050 carburetor.
7" Super Damper.
Twin Holley fuel pumps with 5/8" stainless braided
fuel line, 15 gal fuel cell.
Milodon external oil system, Ray Barton 7 qt pan.
MSD Pro Billet distributor, MSD box.
TTI 2" tube 3.5" collector ceramic coated headers.
Full 3.5" Flowmaster exhaust.
TRANSMISSION
727 race built with Kevlar bands, welded sprag.

Coan 11" 3500 stall converter.
Turbo Action full manual valve body.
B&M deep pan.
Hurst Quarter Stick shifter.
CHASSIS
Chris Alston ladder bar back half.
9" rear w/ Strange axles, 4.11 gears & Afco
coilover shocks.
Complete frame tied.
Control Freaks IFS tube front suspension,
tube adjustable A-arms, Afco coilovers.
Flaming River rack & pinion steering.
Wilwood 4-piston calipers, drilled & slotted
discs on all 4 corners.
Mickey Thompson 29 x 18.5 rears / 26 x 7.5 fronts
Billet Specialty wheels.
INTERIOR
Full steel custom fabricated dash Autometer Gauges.

Push-button start.
Hidden light switch, fan control.
7" Double DIN audio-video system / navigation /
Blue Tooth / rear cam.
Kirky racing seats wrapped in leather & suede /
Pro Fish tach, speedo pod, console, armrests &
audio trim hand fabricated using 100-year-old
growth Redwood with high-gloss lacquer finish.
Flaming River polished tilt steering column & wheel
8-point roll cage with swing-out bars.
BODY
All original steel.
Custom fabd steel dash from previous owner is a real eye catcher. Theres more
Redwood trim here along with a Flaming River tilt column and wheel. 7 Double
DIN screen is for audio-visual/nav, Blue Tooth and rear cam.
Custom charcoal over Chrysler 2007 tangerine paint.

Steel painted bumpers with hidden fasteners.
Painted grille to match body color.
AAR hood, rear deck spoiler.
Custom CHMSL in billet Pro-Fish emblem.
MOPAR ACTION 87

Continued from page 33
solid stems. For reference, 1G Firepower

Hemi V8s and all A- and B-series wedge
V8 stems measure 0.372 inches, LA Magnums are 0.312 inches, the 4.7L PowerTech
eights are 0.281 inches, and the current
3G Hemi V8 series has 0.315-inch (8mm)
valvestems. The 1964 A864 circuit Race
Hemi was assembled with silicon-chrome
(Silchrome XB) steel intake valves and aluminized 21-4N chrome-manganese steel
exhausts. The 64 A865 drag Hemi versions
used SAE 1041 carbon steel intake valves
and aluminized 21-4N chrome-manganese
steel exhausts. When early 426 Hemi testing revealed valve stem scuffing, guide
clearance was loosened slightly and all
production valvestems came through
chrome-plated. All 2G Race Hemi V8s also
employed Max Wedge-style Perfect Circletype (banded Teflon) positive valve stem
oil seals, but with appropriately smaller
inside diameters.
more mixture volume as the burn travels

outward from the plug. The even mixture
burning reduces the residence time of
end gas pockets, thus reducing heat and
the tendency of those hot residual gasses
to detonate and limit the engines ability
to accept the degree of spark advance
required to generate maximum output. The
arrangement also limits carbon buildup
to further enhance the domed chambers
combustion qualities.
CYLINDER HEAD
PRODUCTION/ASSEMBLY
At the Campbell, Wyatt and Cannon

Foundry in Muskegon, MI, the 2G Hemi
heads ports were shell-molded to produce
exceptionally smooth, fin-free interior passages, as cast. Combinations of oil sand
and green sand cores were also used to
mold the more fragile sections of the iron
head. Large open areas in the Hemis
ports and combustion chambers and the
complicated coolant jacketing around their
VALVE SPRINGS
exhaust valves called for exceptionally
As in all 426 Hemi engines, the original
deliberate mold treatment and handling
valve springs were duals with a flat-wound
plus regular detailed inspections of the
surge dampener between the inner and
castings, inside and out. These earliest
outer coils, intake and exhaust. Steel spring
Race Hemi heads are easily distinguished
retainers and single-bead valve locks with
an eight-degree plunge angle were installed from later Street Hemi versions by their
smooth roofs; a noticeable lack of screwon assembly. Race springs were wound
in cleanout plugs and bosses outboard of
from larger gauge wire than street springs.
their two intermediate rocker arm stands.
On assembly, the iron cylinder
head sealed to the block via a
Engine/
1964 A864
1964 A865
Spring
Intake/Exhaust
Intake/Exhaust
0.020-inch-thick embossed stainless steel gasket. But when early
Installed Height
dyno testing turned up difficulties
Outer
1.83-1.86-Inches
sealing the large water passages
Inner
1.64-Inches
at each upper inboard corner of
Valve Closed Load
the heads and block, those areas
Outer
80-90-pounds
were initially patched with rubber
Inner
38-43-pounds
cement when bolted together.
Valve Open
Later, it was determined that
Load @ Height
torqueing-down the intake maniOuter
280-pounds
272-pounds
folds two corner screws actually
@ 1.32-inches
@ 1.32-inches
lifted the cylinder head away from
Inner
94-pounds
92-pounds
the block. So the tightening spec
@ 1.10-inches
@ 1.10-inches
on (only) those (eight) fastenSurge Damper
Steel; flat-wound spiral inside outer,
ers was reduced from 6-ft.-lbs. to
Material/Type
outside inner
4-ft.-lbs. This assembly tweak and
a revised (but unspecified) beadloading pattern eliminated the leakage
SPARKPLUGS
problem.
During early (1940s) Hemi development,
Designed and developed right after
Chrysler Engineering learned that a layer of
the 1964 cast-iron cylinder heads were
stagnant gasses formed off the surfaces
finished, an aluminum 2G Hemi head was
of the combustion chamber walls, so they
also produced. Weighing approximately 30
went to a deep 3/4-inch reach centrally
pounds less than a 69-pound bare-iron verlocated sparkplug that extends through
sion, the lightweight castings came stanthe dead zone. This plug location compendard on all 1965 A990 Race Hemis. Stress
sates somewhat for the chambers no-swirl
analysis of the cast-iron head lead to crucharacteristics and permits optimum flame
cial section thickness increases in the alloy
propagation that consumes increasingly
88 MOPAR ACTION
head to 0.400 inches in both their combustion chamber roofs and the deck face. The
diameter of the eight head bolt bosses
between bores was increased from 0.88
inches to 1.0 inches, and 0.18-inch-thick
steel washers were added under the outboard head bolts on assembly. Threaded
holes in the head were all drilled deeper
before being tapped, and the radii of most
of the castings internal and external transition fillets were increased. The use of soft
aluminum called for cast-iron intake valve
seat inserts and steel exhaust inserts, all
installed in by heating the parent-metal
head to 300F, cooling the inserts in liquid
nitrogen and driving them into place for
a secure shrink-fit. These seat inserts,
in turn, dictated a couple of hundredths
smaller valve sizes in the 1965-only alloy
heads. Cast-iron valve guide inserts were
also fitted, as were steel shims underneath
the valve springs. The aluminum heads
were produced by a number of smaller
Midwest foundries and installed on the
A990s along with copper head gaskets on
the Hemi decks.
VALVE COVERS
With a row of sparkplug wires sprouting prominently along eachs center, a
Hemis way wide valve covers are perhaps
the engines most distinctive features.
Doesnt take more than a quick glance to
know what kind of motor youre looking
at. What isnt easily seen under a 426s
valve covers are their 0.040 inches of
sheet steel construction and welded-in
internal baffles. Each has four holes up
top for O-ringed aluminum sparkplug
tubes, 10 holes along the rail for 1/4-20
attaching studs, plus the usual oil-fill and
venting provisions. A864 circuit race 426s
had extra tall breathers and filler tubes in
their valve coversall painted a low-gloss
shade of Omaha orange. Drag race covers (A865 and A990) were chrome-plated,
while later Street Hemi covers (A102) were
finished with (273/235-style) black-crackle
paint. Valve covers for the 1964-65 Hemi
V8s iron and alloy K-heads are interchangeable. But they wont fit later (196671) Street Hemi heads, mainly because
of a notch in the more-common later
heads outboard-front corners. OE sparkplug tubes also fit either early-only Race
Hemis or only later street versions. Seals
for these tubes work in all 2G covers, but
sparkplug cable boots are specifically
configured for either early or late versions.
Next issue well cover the 426 Hemis
RB-based cast-iron block, its reciprocating
assembly, manifolding and other systems
and hardware.

in Denver (5000 ft. elevation) in the spring of

2012, and clocked off a 10.29 @128 MPH
about a second under the index.
In conclusion we should note that the
426 Hemi was last available in Dodges and
Plymouths of the 1971 model year, and that
the entire Plymouth line was discontinued
by Chrysler in 2002. At present the NHRA is
still alive and well though, and still provides
a place for the vintage iron to compete. On
its 50th anniversary, not only is the Hemi

the only engine used in Top Fuel and Funny
Car, but it also has a formidable presence in
the quickest Stock classes. Steve Hagberg,
and a couple of other guys, are actively running the old 1964 Plymouth and Dodge 426
Hemicars which continue to be viable in
the NHRA700 horsepower! Hopefully we
wont be hearing the fat lady sing any time
soon. Hemis rule!
Rear is a Dana
60 packed with
5.13 gears.
Race Hemi interior

is all repopthe
work of Gary Ball.
The Bostrum-copy
seats were scratchbuilt using marinegrade aluminum
tubing. Theyre
lightweight and
comfortable.
Steve Hagbergs 1964 Plymouth Savoy Statistics
Weight: 3650 lbs. with driver (All steel car with roll cage and ballast)
Weight distribution: Front 49% Rear 51%
Wheelbase: 115"
Rear axle: Mopar Dana 60 with 5.13 gears
Rear wheels: Bogart 15" x 8.75"
Rear tires: Hoosier 30 x 9.0 x 15 (Tread about 10")
Transmission: 1964 Chrysler automatic (Push-button activated. Manual valve body.
727 case with 904 parts) Torque converter: ATI 9" Treemaster with 5800 rpm stall speed
Engine: Chrysler 426 Hemi (Bored 0.060" over for 439 ci)
Block: Mopar Performance cast iron (PN 2468330 M)
Heads: Mopar Performance aluminum (PN 2531110 M2)
Compression ratio: 12.6:1
Cam: Bullet 0.520" lift, flat tappet
Headers: Performance Welding 2" x 2.5" step
Fuel: VP/Sunoco 112 octane gasoline
Max rpm in race situation: 8100 rpm
NHRA Class:
Race Configuration A
Race Configuration B
CC / SA
A / SA
NHRA Index:
10.60
11.0
Carburetion:
Two Holley 4 - v no.

4235 / 4236
Holley 4- v no.
4781 (850 cfm)
Chrysler alum. crossram

(PN P5007534)
Chrysler magnesium
(PN 2468043)
3310 lbs.
3305 lbs
450 HP
434 HP
7.36
7.62
749 HP @ 7000 rpm

613 ft lbs @ 5300 rpm
658 HP @ 6600 rpm

590 ft. lbs @ 5000 rpm
9.60 (Sea level corrected)
10.07
Intake:
NHRA Weight Factor:
NHRA hp Factor:
NHRA Weight / hp Factor:
Dyno results on engines built
by Steve Hagberg
Quarter-mile times:
MOPAR ACTION 89
, Back To Racing
With track temperatures hovering near 120

degrees, Don captured the lead for good on
just the 49th lap and drove away from the
field in front of almost 25,000 fans. It was
the first ever Dodge win in a stock car race
at Milwaukee and the second time Nichels
Engineering had accomplished such a feat,
as they also owned the first ever Pontiac win
at The Mile. It was Dons first win at Milwaukee since 1963, moving him from ninth
to third in USAC championship points. For
good measure, White won the next USAC
race at Grand Rapids on July 22nd. Don was
now clearly back in the hunt for the USAC
season championship, chasing defending
champion and Plymouth pilot, Norm Nelson.
Two weeks later, Paul Goldsmith, not to
be outdone by McQuagg and White, proceeded to win the fourth stock car race in
a row by Nichels Engineering. Goldsmith
systematically stalked the field until the 496th
lap to finally pass Richard Pettys Plymouth
(being driven by Jim Paschal) to win the Sixth
Annual Volunteer 500 at Bristol. Paul overcame falling a couple of laps off the pace
after running out of gas by relentlessly working his way back through the field on the
one-half-mile track. By the time he caught
Paschal, both Mopar pilots proceeded to
run side-by-side for several laps, bringing
the 18,000 fans to their feet. Following the
stirring victory, Goldys third of the 1966 season, Stock Car Racing magazine writer Jim
Hunter wrote: The coolest thing about Paul
Goldsmith is his nerve; its about the same
as the color of his car: ice blue.
THE ANDRETTI FLIP

Nichels Engineering, seemingly unstoppable at this point, headed to their next
USAC challenge, the Saturday, July 30th,
event at Canadas racing hotspot Mosport
Park. For this race, Nichels took on a new
driver to run alongside Don White. Joining
the Nichels stable for this contest was rising young racing star and USAC defending
Indy car champion Mario Andretti. Nichels
Engineering provided both White and
Andretti with identical Hemi-powered Dodge
Chargers. The 2.459-mile road course, with
alternating uphill and downhill runs, was a
unique challenge for any driver. It was with
that in mind, that before Fridays practice,
Ray Nichels asked the young Andretti to
go out on the track (in the No. 31 Nichels
Charger) behind the seasoned veteran
White (in the No. 3 Nichels Charger), and
follow Don for some practice laps. White
had raced stock cars at this venue before
and knew the hazards hidden in this unique
racing venue. Nichels reasoned that Andretti
could see Whites preferred line through
the course and get used to idiosyncrasies
90 MOPAR ACTION
of the heavy-bodied Dodge Charger. Sending both drivers out onto the track, Nichels
crew waited to see the Dodges perform
before making the final setups for qualifying later in the day. After only a couple of
laps, Andretti, supremely confident in his
ability, decided to pull away from the stock
car veteran White. On the third practice lap,
Mario promptly flipped the Nichels Charger
four times, damaging just about every major
component on the car from the roof to the
suspension. Over the next six hours, the
Nichels crew performed a Herculean task
putting the Andretti mount back in racing
trim, barely in time for qualifying.
White, whose Nichels crew was now at
the top of their game, took pole position for
The Hemi on the dyno at Nichels Engineerings Go-Fast Factory in Griffith, Indiana.
the first heat. As with earlier USAC contests

the competition was keen as ever. In the first
heat, White clearly proved to be the fastest
car on the track in the 50 lapper. But that
didnt stop Norm Nelson and Mario Andretti
from pushing White hard during the early
laps of the race. In the end, though, White
finished with a comfortable 30-second lead,
telling his crew that he made every effort not
to abuse his Dodge late in the race, saving
his car for the second 125-mile heat. And it
looked as if Dons logic would capture him
the overall race victory. However, on the
46th lap of the second heat, Whites strategy
came apart, just as quickly has his Hemi
engine, when he broke his crankshaft in half.
Whites DNF appeared to enable Nelson,
Andretti and Canadas own Billy Foster to
battle for the victory. Andretti charged into
the lead, only to suffer a broken sway bar
finishing his day. Unbelievably, Billy Fosters
ignition then gave way, finishing his effort.
Then, seemingly coming out of nowhere,
with just over a lap remaining, Chicagos own
Salvatore Sal Tovella raced into the lead
capturing the checkered flag. By virtue of his
fourth-place finish in the first heat, Tovella, in
his 1965 Plymouth, was named the overall

winner of the Kawartha 250, his first victory
in USAC competition and clearly his biggest
day ever in his stock car racing career.
With the racing season in high gear,
Chrysler Corporation was dominating the
nations stock-car tracks. By the start of
August, Norm Nelson was leading the USAC
season points chase and David Pearson,
driving Dodges for Cotton Owens, had
already won 11 times in 31 starts, and was
leading the NASCAR season title hunt. But
battles between the automakers, sanctioning
bodies and even the NASCAR and USAC
inspectors made for racecar chaos.
NASCAR BENDS THE RULES

What happened next during the race
weekend of August 7ths Dixie 400 made
things appear even worse. The arrival of
Junior Johnsons entry, a bright yellow Ford
Galaxie to the Atlanta track, was the catalyst
for controversy. Johnsons entry was by no
means a normal Ford Galaxie. For openers,
Junior had completely restructured the roof
of the car. It was apparent that the roof had
been cut away, then substantial sections of
the roofs posts were removed and the roof
welded back on. In fact, the cars roof line
was reduced in height so much that driver
Fred Lorenzen had to lower his seat in order
to see out of the newly sloped windshield.
The front fenders of the car seemed to
almost engulf the tires and the rear of the
car was jacked up higher than any other
car in the paddock. Its odd shape seemed
to scream out for a nickname. It got one
in a hurry, the Yellow Banana. Not to be
outdone, Smokey Yunick showed up with a
black and gold Chevrolet Chevelle that had
also undergone some sort of assembly metamorphosis with the wheels off-center of the
car-bodys cutaways, a handcrafted front end
and a spoiler built into the roofline.
To the amazement and subsequent anger
of the other competitors, both the Johnson
Ford and the Yunick Chevy passed NASCAR
inspection. The cries of unfair could be
heard all the way to NASCAR headquarters
in Daytona Beach. In the meantime, Cotton
Owens Dodge was found to have a device
that allowed Pearson to lower the front end of
his car after the race had started. Owens, in a
defiant stand against what he believed to be
different rules for different race competitors,
refused to alter his No. 6 Dodge Charger as
long as Johnsons and Yunicks cars were
left as is. When told that NASCAR demanded
Owens car be brought up to NASCAR standards Cotton loaded up his Dodge and left
Atlanta in a staggering display of defiance by
a team in the hunt for the NASCAR season
national championship.
Mopar Or Nocar
Retired, Not Tired
ave Dengel, former owner of

Green County Speed shop
in Greensburg, KY knows how to
keep busy, and he knows a thing
or two about building a cool street
machine. His 318 Challenger was
picked up by a friend about 8
years ago and brought to Dave.
Out came the stock drivetrain and
in went a 68 .040-over Hemi that
Dave found at an Atlanta speed
shop. He sold the iron heads and
installed Indy heads and their
Mod Man intake topped by a pair
of Eds 750s. Inside

are Ross slugs
swinging on stock
rods. Dave built the
custom all-steel hood by
slicing the stock hood, raising
it and adding a 3-inch wide strip.
That alone was a 2-week job.
Back to the drivetrain, the Hemi is
backed by a reverse-pattern 727
beefed with Hemi internals and a
3500-stall PTC converter. The rear
is a 3:91 Sure-Grip 8-3/4" which
has been narrowed enough to
Hot In Atlanta
run the widest tires possible without cutting the frame, although
Dave did end up notching it. The
tires are the biggest widest drag
radials that were available at the

time: 33x18x15. Stopping power
is aided by front discs from a
Cordoba. Ricardo wondered
where they went.
Pro-Go
erry Bailey bought this 2010 6.1 Challenger on July 12, 2010,
the same day he turned 55 years old. Jerry had a copy of
Motor Trend April 2008 on his desk for 2 years and he told all
his co-workers that he was going to buy that car that was on the
cover. After buying the 6-speed SRT 425 HP beast, Jerry purchased the chrome TSW 20" Montage wheels and then added
Flowmaster 40s. Jerry added the stripes himself, changed the
hood to the functional T/A hood, added a Mopar CAI and lowered the car 1" with Eibach Pro Kit springs. On the highway,
Jerry says that he
averages 22.8 MPG.
Two passes down
yle Giesbrecht from Williams Lake, BC Canada is in

the process of getting his 71 Dart Swinger ready for
pro-street drag racing. Originally a 6-cylinder, the car was
the strip netted Jerry
built by Barry Esser in Kelowna, BC. Barry did almost all
a best of 13.03/109
the work on the car except the engine which was built by
MPH, making the
K&S Machine in Kelowna. Barry then sold the Dart to Kyle.
car, he claims, the
The Dart runs a 430 HP, 497 TQ 70 440 Magnum 4-Bbl
hottest Challenger in
backed by a 727 with a 2800 stall and a Moser 8 3/4" rear
Atlanta, GA.
with 3.91 gears.
Just an Old Car
eautiful Brute is what

Jim Maiani calls his
62 Chrysler 300H. He says
its one of 435 hardtops (123
convertibles)made that year.
Everything is original, except
tires, radiator cap and battery.
It has 126,140 actual miles
on the 413 dual-quad motor
thats never been out or apart.
Jim says that he is getting
ready to rebuild the carbs. Jim
has owned the H for 7 years
and he puts about 800 miles

a year on it starting out from
his home in Houghton Lake,
Michigan. The Chrysler was
sold new in Walla Walla Washington and lived most of its life
there. But for the last 7 years

its been parked in a heated
garage. It usually wins Best
Unrestored Survivor at shows
he goes to. But to Jim, its
just an old car.
Want to see your car, dog, parakeet, or windmill (for Netherlands readers) on this page? Send good, sharp photos, or hi-res digital images of your toys, along with some information
that we can bizarrely distort into a story, to: Readers Rides and Todays Cat Juggler Dept., Mopar Action, Harris Publications, 1115 Broadway, New York, NY 10010, or, even better,
submit online at www.moparaction.com. Add 15% gratuity for better service, or invite us to dinner. Dont want to see your ride here? Even easier: Dont send us nothin.
MOPAR ACTION 91
, TECH TOPICS
Eric:
Steal wheels, huh? Those are the new
ones, from midnight motor parts, I take it?
Anyway, I think theres plenty of clearance, I foresee no problems.
WATERY CAM
Can I put hydro lifters and cam in my
318A poly (61 Dodge Phoenix)? If so, from
what motor?
Dave Mopar Knox, TN
Dave:
If you mean some other OEM/stock
hydraulic cam, none that Im aware of
(the order if I/E lobes was changed in LA
engines), and I see none in any aftermarket cam grinders catalog. In fact, these
days, I think youll really have to shake the
trees to find any camshaft for the poly V8.
FASTER PLANE
In my 71 Duster I currently run a
1970 stock compression 340 with ported
J-heads, a Comp. XE284H cam, an Edelbrock Airgap intake, Ed 800 CFM carb,
3500 stall TCI, and 3.91:1 gears. I only
street drive it but usually pretty hard,
always redline. Would a single-plane and/
or double-pumper carb add much power or
just change the power band? I also oversize
fuel lines, sender, and pump to install. (P.S.
I just ordered an MSD to replace the MP
distributor I bought in 2001.) Also, I love the
photos of your cars at Derhams alignment
shop [Newburgh, NY - ed.] I have known
them for years.
John Stanco, Poughquag, NY
John:
A big single-plane will definitely pick
you up some power and would be an
excellent match for your converter and
gears, eventually you might want a bit
more cam duration, too. The DP carb,
though, might improve the launch a tad
but would do nothing for power and really
trash fuel economy and fuel wash (trashing the rings). Double-pumpers are suitable for drag-only cars only. Remember, if
the car sees any street time, your distributor must have vacuum advance.
Poughquag! I spent many happy afternoons at Poughquag Auto Wreckers in
the 70s. I remember the owner, Charlie
(?) was a real pistol, his kids wandered
barefoot and nearly naked amongst the
wrecks, mud, and parts. His driver was
a 69 Road Runner. One day his Runner
was suddenly out with the wrecks. Seems
his wife had broken all the glass out of it.
Every single pane was gone. He mustve
pushed one of her hot buttons.
92 MOPAR ACTION
Brian Kapral is repoping the alternator

belt-tension tool, handy to have.
THE SQUEAL DEAL

Mr. Ehrenberg, I have a 74 Fury with
a 400-4 and A/C. Recently, I changed the
alternator and compressor belts, and now
they squeal. I know you have a fix!
Steve Taylor, Atlanta, GA
Steve:
Your 74 used two belts in tandem to
drive the alternator and compressor. Back
in the day, Mopar replacements were a
matched pair, the lengths were identical.
Today, you must insure that the belts you
install are from the same lot. Check the
code numbers on the belts to insure a
matched set. If they arent identical, the
shorter one will take most of the load,
and it will squeal.
Tension is also critical. Chrysler provided two tension-checking methods. One
involved a belt-slack gauge, the second,
more practical, simply had you measure
the torque on the item being adjusted. In
your case, theres no way to tighten the
alternator accurately without the factory
tool, C-3841A. Luckily, a Mopar guy by the
name of Brian Kapral is making a betterthan-OEM repro of the original, contact
him at resq302@aol.com. Once you have
the tool (see photo, above right), you can
simply snap your torque wrench in and
set the tension to specs, in your case: 120
ft.-lbs. for new belts, or 80 if used.
BRAKEOUT
Your tech columns have been invaluable to me in my build. The route Ive taken
with my 1968 Plymouth Sport Satellite, built
451, from day one is improved handling
while running 15 wheels/tires. I currently
run MagnumForce 2 drop spindles with
AR Engineering caliper adapters, 11.75 x
1 rotors, Wilwood forged Dynalite calipers
and Wilwood BP10 pads on the front end,
with the stocker 10 drums in the rear,
and a Wilwood adjustable proportioning
valve with an 8 dual diaphragm vacuum
booster and 15/16 bore Raybestos blue
box (midgrade) disc/drum master cylinder.

Pedal feel is pretty good, but I feel like
stopping power could be better. In the MA
June, 2013 issue tech topics Q&A Drum
Beat you explain the details of a rear drum
upgrade to finned 11 with reduced diameter wheel cylinders and other improved
internal components. If I were to do nothing
else other than reduce my rear wheel cylinder size while keeping the 10 rear drum
setup, would I still realize some noticeable
improvement in stopping or only if I upsized
to 11 with all of the other details outlined in
the article? Im somewhat resistant to a rear
disc upgrade due to bang for buck.
Dwayne Bell, San Jose, CA
Dwayne:
The rationale behind juggling wheel
cylinder bore diameters, vis--vis caliper
piston bore, rotor diameter, and drum
diameter is to get what I have taken to
calling natural proportioning as close
to ideal as possible. Prop valves all have
a cut-in pressure, below this point, typically 300-500 PSI, they have no effect. This
is by design, because, as you increase
pedal (and, therefore, line) pressure, the
car sees more weight transfer (a harder
stop), so needs less rear line pressure (as
a percentage of the front). What Im trying
to dial in (via wheel cylinder swaps) are
those low-pressure stops think rain, etc.
where the car will swap ends if the rears
lock first.
Of course, this perfect F/R proportioning is a constantly-moving target, this is
why height-sensing prop valves and RWAL
were invented. Still, on a basic build,
theres no reason whatsoever to not do
the best with what you have. Whether this
would give you the braking improvement
you are seeking is open for conjecture, Id
need more detailed info to even hazard a
guess. What problems, exactly, are your
experiencing, and under what conditions?
Frankly--and it took me many decades
to come to this realization: the Bendix duoservo drum setups on all our muscle-era
Mopars are so hard to modulate on even
a moderate stop that RWAL is the only
real answer, other than a rear disc swap.
And, yes, thats why rear discs are such an
improvement, fade resistance is not really
a factor.
RELUCTANT RELUCTOR
1972 Duster, now with 360. I am replacing the pickup coil in the distributor and
need to know how to remove the spring clip
inside the hollow shaft that keeps the reluctor in place. I cant seem to find info on it.
Most articles just say to pry off the reluctor.
Bill Jerold, Lynbrook, NY
Bill:
The articles are correct. A simple
screwdriver will do it. The spring clip
(under the felt wick) doesnt need to be
removed unless you are removing the
stop plate. The reluctor is retained only by
friction and gravity. Dont lose the roll pin
(which may come loose when you remove
the reluctor), and replace the reluctor
clocked as you found it (mark it prior to
removal).
Electronic distributor reluctors pry right

up and off no trickery involved.
TORQUED UP
That Get a Grip story was excellent,
and gave me the courage to tear into my
spare 3.55 pumpkin. Everything is going
as you instructed so far, but Im not certain
about the carrier bearing preload spec. I
did as you said, but to get to the .006 min.
I had to really crank down on the pass side
adjuster quite a bit, then even more to have
the lock align with the holes. Im guessing I
tightened it to about 35-40 ft.-lbs. The ring
gear still turns with some drag, but it doesnt
feel overly tight, I think? Does that sound
excessive? It has new carrier bearings.
Joel Langdon, Inverness, CA
Joel:
Sounds totally OK, all will be good. Usually the torque required is even greater,
the specs on the later axles
(9) was 75 ft.-lbs.
spline from Ma Mopar. I know I can take it

apart and find out what trans is in there, but
my question is what trans came in it from
the factory? Was there ever a 18 spline 4
speed put in a Cbody? Thanks for all that
you do and continue to do for the Mopar
community.
Ryan Healy, Ellenville, NY
Ryan:
There was, but not in 66. Remember
that the 375 BHP 440 did not appear until
67. Your original 440 was the small valve,
mild cam station wagon engine. The
only cars to get the 18-spline Hemi
A833 in 1966 were Hemis, and they were
all in B-bodies.
Having said that, with any kind of
decent 440 build, in a heavy C-body, yours
truly could shuck the teeth off one or two
of the speed gears, and the countershaft
gear, in a few hours. Reading between the
lines, you know what to do. If not, just read
Mopar Muscle.
CONNECTED BRICK
I really enjoy your magazine and especially the tech info. I am building a 416
smallblock 1970 Duster. My question is ...
On the Green Brick, with 500+HP power,
what rear suspension setup did you use?
Joe Pfeiffer, Shepherdsville, KY
Joe:
It was (and still is) pretty basic: Dearched Mopar Perf. S/S leaf springs and
quadrashocks (were from Rancho, clones
now made by Firm Feel.) A few extra
spring clamps added on the front spring
segments to prevent windup on braking.
And thats it!
CARB-U-RATING
So a co-worker gave me 6 carburetors, 3
Motorcraft two-barrels, a Quadrajet spread
bore two-barrel (never seen one like that),
FOUR GEAR FURY

Rick, I bought a 66
Sport Fury a few years ago.
I have the broadcast sheet,
fender tag, Certicard and a
copy of the IBM punch card
from Chrysler. The car is
a factory 440 4-speed car.
The motor is non-matching,
but the four-speed looks
like the original. I got a number off the
extension housing and called Brewers,
they told me it was a 66 trans. But they
didnt know if it came with a 18 spline or 23
Ryan Healys 440 4-speed 66 Sport Fury

awaits restoration. Looks like it received
an intake manifold and carb swap at
some point. A very cool and rare ride.
MOPAR ACTION 93
, TECH TOPICS
OVER DRIVEN TO PERFORM

I have purchased an A833 tranny OD
unit, 1980 model year, my plan is it to install
it behind my 440 (73 E-body). I know that
there is not available a big block bellhousing to accept my front bearing retainer of
5.125. Any ideas to make the swap?
Ben Acevedo, Anthony, NM
Ben:
Any competent machine shop can
enlarge the pilot dimension, but if you
have this done, theres 2 caveats: First,
when you bolt the reworked housing to the
block, be sure to check the concentricity.
Use offset dowels as required. Second,
the enlarged pilot hole may impinge on
the fork pivot mounting stud holes. If this
happens, youll need to either re-engineer
a fork pivot, or go to a hydraulic clutch
release setup. The fine-spline A833 will not
be a long-term solution behind a 440. See
reply to reader Healy on this page.
SPECIAL K
Mr. Ehrenberg, Could you help me identify the car in the attached photo, from a
crime scene surveillance camera? I believe
it may be a K-Car. If it is Id like to narrow
it down some (year, make, etc.) The perps
are bad dudes who have been stealing mail
and then identities.
Detective James Sutton, CID
Southlake, TX
Detective:
It is absolutely NOT a Kcar or any other
Chrysler product, those cars had basically
flat (non-curved/no-wraparound) back
glass, see: http://tinyurl.com/kcarpix .... this
is a typical K-car. My guess, and on non94 MOPAR ACTION
Photo courtesy Southlake, Texas P.D
a WCFB, and a T-Q. After running the numbers on the T-Q its off a 1973 440. Is that
too much Carb for a 71 360 thats .030
over with 10:1 compression? My second
question is there any value in the WCFB to
someone doing a restoration?
Nathan Cook, Yakima, WA
Nat:
The TQ you describe is a 850 CFM unit.
A stock 71 340s TQ was 800. The only
significant flow difference is from the
850s slightly larger primaries. One of the
TQs best attributes is the adjustablefor-demand secondaries, even cop
318s used an 800 CFM carb. At worst,
you might need to do a small amount
of primary tuning, possibly a tad larger
pump shooter nozzles. And, the WCFB?
Im sure, that somewhere, some poor
slob is searching for that exact carb as
we speak.
The Southlake, Texas cops are after

the guys in this Nip clipper. Yours truly
enlightened them that the bad dudes
arent Mopar guys!
Mopars, I am NO expert, it might be some

80s Nissan or Mitsubishi. Good luck!
BRASS ONES
Hey Richard, Im about ready to drop
a 360 in my 70 Swinger, but I still have to
install the brass freeze plugs. My question
is how to seal them, Ive heard everything
from Loctite for bearings, RTV and even
pipe dope to even dry install. Please help
me with this, too many choices, and Im
sure not all if any are good
Denis Rivet, Socorro, NM
Denis:
It is totally noncritical, I usually use ordinary gasket cement.
PLUGGED UP
Mr. Ehrenberg, 1978 440RB motorhome,
stock heads, trying to install new Champion
sparkplugs that were suggested and they
wont thread in. Help!
Aaron Hackleman, Greenfield, IN
change with As, and some with Cs, but Cs

use larger shafts and bushings than B- or
A-body cars.
CRACKED UP
Hi, I have a 1964 Valiant with 273 V8. The
block is cracked and I am not having much
luck finding a new/used one. I read that the
64/65 Valiants having a unique bolt angle
on the intake manifold. The heads and
intake from my 273 are in very good condition. My question is if I cant find a 273 can
I use a 318 block with my 273 heads and
intake?
Dale Gartner, Calgary, AB
Dale:
The short answer: Yes, any 318 through
91. You can also use any 273 block, including the 66-ups. The longer answer: If you
are looking for any kind of power increase,
and dont mind visual changes underhood,
there are much better ways to go. My
choice would be a 92-01 318, retrofitted
with a carbureted intake manifold (aluminum aftermarket), or, even better, a 93 02
360 (same manifold swap). The 318 would
be nearly a total bolt in, for the 360 swap,
youd need to address a minor leftside
mount issue (easy solutions available), and
be certain the external balance issue is
address (also easy, just gotta be aware).
OFF CENTER
Dear Master of Mopars, I read your
Rebolting Situation article in the August
issue a few days ago. I checked TDC accuracy on my 360 a little differently. I turned
the crank CW to the top of the piston travel
on the compression stroke of cyl. #1 using
Aaron:
Most likely your engine is a HD 4403,
and the heads take the tapered seat peanut plugs. These are 5/8 hex, 0.460 reach,
P/N RV12YC (or 406). Standard 440 plugs
(J-series, 3/8 reach, gasket) cant be used.
JUST BUSHED
Hello Richard, Are the lower control arm
shafts different from A/B/C? We are talking
about the 60-70s models. Is the bushing
the same on all models or they different
between A-, B-Body and a C-body was the
shafts bigger on the C versus the B or are
the same. I want to put urethane bushings
on my C-body lower control arms but all I
can find are ones for a B- body.
Don Weber II, Kansas City, KS
Don:
Virtually everything is different.
B-bodies use some components that inter-
Heads off (shown) or heads on (tool

through plug hole), a positive stop is the
surest, most accurate way to find TDC.
a dial indicator. I noted the timing mark on

the damper read 1 ATDC. I then turned the
crank CCW so the #1 piston went all the
way down and back up to the top of travel.
The damper mark then read 2 BTC. If this
is correct I have an error of 3. For timing
this should mean that TDC will be shown as
1 BTDC. Is all of this correct? If so, anything else I should be aware of? The engine
is a 1975 360 with stock heads (for now),
a mild cam, aftermarket intake, and a 650
carb. Will be a weekend driver.
Mike Todd, Denver, CO
Mike:
Your method is incorrect and invites
inaccuracy (not huge, but errors nontheless). This is because of a phenomena
called TDC dwell. For a few degrees on
either side of TDC, the piston is very close
to stopped. The crank can move a few
degrees either way with no appreciable
piston movement. Also, if, in both CW and
CCW positions, the piston is truly at TDC,
the damper readings should be identical,
proving the inaccuracy inherent in your
methodology.
If you insist on using a dial indicator,
measure with the piston a certain distance
down the hole, say, 0.100 or thereabouts.
Check at this same dimension both before
and after TDC, halfway between is true TDC.
If the heads are now installed, the positive
stop method can still be used either a
dedicated TDC stop tool (screws into the
14mm spark plug hole), or a homemade
version, fabd from an old sparkplug.
NEED MORE TECH?

Love tech Q&A? Cant get enough?
Check it out: Theres new Q&As posted weekly online at www.moparaction.
com! Thats the best place to submit
your tech question from, too.
Heads up! You can now browse
and search a super tech-article index,
order back issues and the awesome
7-volume Tech Special CD-rom, at
www.moparaction.com
MOPAR ACTION 95
, RESTO TOPICS
Early E-bodies,
when driven on
rough roads, were
subject to upper
fender attachment
point failures (at the
cowl), reinforcement
for which was outlined in a Canadian
TSB. This involved
reinforcing the OEM
bracket and fabricating a second one
farther inboard.
pitman, and center

link. When the 71
B-body came along,
it used these same
components.
Mixing and matching these parts results
in increased bumpsteer.
RATTLE-E
Mr. Ehrenberg, I have disassembled a 70

Barracuda Gran Coupe, 383, for restoration.
The seller, the son of the original owner,
assured me that, although the car is pretty
well used up, it was never in an accident,
and the paint all matches and seems original. Yet, when I removed the fenders, on the
left side I found a homemade-looking chunk
of angle iron holding the fender on and a
very amateurish-looking patch. Is there
any explanation that would make sense,
other than the fact that this was collision
damage repair?
Curt Jacobson
Calgary, AB
Curt:
In a nutshell: Yes. 1970, and early 71,
E-bodies suffered from a fender-attachment
weakness at the cowl area, this manifested
itself on cars that were driven on rough
roads. If the original owner complained
about rattles and flapping fenders at the
dealer, they would have performed the TSBmandated repair, which instructed them to
fabricate pretty much what you describe.
Curiously, this TSB never appeared in the US
that Im aware of. Perhaps, in the early 70s,
Canadian rods were rougher?
big-block V8 Chrysler cars have the first

4-speed manual trans? I do not mean the
French Pont-A-Mousson rig in the 1960
Chrysler 300F.
Im aware that Chryslers own A-833
4-speed came out for model year 1964. But
I also know that no 1962-63 max wedge
cars had a 4-speed, only the TorqueFlite
auto trans or a 3-speed manual trans.
I find it interesting that Chevy was the first
with a 4-speed for their big and smallblock
V8s in model year 1959, followed by Pontiac
in 1960 and Ford in 1961 [although with
Ford, the 1961 4-speed was only available
for their hi-po 390 cubic inch engines. It was
only in 1962 that Ford had a 4-speed available across the board.].
Im almost willing to bet that Dodge
and Plymouth cars with 383 and bigger
engines did not have an available 4-speed
until model year 1964. But Ive been wrong
before, and you are the man therefore,
this question.
Phil Brown, Somersworth, NH
Phil:
You lose on this one. 1963 Mopars
offered the B-W T-10 4-speed on cars with
383 cu. in. and smaller engines.
The February 2015 Issue Of
TRANS TRAVESTY?
Hi Rick, Thanks for all your help in the

past. You are the only real Mopar guru I
know, with your detailed knowledge of so
many mechanical areas Mopar.
My question is: in what model year did
96 MOPAR ACTION
ON SALE
OCTOBER 21, 2015
Cool Stuff
END GAME
Metro Moulded Parts, Inc.
has revealed their new Door
End Cap Filler Seals for 1975
to 1979 Chrysler 2-door
B-body models. Produced

in the USA from soft but
durable closed-cell EPDM
sponge rubber, these seals
are designed for long-lasting
service in your car. And they

have galvanized steel cores,
for firm, rust-resistant performance. These Gold Series
seals are backed by Metros
15-year full replacement
guarantee. Applications:
Chrysler Cordoba (S, 300);
Dodge Coronet (Custom,
Brougham) / Charger (SE)
/ Monaco (Brougham,
Special) / Magnum XE; and
Plymouth Fury (Custom,
Sport) / 75 Road Runner.
For more info, visit www.
metrommp.com or call (800)
878-2237. Ask about part
number ALP 7017.
BILLET OIL FILTERS

LAT Professional Series high performance oil filters are designed for Top
Fuel and Pro-Stock engines requiring
extremely high oil flow volume and
immediate access for purity examination. The unique LAT filters are equipped
with a 35 micron, Dutch Weave
filter element that is easily removed
for inspection, cleaning and long life.
Additionally a high temperature magnet
captures engine destroying metal
particles and other contaminants. Filter
bodies are machined from 6061 billet
aluminum and fit with a quick release,
spring loaded pin for quick removal of
the canister body and access to the
element and magnet. LAT filters are
TWO MASTERS
Strange Engineering now
offers two different bore size
master cylinders that can be
mounted either on the firewall, like most OEM configurations, or to the frame rail
via the side mounting holes
that are cast into the body.
The Strange dual inline
master cylinder is ideal for
vehicles requiring four wheel
braking. The 1.032 bore
master cylinder (B3360)
is recommended for
vehicles using OEM
brakes, or, a combination of 4-piston rear
brakes and single-piston/
two-piston front brakes. The
designed to operate without a bypass

system so that 100% of the oil is filtered
prior to recirculation through the engine.
Contact LAT direct at 714-585-3247,
on-line at www.latracingoils.com.
1.125 bore master cylinder

(B3359) will allow optimum
volume and pressure for
vehicles using 4-piston calipers on the front and rear.
Rebuild kits and services

are available for the Strange
dual inline style master
cylinders. Strange Engineering offers adjustable proportioning valves, residual
valves, and pressure
test gauges to optimize
your brake system. For
more information visit
www.strangeeng.net
or call 847.663.1701.
SUPER SUPERCHARGER
Kenne Bell, the leader in late model
Hemi supercharger kits, has come out
with the industrys largest displacement, most powerful Twin Screw Kit.
Most supercharger kit manufacturers
and OEMs use the same low-cost
small 2.3L 4x4 lobe rotors for
superchargers. By comparison, the
popular higher horsepower Kenne
Bell Mammoth Kits all use the larger
displacement/higher horsepower 2.8,
3.6, 4.2 Twin Screw with the more
efficient 4x6 lobe rotors. Dodge also
chose the Twin Screw for their new
2015 Challenger SRT8 Hellcat, the first
Musclecar except for the infamous
Ford GT to step up to the more
efficient Twin Screw.
KBs new BIGUN is designed to
take over where the popular Kenne
Bell Mammoth Kits leave off. The
blower is designed for maximum
horsepower competition Hemis and
supports 1200-2000+ HP. It includes
the 2350 cfm (168mm) BIGUN inlet
system vs. the 777 cfm (81mm) stock
Dodge part. The huge unrestricted
rear inlet design allows high pressure
cool dense air to be pulled from the
cowl area like they use in NASCAR
and were popular on many of highly
desirable muscle cars of the golden
era. Like all Kenne Bell superchargers,
the 100% billet 4.7LC supercharger
features exclusive Patented Liquid
Cooling and Seal Pressure Equalizer
for a cooler air charge, higher RPM
and more HP. Also new is the case
injection port which allows for the
injection of alcohol, water and nitrous
for additional air charge cooling. For
more information on the BIGUN, check
out the Kenne Bell Superchargers
website www.kennebell.net or call
909-941-0985.
MOPAR ACTION 97
MOPAR ACTION
December 2014 Advertising Index
440 Source, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Advertising Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Aerospace Components . . . . . . . . . . .53
Antique Auto Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
AR Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
ATI Performance Products . . . . . . . . .69
Auto Body Specialities . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Auto Metal Direct/AMD . . . . . . Cover # 4
B/E & A Restoration Parts . . . . . . . . . .15
Brewers Performance . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Brown & Miller Racing Solutions . . . . .82
DRC Race Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
DTSDrive Train Specialists . . . . . . .52
Edelbrock Performance, Inc. . . . . . . . .47
Extreme Mopar Sportswear. . . . . . . . .58
Fairfield Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep . . . . . .83
Firm Feel, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Goethe Enterprises, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .75
Graphic Express, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Harbor Freight Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
HotwireAuto.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
98 MOPAR ACTION
Hughes Engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Indy Cylinder Heads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Inline Tube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
ISC Racers Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Kenne Bell Racing, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Laysons Restoration, Inc. . . . . . . . . . .39
Legendary Auto Interiors . . . . . . . . . . .49
Liberty Classics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
March Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Master Power Brakes, Inc. . . . . . . . . .51
Mega Mopar Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Mega Mopar Race / Bakersfield, CA . .31
Mopar Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Moparaction.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Mr. Gs Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Muscle Motors, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Passon Performance Transmissions . .32
PEAK Antifreeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Phoenix Graphix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
PST, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover # 3
Ratech, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Rock Auto, LLC.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Schumacher Creative Services . . . . . .41
Schumacher Electric/DSR . . . . . . . . . .61
SMR Transmissions/Converters . . . . . .81
Specialty Fasteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Springs n Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Stephens Performance . . . . . . . . . . .53
Strange Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Summit Racing Equipment . . . . . . . . .13
Superior Design Concepts, Inc. . . . . . .29
System One Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
The Right Stuff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Tonys Mopar Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Tube Tech, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Turbo Action Transmissions . . . . . . . . .49
We Find Parts.com/Cars.com . . . . . . .43
Wheel Vintiques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Year One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover # 2

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Universal

3-Point Conversion Front

Looks like the original but equipped

YEARONE Muscle Car Parts

It took the Dukes to inspire Charger lust in

When you care enough to read the very best.

66 GRAND HEFT AUTO

Like em big? Youd do well with a 66 Chrysler

If youre gonna signicantly boost the power

Where do you spend all of your time in your

FAST & FURIOUS FEATURES

SOLD TO THE MAN WITH THE GREEN IGUANA

SPECIAL 426 HEMI 50TH

26 BIRTH OF THE ELEPHANT

Part 1 of a 3-part series. The origin, development

Is your Mopar a deathtrap? You could be riding on

Clint Eastwood would even enjoy

What could be a better start for a successful

Our Dodge 100th Anniversary Series continues

Chrysler continues its winning ways going

44 HERE COMES THE BRIDE

BIG BLOCK RIDES

Our tasty eye candy 73 Cuda thats packed with

The Mega Mopar Action Series storms into

Chryslers Stock Car Connection Part 9

78 JOURNEY THROUGH HEMILAND

22 BATTLE & BEAUTY

YOU MIGHT LIKE THIS, TOO

MOPAR ACTION (ISSN-1059-0692) is

Who will sign their autograph?

ack in 1959, a group of engineers from

News & Notes

Edited By Phil DePages

e had to beat all three of his Don

Matt Hagan is a happy camper at Route 66.

Jeg Coughlin Jr. Pairs up alongside Greg Anderson

fter winning the 2013 NHRA Pro Stock

Capps Give Mopar Back-to-Back Funny Car Titles

after teammate Tommy Johnson Jr.s scored the teams

engine powered the five-time champion to a

COUGHLIN WINS AGAIN

eg Coughlin Jr. drove the JEGS.com

WISH COMES TRUE

on Schumacher Racing driver Tommy

News & Notes

annual NHRA Thunder Valley

he SRT (Street and Racing

two-hour race resulted in a

weekend in California during

Jim Thornton, Ramcharger, Passes

James. F. Thornton passed

a work/study program leading to

until 1967. Between 1961 and

By Richard Ehrenberg, S.A.E.

Wheel cylinder bore vs. stopping power.

HOW TO GET HELP:

Address all queries to this address:

however, and, if we had any the night before,

Dion Ricketts Photo

Mr. Ehrenberg, I was reading your most recent article

ABOVE: Mike Marmorales Dart cutting corners

brake pedal on a closer level

Safety Council, explaining how

brake pedal extra-wide so the

)- , - -+-,-