1970 Dodge Charger 500
Mark Hulan Port St. Lucie, FL
It pays to keep your eyes peeled, even when you’re vacationing on foreign soil. While traveling through Puerto Rico, Mark Hulan ran across this ’70 Charger, which had been on the island for the past 40 years. It needed a restoration, but was very complete and rust free. Mark had it shipped back to the States and began the build. The paint and interior went back to the stock B5 blue and white respectively, but the 318 underhood had to go. Starting with a ’70 440 block, Mark used a stroker kit from Muscle Motors to take the RB Mopar Wedge up to 500 ci. Of course everything else behind it had to be beefed up to handle the new Chryco power, so both the 727 and 8.75 rear were prepped to channel the twist without fail. Though he hasn’t made it out to the track yet, Mark fully intends to soon and is hoping for low 12- or high 11-second passes. He’s even planning on throwing on some sticky rear tires to see just how far he can push it.
Engine: 500ci “RB” Chrysler Wedge big-block stroker with Eagle crank and rods, Icon pistons, Pro Comp heads, COMP Cams .620-inch lift solid roller cam, Edelbrock dual-quad intake, and 650-cfm Carter AFB carbs
Trans: race-prepped 727 TorqueFlite three-speed automatic with 3,000-stall converter
Rearend: 8.75-inch Mopar with 3.55 gears and Strange axles
Suspension: rebuilt stock with polyurethane bushings up front, stock leafs with custom pinion snubber in the rear; drag shocks, front and rear
Brakes: PST power disc brakes front, stock drums in the rear
Wheels & Tires: 15x8 Magnum 500 wheels with 265/60R15 and 295/60R15 Futura Super Sport tires
1969 Dodge Dart Custom
Chris Holley Montgomery, PA
Just a few days before his 20th birthday in 1989, Chris Holley purchased his ’69 Dart Custom. Originally a 318 car, a 340 had been swapped in somewhere along the way and all the A/C equipment had been removed. That suited Chris just fine since his intention was to build a drag car out of it. He started college about that time and the Dart spent most of the next few years in his parents’ garage while he saved money and collected parts. By 1992 he had a stack of fiberglass parts (hood, bumpers, fenders) and enough cash to pay a friend to spray it ’85 Corvette White. During the next eight years the 340 and the 904 trans were rebuilt and the suspension was gone through. By 2001, with all of Chris’ college behind him, the Dart debuted on the track with an 8.18 eighth-mile run. Since then many different combos have been on the Dart in pursuit of quicker e.t.’s. In its current form the Dart weighs 2,853 pounds and is good for 7.128 at 95 in the eighth, and 11.36 in the quarter at 118.78 mph with a 1.500 60-foot time. In 2011, Chris even took home a championship in Outlaw Street at Beaver Springs Raceway.
Engine: 340ci LA-series Chrysler small-block with Edelbrock heads, Edelbrock Torker II intake, and Direct Connection .557-inch lift cam
Trans: 904 TorqueFlite three-speed automatic with PTC 4,800-stall converter
Suspension: slant-six torsion bars and Competition Engineering shocks up front, CalTracs monoleaf and traction bars in the rear with Rancho nine-way shocks
Rearend: 8.75-inch rear with 4.10 Richmond gears
Brakes: Wilwood four-piston discs front, stock drum rear
Wheels & Tires: Weld 15x.3.5 and 15x7 wheels with 26x3.5 and 26x9 Hoosier tires
1971 Pontiac GTO
Douglas Fiechtner, Platteville, CO
Engine: 455ci Pontiac with “197” casting H.O. heads, .577 lift COMP cam, Edelbrock dual-carb intake and twin Edelbrock carbs
Trans: Muncie M21 four-speed manual trans
Rearend: 12-bolt with 3.73 gears
Suspension: stock with PST Polygraphite bushings and traction bars in the rear
Brakes: stock discs with cross-drilled rotors up front, stock drums in the rear
Wheels & Tires: 15x7 and 15x8 Spyder wheels with 235/60R15 and 275/60R15 Goodyear Eagle tires
Cool Factoid: Doug has owned the GTO since he was 16 when he found it behind a local dealership and talked the owner out of it.
Eighteen years is a long time to have a car, especially if you’re only 34, but that’s how long David Bonaskiewich and his LeMans have been together. It was his first car, and David writes, it “feels like an old friend.” We’re sure that has something to do with the fact the David and father did a great deal of the work on the car in the beginning, including dropping and modifying the 400ci engine pulled from a ’70s Firebird. The LeMans had been painted several times, but about seven years ago David decided it was time to do it right. Since he does automotive paint for a living, he handled all of the stripping, prepping, and spraying the PPG Orbit Orange. In the process, he made sure the final finish was straight as an arrow. After that, it got a new interior and a fresh set of American Racing wheels with Nitto rubber, and the LeMans was better than ever.
b 400ci Pontiac with “6X” cast-iron heads, Crane .454-inch lift hydraulic cam, Edelbrock Performer intake, and 750-cfm carb
Trans: Turbo 350 three-speed automatic with shift kit
Rearend: stock with 3.08 gears and limited slip
Suspension: KYB shocks and one coil cut on the springs, BMI 2-inch drop springs in the rear with KYB shocks
Brakes: stock drums, front and rear
Wheels & Tires: American Racing VNT70 17x8 and 17x9 wheels with 235/50R17 and 275/50R17 Nitto tires