Articles by the author Mike Salemme, About
Drag Racing , Pro-Street cars , Vintage Drag Racing cars, Hi-Performance parts, Interviews with builders and drivers.
Scott Robinson is from southern California and has been into cars his whole life, his earliest memories recount his time spent with his father and his friends. Scott's father raced all types of vehicles, drag boats, sand rails, and cars. These experiences made a major impression on Scott and he couldn't wait to be old enough to drive. When he was old enough, he got heavy into off-road motorcycles then when he got his driver's license all bets were off. Scott forgot about racing motorcycles and went all in and started racing cars. The first car he raced wasn't car at all, it was a 1975 Chevy van. But this wasn't any old worn out work van. This van belonged to Scott's father, it featured a destroked 400 cube small-block built by Scott's Dad, it's backed up with a TH-400 automatic transmission and a narrowed 12-bolt rear end. Scott said it was fun ride for his first car, and when he graduated high-school his father gave it to him. The father and son
Get link
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
1973 Dodge Charger
Get link
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
Photos & Text by the author: Mike Salemme 12/16/2020
This 1973 Dodge Charger 500 2 door hardtop came from the factory with a small block 318 LA engine and a 904 Torque-flite automatic transmission. It was originally shifted by a steering column mounted shifter.
Through the years it has been owned by several different Mopar care takers. As recently as 2004 the car was repainted in its original bronze hue. The chassis was refreshed with a complete front and rear suspension that was rebuilt with new shocks and torsion bars, upper & lower ball joints and sub frame bushings.
The complete braking system was replaced including front pads, rotors, seals and bearings, the rear received the same treatment with new drums, shoes, and return springs as well as wheel cylinders.
The rear end now features new heavy-duty leaf springs, a Richmond rear gear set with a 4:10 ratio and a sure grip with new bearings and axle seals gets the power to the ground.
In 2005 I purchased the Charger as a roller with no engine or transmission. It was quickly brought back from North West Ohio to North Jersey, where on a week off from work as a technician at a local Chevrolet dealer, I transformed this once boring and slow Charger into a ground pounding Street Machine.
The car now features a classic day 2 look, with speed equipment that was available at the time .
Gone are the boring stock Rally wheels and now feature classic Ansen Sprint aluminum mags.
The fronts are 15x7 with 235/60 r15 tires, the rears are 15x8.5 with 275/60 r15 tires, I'm now looking for a set of 15x10 to 15x 14 Ansen's for the rear to give it a more over the top stance. The rear suspension was up-fitted with classic Gabriel Air shocks and a Mopar Performance adjustable pinon snubber to keep the rear end in perfect alignment.
The Power Plant
The boat anchor 318 is gone and now features an eye popping big-block Chrysler 400 H.P. Wedge headed monster.
The 400 was bored 30' and stroked with a crank from a 440 giving it a total of 452 cubes, for cam choice I went with a Mopar Performance purple hyd .cam with 280' duration and .474 lift. It gives the car a nice choppy idle but it's still street friendly.
Moving up we find high flowing factory fresh 452 heads with 2.14 intake valves and 1.81 exhaust valves. Fired by an MSD spark box. It's Cooled by an aluminum M.P.water pump and aluminum 2 row radiator from Summit Racing with two electric fans.
In the near future the heads are giving way for an upgrade to aluminum Trick Flow's or Edelbrock's with stainless steel 1.6 roller rockers by PRW.
Rounding out this engine is the very rare Mopar M1 Tunnel Ram intake manifold equipped with two Edelbrock 600 cfm. carbs topped off with Call Custom veloctiy stacks and features A/N -8 lines to the rear mounded 10 gallon RCI aluminum fuel cell & Holley blue pump, with a Moroso Cool Can giving it a vintage vibe.
The transmission is a heavy-duty Chrysler 727 automatic unit . It features a Hemi 5.0 lever and a Coan torque converter featuring a a 3000 RPM stall speed and a Turbo Action Pro-Street valve body. It is controlled by a B&M Mega Shifter on the floor where it belongs. The tires bark on the 1-2 shift and chirps on the 2-3 shift.
The interior features RCI racing bucket seats and five point safety belts.
The vital signs are monitored by classic Sun-pro gauges on the hood for the 1970's look and on the inside you can find a big 5 inch Auto Meter Monster-Tach.
Some photos were taken before some parts were installed.
Future plans include installing a 1971 Charger Hide-Away grille assembly and 1972 Charger tail lights,
The 400 Mopar was stroked to 452 cubes with a rare Mopar M1 Tunnel Ram with 2 Edelbock 600's and a MSD spark box fires the NGK V- Power plugs.
Huge 2 row aluminum radiator with 2- 12 inch fans keep things cool and an aluminum water pump and housing from Mopar Performance keep the coolant flowing.
In this view we can see the Earls A/N fittings and chrome fuel log with built in pressure gauge, from Summit Racing .
Future plans are installing a FAST fuel injection system with a coil pack ignition system.
Here is a view of the Moroso Super cool-can and the fuel pressure regulator with Aeroquip hi-pressure hose.
Some decals give it that day 2 look !
Update 9/21
Here is a view of the new stainless steel PRW 1.6 Ratio roller rocker arms .
In this installment of What's in The Garage we check out Paul Kaufmann's over the top Plymouth Arrow. What was once an old street race car from Detroit, it's now a Hemi powered street-machine that looks like noting else on the road. This one is still in the garage but its about to break free. Ten years were spent on this build spanning over four states; New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia and now Florida. The story is extensive and Paul has many people to thank. Paul stated that this his first EFI project and its been a blast getting together. Lots of engineering went into planning and executing the build, he had two machinists, one body guy, one chassis shop, and an engine & transmission builder, the list goes on & on ! Paul states he is still wrapping up technical issues and getting ready for the road. Paul stated that the street tires and wheelie bars don't jive but he had the chassis shop build them for him so he can get her on the
Scott Robinson is from southern California and has been into cars his whole life, his earliest memories recount his time spent with his father and his friends. Scott's father raced all types of vehicles, drag boats, sand rails, and cars. These experiences made a major impression on Scott and he couldn't wait to be old enough to drive. When he was old enough, he got heavy into off-road motorcycles then when he got his driver's license all bets were off. Scott forgot about racing motorcycles and went all in and started racing cars. The first car he raced wasn't car at all, it was a 1975 Chevy van. But this wasn't any old worn out work van. This van belonged to Scott's father, it featured a destroked 400 cube small-block built by Scott's Dad, it's backed up with a TH-400 automatic transmission and a narrowed 12-bolt rear end. Scott said it was fun ride for his first car, and when he graduated high-school his father gave it to him. The father and son
This week's tip will improve your muscle cars performance ! Cold fuel will vaporize more quickly than hot fuel, so adding a cooler can add horsepower. You can buy one or you can save some cash by making one. Take a large coffee can and line a coil of copper tubing around inside of it. Drill holes at the top and bottom of the can for the copper line to enter and exit. Attach the appropriate fittings to the copper line to connect it in series to the Carb. Seal the line to the can to prevent leaks. Connect the fuel lines, fill the can with water, and inspect the can for leaks. If there are no leaks, fill the can to the top with ice, and install the lid. As fuel circulates through the copper coil, the ice will cool it. When it hits the hot manifold, it will vaporize instantly, and be ready to ignite when the plug fires! You can drop 1-2-tenths off a 1/4-mile time,and increase speed by 4-5 mph. Moroso also makes a plastic version that keeps the ice colder and it doesn't rust o
Comments
Post a Comment