Table of contents for October 2023 in Mopar Action

AH, THE JOY OF BREATHING in pure unadulterated O2 molecules in a pollution-free environment. Kudos to federal, state, local and neighborhood regulators and the near-infinite amount of legislation and restrictions they have passed to provide us citizens (and non-citizens) with a nationwide hospital room-sterile environment. Out with fossil fuels. No more gas and diesel-powered cars and trucks. Ban jet fuel burning planes. Blow up fossil fuel and coal-burning electrical power stations. Hello to solar, wind, ocean wave, geothermal and pedal bicycle generators (we could power an entire community by putting our vast prison population to good use), fusion and possibly extra-terrestrial alien power technology. In the meantime, electric-powered vehicles seem to be the latest fad to save mankind from the imminent catastrophe of climate change. Forget about the pollution created…

TRANS OLD WIVE'S TALE I just rebuilt an A833 overdrive transmission to replace the close-ratio 833 in my 360 ‘69 Dart. I saw in an on-line forum that they say that the OD is weak ‘cause the cluster gear shaft is loose in the case and should have bushings in the case to tighten it up. Is this true and can you give me details on how to do it properly if needed? I have been burned by on-line forum BS in the past. John Palmer Bakersfield, CA John– Absolutely not true, it is just the strong as any other 23-spline A833, it was even used in <5,550 lb. GVW trucks. This mod was done for noise reduction (gear rattle suppression), and it worked. Just be sure the cupped plugs…

IF YOU FIND YOURSELF in the market for a new vehicle and looking for a family friendly way to enjoy an in-person hands on approach to your automotive research, not to mention the experience of seeing the most recent new model unveilings and cutting-edge concept car reveals— the New York International Auto Show has it all. As North America's first and longest running automotive exhibition (held annually for 123 years since 1900!), the New York International Auto Show provides a one-stop shop opportunity to explore the world's newest vehicles. This year's show ran from April 7th to April 16th, 2023 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, NYC, as it has since 1987. On display and up front at the Stellantis exhibit was the impressive and show-stopping seventh and…

MIKE RICKETTS KNOWS HORSEPOWER, and he's got the bonafides to prove it. A native of the Motor City, he has had fast street cars and restored race cars in the past, but when he called us over to look at his 1970 ‘Cuda convertible on display in Building T at Carlisle, we didn't see what the big deal was. A nice car, to be sure, but it is not until you understand just how much it has been changed that it makes a real impression. And the fact he reworked it in honor of his late mother Irene only adds to its story. Ricketts laughs, “My mom was the hot rodder. She always wanted a ‘Cuda convertible, and she got one in the middle of winter 1972, at a repossession…

UP TO SPEED-AND A PEEK AHEAD WE'RE UP TO INSTALLMENT NUMBER 6 of who knows how many? No matter, here's a quick rundown on what you've missed: We're currently building not one, but two green 1969 A-bodies with 3rd-gen Hemis. The first is now finished, the super low-buck version basic ‘69 Dart hardtop which you'll be reading about momentarily. When we dropped our pen last time, the car was very nearly on the road, missing, mainly, wheels and tires. Second up, which we'll be wrenching on soon enough, is an even-more stripped 1969 Valiant 100 center-pillar sedan, an ex-Bell System foreman's car—the lowestcost Mopar you could buy in 1969! Eventually (and quite appropriately) dubbed “The Green Brick” by a reader, the car was quite well known in the 1990s, even…

WARM & TOASTY DEPT HOT BOX HATERS! Unless you live in sunny Key West or Death Valley, you'll need to have yours working at least occasionally. It's one of those items that you simply expect to work when you need it, and tend to ignore when you don't. However, if that in-dash heater core springs a leak, spewing ethylene glycol onto your once-primo carpet, you'll surely be anxious to get it fixed, like right now. As an oft-neglected unit, the heater box gets quite ratty on our typical 50-60-yearold Mopars. Even if the core doesn't pee coolant, it may be clogged, the housing might full of fossilized (or live!) mice, and the foam rubber components have probably turned to dust, resulting in noisy, leaky, drafty operation. The blower motor is likely…

BAD NEWS FOR MO'FANS but good news for tattoo parlors and hair stylists. As of October 18, 2014, Fiat Chrysler is officially retiring the beloved Pentastar in favor of the new corporate stylized FCA logo. So will legions of Mo'fans sporting Pentastar ‘toos and ‘doos be required to have them “tuned up” to FCA trim? If so, the skin stickers and scalp sculptors may see a biz boom. ‘Course, that visual Pentastar adorning any Mo'fans’ persona merely reflects the icon that's burned into their souls. The Pentastar has been synonymous with Mopar since 1962 when Chrysler President Lynn Townsend wanted a logo that would be easily identified with Chrysler. And so the Pentastar was born, first seen on ‘63 Mopars. Created by Robert Stanley, who also created the Pentastar name,…

IT'S A SUNDAY IN MAY, sunshine blazing and beautiful people everywhere. I'm standing on pit road for Bump Day at the legendary Brickyard, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Having completed several days doing MotorTrend TV commentary with Mecum Auctions, announcer John Kraman, MCACN manager Bob Ashton and I have a final day in Indiana to enjoy what truly is a spectacle of automobile racing. Now, before you spit on the page, I get it. Chrysler's last appearance at this event, save for pacing it via Vipers and the unfortunate 1971 Challenger “incident”, was in 1969 with an ill-fated LA-series engine program that did not qualify. Prior to that, this race actually played a very significant role in Chrysler's engineering history. That was because it was during an Indy car engine dyno pull…

DUSTER DASH Richard– 1973 Duster 340, what has to be removed to replace the dash pad? Also, while replacing the pad, the wiper arm on the passenger side does not work. What part connects to wiper arm, plastic? Should I replace wiper seals on firewall, a small leak just a guess on this problem. Our car has factory air under the dash. Roger Hilbert Charlestown, IN Roger– Wiper linkage grommets (a/k/a bushings): ebay.com/itm/225494135710. That's the easy part. Crash pad swap is a miserable job with the dash panel in the car, but taking the dash out means removing the windshield. Kind of a lose-lose situation— unless you also need a windshield. If your significant other is sensitive to four letter words, get her some earplugs before starting this job. Minimum…

WHAT DO SHIRLEY MULDOWNEY, Shirley Shahan and Judy Lilly all have in common (well, besides that)? Plymouth sponsorship. Shahan's visibility as a “racing housewife” in 1965 and her Winternationals victory in 1966 had generated a lot of solid publicity for that brand. When she switched to Dodge for 1967, Plymouth needed a new female spokesperson and chose a young driver from Denver who already had proven skills. Judy Lilly had recently taken her Modified-class Corvette to a class win at the Indy Nationals, which may be what got her the attention of the Mopar factory reps. We believe she was offered Shahan's old deal, and we think that was why this Belvedere I sedan came to her with a factory installed A102 Street Hemi. OK, so? This car was built…

MIKE SAYS he was standing with a friend in the T-building Family Cars display when a graceful woman showed up out of nowhere. “She was reading my display sign for the car, all about my mother and the car, not what I have done to it. And this woman starts crying and I'm like, ‘excuse me, are you alright?’ She says, ‘this is just very touching.’ I said, ‘well, you can't be crying because you're going to get me crying.’ So, then the next thing you know, it was like all the water works with me and this woman, so I let her inside the chains and showed her the car. I had her sitting in the car “Now, everybody knows me as Mike, and she looks at me and…

SAM HARNER has a big banner that he displays with his ‘68 Hemi Barracuda stating, “This car checks off the last item on my bucket list.” Very few of us reach the point of saying, “Yep, got the whole list crossed off,” let alone announcing it in writing. But when you hear two things, it makes sense. The first is that he has already had 73 years of long and impressive accomplishment, and the second is that the car is a dream that started when he was 18. He got bit by the Barracuda bug when he landed an opportunity to be on the pit crew for a Pro Stock racer by the name of “Rapid Ronnie” Lyles, Of course, Ron ran a ‘68 Barracuda, it was magnificent, and Ron…

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IF I HAD A NICKEL for every time I have heard these stories, I'd be close to my annual salary here at Mopar Action. You know the drill, which goes a l'il something like this—“I inherited this car or bought this Mopar to relive my youth”, and guess what? You have less time or knowledge now than you did back then. Then there's, “I bought this car, and something isn't right, but my buddy's cousin's uncle three times removed is gonna help me out…” (the wait's been goin’ on 2 years now). This is my all-time sympathetic favorite—“My car has been laid up at this shop for three years and they haven't done anything to it except use it as a shelf! Will I ever get it back? I am…

DROPTOP GORGEOUS DEPT THERE WAS SOMETHING about the look. The 1970 redesign of the Coronet, in its final iteration as a twodoor musclecar in R/T and Super Bee trim, has always been a “love it or hate it” deal for many. The body restyling, smoother than ever before with twin chrome headlamp surrounds, made its debut in a year when GM had spiked their 400-CI limit and in-house competition was fierce with Challengers, Chargers, and Plymouth's new Rapid Transit System all vying for your money. With insurance premiums on the rise as a final gut-punch, convertible Coronet R/Ts with Hemi power would be few and far between that year. Indeed, they would actually be among the very rarest of all Mopars ever constructed, with just 2 of the cars being…

ON WITH THE SHOW DEPT WHEN BILL MILLER RETIRED from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to go into his landscape business, Mulch, Hoe & Mow* (not his company's real name, we just threw that in there to amuse ourselves), you could say he went from law enforcement to “lawnforcement” (hey, only in Mopar Action, folks). His business ride and daily driver was a Ram pickup that would take him hither and yon and back again (the Walmart was in Yon), but there always was something gnawing in the back of his head—and it wasn't a beaver. It was a Charger. See, when Bill was a kid growing up scarfing down *The real name is Domestic Landscape where Bill installs pavers, synthetic turf, yard lighting and custom mailboxes exclusively designed…

TRY THIS ON YOUR LUNCH BREAK DEPT CALL IT THE “HOLY CRAP” CAR. See, when Dave Revens pulls into a car show, his mostly stock-appearing black ‘86 Daytona seldom warrants a second glance. That changes as the sound of electric motors tilting up the nose turns heads with “what the hell…” Then when the whole body lifts rearward, all controlled by a conventional car remote key fob, you hear a chorus of “holy craps!” Dave got the idea for his “Tiltona” back in the mid-'80s, when he saw pictures of Rick Dobbertin's tiltingbody Pontiac J2000 showcar, which was a big-deal custom. “That car just tripped my trigger,” says Dave, “I had to have one.” But this Mopar man wanted a new Dodge Daytona, not some punk Poncho, for his project.…

SNOOZE ALERT BRAD DRAVENSTOTT was looking for a sleeper-type ride, and in 2016 he found this ‘68 Valiant for sale on Craigslist in Ohio—a bit of a jump from his home in Charlton Heights, West Virginia, but no big deal. The econocar came with a turbo'd 440 under the hood, and Brad made some more improvements. He swapped the turbo for an eBay-sourced 76mm Garrett GT40 unit, dropped in a 727 as well as a 3.23 8¼ʺ rear out of a Duster. He figures the big-block is putting out in the neighborhood of 400 ponies, but Brad says he's scared to take it down the track with the car's manual steering and smallish 9ʺ drum brakes. We agree… MEMORY MACHINE BACK IN 1970, when Jon Kachel just a high school…