Muscle Cars: 1970 Dodge Charger 500

About My Car
My car is a 1970 Dodge Charger 500 made to look like a 69 Dodge Charger R/T.

Motor:Originally the car came with a 318,but now has a big block 383Hp in it with a 3/4 race Crane cam,a slight stroker crank,a .030 over bore,flat top pistons,Hedman Headers,a 2 1/2" H pipe crossover exhaust with Glasspack mufflers,a Holley 700CFM Double Pumper carb,an MSD 6AL ignition control box.The mechanical fan has been replaced by two electronic puller fans with a thermostatic switch and a manual override switch.I also added an oil cooler.I've never dynoed it,but I would guess that this combo is putting out around 400 Horsepower and about 475 ft lbs of torque (as a stock 383HP was rated at 330 horsepower and 425 ft lbs torque).

Transmission:727 Torqueflite with a 2800 stall converter,shift kit, and a deeper than stock TCI pan and a B&M transmission cooler.

Rearend:Stock 8 3/4 with 3.23 gears and a Sure-Grip unit.

Suspension:Front = Stock.Lowered by torsion bars about 1". I upgraded to .96 Torsion bars which is one above that used for 440 and Hemi cars and just below what would be used for Autocross use.I also switched from the stock manual drum brakes up front to 12.75 inch disc brakes and upgraded to power brakes with a Mopar Performance 1.031" bore Master Cylinder. Rear=Heavy Duty Leaf Springs with the front shackles flipped to improve pinion angle and give a slight drop along with 1 " lowering blocks and air shocks.

Wheels: Front= 15"x7" Prime wheels with 215 75 HR15 BF Goodrich tires. Rear= 15"x8.5" Prime wheels on 275 60 HR15 BF Goodrich tires.

Body: 1970 Dodge Charger with a 1969 front end.In other words all the sheetmetal from the doors forward is '69.This is because the previous owner had been using Nitrous and had engaged the Nitrous system too late,thus over revving the engine,shooting the rods out and blowing the front end off.Subframe connectors have been added.A flat black hood reminiscent of the 1969 1/2 6BBL Roadrunners and 1969 1/2 Six Pack Super Bees. A custom painted 1968 Bumble Bee tail stripe with a dodge ram logo.The car now also sports all R/T badging.

Interior: Stockish.I replaced the front seats with Bucket seats out of a 1990 Honda Accord.The rear seats have been reupholstered.Has a console shifter from a 1968 Charger.I replaced the clock in the dash with an Auto Meter tach.

Fun Stuff: Street Glow neon underbody kit. Hidden Dixie horn(like the Dukes of Hazzard General Lee). Roadrunner horn in place of the stock one. Old time siren. Flamethrower kit for the exhaust.Alpine Stereo with Alpine 6x9s,12" Pioneer free air subs, and a Rockford Fosgate Amp.A license plate frame on the rear that says "I know,I know license and registration please."The front license plate has been replaced by a rebel flag(no second generation Charger is complete without one :)

Track times:The previous owner used it as his bracket car and claims a best of 12.02 @ 118 MPH. Personally,I've never ran it down the 1/4 mile.I've played around with some other cars on the street and have never been disappointed.

Top Speed: In high school everybody was bragging about how fast a friend of mine's dad's truck would go.So,one night on the way home from school he pulled up behind me.I thought,"OK,let's see just how fast it is." I was going about 60 MPH,I dropped the hammer,took off,and left him sucking wind. He said he stayed with me till about 147 MPH and I was still pulling away. So I figure I was going probably 152 MPH and I still had peddle left.Did I mention it was like a cruise missile.It didn't wander,drift or feel light whatsoever.

I did most of the modifications and work on the car myself. Although,I did have a shop put the engine together for me, another rebuild the trans.,and a friend shoot the paint for me(I did the body work.I also laid out the rear stripe and Dodge logo on each quarter panel.).Other than that I have done more or less all the work myself with the help of friends.I can't think of anything on the car I haven't worked on,torn apart,etc. at one point in time or another myself.

I found the car in the local newspaper the summer before my Junior year in high school.It was owned by a mechanic.I almost didn't even go look at the car because of it being a 1970,until I talked to the owner and found out it had a 69 front end on it.I was contemplating buying a 1970 Cuda instead which was already done(paint,motor,etc.). Both cars were actually orange with black interior.But I had always wanted a Charger.Besides,when Mitch(the owner) took me for that first ride in the Charger I was hooked and very impressed.He hit the throttle while going about 45 MPH and it set me back in my seat.That's all it took.So with 1200 dollars I received from the sale of my Palomino horse and the money I received from work,I purchased the Charger for 2500 dollars,making it in fact my first car.It served as my daily driver for 10 years.I have never been afraid to drive my car whether in sun,snow,rain,etc..Mind you,the Charger was pretty rough when I bought it.The hood was already flat black,but it had a big ol amoeba shaped spot in the center of the hood from a backfire through the carb that blistered the paint.The heater never shut off.The rear seat had all sorts of cracks and rips in it.The passenger side quarter panel and door had a big long dent in them.Cool story actually.Mitch had agreed to give a friend of his a ride home from the race track.When they arrived at the friends house there were about 4 or 5 guys there waiting to beat the heck out of the friend.Mitch made sure his friend got in the house ok,but on the way back to his car those guys jumped him.He fought his way out,got in the car,fired it up,and peeled out of the driveway.Unfortunately,across the street from the driveway a Cal Trans(they do the upkeep and construction on California's roads) truck with a huge brush guard on the front was parked.So,when he drifted out of the driveway,he drifted the car right into that brush guard.I suppose what what makes it special to me is all the good memories I have of time spent with friends family and loved ones either in adventures we have had in it,or working on it together.

About me

I've always been interested in cars.Growing up I always dreamed of being a car designer,which never came to fruition.But,I became the next best thing,a metal man.Which is really cool.The shop I work at is a 2 man operation,so I have been able to gain the skills of metal man,frame man,and painter.Several of my older neighbors(older siblings of my friends) had muscle cars.primarily Mopar muscats,Dusters,Cudas,Super Bees,Chargers.And those cars had pretty good reputations as being some of the fastest cars in our county.To show you how serious I am about cars.It was literally my first word as a kid even though my Dad is a rancher by trade.

I chose this car because of a certain white 69 Charger owned by a neighbor who lived right across from my bus stop when I was about in 2nd or 3rd grade.One morning while waiting for the bus, he came home and did a gnarly burnout/drift into his driveway.That was the absolute coolest thing I had ever seen,as well as the coolest car I had ever seen.Of course The Dukes of Hazzard came out shortly thereafter.Need I say more?

I currently am not involved in any car clubs,but have several friends and acquaintances who occasionally invite me to participate in things.The Beast as I call it has been on TV on a few instances in commercials and such.

Because the car isn't stock,I therefore have to enter it in the modified class.Because of this,I don't enter it it in a lot of shows.But,I do attend several shows each year.I attend and enter Kool April Nites,and HotAutoRama,Hot Rods and Hogs(3 local shows) each year.I attend the San Francisco Rod and Custom Show,The Sacramento Autorama,The Corning Car Show, and for the first time last year,The SEMA show.

I also try to attend the Fram Autolite Nationals in Sonoma every summer,as well as the local drag races and circle track races as often as possible.

Unfortunately,as I said before the competition in the classes I have to enter the car in I have no awards to date.

I am also a co-owner in a 1972 Dodge Charger with a co-worker which is in need of a redo.Hopefully it will be done as an resto mod version of an R/T clone.