Mopar Goodguys 6/2/2019

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

'70 Superbee 383 4-speed

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

REAL '71 Hemi Cuda 4-speed; one of only 11 Hemi Cudas exported to Canada 
Rare original Billboard Stripe Car.  Owner - Wade

Here's a great background on the car, recently posted by @RzeroB from the 'Random Hemi E-Body of the Week' topic.
BS23R1B242209. It is finished in gorgeous FJ6 Sassy-Grass-Green perfectly accented with V6X black billboard stripes and a V1X black vinyl top.
On the inside it has the rarely seen H5X9 black and white cloth and vinyl interior of which only two other '71 HemiCuda's are known to have come from the factory with. It is a four-speed car and has the A34 Super-Track-Pack 4:10 geared Dana Axle Pkg, A62 Rallye Gauge Pkg, B51 Power Disc Brakes, H31 Rear Window Defogger, L34 Road Lamps, and the R26 AM/Cassette Radio among other nice things.

The car is a Canadian spec car and was originally sold by Norvan Chrysler of North Vancouver BC to Randy O'Brien of Smithers BC. I mention Randy because he had an unusual use for the R26 AM/Cassette Radio that he had ordered for the car. Randy would dangle the microphone outside his driver's window, hit "record", and then do a big hairy burnout! Later, he would replay the cassette on his home stereo so he could enjoy the sounds of his handiwork ... the roaring Hemi and the screaming polyglass tires ... now that's a true gearhead!
Sometime in the mid-'70's the Hemi "blew a valve" (broke a valve spring and swallowed a valve?). Whether that occurred during one of Randy's "recording sessions" or not who knows! Anyway, the wounded Hemi was pulled and another Hemi was found, purchased and installed in its place. Randy continued to enjoy the car for another couple of years but eventually wound up selling it in 1977 ... and that's when the car entered it's "dark" period.

The second owner, David Husby, was a man with a mission. His "mission" was to turn the car into a street racing monster. To do so he employed the help of Jack Williams Speed Shop in Vancouver. Jack was no stranger to Hemis and E-bodies as he had his own '70 HemiCuda race car and sponsored a number of Vancouver area racers under his "Syndicate Scuderia" moniker, or as it was more commonly known as, "The Syndicate." Jack's shop added headers and a bunch of other go-fast goodies to the engine. To clear the carbs, they removed the Shaker hood and added a fiberglass one with a Sox and Martin style scoop on it. For faster shifts, they removed the 4-speed and installed a race-prepped automatic in its place. To complete the transformation they then painted the entire car black ... in an effort to make it more bad-ass looking, or maybe more stealthy in the dark of night, or maybe it was just David's preference ... who knows. Transformation complete, the car took to the streets of Vancouver and it didn't take long for it to make a name for itself. It came to be known as "The Street Sweeper" because it pretty much "cleaned up" wherever it ran (and raked in a bunch of money)! As the '80's turned into the '90's and the value of these cars took off, David decided to have the car restored backt to original. Parts and pieces were sourced and installed and a fresh coat of Sassy-Grass-Green was applied thus ending the "Street Sweeper's" reign.

In 2007 David sold the car to a "flipper" who in turn sold it to its fourth and current owner Wade Ogle. If you know Wade, you know that he likes cars that are unique in their configuration or history giving them a certain "provenance" as he likes to say. So although this car did not have its original engine or transmission, it's combination of being a Sassy-Grass-Green car with the rare black and white cloth and vinyl interior and a 4-speed gave it the appeal necessary to be added to Wade's collection.

The previous restoration done during David's ownership was not up to Wade's high standards. Wade employed the services of (the now defunct) Aloha Restorations in Wisconsin to do the metal work and a few other things. Once he received the car back from Aloha, Wade rolled up his sleeves and got to work attending to all the details that separate a presentable restoration from a fantastic one. The result of his hard work is evident in the beautifully restored HemiCuda you see here. As it turns out, it's just not here that you may have seen it. It was also prominently featured in the November 2010 issue of Muscle Car Review where it was both the cover car and the subject of a great feature article written Jerry Heasley.
During the restoration, the VIN of the engine in the car was noted and determined to be from a Canadian spec '70 HemiCuda. Since the engine was not original to Wade's car, Wade wanted to see if he could reunite the engine with it's original car. He put the word out and through a "friend of a friend" he discovered that the '70 HemiCuda that the engine came out was in fact alive and well in Canada! Peter Wille of British Columbia owned the white with blue interior HemiCuda and a deal was struck that would return Peter's original engine to him in exchange for a date-code correct non-stamped engine for Wade's car.

Fast forward a few years to 2013/14 in Vancouver and Jack Williams was retiring and was having a going out of business sale at his shop. George Kanavaros, looking for some items for his '70 440-6 Cuda, saw a complete black Shaker hood hanging from the wall and bought it. George noticed green paint under the black and learned which car that hood had originally came from. He contacted Wade and they worked out a trade where Wade sent George a '70 Shaker hood in exchange for the original Shaker hood to Wade's car.

Another George was also at Jack Williams going out of business sale. George Pappas bought Jack Williams' '70 HemiCuda "Syndicate Scuderia" race car and a bunch of parts. At the 2014 MCACN show in Chicago George met up with Wade started showing Wade some pictures of Jack Williams' HemiCuda. He shows Wade a picture of a transmission and then stops. Wade's like "ok it's a 4-speed what about it?" "Look closer" George says and it's then that Wade sees that the transmission in in the photo is the original one to his car! A deal was struck where they would trade transmissions in order to return the original transmission to Wade's car. 

George Pappas wasn't done. As for the parts George bought, they included a pair of '70-'71 Hemi exhaust manifolds with date codes on them that would be consistent with the SPD of Wade's car. Though there is no way to tell for sure if they came off of Wade's car, the coincidence is uncanny. So yet another deal was made and Wade bought the manifolds that in all likelihood were original to his car. The following spring George met up with Wade again at the Spring Fling show in Van Nuys CA. George is talking to Wade when he whips out a bunch of old pictures of Wade's car. "What the ... where did you get those!" Turns out George found them while sifting through a bunch of old memorabilia and photos at Jack's shop before it closed down and he graciously gave them to Wade.

I love how all these great things happen in an effort to get original parts back to their original cars. Now if only the wounded original Hemi that "blew a valve" could be found ... how awesome would that be?!

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

'70 Challenger R/T 440-6 4-speed

'70 Challenger T/A; a real Mr. Norms car and a rare factory ordered tri-tone color combo: Purple paint, Black interior, and White vinyl top.  Highway 61 casted this car in 1:18th scale in a limited 402 production

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

'70 Coronet R/T 440-6 4-speed

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

'68 Charger 440

'70 Cuda 383 4-speed triple black; Canadian export car 

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA

Original un-restored 1970 Dodge RT/SE 426 Hemi Charger auto

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More pictures from the June 1-2, 2019 Goodguys Mopar Indoor Display in Pleasanton, CA.

Real Hemi car; '68 Hemi Roadrunner 4-speed