Random Hemi E-Body of the Week

[wingcarenvy]

RzeroB, I just read all 25 pages of this fantastic thread. I truly enjoyed it and I hope you continue. This is truly a historical archive of the Hemi E bodies out there. There should be more threads like this for other rare Mopars.

[GCragtop]

Great pics, thanks for sharing.

[RzeroB]

Got behind the power-curve this week ... so to make up for it we're going to do a "two-fer" ... in fact we'll make it a Steven Juliano "two-fer" while we're at it. Steven Juliano and his cars have been in the media a lot lately thanks to his estate auction held at Mecum's Spring Indy auction. You know Steven (some of you perhaps personally) and his reputation as the ultimate collector. You also know many of his cars and extreme detail that Steven put into restoring them back to how they left the factory. Steven, his cars and his collections were all on full display at the Mecum Spring Indy show, and a spectacular show it was.

Steven's cars were pretty well know and some were media stars appearing online and in magazines like Mopar Action. However, one thing that was never shown was the VIN or fender tag info (at least I could never find them). Besides seeing most of his cool stuff at Indy, one of the things that I was looking forward to was finally learning what the VINs of his two Hemi Challenger RT sunroof cars were. As we now know, only his '70 Hemi Challenger RT sunroof car actually made it to auction. As for his '71 Hemi Challenger RT sunroof car, it was purchased outright by Dana Mecum, apparently for himself, or maybe to appear at another Mecum auction sometime in the future? Either way, I was hoping that Mecum would have had the '71 sunroof car there at Indy to be included as part of the Juliano display (and to reveal it's VIN), but unfortunately it wasn't there. So coming out of Indy I did come away with only one piece of the puzzle and the other ... alas, it will still remain a mystery ... but maybe only until Mecum decides (if he does?) to put the '71 sunroof car up for auction.



Steven's '70 sunroof car is (drum roll please!) ... JS23R0B157523. It is 1 of only 287 1970 Hemi Challenger R/T's made for the U.S. market and of those, 1 of 137 with a 4 speed. It is finished in EK2 Go-Mango with a V9X black Bumblebee stripe, a H6XW white interior and a V1X black vinyl top.



As if being a Hemi 4 speed Challenger RT wasn't special enough, the thing that sets this car apart from the rest of the Hemi Challenger RT's is that it is regarded as being one of only two Hemi E-bodies ever built with the M51 sunroof option - both of them being Challengers (a '70 and a '71) and both of them eventually being owned by Steve.

Steven already had the '71 car when he received a call from Galen Govier telling him about the '70 car which Galen had found and purchased. Galen was shopping the car around to some potential buyers and figured Steven would want it being that he already owned the '71 car. Eventually they were able to agree on a price and the deal was made to bring the two Hemi sunroof Challenger's together under Steven's ownership. 



As if being the only '70 Hemi 4 speed Challenger RT with a sunroof wasn't enough, this Hemi Challenger RT also has the ultra-rare custom travel trunk "option" for the luggage rack. This is a very exclusive option and is reportedly thee only know example of it known to exist!

This car is claimed to be Steven's last full restoration. Steven was known for being somewhat fanatical with his restorations and the detail that he put into them. The only parts and pieces that he would use had to be genuine assembly-line, NOS, or "lunch pail" parts - aftermarket or reproduction parts simply wouldn't do! Steven had a particular penchant for these "lunch pail" parts because they came straight from the assembly line and he would purchase entire stashes of these parts from people who had them. So what's a "lunch pail" part? It's a nice way of stating how the assembly line workers would "five finger discount" parts by stashing them in their lunch boxes before clocking out and then walk out of the plant with them!



When I first saw the car, this how it was parked with the hood "popped" but not opened. I really wanted to "see" the fender tag, so I bent over and peered through the gap between the hood and the fender trying to see it. I could see most of it, so I tried taking a few "through the gap" pics to see if I could capture it on my camera. Needless to say it didn't work.

Later on, "some guy" who was much bolder than I, calmly walked up to the car, reached under the hood and raised the hood up. He looked around the engine compartment, snapped a couple of pictures and then left. I managed to catch up to him and asked him if he happened to take a picture of the fender tag, and if he did, would he mind sharing it with me. As it turns out he did take a pic of the tag and to my pleasant surprise was more than happy to share it with me, and in turn me with you! Heck of a nice person that guy was ... thanks to him, this may be one of the first public postings of this car's fender tag.



Here is an interesting twist concerning this car. Years ago on another forum I came across a couple of pics of what looked like a second '70 Hemi Challenger RT with a sunroof. The commentary posted with the pics stated that the car was a "real" '70 Hemi Challenger RT with a sunroof and was somehow associated with Galen Govier - either he owned it or somehow helped facilitate the sale of it. Sounds familiar right? With it's EK2 Go-Mango paint, V1X black vinyl top, V9X black bumble bee stripe, and chrome sport mirrors, it looks very similar to Juliano's car ... but then there's the black interior and Shaker hood. Maybe it's the same car with the interior and hood changed, which wouldn't be too difficult to do. Or maybe it's a similar looking clone and the forum poster thought this was the actual car that Galen brought to Juliano's attention? Who knows ... do you?



Remember how I mentioned that this car once appeared in Mopar Action magazine? My link to that magazine article has, like Mopar Action magazine, expired. But no worries, almost serendipitously, Nicklas Larsson over on the E-bodies dot org Facebook page posted up the article on May 25th. He did such a good job posting the article, that you can easily read the entire article from beginning to end. It's a great read and goes into great detail about the car, how Steven acquired it from Galen and how he went about restoring it.  Bang it here to see the article  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10219249204799906&set=pcb.10219249222440347&type=3&theater&ifg=1


And then there is the other sunroof Hemi Challenger RT - Juliano's '71 car ...



Unfortunately I do not know the VIN of this '71 Hemi Challenger RT but I do know that it is 1 of only 70 made for the U.S. market, and of those 1 of 58 with a 4-speed. It is finished in EV2 Hemi Orange with V6W white side stripes, a V1W white vinyl top and a HRXW white leather interior. It's a stunning car!



As if being a Hemi 4 speed Challenger RT wasn't special enough, the thing that sets this car apart from the rest of the Hemi Challenger RT's is that it is regarded as being one of only two Hemi E-bodies ever built with the M51 sunroof option - both of them being Challengers (a '70 and a '71) and both of them eventually being owned by Steven ... as the former Yankee Yogi Berra would say, "it's like deja vu all over again"!



This car is loaded with options and is regarded as being one of, if not thee most heavily optioned Hemi Challenger RT (maybe even any Challenger?) ever made. That's a pretty incredible claim given that Dave Saruk's "Swiss" '71 Hemi Challenger RT is loaded with 31, yes 31! option codes across two fender tags! In addition to the M51 Sun-roof,  Steve's car has options that include the A45 Aero Spoiler Pkg, B51 Power Disc Brakes, C16 Center Console, M28 Wide Grill Mouldings (love this option!) N96 Shaker Hood, P31 Power Windows, R35 AM/FM Radio and S77 Power Steering among other things.

Interesting thing about this car is it's origin. It has long been associated with NHL hockey player Bobby Hull, and as the story goes, it was supposedly given to him for his spectacular play as a Chicago Blackhawk. I've tried time and again to validate this story but I could never find anything definitive that validated it. However, in my search I did find something that associates this car to a different hockey player ... Gary Unger, who played for the "Motor City's" Detroit Red Wings. Per the information that I found, it stated that in addition to Gary being a member of the Red Wings, he was also a compensated endorser for ... you guessed it, Chrysler. As a local Detroit sports celebrity, Gary promoted Chrysler products and in return Chrysler hooked him up with this Challenger ... but apparently it was on a lease and not given to him outright. That's about all I could find on it being associated with a hockey player ... unless anyone has something else? Bang it here to read the old transamcuda forum post about it  https://www.transamcuda.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1083736701



Here is a cool "throw-back" picture of the car. Reportedly this picture was taken at one of the early National Hemi Owner's Association (NHOA) meetings in the late '70's (Tulsa maybe??). Note that in this picture the car does not have the front or rear spoilers of the the A45 Aero Spoiler Pkg on it. Seems unlike Steven to add something to the car that wasn't original to it, so maybe they were removed for some reason? I don't know. Just like I don't know the VIN or tag info on this car ... but I would sure like to! So, if you know it, why don't you share it with us?

[Chryco Psycho]

Very cool , thanks !! 

[dodgemania]

amazing cars 

[750-h2]

Love this thread! Thanks!

[E74cuda]

Interesting to me that the 70 has N95 on the tag. Original destination should have been California. I wonder what dealership or area it went to originally?

[JS29]

And no N42 bright exhaust tips, so i would think that the car was ordered and delivered in California.   

[6bblgt]

Steven owned '71 Challenger R/T JS23R1B321635

[RzeroB]

Interesting to me that the 70 has N95 on the tag. Original destination should have been California. I wonder what dealership or area it went to originally?

And no N42 bright exhaust tips, so i would think that the car was ordered and delivered in California.

If you are able to open the link and read the Mopar Action magazine article posted by Nicklas Larsson it says that the car was sold new in Hollywood CA

[RzeroB]

Steven owned '71 Challenger R/T JS23R1B321635

Thank you Dan!! 

[autoxcuda]

Interesting to me that the 70 has N95 on the tag. Original destination should have been California. I wonder what dealership or area it went to originally?

And no N42 bright exhaust tips, so i would think that the car was ordered and delivered in California.

If you are able to open the link and read the Mopar Action magazine article posted by Nicklas Larsson it says that the car was sold new in Hollywood CA

Wonder if that was Hollywood Dodge

I looked at a 70 Hemi Charger RT/SE TX9 super tack pack, console auto, 8-track, rallies, luggage rack, white C-pinstripe... bought new at Hollywood Dodge.... car was bought by guy in Finland.

[RzeroB]

One more from the recent Mecum Indy event. I know, you already seen a bit of it, but while it's still fresh I'd like to take this opportunity to expand upon it a bit ...

I like this picture ... what better to put in the "Ultimate Garage (2012)" than perhaps the "ultimate" muscle car ... a Plymouth HemiCuda!!



BS23R0B242332 is one of 652 built for the U.S. market, and of those one of 284 built with a 4 speed. It's finished in TX9 Black Velvet with a matching H6X9 black vinyl interior. This car was listed as being a 17K mile unrestored original car with warranty card, original keys and full ownership history all the way back to the original purchaser Harold McCray!



Something about this picture (perspective, depth of field or something?) makes the car look very "hulking". The rear quarter panels look huge and raised up while the front of the car looks low ... looks like it is crouching menacingly ready to pounce!! With it's stealthy black paint helping it blend into the night, I'm sure it stalked and pounced upon many unsuspecting opponents in it's day!!



It's not as void of options as some of the cars that were bought to be dedicated race car, but it doesn't have many of the "extras" that some of these other Hemi E-bodies do. As we can see from the fender tag, this car is relatively basic, modestly equipped and purpose built. There's the A33 Track Pack 3:54 geared Dana Axle Pkg, A62 Rallye Gauge Pkg and the R11 Music Master AM Radio to keep you company until you spot your next potential victim rolling down the street!



Nice clean engine compartment for the Elephant to reside in. A heavy duty clutch and no Power Steering or Power Brakes makes for strong arms and legs!



Nice clean interior too. The A62 Rally Gauge Pkg and S83 Rim Blow Steering Wheel being a couple of upgraded items that the original purchaser splurged for.



For some reason I found this picture interesting. It's kind of like a "bug's eye view" of what it would look like just before you got yourself sucked into the Shaker!



In my earlier Mecum Indy review I erroneously stated that this car was part of the "Manny Collection of original paint muscle cars". Apparently it is not. I checked out the Manny Collection's website and Mecum's website and could find no reference connecting this car to the Manny Collection. Someone must of left this Manny Collection card in the engine bay and I made the mistake of thinking that this car was associated with that collection.





The "bid goes on" with this car as it was a no sale at $300K. If you are interested in making a play for this car and bypassing the Mecum fees, you might be able to make a deal with Gary Runyon, who I assume is the owner.

[Chryco Psycho]

That is deadly , all black no vinyl roof or stripe & 4 spd !! 

[JS29]