Random Hemi E-Body of the Week

[JS23U]

Please note the whitewall tires. Also, the mirrors were chromed racing mirrors all through its life. But on the new picture they were painted.
If it originally had a painted front bumper, I would expect the grille to be body color. But there seem to be a lot of exceptions to this rule, depending on color, build date, etc...
Maybe Ola could help here.

[6bblgt]

the tires are easy - ALL HEMI E-bodies came with "Raised White Letter" F60-15 Goodyear Polyglas GT tires when new
   
since the color "FY1" was added during the model year and vendors painted components such as elastomeric bumpers, racing mirrors and grills before delivery to the assembly plants
& since bumpers (elastomeric - front), painted racing mirrors and grills were NEW for 1971, the necessary lead time for these components may have eliminated any consideration for their use on the '71 'cuda in "FY1"
   
from the beginning of the '71 model year; 'cuda (BS ONLY) had painted grills on EV2, FC7, FE5, FJ6, GB5, GF7, GK6, GW3 & GY3 cars (ALL & ONLY, not dependent on any other OPTION) problem is * a truck with shipment of grills CANADA to DETROIT during the winter was involved in a crash and didn't make it to its destination this caused depletion of in-house inventory of painted grills of various colors at various rates & to keep the lines moving "argent" grills were installed on some 'cudas that should have received painted grills.
IMO, unless I had positive 100% proof that a specific 'cuda in one of the above colors was originally built with an "argent" grill
               - it would get a painted grill!  NO QUESTION!!     

[6bblgt]

SHAKER bubbles 
this is my take on a scenario that may be close to the gray area we observe ARGENT VS. BLACK 50 years later, there is little or NO proof to support this theory ..........

'71 DODGE Challenger SHAKER ARGENT bubbles
                available on  340 & 383HP cars, ARGENT bubbles to match the ARGENT grills (2 set-ups for inventory)
'71 DODGE Challenger R/T SHAKER BLACK bubbles
                available on  340, 383HP, 440+6 & HEMI cars, BLACK bubbles to match the BLACK grills (4 set-ups for inventory)
'71 PLYMOUTH 'cuda SHAKER BLACK bubbles on cars w/painted grills: EV2, FC7, FE5, FJ6, GB5, GF7, GK6, GW3 & GY3
                available on  340, 383HP, 440+6 & HEMI cars, BLACK bubbles to compliment the body colored painted grills (4 set-ups for inventory)
'71 PLYMOUTH 'cuda SHAKER ARGENT bubbles on cars painted any color not listed above ^
                available on  340, 383HP, 440+6 & HEMI cars, ARGENT bubbles to compliment the ARGENT grills (4 set-ups for inventory)

that's 14 air cleaner assemblies needed on the line for whatever cars were being ordered & scheduled.  don't know when the plan was thrown out the window, but with E-body musclecar sales less than 1/3 of 1970's coupled with the rarity of the SHAKER hood - inventory control was probably a huge issue & cars got assembled with what was available on hand
             
the ARGENT SHAKER & ARGENT grill just look RIGHT together!! 

[RzeroB]

this is my take on a scenario that may be close to the gray area we observe ARGENT VS. BLACK 50 years later, there is little or NO proof to support this theory ..........

'71 DODGE Challenger SHAKER ARGENT bubbles
                available on  340 & 383HP cars, ARGENT bubbles to match the ARGENT grills (2 set-ups for inventory)
'71 DODGE Challenger R/T SHAKER BLACK bubbles
                available on  340, 383HP, 440+6 & HEMI cars, BLACK bubbles to match the BLACK grills (4 set-ups for inventory)
'71 PLYMOUTH 'cuda SHAKER BLACK bubbles on cars w/painted grills: EV2, FC7, FE5, FJ6, GB5, GF7, GK6, GW3 & GY3
                available on  340, 383HP, 440+6 & HEMI cars, BLACK bubbles to compliment the body colored painted grills (4 set-ups for inventory)
'71 PLYMOUTH 'cuda SHAKER ARGENT bubbles on cars painted any color not listed above ^
                available on  340, 383HP, 440+6 & HEMI cars, ARGENT bubbles to compliment the ARGENT grills (4 set-ups for inventory)

that's 14 air cleaner assemblies needed on the line for whatever cars were being ordered & scheduled.  don't know when the plan was thrown out the window, but with E-body musclecar sales less than 1/3 of 1970's coupled with the rarity of the SHAKER hood - inventory control was probably a huge issue & cars got assembled with what was available on hand

Your hypothesis sounds completely plausible to me ... almost sounds like a thesis, and you "defend" it very well Dan!

Still surprises me how NO definitive written production information from the factory ever seemed to have survived. Nor that anyone who actually worked in production control where these parameters were defined ever has come forth and said "this is how we decided what color and parts were used". Sure, now that it's been 50 years most of those people are probably passed on, but thirty years ago when the restoration movement started taking off, these very same people were probably only just retired from the company and could have been a gold-mine of first-hand information. Oh well ...

Anyway, I like your theory Dan ... seems logical to me, so if it's not "copyrighted" by you ... I'm just gonna go with it from here on out.

[RzeroB]

Attention holiday shoppers! Check out this Black Friday special!

First up for your consideration is this triple-black 1971 Hemi Challenger RT. This is JS23R1B296096, 1 of about 71 1971 Hemi Challenger R/T's made for the U.S. market, and of those 1 of 59 with a 4-speed. It is triple-black, finished in TX9 Black with V68 stripe delete, a V1X black vinyl top and a H6X9 black interior.



This Hemi Challenger RT is loaded up with nice options from the factory to include the relatively rare N96 Shaker Hood. Additionally it came from the factory coded for the A01 Light Group Pkg, A34 Super Track Pack 4:10 geared Dana Axle Pkg, A45 Aero Spoiler Pkg, B51 Power Disc Brakes, C16 Center Console, G31/G33 Chrome Sport Mirrors, H31 Rear Window Defogger, J78 Front Spoilers, J81 Go-Wing, the aforementioned N96 Shaker Hood and the rocking R11 AM MusicMaster Radio among other nice things.



This Hemi Challenger RT is currently part of the Todd Werner Collection. This car is NOT an over-restored show queen. It IS a 32,000 mile original paint unrestored "survivor." The paint is nice but does show it's age with imperfections. The hard parts under the hood and chassis show their age too with original parts and "patina."



Original interior shows well with minimal wear.



This car has been through several Mecum Auctions without finding a new owner. The bidding reaching a very substantial $550,000 at Las Vegas but again it wasn't enough to meet Mr Werner's set reserve (WOW!).





This car has been inspected by Dave Wise of MMC Detroit and comes with a 39 page report of his findings. I don't recall reading one of Dave's reports before, so I found it interesting to go through. Bang it here if you want to see the entire report  https://cdn1.mecum.com/assets/images/media_group/lots/ln1019-388076/1971-dodge-challenger_715430.pdf



While checking out the Challenger I ran into some very esteemed members of the Mopar community. From the left we have Wade Ogle, his wife Aster Ogle, yours truly and Dan Pausch. Frank Badalson was there too, but I messed up and failed to invite him to join the photo op.



Speaking of Wade Ogle, and keeping with the Black Friday theme, Wade and Aster brought their triple-black 1969 Pontiac GTO Ram Air IV convertible to the show.



Not an E-body, but a very rare and beautiful car nonetheless!



Keeping with the black Friday theme is one more car that is not an E-body. This is Arnie Dyer's outrageous 1961 Nash Metropolitan with Gen I Hemi power under the hood!! Hemi power, full tube chassis, wall-to-wall rubber under the rear ... this is one crazy ride!! With the narrow track and short wheelbase I can only imagine what a handful this car could be if you unleashed the Hemi ... remember "Wild Willie Borsch" and his Winged Express Fuel Altered?? Yeah, that kind of crazy!!

[anlauto]

I met Wade, his wife and Dan back at MCACN in 2015....super nice people

[mccannix]

this is my take on a scenario that may be close to the gray area we observe ARGENT VS. BLACK 50 years later, there is little or NO proof to support this theory ..........

'71 DODGE Challenger SHAKER ARGENT bubbles
                available on  340 & 383HP cars, ARGENT bubbles to match the ARGENT grills (2 set-ups for inventory)
'71 DODGE Challenger R/T SHAKER BLACK bubbles
                available on  340, 383HP, 440+6 & HEMI cars, BLACK bubbles to match the BLACK grills (4 set-ups for inventory)
'71 PLYMOUTH 'cuda SHAKER BLACK bubbles on cars w/painted grills: EV2, FC7, FE5, FJ6, GB5, GF7, GK6, GW3 & GY3
                available on  340, 383HP, 440+6 & HEMI cars, BLACK bubbles to compliment the body colored painted grills (4 set-ups for inventory)
'71 PLYMOUTH 'cuda SHAKER ARGENT bubbles on cars painted any color not listed above ^
                available on  340, 383HP, 440+6 & HEMI cars, ARGENT bubbles to compliment the ARGENT grills (4 set-ups for inventory)

that's 14 air cleaner assemblies needed on the line for whatever cars were being ordered & scheduled.  don't know when the plan was thrown out the window, but with E-body musclecar sales less than 1/3 of 1970's coupled with the rarity of the SHAKER hood - inventory control was probably a huge issue & cars got assembled with what was available on hand

Your hypothesis sounds completely plausible to me ... almost sounds like a thesis, and you "defend" it very well Dan!

Still surprises me how NO definitive written production information from the factory ever seemed to have survived. Nor that anyone who actually worked in production control where these parameters were defined ever has come forth and said "this is how we decided what color and parts were used". Sure, now that it's been 50 years most of those people are probably passed on, but thirty years ago when the restoration movement started taking off, these very same people were probably only just retired from the company and could have been a gold-mine of first-hand information. Oh well ...

Anyway, I like your theory Dan ... seems logical to me, so if it's not "copyrighted" by you ... I'm just gonna go with it from here on out.

Just to ad a bit here, Dan's theory is very plausible and is likely what was intended, and the last statement is also relevant 'cars got assembled with what was on hand " as to possibilities of what happened in those long lost days.
As for the gold mind of information being lost by retired or deceased employees, I agree, but I was fortunate enough to gather information in the mid 80's, in the half dozen times I visited Fram , vendor of shaker assemblies.
I became very good friends with the ' go to guy' there and although it was like pulling teeth, I was told many interesting stories.
He was the very employee who was sent to Hamtramck in 1969 to show line workers how to assemble shaker units on the cars.
Here is some information he provided to me which alludes to the 'use what was available on hand' scenario.
Shaker assemblies fully intact including nameplates were shipped in 1969 in bedsteads of 60 from Fram in Chatham Ontario to Hamtramck.
All were argent with the exception of some red ones, that were separate, destined for Barracudas.
When in fall of 1969 and the Challenger shaker was put on hold, after a period of time, Hamtramck sent several bedsteads of argent scoop assemblies back to Chatham, not knowing when the need would be for them again,.. if ever.
These units were put into Fram inventory.
Challenger shaker option resumed again in the spring of 70 and some of these were used up, but when the 1970 model production run was over, Fram still had a bedstead or more of argent scoop assemblies.
The 1971 model year saw Chrysler implement the change to black scooped assemblies.
Sometime in the spring of 1971 whether it was a shortage or just the vendor decision,  when Hamtramck required shaker assemblies,  Fram decided to use up the existing stock of argent scoop assemblies and sent those off to Michigan.
There may have been some argent assemblies used on earlier 1971 Challengers as well, but argent shakers is well documented by many known owners, ( several board members here ), of 440-6 and Hemi  71 Challenger RT's.

[nsmall]

This a top 5 favorite thread in my humble opinion.  Takes away all the guilt on the money I spent to restore my car that I try to drive weekly. 

[Chryco Psycho]

Beautiful Chall 
That Nash would be a ride !!

[750-h2]

 Great pics and info!! 

[anlauto]

Always great info, thanks Terry

[RzeroB]

On to December. For the Christmas season how about we post up some red, white and green cars? Check out this "sleigh". Santa would be really styling if he pulled up in this ride ... although the small trunk really doesn't leave much room for presents. What do you say Santa? Do you want to forget the eight reindeer and go with 425 horses?

BS23R0B176871 is 1 of about 652 made for the U.S. market, and of those 1 of 284 with a 4 speed. It is finished in FE5 Rallye-Red with V6X black "Hockey Stick" stripes, a V1X black vinyl top and a H6E4 red vinyl interior.



from the fender tag we can tell that this Rallye-Red rocket came equipped with the A22 Elastomeric Front and Rear Bumper Package, A33 Track-Pack 3:54 geared Dana Axle Package, A62 Rallye Gauge Package, B51 Power Disc Brakes, G36 painted Sport Mirrors, and a R11 AM Radio among other nice things.



Check out the interior ... whole lot of red there with the H6E4 interior. With only 28K on the clock the interior looks fresh and new!



This is just a cool shot of the HemiCuda's Shaker. You got to love this stuff!



This car was for sale for a long time at Champion Motors in Syosset NY (Long Island). They had it listed at $350K. I checked the listing today, and it is no longer part of their inventory ... so I assume that somebody bought it ... but who? I don't know ... maybe somebody from way up north? Here is the last picture I have of it ... looks snowy wherever that is.

[dodgemania]

dang. i love that interior color combination 

[750-h2]

That's a great car!!

[JS29]

It has the chrome grill inserts like a gran coup or an AAR.