Random Hemi E-Body of the Week

[TobiasM]

I know it has been asked, but I don't know if I've seen a confirmed answer .....

Will a HEMI & air cleaner fit under a flat hood?

Dan,

don't have any firsthand "HEMI with flat hood"-experiences on e-bodies, but Ma Mopar had quite a few cars with very flat hoods and the HEMI underneath...b-bodies of both 66-67 and 68-70 periods come to my mind as such cars.

But I agree with @Cuda Cody : your question is very worth thinking/considering of! 

@RzeroB : Thanks for putting a spotlight on that "unicorn"-Hemi-convertible, Tom!

[RzeroB]

Will a Hemi even fit underneath a flat E-body hood?? Did the Chrysler Public Relations group "doctor-up" a non-Hemi 'vert for a photo shoot?? All very good questions. Also note Ola's choice of the word "probable" in describing the VIN - "I have found a probable VIN: BS27R0B100012." I don't really know what he implies by using the word "probable," but it's all very intriguing.

I really have no idea whether or not you could get a flat hood to close over a Hemi. I was always under the belief that Chrysler couldn't even get the "double-bubble" 'Cuda hood to close over a Hemi and that was the reason the Shaker hood was standard on the HemiCudas.

The flat hood and whether it would close over a Hemi leads to the second question - is it possible that a non-Hemi 'vert was "doctored-up" by the Public Relations group for a photo shoot? You have a flat hood that may not close over a Hemi. Then notice that Ola said that it did not have the M25 wide "gill" sill moldings. Together a flat hood and no wide sill moldings is indicative of it being a BH car.

All of the pictures of this car that I have seen have emphasized the rear-end of the car. It is the first car to have what became the "standard" 'Cuda tail panel configuration of a black tail panel with the "Cuda" emblem on the right hand side. Just two VINs before it 100010 had an Argent tail panel with no "Cuda" emblem. Could it be that the Public Relations group "doctored-up" up a BH car with what would be the "new" tail panel treatment for the BS 'Cuda and wanted to emphasize it in a photo shoot?

All pure speculation I know. Ola has a lot more information on this car and somehow he came up with that VIN and connected it to this car. So until this car shows up, if it ever shows up, we can just continue to assume that this car is indeed the "flat hood HemiCuda" 'vert BS27R0B100012.

[TobiasM]

Two more oddities I just realized when I looked at the two pics of the green "unicorn-Hemi-CV":

1) Very strange wheels or at least strange rims...maybe even hubcabs? Does also look like 14" to me though all Hemis should have had 15" tires either on steelies or rallye rims.

2) Y91 "show car finish" seems to be not the case, just look at how misalligned the passenger-side exhaust tip is..visible on both pics, visible best on the second photo.

Edit: maybe even three oddities:

3) No rallye-instruments! Weren't all BS or at least the HemiCudas with the rallye-cluster, just as every Challenger R/T was?

[6bblgt]

these first HEMI E-bodies would be pre-production "PILOT" cars - built before actual production car builds started in August of '69.
with lead times for magazines - the pictures would predate the magazine's date by 4-weeks PLUS - 9/69 magazine pics are taken May/June/July '69
the original 440+6 "F440 HP" engines in 0B100004 & 0B100021 were assembled in May '69

https://forum.e-bodies.org/cuda-and-challenger-general-discussion/2/1970-early-built-pilot-e-bodies/2871/

Two more oddities I just realized when I looked at the two pics of the green "unicorn-Hemi-CV":

1) Very strange wheels or at least strange rims...maybe even hubcabs? Does also look like 14" to me though all Hemis should have had 15" tires either on steelies or rallye rims.
they are 15" 1969 Fury wheel covers also seen on 0B100010 in the 9/69 HOT ROD article I attached above

2) Y91 "show car finish" seems to be not the case, just look at how misalligned the passenger-side exhaust tip is..visible on both pics, visible best on the second photo.
an assumption based on the fender tags of other "PILOT" Mopars that were used in advertising/promotional purposes

Edit: maybe even three oddities:

3) No rallye-instruments! Weren't all BS or at least the HemiCudas with the rallye-cluster, just as every Challenger R/T was?
the A62 rallye instrument cluster was OPTIONAL on 'cuda "BS" & STANDARD on Challenger R/T "JS"

[fc7cuda]

Then notice that Ola said that it did not have the M25 wide "gill" sill moldings. Together a flat hood and no wide sill moldings is indicative of it being a BH car.

I agree on the flat hood speculation, but the lack of M25 does not necessarily indicate it being a BH car. 

Tom

[Chryco Psycho]

One of the main differences between JS & BS cars is the gauges , all JS cars had ralley gauges std  , BS was cost extra

[RzeroB]

In August of 1970 (or most likely before), this Hemi Challenger RT "pilot car" was created for the 1971 model year. This EL5 Butterscotch beauty is the first of what wound up being the least produced Hemi E-body hardtop - the 1971 Hemi Challenger RT.

I always thought it a little strange that they would create a "pilot car" with a Hemi in it. Since the Hemi was so massive you practically needed a shoe-horn to get it into the engine bay. Maybe that is why the pilot car was made with it - if they could get the Hemi in there any other engine would just be cake!



I don't have the VIN for this car even though it is right there in front of me in the picture. The blow up of the fender tag on the display board is tantalizingly close to being legible, but I just can't make it out. If I relax my eyes, it almost looks like "100134?" That's my guess - can anyone see that better than me?



From this display board we can clearly see what this Hemi Challenger RT is equipped with. Of note is the automatic transmission, which from what I've been told, is on the column. This car was for the longest time owned by Ron and Wendy Adair. Ron has since passed away and now this Butterscotch beauty is owned by Gregg and Lori Steffes.



If you made it to Carlisle this year you more than likely saw it there. Here is a picture of it taken by Mark Kania while on display there.

[73440]

I see 000124 , I think

[6bblgt]

JS23R1B100243  VIN is not on the '71 e-body "PILOT" cars' fender tags

bottom line is: E74 D32 JS23 CAR 000124
IIRC CAR = Chrysler Automotive Research & the 000124 would be similar to the "JOB NUMBER" on the '70 cars

[Cuda Cody]

That's a cool car.     Oh ya!!!!

[benlavigne]

Here is the fender tag, since it was out in the open at Carlisle...
It's what my car looked like, new, with louvers and spoilers, but minus the Shaker.. and Hemi!

Ben

[303 Mopar]

This beautiful '70 Cuda was the E-body and Best of Show winner at the Colorado Mopar Show.  It was painted FM3 early on and used for marketing, possibly by BFG according to the owner, who said he has a lot of examples of ads and posters the car appeared on. The current owner bought the car and restored it back to the tags and build sheet but left the trunk pink for show.

[RzeroB]

Thanks Dan (6bblgt) for the clarification of the VIN vs the "CAR" number
Thanks Ben for the pic of the fender tag
and Thanks Dan (303mopar) for the pics of 296096

As for the Butterscotch Challenger, it obviously has a lot of plus-factors going for it - it's a Challenger, Hemi, Shaker, leather interior, etc. But one thing I really like on it is are the wheels. Body-colored "steelies" with the prerequisite "dog-dish" hubcaps AND the polished beauty rings - I really like that look! How would that be coded on a buildsheet - having the beauty rings added that is??



As for the Alpine-White HemiCuda, it had me fooled into believing that it was the third FM3 Moulin-Rouge pink HemiCuda for a while before I came across a pic of the fender tag which revealed it to be a factory Alpine-White car - along with a couple of other interesting things.



The tag is a little difficult to read, but it's all there for the viewing. The most obvious thing was the color change from EW1 to FM3 - and now back to it's original EW1. Secondly, there is no C16 Center Console on the tag for the Center Console that the car has now - so the automatic was originally on the column. Then there is the letter "Q" at the beginning of the VON - which indicates that this car was originally a Chrysler executive lease car. Interesting stuff!



This excerpt from the 2006 Russo and Steele auction ad has blurb at the bottom denoting this car's significant accomplishments on the show circuit. Not only was it used to make the BF Goodrich "pink" HemiCuda ads, but it was also a three time World of Wheels champion from 1984-1986. Pretty cool stuff!!

[303 Mopar]

Not only was it used to make the BF Goodrich "pink" HemiCuda ads, but it was also a three time World of Wheels champion from 1984-1986. Pretty cool stuff!!

The owner was telling me it was the BFG pink Cuda, but I thought there was the pink T/A and the sublime Cuda for the BFG banners.  Has anyone seen a pink Cuda BFG banner?

[anlauto]

Not only was it used to make the BF Goodrich "pink" HemiCuda ads, but it was also a three time World of Wheels champion from 1984-1986. Pretty cool stuff!!

The owner was telling me it was the BFG pink Cuda, but I thought there was the pink T/A and the sublime Cuda for the BFG banners.  Has anyone seen a pink Cuda BFG banner?

That's what I thought too