Random Hemi E-Body of the Week

[Morty426]

Nice to have revisited a couple of cars that haven't been seen in a while. Bill Drake Sr's old Challenger 'vert was rather ubiquitous when Bill owned it as he liked to show off his cars and took them everywhere. But everything changes. The new owner is rather private and as such, so now is the Challenger. Be nice to get some updated pics of it though. If it ever comes out for a show, I hope somebody can snap a few new pics of it and post them up here for us. 

As for the "flat-hood Hemi" 'vert ... well that thing is such an enigma that it seems highly improbable that it is even still around. After all I don't think it's been seen since these pics were taken in 1969! It would be shocking if it ever surfaced agained. Thanks to 6bbl and 71red for posting up those additional pics of this very elusive fish. 

Not quite as elusive is our next feature car. I found it on Bryan Blake's "Factory 426 Hemi Cars (no clones)" facebook page. Other than what you see, I know nothing about it. So if you know something about this car feel free to share it with the rest of us. 



Say hello to BS23R0B311145    I don't know how old this picture is, or where it was taken. Pretty cool looking paint job ... wish there was another pic showing off the paint work on the hood. Look familiar to anyone? 



Just a bit grainy, but you can pretty much make everything out. We can see that 311145 came from the factory painted in FC7 In-Violet automatic car with a H6X9 black vinyl interior. From the tag we can see that it also originally sported A22 Elastomeric Bumpers, the A32 Super Performance 4:10 geared Dana Axle Package, the A45 Aero Package, B51 Power Disc Brakes, G36 painted dual Sport Mirrors and no radio code. Sounds pretty much like a race car to me!

Again, if you know this car, it's owner, or it's history, feel free to share with the rest of us. Thanks!!

No radio and a column shifter - race car

[RzeroB]

Happy Hemi Day!! 

For Happy Hemi Day, today's car needs really doesn't need an introduction. This car has that provenance about it that makes it instantly recognizable - you see it and you KNOW what it is. That recognition of course is helped by the fact that the owner isn't shy about showing it off. This car is seemingly everywhere. It's a regular participant at car shows. It's in magazine articles ... books ... and even on the cover of books. It's also all over the internet in one form or another ... it's everywhere!!

Of course we are talking about Dave Blake's 1971 HemiCuda convertible ... but you already knew that (see what I mean??). It's everywhere!! Probably one of THEE most recognizable Hemi cars on the planet!!



BS27R1B373185 is 1 of only 12 1971 HemiCuda convertibles ever made. It is 1 of only 2 made for the Canadian market, both of which are automatics. It is very distinctive in it's livery being finished in EV2 Tor Red with V6W white "billboard" stripes, a H6XV orange interior and a V3W white convertible top. This car is reportedly the only one of the 12 '71 Hemicuda convertibles to have originally come from the factory with the billboard stripes.

This car has a interesting story behind it as a lot of these cars do. Story has it that Centennial Chrysler Plymouth in Barrie Ontario had a '70 440-6 Cuda convertible that the dealership sponsored and drag raced. For the 1971 season they wanted to up the ante and upgrade to a '71 HemiCuda convertible. The car was ordered and scheduled for production on April 28th but took a long time to arrive at the dealership. Too long apparently. Growing impatient for the new car, the dealership modified the '70 440-6 Cuda convertible racecar into a '71 HemiCuda convertible "clone" by dropping a Hemi into it and putting on '71 fenders, grille and tail lights to campaign the car as a '71 HemiCuda convertible model. When the real HemiCuda convertible finally showed up at the dealership, they decided to sell it instead of racing it, and kept racing the "clone".



Enter this guy. I don't know who he is, but apparently HE is the original owner ("O-O") of this car. He owned the car from '71 until sometime in '76 when he traded it in on a Plymouth Cricket (of all things) seeking to get better fuel economy. If you visit Bryan Blake's "Factory 426 Hemi Cars (no clones)" facebook page you might have seen Bryan's post about the "O-O's" recent visit to them. The Blake's let the "O-O" take the car out for a spin again after all those years. I posted on Bryan's page asking him what the "O-O's" name was, but he never did say. 

After an easy cruise around the block, Bryan got behind the wheel and showed the "O-O" what he has been missing!!



Back to the story. The car changed hands a couple of times and at one point it was included in a real estate deal where the owner, who was also selling his house, threw the car in on the sale of his house because he couldn't get it running, didn't want to tow it, and was just happy to be rid of it along with his house!



In 1983, then owner Wim Overweel  became enamored with the new Chevy C4 Corvette that was coming out that fall as an '84 model. He wanted one ... bad. So he advertised the HemiCuda 'vert in Hot Rod magazine for the cash equivalent of the '84 Vette that he wanted ... $25,000. Ever on the lookout for Hemi cars, especially Hemi convertibles, Dave Blake, and his dad Bob Blake, saw Wim's ad in Hot Rod, contacted him, struck a deal and then hauled their Tor-Red treasure back to Arizona where it has been ever since.

Like I said earlier, this car is EVERYWHERE. You have seen it online, in magazines, in person and maybe even got to go for a spin in it?? It's at outdoor car shows like Spring Fling. Here's Bob Blake with the car at one of the last Spring Flings he attended before he passed.



It's at indoor car shows ...



It's on the cover of books ...



And it's at home on the Blake Machine Company website, where they have lots of cool pics and info on the car

http://www.blakemachine.com/cars_and_projects/1971_hemi_cuda_convertible

Happy Hemi Day!! 

[anlauto]

I saw it at a car show in Toronto sometime in the 70's

[6bblgt]

everywhere, everywhere I tell you 

[RzeroB]

April was fun culminating with perhaps the penultimate Hemi E-body in Dave Blake's EV2 HemiCuda 'vert. Whew!

Back to Earth and lets see what May has in store for this thread ...

How about a Challenger? It's not a 'vert, but I think this one is kind of a unusual in it is color combination. This "triple-blue" (exterior, interior and stripe) Hemi Challenger RT is finished in EB5 Bright-Blue with the distinctive V6B blue longitudinal stripes with a H6B5 blue vinyl interior ... "triple-blue"!



JS23R0B339298 is 1 of 287 made for the U.S. market and of those 1 of 137 with a 4-speed. With an SPD of 513 it was scheduled to be built on Wednesday, May 13th 1970. Once built and released from the factory, it was then shipped off to the tiny "Sid's Motor Sales" dealership in Thief River Falls Minnesota.



From Minnesota the car eventually found it's way to northern California and into the hands of noted Mopar guy Jason Repucci. Cool Mopars routinely come and go with Jason and this Hemi Challenger RT was no exception. Searching for a ultra-cool Challenger, the car caught the attention of fellow northern Californians Jeff and Denise Lederman who were able to strike a deal and buy the car.

With the Lederman's, this car became some what of a regular with the West Coast Mopar scene making many events such as MATS and those put on by the Mopar Alley club (as seen on the pop-up tent in the above pic).  However, recently sightings of this cool-blue Mopar have become less frequent so I don't know if Jeff and Denise still own it or not ... anybody know for sure?



On display and looking great! I believe that is Denise Lederman there on the right talking to the gentleman. I imagine she is explaining all the details of the car to him such as how it is equipped with the A01 Light Group Package, A33 Track Pack 3:54 geared Dana Axle Package, B51 Power Disc Brakes, C16 Center Console, G33 chrome LH Sport Mirror and the thumping 2w R11 Music Master AM Radio among other things.

Love the "JS23R0B" license plate on this car! Leaves little doubt as to what it might be that you're looking at ... or thinking of messing with on the street! Mopar Collector Guide did a great article on the car, and if you would like to see it, bang it here:  http://moparcollectorsguide.com/onlinemags/members/allonline/2005/aug2005/index.php

[Chryco Psycho]

Beautiful 

[RzeroB]

Going to mix it up for our next selection ...

Instead of some beautiful cars to admire and drool over, I'm going to post up a trio of fender tags for three May built cars.

Why just the fender tags? These cars are kind of enigmatic ... we "know" of them, but few people have actually seen them. They are off the road, stashed away somewhere, awaiting a resurrection that hopefully will come ... someday.

These pics of the fender tags seem to be the ONLY pictures of these cars (or a very small part of them that is) that are floating around out on the internet. Since few people have actually seen them, rumors, speculation, and intrigue abound concerning them ... and we're here to add to that if anyone wants to share something!!

1.  JS27R0B332575:  An "elite" car being that it is one of the highly esteemed E-body 'verts. Rumor has it that it is in "limbo" as the focal point of some kind of contentious legal battle. Apparently it is hiding out in the greater Toronto area somewhere waiting for all of the litigation to end. Will it ever "surface" and be seen by the general public again? Who knows ...

Here is an old forum post concerning it ... I personally like the reference to it being in a snow bank and kids sledding off of it!!



And here is the actual fender tag with the VON and VIN redacted.



2.  BS23R0B337880:   Currently in "the cue" somewhere with the Blake family down in Phoenix. If you have ever checked out Bryan Blake's "factory 426 Hemi cars (no clones)" facebook page you will know what I mean by "the cue". In the upper left corner of the picture you can see part of a snap-ring. That ring holds a virtual "stack" of Hemi car fender tags that the Blake's own and are awaiting their turn in "the cue" for restoration, trade, sale, or whatever the Blake's decide to do with them.



Anothe pic from Bryan's facebook page with a few interesting comments ...



3.  This is JS23R0B376234 ... but we're not here to talk about 376234, but about something that is distinctive about it ... it's N94 T/A-style fresh air hood. It's pretty distinctive with that hood and is usually assumed to be the only Hemi Challenger RT equipped with it. The Brothers now own it as part of their esteemed collection. If you watch their Muscle Car of the Week videos (#164) hosted by Kevin Oeste, he will tell you that 376234 IS the only Hemi Challenger equipped with the N94 hood ... or is it?



Apparently it isn't.

Besides the T/A's, there appears to be a total of four non-T/A Challenger's made with with the N94 T/A style fresh air hood from the factory: a blue 340 car; a green 383 car; the above mentioned red Hemi car; and ... another Hemi car, but in black. So it seems that there is not one Hemi Challenger RT with a T/A hood (376234), but two ... 376234 AND JS23R0B336419.

Here's the tag posted by Jim Patterson on Bryan Blake's aforementioned facebook page.



And the associated commentary posted along with the pic of the tag.



And if you really want to read some more commentary (or "debate" depending on how you read it) on these N94 equipped non-T/A Challengers bang it here to read a Moparts thread on the subject  http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/1033211/1.html

Enjoy, and lets here your thoughts on these three elusive pachyderms. 

[anlauto]

How about this Hemicuda ? Do you know about this one ?

[RzeroB]

How about this Hemicuda ? Do you know about this one ?

  Very nice ...    I don't think I have seen that one before. 

Do you know more and want to share?? 

[anlauto]

How about this Hemicuda ? Do you know about this one ?

  Very nice ...    I don't think I have seen that one before. 

Do you know more and want to share?? 

Just a picture I found on the internet 

[BFM_Cuda]

JS23R0B339298 is 1 of 287 made for the U.S. market and of those 1 of 137 with a 4-speed. With an SPD of 513 it was scheduled to be built on Wednesday, May 13th 1970. Once built and released from the factory, it was then shipped off to the tiny "Sid's Motor Sales" dealership in Thief River Falls Minnesota.

Hey! I went to college and met my wife in Thief River Falls...  very cool history on these cars, gotta follow this thread more. Thanks for sharing the info..   

[71REDCUDA]

TX9 N94 Challenger

[RzeroB]

I've been slacking this month ... sorry about that.

Our last offering was a trio of cars so obscure that we only got to see little pieces of them such as their fender tags. So lets switch it up and take a look at a car that has been making the rounds lately at the Mecum auctions. In fact, if you tuned into the Mecum Indy auction this past week, you may have seen Lot 164.1 cross the blocks on Friday. Just in case you missed it, here is Lot 164.1 again, or as we more intimately like to refer to it by it's "given name" ... JS23R0B339366.



JS23R0B339366 was offered for sale my Harold Messner and sell it did going for $264,000. Not too shabby for a Hemi Challenger R/T, unless you consider that Mr Messner bought it from Wayne Schmeeckle only 28 months earlier at the 2016 Mecum Kissimmee auction for $290,000. I do not know the reason for the apparent decline in perceived value of this car as it is well documented and has some very desirable options to it.

Bang it here to see the Mecum ad from Indy 2018  https://www.mecum.com/lots/SC0518-326864/1970-dodge-hemi-challenger-rt/

And here to see the Mecum ad from Kissimmee 2016  https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0116-229825/1970-dodge-hemi-challenger-rt/

JS23R0B339366 is a "May baby" having been scheduled for production on the May 13th 1970 (SPD 513). It is 1 of only 287 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 FC7 Plum-Crazy with a V1X black vinyl top, V6X black longitudinal stripes and a H6X9 black vinyl interior.

Besides the Hemi, one of the things that makes this car special is that it is one of only a handful of Hemi Challenger R/T's that came equipped from the factory with the N96 Shaker Hood. The Shaker hood was available very early in the model year, was pulled to correct a "crumple-zone" engineering issue, and then reintroduced as an option very late in the model year. The Mecum ad says that there were only "5" Hemi Challenger R/T's factory equipped with the Shaker. I don't know the definitive answer, but I have seen other figures where it was higher than that. Who knows? Maybe some of our more astute members (Dan P. from Vegas??) know?? 



Don't know who the new owner might be ... is it YOU?? Hopefully whoever it is will enjoy it for a while and not bring it back to auction anytime soon. Lastly, in case you missed it, the 2016 Mecum Kissimmee ad had a really cool video of this car embedded in the ad. Check out the video here 

[RzeroB]

Pick a Pair of Pachyderm Packing Purple Plymouths ...

Ok, how about this pair ... they're almost twins ... not identical twins, but fraternal twins being that they were both scheduled to have been "born" on the same day (May 25th SPD 525), have sequential VIN numbers,  but have a couple of subtle differences between them.

This is BS23R0B349098 ...



And this is it's fraternal twin BS23R0B349099 ...



The "twins" are so similar it's sometimes a little difficult to tell them apart. They're both In-Violet, both ride on steel wheels with hubcaps, both have automatic transmissions with console mounted Slap-Stiks, both have black vinyl interiors and both have the non-Rallye "cyclops" instrument cluster.

Here is 349098's interior ...



and here is 349099's interior ...



Looks almost identical don't they? Perhaps the most noticeable difference between them is that 349098 has a "bald" head while 349099 has a "full head of black hair" ... in other words, 349098 has a painted top and 349099 has a black vinyl top. In addition, 349098 has a standard LH outside mirror while 349099 has a pair of painted Sport Mirrors.

349098's "bald head" ...



and 349099's "full head of black hair" ...



Pretty cool Pair of Purple Plymouths!! 349098 has been sold and I do not know who the new owner may be. However, 349099 is still for sale as far as I know and it's owner is here on the forum. It's being marketed through Champion Motors out of New York and you can see the ad if you bang it here  https://www.championmotorsinternational.com/1970-plymouth-barracuda-hemi-c-851.htm?make=Plymouth

[RzeroB]

   Oh, hey there! Working on our next feature car and it's a stellar example of what this thread is all about.

Ever see one of those cars that gets you excited just looking at it? You stare ... your pulse quickens ... you start salivating like Pavlov's dog?? This is one of those cars!! Try not to stare ... it's almost impossible!! Admit it ... this beauty gets your blood pumping!! Grab your bibs, cause for those afflicted with chronic HemiCuda-itis, this stunner is a total drool-fest on wheels!!



This is BS23R1B405079, 1 of only 107 1971 HemiCuda''s made for the U.S. market, 1 of 59 with a 4-speed and the only one finished in FJ6 Sassy-Grass-Green with a H6XW white vinyl interior.



This is the former Scott Lindsey car. Scott had discovered the car in Virginia where it had been completely disassembled in anticipation of beginning a complete restoration ... someday. For whatever reason that "someday" never came before the owner decided to put it up for sale as a disassembled project. Scott saw this as an investment opportunity, bought the car, boxed it all up, and carted it home to Oklahoma. Maybe it was Scott's intention all along, but when he got the "project" home to Oklahoma, he decided to put it up for sale. Here is his ad that he placed in the April 1997 issue of Mopar Collector's Guide.



Enter Darrell Smith. When Scott picked up the car in Virginia, it had some "extra" parts such as Elastomeric bumpers, window louvers, Go-Wing, etc., that the previous owner had intended to "upgrade" the car with. Darrell Smith wanted the car, but was a bit short of the $50,000 asking price. Eventually Darrell and Scott struck a deal where Scott would keep all of the "extra" parts in exchange for selling the car to Darrell "for around $40,000."



Darrell enlisted the help of Jeff's Restorations in Taylor Texas to put the HemiCuda back together again and the results are the gorgeous this Sassy-Grass-Green beauty that you see here. Mopar Collector's Guide did a great article on the car, how Scott Lindsey acquired it, and how Darrell Smith bought it from Scott and had it restored. Bang it here to the article from the January 2006 issue of MCG

http://moparcollectorsguide.com/onlinemags/members/allonline/2006/feb06/index.php

But the story doesn't end there. Shortly after the MCG article came out, Darrell decided to sell this exceptional HemiCuda. Darrell enlisted the help of Worldwide Auctioneers and here is their ad from their May 2006 Houton auction.



As can be seen from the ad, this car was THEE star atraction of the entire auction. Note the simple, but powerful two line statement in the ad - "all numbers matching 4-speed, 1 of 1 Sassy-Grass-Green w/white interior, fully documented, multiple award winner, simply the best." No doubt that it was as the car hammer-sold for reportedly more than (are you ready for this?) seven-figures (one million dollars)! Wow! Talk about return on investment!! As you may have guessed, the new owners are none other than those mysterious guys from the Pacific Northwest ... The Brothers ... who are those guys?? (you have to say it like Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when referring to the Pinkerton posse!!).

The car is currently on loan (along with a few others from The Brother's Collection) to the World of Speed museum in Wilsonville Oregon (or at least it was??). So if you have never laid eys on this stunner and might be in the area, be sure to drop by the museum and take a look ... but don't forget your bib!! 

Special thanks to Robert Classen for posting the two pictures of the car in the museum to the Factory 426 Hemi Cars (no clones) facebook page.