Cars

My roommate had purchased this 1971 Chevelle Malibu two weeks before I bought my 1970 Dodge Challenger. He had it for quite a few years and had installed a 400ci small block engine in place of the 327 that was in it when he bought it. The 400 really made the car fast and after some problems with the law he decided it was time to get rid of the car. I could not pass up on the deal he offered me and I wanted to keep it in the family. It needed a lot of work and after a couple of years I almost sold it too, as I had too many other projects and not enough funds.

I found a back half (firewall back) and a frame from a car that had only 4500 actual miles and was in about perfect shape. I purchased this body and started to transfer my suspension, drive train, and complete front end sheet metal. The front fenders from my original car needed lower rear patch panels, which I welded into place. The rest of the body just needed to be stripped of paint and all of the little dings and dents filled and smoothed. I pretty much did like I had done on my Challenger, took everything apart and started from the ground up.

At this time I decided to step up the power and found parts to put together a 427ci Big Block motor. I installed 10 to 1 Keith Black pistons, Total Seal gapless rings and lightened and polished the beams on the rods. The block was bored and honed with a torque plate and the main journals were align honed to provide a stable base in which to build a powerful motor. Along with ARP rod bolts and main studs I was not expecting any problems. On top I put a set of semi closed chamber big block heads and a complete Comp Cams valve train along with one of their street solid roller cam profiles. To finalize the project I put a Weiand Stealth intake, Edelbrock aluminum water pump and one of their 750 CFM carbs. On the bottom went a Moroso 9 quart oil pan, pickup and a Milodon crank scraper. I used the original distributor from the 400ci engine, which I blueprinted to tighter specs and installed a Performance Distributors coil and module to light the fire.

I had Kennedy transmission go through my turbo 400 trans and upgrade it with a bigger sprag and more clutch packs to handle the abuse this motor would throw at it. It was also time to rebuild the rear end and I had Don Puetz (Fargo South Highs own Ex. Auto Shop Teacher) rebuild the posi unit to severe duty specs, install 3.73 to 1 gears and a c-clip eliminator kit so that this would also be able to handle the additional power. This was also the time to fix the dreaded wheel hop that Chevelles are famous for, I installed Hotchkiss boxed lower control arms and polyurethane bushings.

The interior was in pretty good shape but was faded and the cloth in the seats was dry rotted from being out in the sun. I ordered a set seat covers and new carpeting from Year One and had Elite trim install custom colored cloth inserts to match the paint that I was going to have sprayed on the body after I finished all of the bodywork. My close friend Matt Walters installed the seat covers onto the seats. I also dyed the front and rear door panels with the original color to give them a fresh appearance and replaced the headliner with a NOS product from Year One. I also put my original steering column and dash pad in so that I would have the correct key and serial # to match my existing title.

Gene Walker applied the Arctic Poly Blue and blood red magenta paints to the body after I had smoothed it to perfection. I purchased Centerline Convo Pro rims, 8×15 with B.F. Goodrich 245/60r15 front tires and 10×15 with Hoosier DOT Quick Times 275/50b15 rear tires. I mainly use this set when drag racing but also have a set of stock steel rally wheels with taller tires to help with short rear end gears when driving on the street.

I had installed a complete mandrel bent 2 ½ inch exhaust with Dynomax turbo mufflers and was running 12.68 @ 107 MPH in the quarter mile the first time out. I was only happy with this for one season, so the next spring I replaced the heads with a set of Edelbrock Performer RPM aluminum heads. In the rear end I installed Strange bulletproof axles and in the front I put on a Willwood front disc brake conversion package. I also replaced the 2-½ inch exhaust with a complete mandrel bent 3-inch combo with flowmaster mufflers. This combination after some tuning and disconnecting the exhaust ran a best time of 12.19 @ 108 MPH in the quarter mile. I ran this combination for a few years and then decided to purchase a Merlin II 540ci short block. I had anticipated doing this for a long time but was not able to afford it. When I put the 427 together I had installed all of the components in that would allow me to exchange them into a stroker motor for the future and that time had come.

The Merlin II short block is produced by World Products Manufacturing and is cast with thicker main webs, deck and is machined to blueprinted specs with four bolt mains and ARP studs. This block is capable of being built all the way out to 605ci. My 540ci combination has a ¼ inch larger bore and has a ¼ inch steel stroker crank when compared to a stock 454ci short block. I installed Callies H beam rods and J.E. lightweight flattop pistons and had the whole assembly balanced. I also installed a Milodon windage tray and high volume oil pump.

After putting this combo together I was able to run 12.02 @ 111 MPH through the exhaust, babying it out of the hole and letting the trans shift itself at 5000 rpms. I was very happy with this because I could now run right above the time requiring a full roll cage (11.99) and without having to do any tuning or unhooking the exhaust. There is still a lot of potential left in the engine but it is plenty fast for an everyday driver. This also cuts down on parts breakage and adds to the longevity of the motor as it does not have to be revved very high. This engine can be safely revved to 8500 rpms with the components that are installed.

I purchased my 1970 Dodge Challenger in 1986 from a Moorhead resident. It started out with a basically stock 360-ci engine and 727-torqueflite transmission. It did not take long before I was modifying it. I put in a Crane HMV 278 cam and an Edelbrock high-rise dual plane intake, along with a Holley 750 DBL pumper carb. I also replaced the rear end with a Posi 2.94:1 axle assembly to control tire spin. She had a burgundy paint job with T/A stripes and slotted Cragar mags.

In 1989 I started a complete tear down and rebuild along with making modifications that both lightened the car and made it stronger. I installed sub frame connectors to move the leaf springs inward (For more tire clearance) and also to strengthen the body and frame from twisting. While replacing the rear fenders I repaired the inner wheel wells and lower quarter panel extensions. I installed fiberglass front fenders, bumpers, and rear belly pan. I also replaced the drivers seat with a fiberglass-racing bucket and redid the interior with help from my mother the late Carol Olson. The engine was yanked and rebuilt with some mild port work and a raise in compression to 9.5:1. I also ordered and installed a brand new Mopar performance overdrive automatic transmission, which was offered new that year for sale direct from the factory. The rear end was rebuilt and I installed 3.91 gears for better acceleration and to complement the overdrive trans. In overdrive I would have a final drive ratio of 2.69 to 1, perfect for the long distance cruises I planned to make. Headers by Ed out of Minneapolis built me a custom set of equal length 1 5/8 inch primary long tube headers, which I sent out to have coated by Jet-Hot coatings.

I learned bodywork from my good friend Gene Walker while I was putting the car together and he sprayed on the House of Kolor Hot Pink Pearl and Violet Pearl shimrin paint, the car was finally back together in the spring of 1991 and has had been on two road trips to Florida and back with little or no problems at all in the fall of 1992 and again in the summer of 1994. I drive it every day that I can, along with my Chevelle.

I have in the last few years been working on some of the things that need attention. One was the complete front to rear roll cage installed by Steve at Custom Chassis, as the body was still twisting around and cracked several of the seams that I filled. It will also stiffen up the chassis for better handling. I installed a complete polyurethane bushing kit and high rate torsion bars, along with a quick ratio steering box and Koni shock absorbers. The original head builder had not installed bronze guides and I was having some problems with several of the valves sealing so I went back through the motor and installed higher compression pistons (10.7:1) and aluminum Edelbrock Performer RPM heads.

Hopefully this winter I will be able to get all of the nicks, scratches and small dents fixed so that Gene can repaint it in the spring. I am going to keep the same colors as it has really grown on me and stands out in the crowd of normal cars. I will also when funds permit install and set up a complete electronic sequential fuel injection system and a 6-speed overdrive manual transmission. I eventually would like to run this car in the Silver State Classic Road Race, held in Nevada on a closed off 90 mile stretch of highway. It is held annually and has been one my dreams to compete in with this car.