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UPDATE: 06/16/10
Here’s an update: I purchased the 1971 Charger Super Bee from Ron Cappuccio in Pennsylvania. Ron had purchased the car from Vic Allshouse in Oklahoma. The car was originally a Canadian export and equipped with a 383 Magnum, Automatic, Power Steering, Manual Drum Brakes, Rallye Dash with Tach, Houndstooth Cloth Buckets and Console and painted in GB7 Blue. The Auto was replaced with a Pistol-Grip 4-Speed. This install was professionally done and you wouldn't be able to tell that it was never a factory 4-speed car. Vic did a beautiful job restoring the body, paint and upholstery to it's original beauty. Ron kept her in great shape and added headers, a 4-Speed console, front-disc brakes and a few other touches of his own.
When I received the car, it was spraying a very small amount of oil, but not enough to be concerned about. After taking it to a car show, the rings gave way. The mechanicals hadn't been touched since before Vic owned it so it was time and I wanted to build it "my way" anyway. First order of business was the rear end gears. The car was running 3.55's and that was way too high for all the highway driving I was going to do. Now...TRY to find 3.23's for an 8 3/4...it's tough! Add to this that the 8 3/4 pumpkin was from a 1969-70 vehicle (coded "742"). My engine guy dug around and was able to come up with a correct 1971 pumpkin (coded "489") with 3.23 gears. The engine...a 1964 383...was removed. It had been bored .030 over previously, so we went to .060 and as such it's around 392 cubic inches now. Complete head work, Holley Street Avenger 770 CFM carb and Edelbrock Street Dominator manifold replaced the old Edelbrock carb and Offenhauser manifold. Speed Pro Pistons, Comp Cam (Xtreme Energy 21-222-4) and engine balanced. I also added the correct-for-1971 power brake booster, repaired the stock temp gauge and installed Koni shocks. We installed a new fuel pump for a 440-SixPack which eliminates the fuel starvation problem and the need for an auxiliary electric fuel pump. A new Hays clutch replaced the years old Zoom model (remember those?) along with a chrome timing chain cover and Mopar Performance black wrinkle-finish valve covers.
The car is now fast and runs smooth as silk. Freeway speeds top out at around 2500 RPM...just right. She has a beautiful lope at idle. The motor is stunning and beautifully detailed. She is super clean inside and out. I'll soon be adding some Dynamat and a Media Receiver in the glovebox for my tunes. My thanks to Tony and Steven Cowell of Cowell Performance in Weatherford Texas for the top-notch engine and read-end work, and Terry Purdy...also in Weatherford...for getting my clutch back into shape. I'm hitting the local show circuit and planning on taking home some trophies!
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