Cotton Owens ex C500

[500Jon]

Nice story from Mopar Muscle,
The famous LA-Watts stolen recovered Hemi 4-speed car!
Destined for the JUNKYARD???
Used by Mother Mopar for Wind-tunnel testing.
Fully restored by Lewis Summerville.

VERY, VERY NICE CAR!!!

[odcics2]

Nice story from Mopar Muscle,
The famous LA-Watts stolen recovered Hemi 4-speed car!
Destined for the JUNKYARD???
Used by Mother Mopar for Wind-tunnel testing.
Fully restored by Lewis Summerville.

VERY, VERY NICE CAR!!!

Owens fabricated another story...  

Real story : In 1995, Frank Wylie was interviewed for the "'Supercars" book and stated the stolen - recovered car was hauled to Nichels shop and the body made into 'DC-93", the first Charger 500 race car.  Frank was the head Chrysler PR guy and he's the one that loaned the cars to the magazines.
One would assume he'd know the truth. Besides, he had nothing to gain or lose.

Keep in mind, that book came out3 years before the real DC-93 (#88) was discovered in Iowa, sitting behind Don White's race shop.
The timing of the events: lent out, then stolen, found stripped hauled to Nichels and made into a race car also makes sense, since the first on track test of DC-93 was late November, 1968.

Why Cotton would make up that story, who knows...    

See pages 107 - 109 in the Supercars book.  

[69_500]

Greg, is there a known VIN to go with the car? Just curious.

[odcics2]

Greg, is there a known VIN to go with the car? Just curious.

Wish I knew it...  The original 1/4 panels of DC-93 are long gone, buried someplace or scrapped out by Don White.

[nascarxx29]

.Originally the car was a (68 charger).Said by Frank Wylie retired director of public relations for dodge division.He states we loaned that car to a magazine in los angeles for testing.It was stolen striipped of everything.and the car was found in the Watts section of LA.That car was taken back to Nichels engineering in Highland IN and converted into what is known as the prototype dodge daytona .The other car that 69 500 mentioned was the cotton owens car that was first to be fitted with the wingcar body parts

[500Jon]

We must never speak ill of the dead.
This is a problem with stuff from so long ago!

I believe a new 'SUPERCARS' should be written.
Its nearly twenty years old a new stuff is arriving all the time.
More details on how the race Daytona's where built.
How they started out and where they ended up.

More time given to the Charger 500's and their morphing into Daytona's!!!
Less actual technicalities and more PICTURES!!!

Just my

[Ghoste]

I agree, as long as the updated stories are factual.  I would like to see more 500 stuff too and a little more on the fastbacks and the work there leading to spoilers on the 67's and something on the 71 wingcar program.  But we need technical detail as much as photos.  Previously unpublished photos okay but above all, it needs to be factual. 

[500Jon]

AND TRUE!!!

As possible!