ORIGINAL Bay Darnell USAC Dodge Charger race car on ebay

[odcics2]

Pretty cool!   

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/231654007337?ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

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[RallyeMike]

Oh, what a beautiful mess! 

[VegasCharger]

Sure looks like a 73 body to me

[teddy1500]

with out documentation to prove who built it, Its really hard to say what it is. It could be a very good homebuilt dirt car, or a 68 satellite. race cars get rebodied all the time, and this one is missing alot of parts that would id if any big name builder built it.

[super77se]

Sure looks like a 73 body to me

it appears to be a 73-74 charger that's been gutted for racing. its not a 71 in any respect other than the front bumper. I guess it could have a whole new body over the chassis but it sure is messy lol

[odcics2]

Look over the front tire!!   

[odcics2]

with out documentation to prove who built it, Its really hard to say what it is. It could be a very good homebuilt dirt car, or a 68 satellite. race cars get rebodied all the time, and this one is missing alot of parts that would id if any big name builder built it.

I talked the builder and driver of this car when I was researching his other car, the '69 Charger he had. It's the real deal, built to USAC specs at the time. 

Bay Darnell was very happy to tell me whatever he could and sent me some photos, too.   
If the car pushes, which this one does, it's worth at least 6-8K in parts.  Old MoPar stock car parts are hard to find.  If I didn't own two already, I'd snap this one up!   

[Aero426]

Sure looks like a 73 body to me

it appears to be a 73-74 charger that's been gutted for racing. its not a 71 in any respect other than the front bumper. I guess it could have a whole new body over the chassis but it sure is messy lol

As has been discussed before, you must look BEYOND the body mounted to the project.   Often, the outer body shell (or major portions) are replaced as a matter of keeping the cars racing.  The car gets its strength from the tube structure built into the original unibody.  The outer body panels become just a skin.   This is not the original body to the car.    But that is not that big of a deal.   Yes, the car was built in '71.   

[Aero426]

with out documentation to prove who built it, Its really hard to say what it is. It could be a very good homebuilt dirt car, or a 68 satellite. race cars get rebodied all the time, and this one is missing alot of parts that would id if any big name builder built it.

The current owner Tom Hergert has spent an IMMENSE amount of effort documenting exactly which car this is.   When he bought it close to ten years ago, it was represented as possibly a K & K team car.    The current owners research determined it was not.    The dashboard and trans tunnel are very unique identifiers, as well as the "T.P." welded to the front crossmember.    Tom should be commended for not simply parroting an incorrect story as others often do with old race cars.     This car is rough.  But it is the real deal that ran at the pro level. 

[HPP]

Bay Darnell was very happy to tell me whatever he could and sent me some photos, too.   
If the car pushes, which this one does, it's worth at least 6-8K in parts.  Old MoPar stock car parts are hard to find. 

I don't see much in the way of old stock car parts on this. I see a lot of light duty replacements to make it a roller. Granted, the chassis and documentation has value, but it is easily going to cost a mint to restore it to '71 or '72 competition specs.

[tallzag]

This is my car and if anybody has any questions please let me know.  Thanks Aero426 for the kind words, have put a ton of research into this car to find out what it is.  I drove from Seattle, Washington to Illinois and Ohio to meet previous owners and dig up more history on the car.  It was sold to me as a K&K car and when I found out it wasn't I was very disappointed but it is what it is.  The history of the car is solid.  Ken Rowley, the 2nd owner and racer of this car who bought it from Darnell, was super helpful and found the "eureka" picture of the interior of the car as he raced it.  The trans tunnel, cage and dash were a perfect match to this car and confirmed the history.

The sheet metal on the car is not the original but the bones are.  You are correct HPP, it is a huge project that is going to take a lot of effort to rebuild all the metal (it's rusty underneath) but it is a real Hemi powered USAC car, not just a Saturday night racer.  Bay Darnell might not be Richard Petty but he was very well known in USAC and ran for years.  He owned a trucking company so the team was pretty well funded.  Have also been in contact with Ralph Timan who was the crew chief and builder for Darnell from 1970-1980 and he confirmed the car from pictures.  He has also contacted me about possibly purchasing the car which I think would be great.

All of the suspension pieces on the car are original Grand National pieces, not just street stuff put on it.  This includes the full floater rear end, drum brake spindles, front hubs, torsion bars, steering box, steering linkage, upper and lower control arms, and the front K-Member (which is really an entire nose welded on on one of these).  I also have a huge collection of original NASCAR parts that can go with the car if the new owner is interested in them.

[odcics2]

This is my car and if anybody has any questions please let me know.  Thanks Aero426 for the kind words, have put a ton of research into this car to find out what it is.  I drove from Seattle, Washington to Illinois and Ohio to meet previous owners and dig up more history on the car.  It was sold to me as a K&K car and when I found out it wasn't I was very disappointed but it is what it is.  The history of the car is solid.  Ken Rowley, the 2nd owner and racer of this car who bought it from Darnell, was super helpful and found the "eureka" picture of the interior of the car as he raced it.  The trans tunnel, cage and dash were a perfect match to this car and confirmed the history.

The sheet metal on the car is not the original but the bones are.  You are correct HPP, it is a huge project that is going to take a lot of effort to rebuild all the metal (it's rusty underneath) but it is a real Hemi powered USAC car, not just a Saturday night racer.  Bay Darnell might not be Richard Petty but he was very well known in USAC and ran for years.  He owned a trucking company so the team was pretty well funded.  Have also been in contact with Ralph Timan who was the crew chief and builder for Darnell from 1970-1980 and he confirmed the car from pictures.  He has also contacted me about possibly purchasing the car which I think would be great.

All of the suspension pieces on the car are original Grand National pieces, not just street stuff put on it.  This includes the full floater rear end, drum brake spindles, front hubs, torsion bars, steering box, steering linkage, upper and lower control arms, and the front K-Member (which is really an entire nose welded on on one of these).  I also have a huge collection of original NASCAR parts that can go with the car if the new owner is interested in them.

Well stated...   

[tallzag]

It's up on eBay again, FYI.

[HPP]

I'd love to have something like this, but time and money...

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It's up on eBay again, FYI.