My Carlisle survivor tent trip

[moparstuart]

 

[moparstuart]

Saw pete. And swamp thing. Great meeting those guys in person finally.

[moparstuart]

 

[moparstuart]

My buddy drove up to New York and grabbed this pile.   69. RT trac pac car.  440 4spd. Dana.  Stripe delete car. Dana still under it.

[moparstuart]

Fun on the way home

[moparstuart]

Here is the new rust series hot wheels collection.  Some assembly required. Doors , fenders and deck lid sold seperately.   

[Swampwing2]

It was nice to meet you in person Stuart. Your Charger is pretty amazing.
The Swamper made the 2,279 mile round trip with an average just over 24 mpg, with the ac on almost the entire time and few relatively minor issues. Tore the front air dam off when I ran over a tire tread in the middle of the night (visible under the front of the car in your photo) and had a left front wheel bearing start to let go, which we replaced on the show field on Friday. On the way home my 2 main electric fans went up in smoke the morning after driving through 2 hours of heavy rain on Saturday night. Had to watch Waze carefully to make sure we didn't get stuck in any traffic jams the rest of the way as the aux fans would not keep up with the 95 + temps in Georgia and Florida.
Heard the full range of opinions from people being impressed by what I started with, to those that hate it with the Coyote powertrain. Several of the haters missed the Roadrunner/Coyote cartoon connection.

[69hemibeep]

Saw your car(nice) but not you son.

[moparstuart]

missed you Dad   was a busy weekend  . I spent alot of time in the swap

[moparstuart]

It was nice to meet you in person Stuart. Your Charger is pretty amazing.
The Swamper made the 2,279 mile round trip with an average just over 24 mpg, with the ac on almost the entire time and few relatively minor issues. Tore the front air dam off when I ran over a tire tread in the middle of the night (visible under the front of the car in your photo) and had a left front wheel bearing start to let go, which we replaced on the show field on Friday. On the way home my 2 main electric fans went up in smoke the morning after driving through 2 hours of heavy rain on Saturday night. Had to watch Waze carefully to make sure we didn't get stuck in any traffic jams the rest of the way as the aux fans would not keep up with the 95 + temps in Georgia and Florida.
Heard the full range of opinions from people being impressed by what I started with, to those that hate it with the Coyote powertrain. Several of the haters missed the Roadrunner/Coyote cartoon connection.

Great that you drive it  , things happen but sound like you still had a great time 

[Kern Dog]

those that hate it with the Coyote powertrain. Several of the haters missed the Roadrunner/Coyote cartoon connection.

Really? A Ford engine in a Mopar?
 Why even mention this to anyone?

[Swampwing2]

those that hate it with the Coyote powertrain. Several of the haters missed the Roadrunner/Coyote cartoon connection.

Really? A Ford engine in a Mopar?
 Why even mention this to anyone?

Because I wanted to enjoy it. Because I didn't want a Daimler or Fiat engine in my American car. Because anyone can drop a hemi into an old b body with bolt on parts and some minor trans tunnel work. Because even with complete kits available, people still have lots of issues with the Gen 3 hemi installation. Because every Hemi pull out around here was either blown up, needed head work, or was not worth putting in without rebuilding. Because I wanted 400+ hp without spending stupid money (not sure I totally succeeded on this part, lol). Because I wanted AC and 25+ mpg for long trips. 

Because I enjoy the controversy it creates and the confusion. Because explaining the cartoon connection makes people smile. It takes people walking past the car about 10' to do a double take and realize, that's not another hemi, before they turned around and checked it out. 

Because the next owner can pull it out an put whatever they want into it and follow the herd. Other than the tunnel, the K frame and suspension is all stock design.

Because I enjoyed driving it 2k plus miles with my kid going to Carlisle, The Petty museum, Shenandoah Caverns, etc.

Any other questions? 

[Kern Dog]

If you're happy, then good for you.
I see it as a transgender disaster that should embarrass any true Mopar guy. A 392/6.4 isn't hard to find. You just chose to be different just to be annoying. A young kid did a Honda FWD drivetrain swap in a 64-66 Mustang for the same reason as you...better mileage and to annoy people.
Mission accomplished.

[LaOtto70Charger]

25+ mpg with AC and care free driving sounds great!

[moparstuart]

Saw pete. And swamp thing. Great meeting those guys in person finally.

And i forgot to thanks PETE for the hitch   second gen charger hitch he just gave me super nice guys !!!! 

[Wingnut426]

You're Welcome, just send me some 8-tracks! LOL! Pete

[metallicareload99]

Here is the new rust series hot wheels collection.  Some assembly required. Doors , fenders and deck lid sold seperately. 

This would actually be a cool HotWheel if they made it

[moparstuart]

You're Welcome, just send me some 8-tracks! LOL! Pete

send me your address ill get you some out

[Pinballjim]

Swampwing -  Good for you.  It's YOUR car.  Enjoy it YOUR way.  I've seen the Youtube video about your car as well as seeing it in person at Carlisle.  I like it!!  There will always be those that will badmouth something that doesn't fit their definition of what is or isn't cool.  For everyone who doesn't get it, there are others who do.  None of them matter as long as YOU enjoy it. 

It was VERY common to put a small block Chevy in a Model A Ford back in the day.  What you did is essentially the same thing.  There's a guy around my way that put a big block Ford engine in a Chevelle.  It pisses lots of guys off.  Screw em'.  You do you!!!       

[Pinballjim]

You're Welcome, just send me some 8-tracks! LOL! Pete

I just counted mine.  297 individual 8 tracks.  Who needs that many?   

[Wingnut426]

I sent you my address in a PM. Go to the very top of this page and click on "MY MESSAGES"  WINGNUT

[Kern Dog]

Swampwing -  Good for you/

It was VERY common to put a small block Chevy in a Model A Ford back in the day.     

Yeah, common because the Ford engine sucked and only made 36 horsepower.
This argument of yours is irrelevant. Nowadays, there are numerous ways to make big power without going off the reservation to an engine from a rival automaker.
Most will accept going with a Tremec transmission even though they were popular OEM units in Fords. The ENGINE though....that is the heart of the car, man and he chose to go transgender.
That may be cool to other transgenders but sure isn't something that regular people would do.

[Pinballjim]

Swampwing -  Good for you/

It was VERY common to put a small block Chevy in a Model A Ford back in the day.   

Yeah, common because the Ford engine sucked and only made 36 horsepower.
This argument of yours is irrelevant. Nowadays, there are numerous ways to make big power without going off the reservation to an engine from a rival automaker.
Most will accept going with a Tremec transmission even though they were popular OEM units in Fords. The ENGINE though....that is the heart of the car, man and he chose to go transgender.
That may be cool to other transgenders but sure isn't something that regular people would do.

The Ford engine did NOT suck.  Underpowered?  By today's standards, absoutley but not for the time.  Suck?  Not at all.  Then there was the flathead V8.  Twice the power, but costly.  The Small block Chevy made good power (twice that of the flathead). They were cheap and reliable (they still are).  That's basic hot rodding.  OK, so Swampwing put an unconventional engine in an unconventional car.  What's wrong with that?  It's HIS car.  It might not be something you would do, and that's OK too.  If everybody did the same thing the same way, every car show would be a row of cars that all look exactly the same. 

Just my opinion but I say, why not.... 
 

[Kern Dog]

Why not?
Because it isn't a Mopar engine when Mopar engines are available and make power.

[Swampwing2]

Why not?
Because it isn't a Mopar engine when Mopar engines are available and make power.

LOL. this argument of yours is irrelevant. Mopar Performance ended years ago. How do you have brand loyalty to a company that has been bought and sold multiple times to foreign companies. There is nothing old school Mopar "hemi" about the new hemi other than the name and it's 8 cylinders.

Not going to hijack Stuart's post about comparing the 2 powertrains. Clearly you have no sense of humor and can't appreciate the Roadrunner Coyote connection. Lighten up. I could put a hemi in this car in a weekend if I wanted to, but I don't. As far as the transgender comment, you brought it up, clearly those thoughts are a priority in your mind. Sad how few old cars I saw on the road in my 2k mile trip. I'm sure you think I was stupid for actually driving my car, when it's a risk that is clearly too high for you to accept, or a distance your car won't make at three times the cost.

Maybe try spending less time trying to insult others online (8k+ plus posts on one forum AND complaining about no time, duh, do the math) and you will get some of your house projects done and you can quit whining about how you don't have any time to work on your car to replace those "tweaker stable" Mopar performance parts you think I should install in my car.  With your attitude, you will never get anything done. I work full time, have 3 kids and other responsibilities, and I still did the swap in 8 months, making everything from scratch, with a neighbors help when he was available. Quit making excuses for why you don't have time, and you will find the time.

Thanks for the compliment Pinballjim. You get it. No need responding to the troll anymore. We both have better things to do.

[Kern Dog]

I don't recall complaining that I have no time for my cars. I make time if needed.
Mopar Performance? I didn't name them specifically. I wrote MOPAR. They do still sell 3G Hemi engines brand new ready to run.
You clearly feel the sting of the critics for the decisions that you have made with the car. I wrote elsewhere that this isn't CUBA where choices are extremely limited for parts to keep old cars running. YOU chose to go with an engine from a competitor and YOU must be prepared to get feedback on it when YOU tell people what you did. If I saw the car sitting with the hood closed, I'd just smile, glance and walk on by. YOU chose to admit the engine that you used so YOU have to be ready to deal with the fallout from the choices that you made.
Many people are polite to your face but will talk trash about what you did when you are not around. Try taking your car to any ALL Mopar show and see how many positive responses you get compared to insults.
The rest of the car may or may not be nice. I didn't care to look any deeper. If a "man" had sex reassignment surgery, I wouldn't look any more at it than a casual glance because it is an abomination. Just hearing of a FORD engine in a car as iconic as a classic Mopar is bad enough to turn me away just as fast.
The "BlaspHEMI" 55 Chevy built by Mike Finnegan is equally offensive to me, as is the Japanese straight 6 he put in the ratty Charger he built. I'm not a fan of cross breeding for any car when brand specific engines are available.
There was a HUGE backlash from Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick owners in the 70s when GM started using "corporate V8" (Chevrolet) engines in the NON Chevrolet cars. My opinion on this is not new and not limited to me.

[John_Kunkel]

I'm not a fan of cross breeding for any car when brand specific engines are available.

Sometimes it's a matter of economy and availability. Back in the sixties when I decided to build a dedicated Mopar-powered drag car with lots of available lightweight components, there wasn't much for Mopars but there was a bunch available for the '55 Chevy and rollers were available all day long for $50.

Starting with a $50 roller, I built this 10-second car with an all-Mopar drivetrain.

[Kern Dog]

See, while I am not a fan of that, I can understand the desire to do "weird" stuff if "correct" powertrains are not available or far too inadequate to meet the goal of speed.
Nowadays, used 3G Hemi engines can be picked for under $1000 for a decent 5.7. Holley makes motor mount kits. TTI makes headers. The swap is almost a bolt in.
The 5.0 Coyote is a great engine but lacking in torque where a 4000 B body needs it. It is a great mill for a lighter FORD but with how almost everyone looks at FORD cars, to put a FORD engine in  a Mopar is just wrong.

[Swampwing2]

I don't recall complaining that I have no time for my cars. I make time if needed.

Try taking your car to any ALL Mopar show and see how many positive responses you get compared to insults.
 

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,142522.0.html  Unless there is another Kerndog

I took it to Chryslers at Carlisle, 2023. If you made it, you could have insulted me in person and I would have enjoyed it, since saving this car was likely beyond your capabilities. Name a bigger, all Chrysler show in the US, and I can drive it there too. I got many, many, many, many, positive comments and surprisingly few negative ones. Mostly because everyone that saw the before photos was shocked with what I started with, and most naysayers changed their thoughts after I had to explain the cartoon connection. Considering this topic has Carlisle in the topic, and it's about people seeing me there, you are pretty sharp. I am pretty sure Chryslers at Carlisle is the biggest, all Mopar show.

The funniest/saddest thing I heard multiple times was the number of people that think that, ONLY that grave TV show guy could have saved it.  Since I never saw the show, I just tell them to stop watching TV and they could build cars too. This car was built at home.   

I enjoy the controversy and hearing the opinions, both good and bad.   

And just to be clear to all those who are struggling to put gen 3s in their car. My EFI fuel tank, tunnel modifications, CAN bus gauges, cooling system, electric steering pump and other changes are all done and would all interchange with a hemi as well. It really would be simple to drop one in and go with all the various motor mounts, exhaust, oil pan etc you can just buy online. A $1,000 gen 3 is not something I would drop in and drive across the country. A hemi still would have been significantly less expensive, but then I would have been just like the others and not have the Coyote connection.
 

[Kern Dog]

I understand the desire to want to drive the car. I drive mine and have no apprehension about it. It gets in the 110 degree zone and even hotter here and I'm out in the car mixing it up in traffic. I also have a 1970s vintage 440 block because that is what was available in these cars when they were built.
I see that you are proud of resurrecting what was a really run down car. I am not one to criticize anyone for that. It takes vision, faith, skill and dollars to bring a rusted and incomplete car back from the dead. We have absolutely no difference of opinion there.
As I stated before, the efforts to get these cars to be livable to today's standards does often include some compromises. I have a Tremec 5 speed in my Charger. Some may see that as a sacrilege since these transmissions were in FORDs for years. I also have FORD front and rear brakes only because no affordable Mopar bigger brake kits are out there.
It is amazing that you integrated electric power steering. Very interesting and impressive.
It is the engine that stops me dead in my adoration of the car. With all the effort to make this work, putting a FORD engine in a Mopar just ruins it...like a perfect looking woman with bad teeth and a bulge where none should be.
The engine is the soul of the car.
The following is more opinion, please understand that.....
I suspect that the people that saw the car at Carlisle were more impressed with the resurrection and less with the engine choice AND were being polite about it.
I'll admit, seeing it in person, I might say "what the f*** ?...and walk on past. It was the fact that in this thread, you made it a point to mention the FORD engine in it that smacks of "I did this to annoy people....hit me with your best shot"
Admitting even more, I know that there are many guys MORE hardcore than I that hate even seeing 3G Hemis in classic cars. I can see their point...some argue that the newer Hemi shares no allegiance to the classic cars. Me? I never thought I'd be interested in them enough to swap one into an old car but the idea is  growing on me.
In closing, I do want to state that while I disagree with you about a few things, I do respect that you stood fast and completed a project that few others could/would do. I'll refrain from further criticism and wish you good times and great memories with the car.