Steve Strope 70 Charger

[Ghoste]

I see in the latest Mopar Muscle there is an article on the Petrol Charger from Stropes shop.  I know the car has been talked about on here previously but now that it is getting more exposure this way, I wondered what some of you think of it?
Personally, it's growing on me as I sit and look at the pics more and more.  I'm trying to be open minded about the fact that it's a custom not a resto and so it is supposed to have some of the typical 70 Charger design elements changed.  Overall, I'm not sure it's my favorite Mopar out of Strope but it's still more tasteful to me than what Foose does to classics.

[Charger74]

As much as I don't like the paint job (not big on 70's anyway), but I do like it.   I have to say that I was really surprised by the dash setup.  Used a 71, I do like the instrument cluster in it.  Looks really sweet.  Wish there was more info about the setup.

[Orange_Crush]

Its a waste of paint.

Spend thast much money on a car and not modernize the suspension?

Waste of paint.

[69charger2002]

the car looks ok. the interior is a little off with that later dash, but kudos to them for doing something different. the front end looks worst of all to me. just because they thought it looked good in a foose like drawing. does not mean it will be pretty in person. that front end is HIDEOUS!!! a painted 70 bumper is as ugly as can be, and so is the 70's style hood treatment. ack!

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Not a big fan myself.......did you see the crappy worm clamp hose clamps they used?  Surely the level this car has been customized to would warrant something better than some Pep Boys hose clamps.....

[Dodge Don]

Prefer stock look

[Daytona R/T SE]

Simply put, I hate it. 

[Troy]

Its a waste of paint.

Spend thast much money on a car and not modernize the suspension?

Waste of paint.

I haven't seen the car yet but most of the time you can change the suspension without affecting the paint...

Troy

[Dodge Don]

Its a waste of paint.

Spend thast much money on a car and not modernize the suspension?

Waste of paint.

I haven't seen the car yet but most of the time you can change the suspension without affecting the paint...

Troy

Troy is right. It is a delicate process involving a team of professionals working round the clock, however I heard from a friend of a friend who's uncle did it 

[Blakcharger440]

Personally I think the worst thing on the car are the 68 tail lights. The 70 Charger had the better ones.
I dont like the style of twin air cleaners on the engine either as they dont fit the theme of the car.

The orange inserts in the seats do nothing for me either....I would also just delete the orange stripe on the car all together and just leave it all black!

[Ghoste]

I was wondering when someone would to the taillights.
So what about the side profile?  The ends are where a lot of the changes were made and those are the parts I'm trying to kind towards as far as the whole elimintaing the design elements.
I don't care for the cover photo but the pic on page 86 is better.  Maybe because the hood treatment isn't jumping at me and the orange bumper treatment is...is...is, well, it's something.

[Chris G.]

It's the worst paint job on a Charger I have ever seen. I would consider taking that green '69 with the island mural on the side before that. It will get a lot more ink than more deserving Chargers though. 

[Ghoste]

Changing things around a bit then, how do you feel about some of the other cars Strope has done?

[Big Lebowski]

  The grill has a cheap rattle can look to it, the bumper/hood color is carrot flavored baby barf, and the '71 int. was a bad call. I'm not ripping the '71's, it's just that the '70 dash is awesome.

[Blakcharger440]

  The grill has a cheap rattle can look to it, the bumper/hood color is carrot flavored baby barf, and the '71 int. was a bad call. I'm not ripping the '71's, it's just that the '70 dash is awesome.

I agree with ya all the way on those items.

[TripleBlackGator]

I take it that this is the "Lipstick Charger". 

[Ghoste]

I hadn't heard it called that yet, but it's an apt description.  Has anyone seen this car in person?

[DodgeChargerNeeded]

Honestly it really doesn't do anything for me. I didn't get to finish reading the article yet but just not my style.

[BrianShaughnessy]

   Here's a link to the pure vision pics of the car.  http://www.namtramedia.com/clients/purevision/site/rides_its_petrol.asp


   The orange stripe deal screws it all up for me...  especially the grille.     Reminds me of something in an aquarium. 
It could be so much more badazz.

   I don't really think too awful much of his white "nascar" 68 either.  Seems like something that's been done already.

   I'm sure he does great work and all but I wouldn't pay top $ for either of these visions as they sit.

[Troy]

Ok, I'm not a fan. I've never been a fan of too many overly customized cars though so it's not fair of me to single out this one.

Troy

[Brock Samson]

  i see for once no one wants pics.. 
that's gotta tell ya something.. 
the pics on the web site suck,.. i'd like to see the car in person but from those crappy camara angles they couldn't make it look good..
and ya' that orange whatever it's supposed to be ain't workin,.. needs a solid viper red  repaint after some body mods to bring it back to it's original perfection.. it's just like they threw up on it, and called it a day..

[Ghoste]

I liked the white 68 but it's obvious the 70 isn't winning any friends here.  When I got up yesterday, I was determined to try and be a little more open minded (which runs completely hypocritical to my posts on Schneiders GL  ) about what goes on with other peoples cars.  I'll still try and take that route, but, let me ask this, do you think this car would turn out better if it had been commissioned by an individual instead of a company?  It is an ad gimmick for whatever Petrol do (I'm too lazy to go recheck the article).  Is it closer to what Steve Strope does when you give him a blank canvas or could it be the result of having to please an approval committee within that company?

[Charger-Bodie]

in this world where it seems that everyone is trying REAL hard to to cars that stand out for the custom aspects i think ill just stick with being a lowly restorer even if they are not stock they look best to me when they apear stock

[Ghoste]

And you bring up a good point.  Are there any good custom ideas left?  There used to be a guy here locally that we called Dr. K-Mart because he would butcher up a car with every option in the auto accessory aisles from the nearby K-Mart store.  We would watch him wreck good cars and I would always insist that the automakers spend millions of dollars hiring the best designers in the world and then drawing sculpting and approving cars for assembly and some knucklhead with a sawzall and 100 bucks thinks he can improve it's appearance in his backyard.  An extreme point of view maybe, and the 06 Charger blows my theory all to hell from a personal opinion standpoint, but customizing in general?  What's good for 32 Fords maybe isn't such a good idea on 60's era supercars and especially Chargers which were more or less Dodge's styling flagship at the time.
Is it just me, or do all of these high profile customizers seem to have a very piecemeal approach to the changes they make on these cars?  68 taillights, 71 instrument cluster, aftermarket seats?  Change for the sake of change?

[JR]

Does anyone have a pic of the dash? I havent seen the magazine and cant find a good dash pic. the 68 tail and the 70 nose really don't work well for me. It's like two different cars depending on how you look at it.
I'd be happy if these guys stuck with 69 camaros and left Chargers, or any Mopar, alone.