Mopar Action April 2022

IT’S A THING. Carmakers reaching back into the past, blowing the dust off iconic models of yesteryear and revamping them to modern standards. Ma Mopar has done that with Challenger and Charger, Chevy with Camaro, and Ford with Mustang. All in all, it’s been a formula for success. At least the companies didn’t have to spend who-knows-what to come up with new model names. Well, Dodge has just gone beyond reviving classic model nameplates. They’ve resurrected a classic performance program—Direct Connection. Old-timers will remember the kickoff of the original DC program back in 1974, which itself was simply a cooler name for “Special Parts Services” run by Chrysler’s Brian Schramm. SPS/DC was an industry first, offering Mo’fans a huge selection of ready-to-run, test-proven performance goodies that were available through their local dealer.…

PEOPLE WHO KNOW ME and have chatted with me at length sometimes come away with the sense I might be a little conspiratorial. As Steven Stills once crooned, “There’s something happenin’ here, what it is ain’t exactly clear...” Actually, conspiracy is not really the best word. In speaking with his global Warroom audience, Steven K. Ban-non wryly notes almost every day that there are no conspiracies, and there are no coincidences. So, yeah, that’s the ticket, I just don’t buy the idea of coincidences, that’s all. Anyhow, as I write this, there is a push by the esteemed leaders of Beltway USA to spend trillions of dollars on a big government program called Build Back Better, and in the true spirit of bipartisanship, I wanted to show my approval for that.…

THE IDIOT BOX/TV and the automotive world are two places that have yet to reach common ground. You guys and gals walking into a shop daily know exactly what I am talking about. Dealerships? No, you guys are excluded since there are way too many rules, regulations, and customers to contend with. Also, you guys are so boring that no dealership, with the exception of Mr. Norm, is interesting enough to have its own show. Crec? Get to the point… Ok, here goes. How many shows out there are car-related? The answer? Too many! How many are actually relatable? None. A ton of these storylines are the same stuff. A crew hunts down a car, finds a car, fixes it, and flips it for big money, with some minor-to-overplayed issues along the…

FLUID FOIBLE In your brake article in the last issue, you recommended DOT5 silicone fluid. I have heard that the entire system must then be drained, flushed with alcohol, the refilled with the silicone fluid. Why didn’t you mention that? Adam Conklin Los Angeles, CA Adam–Mainly because it is hooey. Sure, flushing with isopropyl alcohol on a used system can’t hurt, but it is not necessary. Think of the potential problems if Joe Blow from Kokomo mixed fluid types that were incompatible: The manufacturers would be sued, etc., and there would be warning labels on all brake fluid—generally, there are none. The story is that the mixture will gel (it does not, and it never actually mixes, either). The other BS story is that silicone fluid is compressible. More baloney. For all practical, real-world…

Address all queries to this address: RICHARD EHRENBERG PO BOX 302 MARLBORO NY 12542 Best bet: Online submission form at moparaction.com GROUND RULES: • If you want to submit your question via e-mail, please use the on-line submission form at www.moparaction. com. If we ask for more info, send back all existing text, or else! • Snail-mail must include a SASE and/or a cash bribe. • All letters, electronic or otherwise, must include a full name and a least your city and state. You can request that it be withheld, however, and, if we had any the night before, we might even honor your request. • “20 questions” letters instantly get shredded and the scraps forwarded to Mopar Muscle. So – ask one clear question please, we’re a sleazy magazine, not an encyclopedia publisher. We won’t tell…

Wanna submit a resto question? Please follow the instructions on page 10. SHIVVY SCHMUCKS Dear Mr. Ehrenberg–Please help clearing the muddy waters of fact concerning the first factory engine (production issue) producing one horsepower per cubic inch. Chevy claims the ’Vette and some Ford guys say the T-bird. David Colburn Ontario, CA Dave–Shivvy and Phord guys are both smoking their underwear; no news there. Yes, the waters may be a bit muddy, but it’s Mopar versus Mopar. The 1956 Chrysler 300B’s optional engine produced 355 horsepower (at a then-stunning 5,200 RPM) out of 354 cubic inches. It wasn’t until 1957 that the ’Vette’s crude mechanically fuel injected optional 283 supposedly produced 1 HP per cubic inch. Within a year, however, Chrysler was producing Bendix multi-point electronic fuel injected big blocks—the real deal. In 1957, the DeSoto Adventurer’s…