Mopar Action

WHAT'S THE COOLEST JOB you can think of aside from carrying Ehrenberg's luggage? I thought I was living large as a catwalker—getting paid to take about 10 cats and a duck on leashes for their daily romp, until that fateful day when I picked up a matchbook cover with an ad that promised “Make big bucks by writing short paragraphs,” I've been writing short paragraphs ever since, but still waiting for the “big bucks.” Then I ran into David Henriksen while shooting his ’78 Dodge Magnum featured elsewhere in this issue. Dave had retired 30 years with the phone company when his wife urged him to get a job about 14 years ago, ’cuz they were spending all their money. Dave's brother worked at the Chrysler Test Center/Proving Grounds in Wittmann,…

THE GUYS FROM OLDSMOBILE once had a promotion where they said their cars were “Escape Machines.” With all the madness we see every day, even if good ol’ Dr. Olds himself checked out years ago, we still need one. Now, some of the weak sisters have let Cliff know if I'm too close to the guardrails with politics, and religion probably gets the same response. No matter. In the end, there is a lot of things make us all unified beyond that stuff, as my late friend “Big Willie” Robinson from Los Angeles well understood. This hobby is indeed a brotherhood, and our escape machines are just that—the cars we enjoy. So, whether it is some restored Imperial or the latest 2023 “final act” Hemi, this is our culture, one that…

SO, Chrysler has announced “The Last Call” and broke the internet and pissed off everyone faster than Ronnie Sox's reaction time. The news came with the rollout of several models for 2023 to be certain that we go out with a bang. In keeping with the bad news/good news approach, the intro of an EV Charger with a simulated V8 sound, a ragtop Challenger, and the return of the Swinger name was being promoted to keep everyone in the land of Mopar happy. Wanna guess what happened next? Everyone was still pissed off, especially since we have been the King of the Mountain even before the reincarnation of the Hemi and Challenger made a return, setting off another round of musclecar wars. Hey, I was feeling the exact same way with…

LOYAL MOPAR ACTION READER Ray Sibella sent us this photo taken (by him) at a truck stop in Texas, probably circa 1996, while Vanishing Point (the Fox remake) was soon to be filmed. Interesting insight into the techniques Hollywood used to get “through the windshield” action shots. Our guess is that the “car” was en route from Ted Stephens’ place in Anderson, Alabama (Ted supplied the Challengers for the remake) to a Hollywood movie lot. Check the seats for the camera crew in the pickup, including serious harnesses. We're in contact with Ted to see if he has enough photography of the cars he supplied, the buildups, powertrains, etc., if so, look forward to a feature.…

Fixing Coolant and Transmission Leaks SHIFTLESS Mr. Ehrenberg– Is there an aftermarket floor shifter that would work in a ’65 Dart GT with the original automatic A904 transmission? My project came with it missing. There are two cables coming through the floor. Joshua Baker Aubrey, TX Josh– I would sure use a stock ’64–’65 floor shifter, used ones show up all the time online. The 2-cable arrangement (one for gear selection, one for the park sprag engagement) makes using anything else a tricky project. BREAK-IN OR BREAKDOWN? Rick– I recently finished a rebuild of a 360 Magnum being installed in a ’33 Plymouth coupe. Like I have done on dozens of past builds, I fired the motor, ran for about a minute, and shut it off to check for leaks. In the past, I would have run it about…

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…