A HELLCAT SWAP GIVES THIS 1970 DODGE CHALLENGER HUGE POWER AND MODERN RELIABILITY
Nothing sucks the wind out of a good time with a classic car than having a ride that you just can’t trust to get to your destination and back. In the collector car world, it’s an all too familiar scenario, playing out regularly at car cruises and other shows. Contributing to these issues is the fact that cars that are driven sparingly tend to accumulate mechanical issues the longer they sit dormant. If you’re not up on your game, and your maintenance, you just might get left waiting on a flatbed to get home again.
Ed Comune of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, is one of those guys who just fawned over classic cars, especially numbers-matching originals, but he always seemed to have issues keeping his cars on the street. “I’ve had a few second-generation Trans Ams, and I really loved the cars but found that they were good for short rides and limited usage. I’d drive around town, stop for coffee, and then a lot of times they just would not start again,” Ed says.
However, he then noticed the world of restomods, and the ways in which modern drivetrains were being substituted into classic cars. “I really wanted to try one of these modified rides because of their increased drivability and overall dependability. Going anywhere at any time and having the confidence you will make it back was very appealing to me. Then I thought an LS swap into one of the Trans Ams was the way to get what I wanted.”
How do you properly restomod a classic?
Ed was enthusiastic about the idea of building a restomod but thought twice about doing it to his Pontiac. In the back of his mind, he had another model he wanted to pursue for his new project. “I’ve always loved Mopars, and had thought about getting one. I was one of those kids weaned on the ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ and Dodge products were right up there with my favorite cars growing up. I had a modern Challenger up until issues from Hurricane Sandy forced me to sell it. So, I thought maybe a vintage Challenger would be the way to go.”
In the summer of 2020, Ed was actively searching for a needy Challenger that would suit his needs. Then he hit paydirt. “I found a ’70 roller on an auction site. It was already repainted in Hemi Orange paint and finished off with T/A stripes. I reached out to the seller but I’m always hesitant of these kinds of deals. The owner was a nice guy and police officer outside of Chicago, who was getting ready to retire. Long and short, his brother had a body shop and too many projects, so they decided to sell some off.”
As the car sat on the auction site, Ed’s cousin Keith called to catch up. They talked about the Challenger, which brought back some great memories for Keith, as he drove a ’70 in high school. They then decided to purchase the car together and work on it as a team. “I hit the ‘buy-now’ button and then drove out there a few weeks later to pick the Challenger up.”
Once home, the twosome tried to devise a game plan for the Dodge. “We wanted a modern drivetrain, so we started looking on sites with crashed cars, so we could pick up a used engine and transmission. Keith wanted a 6.4 Hemi for the car. I pushed for the Hellcat motor thinking it would hold its value better. Ultimately the Hellcat won out. We decided to buy a brand-new crate motor package from Modern Muscle Extreme in Martinsville, Virginia.”
Classic Challenger Lines, Meet Modern Horsepower
From there the pair searched for a respectable shop that could put their dream ride together, as time was limited for both guys due to full-time jobs. “We brought the car to a hot rod shop here in New Jersey, but once the pallet of late-model parts showed up there, we realized that the trans tunnel needed to be modified to fit our new drivetrain.” The Challenger was then sent out to Signature Ridez in Williamstown, New Jersey, where they did a great job cutting and rebuilding the tunnel. It was then sent back to the hot rod shop where the car went untouched for the next six months. “I soon realized that the owner was in over his head doing such a big job. It was time to look for a new shop.”
Ed then found DMS Racecars in Vineland, New Jersey, where owner Duane Grow took on the project Challenger without hesitation. “Duane is a great guy and we really worked together well. It was a challenging build because the world was just coming out of the pandemic and parts were not easy to source. Backorders were a common problem that we had to figure out and work around.”
Duane installed the Hellcat and Tremec six-speed transmission in the E-body, along with the rebuilt 8 ¾ rear. And yes, there were some issues to work around to get the Hellcat and its big supercharger and intake manifold to clear the E-body firewall. With the engine situated, there were other issues to cope with. “We found out that this Challenger was still using its original Slant Six torsion bars, and the pair just couldn’t handle the weight of the Hellcat. “We sourced proper big-block bars, which improved everything 100 percent,” Duane says. However, the headers they’d planned to use conflicted with the torsion bars; a set designed to merge a GEN III Hemi with an E-body, from TTi Performance Exhaust, solved that problem.
Soon the Challenger was test driven, and with that information, more adjustments were made to the car. DMS then installed heavy-duty front and rear anti sway bars, and even bolted in a set of Caltracs bars to help stop a bad case of wheel hop. “This car is wicked fast, and these suspension mods were needed to help control this beast,” Duane explains.
With that, DMS buttoned up the Challenger. The restored interior the car came with was installed along with some nice add-ons, including Dakota Digital gauges and a Pistol-Grip shifter. Wilwood manual brakes were mounted for stopping power. Ed says they will probably be upgraded with a power booster in the future.
Next, Kremer’s Auto Service in Toms River, New Jersey, took on some of the work, getting the Challenger on the right path. Up front they cleaned up the QA1 suspension with rack-and-pinion steering, which was built around the original torsion bar set-up. “Looking back, I really think the coilovers would have been a better idea,” Ed says of the earlier decision to keep torsion bars. “Charlie Sr. at Kremer’s also adjusted springs and made a lot of adjustments that really made for a better balance to the handling.” Once that was completed, Ed took the car back and readied for the next round of modifications.
A Road-Ready Restomod Challenger
Once the Challenger was ready, Ed took it to the street in earnest. “Overall, I’m very happy with the build,” he says, though… “Due to the issues sourcing parts, it took a lot of time to get what we needed and took time checking on the car and coming up with solutions to problems.” There is still more to do, and Ed will tackle these items over time. “Radio, custom center console, cup holders, and vent cables are on the list,” he says.
There have been many people who helped in getting the Challenger project off the ground and to completion, according to Ed, but it seems that he’s not done. “I’m ready for another – up next is an LS swap into a 1977 Trans Am!”
SPEcification – 1970 Dodge Challenger Hellcat Swap
ENGINE
Block type: Chrysler GEN III Hemi Hellcat, cast-iron
Cylinder heads: Chrysler GEN III Hemi, Hellcat, aluminum, 54.3/42mm (2.14/1.65-in) valves, intake/exhaust
Displacement: 6.2-liter (376 cu.in.)
Bore and stroke: 4.090 x 3.580
Compression ratio: 9.5:1
Horsepower @ rpm: 707 @ 6,200
Torque @ rpm: 650 lb-ft @ 4,000
Camshaft type: Hydraulic roller
Camshaft duration: 278/292 degrees @ 15 mm lift
Camshaft lift: .561/.551-in, intake/exhaust
VALVETRAIN
Induction system: Stock IHI 2.4-liter twin-screw supercharger, 11.6 psi boost
Ignition system: Stock GEN III Hemi Hellcat, electronic coil-per-plug, dual plug per cylinder
Exhaust system: TTi tubular GEN III swap headers, Magnaflow dual exhaust
TRANSMISSION
Type: TREMEC 6060 six-speed manual
Ratios: 1st/2.26:1 … 2nd/1.58:1 … 3rd/1.19:1 … 4th/1.00:1 … 5th/0.77:1 …
6th/0.63:1 … Reverse/2.90:1
DIFFERENTIAL
Type: Chrysler 8 ¾
Ratio: 3.55:1
STEERING
Type: Rack and pinion
Ratio: 15:1
BRAKES
Type: Wilwood four-wheel disc
Front: 13-in rotors w/6-piston calipers
Rear: 12-inch rotors w/ 4-piston calipers
SUSPENSION
Front: Chrysler independent with torsion bars and QA1 adjustable shocks and anti-sway bar
Rear: Chrysler heavy-duty leaf springs, Caltracs traction bars, QA1 anti-sway bar
WHEELS AND TIRES
Wheels: US Mags 17 x 7 inches
Tires: NT555 G2 245/45ZR17
PERFORMANCE
Not yet tested
The post A Hellcat Swap Gives This 1970 Dodge Challenger Huge Power and Modern Reliability appeared first on The Online Automotive Marketplace.
2024-09-29T13:39:22Z dg43tfdfdgfd