- BODY: Auto World
- WHEELS & TIRES: Road Race Replicas
This purple Charger has been in my fleet for quite a while, having been acquired in those exciting early days of 2020 when the world was going insane and we were all locked at home fearing for our lives. I’ve had some trouble identifying the progeny of this particular body; I know it came in an early Johnny Lightning jewel case on an early Playing Mantis chassis with no traction magnet, but the very helpful AW T-Jet Museum from the fine folks at Slots N’ Stuff doesn’t list this model in the AW section. It does list a “plum crazy” body as the earliest of the Johnny Lightning releases, but this should have been the era when they were releasing bodies only on pull-back chassis, while mine definitely came with an early JL T-Jet 500 chassis. This body also has a lot of the finer inkjet detail on it that I associate with the later AW issues, so I can’t trace its lineage. Any other readers out there know the release number this “Plum Crazy” jewel is from?
Regardless, its badass; the Charger is one of my favorite muscle cars and purple is my favorite color so we have that combination here set off with a white top and tail stripes that is just gorgeous! Naturally I mounted it on an uber-fast Ultra G trac-mag chassis with a set of custom wheels on it the moment I took it out of the package, and its since been raced until its little motor burned up, only to have it replaced to go back to the track for more! In spite of all the hard mileage she still looks awesome, and a set of RWL silicone tires added later gave her even more style!
A debate rages amongst Mopar fans as to whether the Charger is superior when outfitted with the rip-snorting 426 Hemi or the 440 big block; “Handsome” Henry Hollis has an opinion on that, for he has owned and raced both versions, but today uses his 440 on the street (no illegal racing, of course! 😉 ) while “Vindicator,” his Plum Crazy Hemi, is used at Drag City. Hollis has owned the car since 1978 and admits it started life as a pedestrian 318-powered Charger painted olive green, but a body-off-frame rebuild recolored every panel in the factory-correct “Plum Crazy,” to which he added a painted (not vinyl) white top and R/T tail stripes and badging. The mechanical resto-mods include 4 wheel disc brakes, an extra wide aluminum radiator, MSD ignition, a close ratio 4-speed with a lightened Dana 60 rear axle, and of course the main event: a full race 426 “Elephant” up front. He also put a lot of work into updated suspension to get this big brute to handle as nimbly as it looks like it should. So, while not a factory original Hemi, “Vindicator” has all the power and all the style without risking the insane value of throwing a numbers matching original around a racing track. That sounds like a win/win for everyone, especially the many Mopar race fans at Drag City!
Henry Hollis has good tastes for sure! Although I haven’t been as much into the muscle cars, this one is a favorite of mine. I have a fondness for Mopars and I can see why this one is for you too, especially with that awesome color! Lots of great information in another terrific post!