I’m changing Chargers again, dear readers! You know my obsession with the Charger forces me to just keep buying them, and I’ve just recently acquired a brand new Auto World release that, after a few weeks of deliberation, I have decided to add to the muscle car fleet.
I’m not buying many of the new Auto World releases for the reasons I outlined here: a reduction in quality, specifically their recent act of ditching chrome-plated bumpers and grilles in favor of silver paint, makes the latest models look much cheaper than the ones from just a couple of years ago. However, I really liked the color of this one, and I also thought it was interesting that it was being presented without the “Scat Pack” tail stripes, meaning it is not an R/T.
Of course, since the 96 car maximum has been hit, that meant choosing one to squeeze out, and the one I decided to remove is one that has had little track time so far, the bright metallic green one from release 18. It isn’t that I didn’t like this car, but it was in pristine condition, and looks like the last Charger to come in a jewel case with a box surround before AW switched exclusively to the cheap crummy clamshells. Having retained the original jewel case, I decided to remount the green one on a stock chassis with the same type of wheels, tires and guide pin it came with and re-box it as a collector’s item, opening a place for this new “metallic tan”- or what I would call “Root Beer” – colored model to take over its former racing chassis and its slot in the fleet! All I needed then was what I always need for a “Replacement:” a justification via the Lore!
California-born Hector “HOLESHOT” Hernandez hasn’t been one of the more successful drivers at Drag City. Originally a drag racer, the sport that gave him his nickname and taught him to love Mopars, he got into road racing at Drag City when he decided to reconfigure his blue 383-powered ’69 Plymouth Roadrunner named “Bushmaster” for the track. He never did more than show on race day with this car, however, and he eventually chose to part with the Roadrunner and use the proceeds from its sale to upgrade to a Hemi-powered ’69 Dodge Charger, a bright yellow and black car he called the “Rumblebee.” He put in some amazing time trials and showed great promise, but sadly, before he was ever able to run his first real race with this car, he was forced to sell it due to personal financial concerns, the kind of family related matters that all middle and upper-middle class Americans can sympathize with.
That turned him into a spectator for a little less than a year, but some frugality and a few wise investments paid off along with a stroke of luck, when he was given an opportunity to come into another ’69 Hemi Charger, an even nicer car which was a low mileage numbers-matching original R/T at a price below market value. He campaigned this car, named “Relentless,” at Drag City through the 1985 racing season and did quite well, but recently he was given an offer he couldn’t refuse: again, taking money into consideration, a known Mopar enthusiast took a shine to the deep “dragon green” Charger R/T and offered him a price for it that was significantly above market value, as the car’s originality and rare color combination made it a prime candidate for an investment-grade collection. Reluctantly, he decided to sell, leaving himself again without a car to race, though this time with enough money to replace it with whatever he wanted.
Surprisingly, Hernandez has chosen to return to the track with the original power plant from his drag racing days! His latest acquisition, this “root beer” colored ’68 Charger, is not an R/T; quite the opposite, it is an only moderately equipped base Charger with the 4-brl “Magnum” 383 under the hood, the most powerful engine offered to a Charger buyer without the upgrade to the R/T model. This is mated to a A833 4-speed manual with a previous owner-added pistol grip shifter that spins an aftermarket Dana 60 rear axle with 3.73 gears.
One may wonder what would influence a driver to downgrade from the famous 426 Hemi to the 383. To this, Hernandez will only smile and assure anyone asking that the money he saved buying this car will be put back into it; “I’ll build this 383 car to blow any Hemi off the road,” he says with confidence! Though it is a factory-original 383 4-speed car, far from being original, it has had several modifications thorough the years, making it an excellent candidate for a racing car as there is room for additional mods without lowering the value of a “numbers matching” high-end model. We don’t yet know what “Holeshot” has up his sleeve, but any Mopar fans know that the 383, as Chrysler’s “small big block,” is no slouch when built with the right parts, and its lighter than a Hemi as well. Some may be skeptical, but others are smiling along with the driver and waiting to see what “FORTUNATE SON” can do once it returns to the track for the beginning of the 1986 racing season!
One thought on “The Replacements, Episode X: A Necessary Downgrade Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Losing at the Track!”