Re: RE OT-Dodge Charger-was: A few photos.

[Paul Stenquist]

A Charger Daytona was also the first car to exceed 200mph on a closed  
circuit -- anywhere in the world, any type of car other than a  
dragster. It happened at Talladega in 1970 during transmission testing.  
Buddy Baker was at the wheel. The near stock 7 liter hemis were said to  
be putting out 625 horsepower. The car that set the record was later  
given to a dirt racer in Iowa to settle a debt that Chrysler  
motorsports had owed. At the time few recognized the significance of  
the record. A few years later NASCAR asked Chrysler if they'd put the  
car in the stock car racing museum, so Chrysler made a mock up of the  
original. A few years ago, a lower level tech guy at Chrysler heard the  
story of the record car and set about looking for it. He called the  
dirt track racer it had been given to, hoping only to get a lead on  
where it might have ended up. He asked him if he knew where it was.  
"Yup," the dirt racer responded. "Well, where is it." the Chrysler tech  
asked. "Out behind my barn." was the answer. Well, the tech guy was  
amazed that it was that easy to find and  hustled his butt off to Iowa.  
He purchased the rusted remnants of the car for $30,000 and brought it  
badk to Michigan. He's now restoring it in the garage behind his house.  
He has apparently been barraged with offers to purchase the car. Some  
of them in excess of a quarter million. it pays to be curious.
On Feb 22, 2004, at 5:17 PM, frank theriault wrote:

I liked the Charger Daytonas, with the high rear wing and the  
"nosecone".  One of the more outrageous cars that Detroit has ever  
produced.

IIRC, the Dodge Charger Daytona, and it's corporate sister, the  
Plymouth Roadrunner were produced in relatively limited quantities to  
get around NASCAR restrictions about body style (any stock cars had to  
be "production" cars back then, with only certain mods allowed).  With  
their aerodynamic slipperyness (compared to any other Detroit boxes of  
the day), those two cars wiped up on the stock car circuit.

cheers,
frank
"The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds.  The  
pessimist fears it is true."  -J. Robert Oppenheimer




From: "Malcolm Smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: RE: A few photos.
Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 21:37:58 -0000
Dag T wrote:

> > http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2153283&size=lg
> >
> >
> Hey, my mom had one of those in �69.  She still remembers
> driving into the gas station and hearing the guy commenting
> on the engine:  "Nice little thing you got there..."
>
> Even I remember that one, I was 6....
The 66/67 model year (different shape) was beautiful too and the 1970  
500.
After that to '74 they weren't as appealing.

Malcolm



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