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DynaTech's Projects |
1968
Mustang GT390
Before
Rare 1968 Mustang big-block GT 390 Fastback, four-speed. The
car was purchased in 1987 in the condition shown, after it had
been run into the back of a truck. The hood, left fender, grille,
radiator and front unibody structure were all badly damaged.
It was a tough decision whether to pay the $700 asking price!
But I was taken by the car's complete originality and 20,000-mile
odometer. It was rust-free and perfect before the wreck. It
hadn't even been registered since 1973
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After
I restored the car to better than its previous glory using new
Ford sheetmetal and unibody parts from a donor vehicle. With
minor work, the body was so perfect that an inexpensive paint
job made all surfaces like mirrors.
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Hardly sat-in
The original interior was near perfect. A new cluster bezel
and carpet were all that was needed to bring back the showroom
appearance.
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Heart of the beast
Original high-compression 390 with factory-rated 335hp. MityMounts®
replaced the originals that were sheared in the wreck.
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1974 Dodge Coronet 440 Police Interceptor
"The Man's" equalizer
Every street-racer's fear was a lean Mopar B-body, big-block
police car in his rear-view mirror. This original example was
discovered on one of DynaTech's weekly junkyard excursions in
1994. After noticing the certified speedometer, we checked the
VIN and discovered the giveaway "K" code, indicating
the car had been built to police specification. We immediately
purchased the car for $275 and began our first junkyard restoration,
using almost entirely junkyard parts.
Not well known is that Mopar police cars in
the 1960's and early 1970's were built to entirely different
specifications than standard passenger cars. Unlike other
manufacturers, Chrysler actually shut down their assembly
lines each year and re-tooled to police specifications to
create these special cars. In addition to hundreds of improved
engine, drivetrain and suspension parts, these cars received
3,000 extra unibody welds for improved rigidity.
Even after an estimated 200,000 miles, this
car cornered like a sports car and stopped on a dime. The
gigantic Kelsey-Hayes brakes would simply not fade, no matter
how badly they were abused. But the most fun of all was using
this car as an early DynaTech platform for acceptance testing
of MityMounts®. DynaTech Engineers attempted to break
prototype MityMounts® in countless acceleration tests.
This car would lay over 100 feet of rubber at any time, and
the winner of the burnout competition laid dark black patches
on the asphalt over 130 feet long!
Sadly, after we could think of no new testing
ideas (and how we tried!), the car was sold to an east-coast
collector in 1999.
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Feel lucky, punk?
The original 440 Interceptor motor was tired, but couldn't be
killed. The reason the car was in the junkyard was a $15 ignition
pick-up coil. The engine's conservative SAE (net) horsepower
rating was 275; SAE Gross would put it in the mid 300's. With
its light weight (about 3,600 lbs.), this car in stock form
would run low 14-second quarter miles on sticky tires.
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The patrolman's office
Interior restoration was done entirely with parts from Pick-a-Part,
even the seat covers and headliner! The original police front
seat was preserved, since it had extra springs and support for
hard driving conditions. The entire parts bill for restoration
was about $500, and this included major repairs on the air conditioning.
Notice the dual spotlights, red magnetic beacon and siren control
that is under the dash, below the steering wheel.
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