‘69 CHARGER R/T 440 DYNO’D & SCOPED $2195 AT MR NORMS!
1000 HORSEPOWER GSS-R KENNE BELL SUPERCHARGED 426 HEMI STREET / STRIP TERROR
PLUS SPECIAL MEMBERS RIDES SECTION & TRAILERING TIPS JANUARY 2014
A MR. NORM’S SPORT CLUB PUBLICA-TION
PENTASTAR POWER IS PUBLISHED MONTHY BY MR. NORM’S SPORT CLUB
P.O. Box 381 / Highland Park, IL 60035 / (760) 630-0547 / [email protected] / www.mrnorms.com
January, 2014
EDITORIAL Publisher ...................... Mr. Norm
Editor ............................ Larry Weiner
Managing Editor .......... Deb Murphy
Editorial Assistant ....... Debbie Weiner
Contributors ................. Linda Mandalas
Howard Benjamin
Andrew Schultheis
DEALER SALES
East Coast .................. Mike Staveski
Midwest ....................... Bob Longstreth
West Coast .................. Steve Temple
ON THE COVER: 1000 HP Mr. Norm’s GSS-R Kenne Bell
Supercharged 426 Hemi-Powered
Photo by Howard Benjamin
’65 Coronet S/FX at Lions
IN THIS ISSUE
Editor’s Page ................................................... 4
Mr. Norm’s Corner ........................................... 6
Cover Story: 1000 HP Mr. Norm’s GSS-R
Street/Strip Terror .......................................... 10
Product Spotlight ........................................... 18
Jeep Wrangler FIVE STAR ............................ 20
Millennium Musings ....................................... 24
Special Mr. Norm’s Members’ Rides ............ 26
Trailer Towing Tips ........................................ 30
Women’s World ............................................. 34
Specials of the Month .................................... 38
West Coast Report ........................................ 40
But Wait, There’s More .................................. 42
4
Editor’s Page
O ver the years, I have been fortunate to have the opportuni-ty to drive a wide
variety of highly-desirable, vintage and late model muscle cars. And while it has been fun, I also have a tendency to like vehicles that have not al-ways been considered main-stream. Among those, the one that really jumps out is the 1953 Dodge M37 that was my daily driver for five years. My affinity for the M37 dates back to when I was in the Army in the 70’s. The motor pool for our unit had quite a few Kore-an War era M37’s along with the more modern Kaiser M715, lots M151’s and quite a few AM General M35 deuce and a half’s.
While driving a deuce was
fun, I always enjoyed the M37 more, partly because it was a Dodge, but also because it was the kind of truck you could imagine driving on the street. After all, under the mil-itary sheet metal was essen-tially the same chassis and powertrain that was used in a Power Wagon. The 230 cubic inch flathead, backed up by a four speed manual, a transfer case and 5.83:1 gears meant that while it might not be fast, in low range you could proba-bly pull a building down with it. Maybe they should have used an M37 instead of the GMC pickup in the second Le-thal Weapon movie. Imagine an M37 pulling down the house that was mounted on stilts at the edge of the cliffs.
Needless to say, for many
years after I got out of the Ar-my, I kept an eye out for a nice M37, but never found one. And like the old saying that you will find something when you’re not looking for it, one day when I was heading back to the shop after a day on the road calling on custom-ers, I spotted an olive drab M37 in a front yard with a For Sale sign in the windshield. As soon as I was done at work, I headed straight back to where I had spotted the M37. A quick once over confirmed that it was in very good condi-tion. Before I could ring the doorbell, an elderly man came out and introduced himself as the seller’s father.
We talked about the Dodge for a while, and he told me that his son had found it
Driving to the Beat of a Different Drummer
This photo of the M37 was taken the day after I bought. I had just washed it and was getting ready to install the original steel roof that came with the truck.
5
Editor’s Page
many years earlier, restored it and then parked it in a pole building where it had been sitting for a long time. He needed money and had decid-ed to sell it. In fact, they had just put it outside with the sign earlier that day. I asked if we could take it for a drive and the father and I were off
and running around town. The M37 drove perfectly
and there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted it. He said that his son would be back in an hour and that I should come back and talk to him. I told my wife about the M37 as soon as I got home and in no time flat we were on our way to meet the seller. The Dodge was still sitting in front of the house where I had parked it after the test drive, and as we walked up to it, I could see that my wife didn’t like it. She thought that it was going to be a Jeep, which it obviously wasn’t. While I was negotiat-ing with the seller, my wife looked the M37 over. Mean-while, the seller and I had agreed on a price, which was when my wife walked over to us. She asked me if I was ac-tually considering buying it. I said yes, and her terse reply was “the money must really be burning a hole in your pocket!” At this point, the seller had backed up about five paces to get some space between he and my wife. I looked at my wife, looked at the seller and said, yes, I like it, I’m going to buy it and handed him the money before things got contentious.
Other than a couple of mi-
nor items, the Dodge was trouble free all the years I owned it, and eventually, my wife warmed up to it. One thing that was for sure, nei-ther rain, nor snow, nor sleet of night would keep me from wherever I was going in the M37. It might not have been comfortable like a new truck,
but it had character in spades and reminded me of a time when I was a young man just starting on the adventures of life.
One day when I went to work, I left the M37 outside. Usually, I parked it in the gar-age area of the building where I worked, but it was such a warm, sunny summer day that I broke with tradition. About lunch time, a man walked into the building and inquired who owned the M37. I told him that I did, and asked him why he wanted to know. He said he was an actor and per-formed in a one man stage play about the Vietnam War. He thought that the Dodge would be the per-fect complement to his act, since the M37 was a very common Army truck in Vietnam. I said that
the M37 wasn’t for sale, but he was very persistent and ultimately convinced me to sell it to him.
All these years later, sometimes when I am day-dreaming, I think about that old M37. Yes, my wife was right, it wasn’t real practical, but it sure was fun to drive.
And of all of the vehicles that I have owned over the years, it was definitely one that stood out and got everyone’s attention wherever I went. Next time you are looking for a collector vehicle to purchase or restore, don’t feel like you have to follow the crowd. Sometimes picking a unique vehicle, like taking the road less traveled, can be more fun. In fact, it can even be an adventure.
The truck came with a copy of the original US Army Opera-
tors Manual. Note the cartoon like artwork on the cover.
The entire manual features this type of art, along with information about vehicle
operation and maintenance, and was very typical of the printed literature the Army provided GI’s during that
era.
W elcome to 2014. Our hope is that the year brings much joy to all of
you and that as you look back on the past year, the good far outweighs the not-so-good.
It’s naïve to think the world’s problems will all be solved in the next 365 days, but in terms of America, the economy is reviving, more jobs are opening up – and I mean real jobs not McJobs. The American auto industry has made a heroic comeback and is creating new jobs. Things could be better, but we’re heading in the right direction.
Now that 2014 has arrived, we’re figuring out where we’ll be going, in terms of shows that is. As well-attended as our show schedule proved last year, we’re anticipating the same and better for this year. The schedule process made me start thinking of what shows were “the best;” then I realized each show we go to has its se-rious plusses. There’s really no “best” show but there are cer-tainly shows that do certain things “best.” Take for in-stance the first show we went to in 2013, the one that kicked off our 50th Anniversary tour de force: Mopars on the Strip in Las Vegas.
All the things that are great about Mopars on the Strip are also great about Vegas. If you haven’t ever been to Sin City, you gotta go, hopefully for the upcoming Mopar show. Vegas has just about anything you could want, some of which you probably shouldn’t want now that I think about it. It’s a mix
of the most outrageously luxu-rious accommodations, on the Strip, and real down-to-earth, gritty, Old West ambiance, in downtown Vegas. The shows are extraordinary, the food is fabulous and, bring on the drum roll, you get all this at a price far less than you’d pay in any other major city as long as you stay away from the casino!
And then there’s the top-notch drag strip, just 20 minutes outside the center of
town. Vegas has a world-class racing facility and you can’t beat the weather, especially when the rest of the country is under a few feet of snow. The desert southwest is definitely the place to be, as long as it’s not in the middle of summer.
So, I’d say Mopars on the Strip is the Best Show for your Dollar.
In terms of hospitality, you can’t beat MoparFest just out-side of Toronto, Ontario. Mo-
6
Mr. Norm’s Corner
The Mr. Norm’s display at Mopars on the Strip, set up at the host hotel, the Can-
nery in Las Vegas, Nevada.
7
Mr. Norm’s Corner
MoparFest in Ontario, the Most
Hospitable Show
All the things that
are great about Mo-
pars on the Strip are
also great about
Vegas. If you haven’t
ever been to Sin City,
you gotta go
parFest is what I’d call the other end of the spectrum from Vegas: it’s balmy and green during the show season and the setting for MoparFest is absolutely gorgeous, the kind of landscape that makes you want to hang out all day long and enjoy the friendliness of the people and organizers and the superior accommoda-tions for spectators. Those ac-commodations include miles of free parking and a free shuttle that carries people to and from the show and the stands that were originally built for livestock auctions.
MoparFest is sponsored by the neighboring town and is one of, if not the, largest club shows in North America and it gets my vote for Most Hospita-ble.
Next, Carlisle, Pennsylva-nia is one of the best of the
best in the states. It’s big, it’s got great management and is very well planned.
Josh King’s show at the Indianapolis Speedway is the up and coming show with a facility that can accommodate the 150,000 to 200,000 people that show up every year. Indy is a car city and with the mar-keting and advertising genius of King, it’s the show to watch get bigger and better every year.
Of course, the Big Daddy of all is the Mopar Nationals at Columbus, Ohio. It’s got the most cars, the most vend-ers, the most people, though the facilities could use a little sprucing up.
Belvedere could use the presence of some of those prosperous, growing American auto makers. The organizers at Belvedere try hard but have
their work cut out for them in terms of bringing more cars, vendors and spectators to the event. I don’t think it’s been the organizers fault, rather the recession; but as the economy improves, they have to figure out how to get that show back on the map.
Okay, now that you’ve heard my opinion, let me know yours. I’m always look-ing for new shows to go to. Some of our best experiences have been at some of the smaller, local shows. So, if you’ve got favorites, shows you wouldn’t miss, let me know where they are. Better yet, during the coming year, send us photos that illustrate what makes your favorites so special.
That’s it for now. Let’s make 2014 the best year yet!
8
Another view from the MoparFest, my vote for the Best Hospitality.
RESTORATION SERVICES Call, fax or e-mail for consultation services
106 State Hwy. PP
Scott City, MO 63780
Phone: (573) 264-2033
Fax: (573) 264-3821
E-Mail: [email protected]
RESTORATION SERVICES Call, fax or e-mail for consultation services
P.O. Box 35300
Richmond, VA 23235-0300
Phone: (804) 275-2155
Fax: (804) 275-1969
E-Mail: [email protected]
By Larry Weiner Photos by Larry Weiner, Toshi Akatsuka and Bill Scharing B
adass. There’s just no other way to de-scribe the 1000 horsepower Mr.
Norm’s GSS-R Challenger.
This is not a muscle car for the faint of heart; rather, the GSS-R is a pure blooded, bad to the bone, fire breathing ani-mal that’s ready to lay waste
Mr. Norm unleashes 1000 horsepower GSS
to nearly anything that pulls up next to it, anytime, any-where.
The supercharged Chal-lenger GSS-R follows in the
footsteps of a long line of high performance Dodges that Mr. Norm has developed over the years including the big block 1967 H-Code 383 and 1968 M-
Code 440 GSS Darts and the 1972 supercharged GSS De-mon. In addition, Mr. Norm is well known as one of the lead-ing pioneers in the develop-ment and evolution of the su-per fuel funny car category with his nitro burning, super-charged Hemi powered Coro-nets, Chargers and Challenger. And with the debut of the new supercharged Challenger GSS-R, it’s obvious Mr. Norm is not resting on his laurels.
The Mr. Norm’s GSS-R Challenger is the brainchild of Jim Bell, owner of Kenne Bell Superchargers and Mr. Norm. The Mr. Norm’s GSS-R Chal-lenger is a direct response to the Shelby 1000, for which Kenne Bell provides the super-chargers. Make no mistake, the Shelby 1000 is a very seri-ous Mustang, and has amazing capabilities. The problem is, there wasn’t a Challenger that offered the level of performance necessary to face off against the Shelby 1000. Leave it to Mr. Norm to level the playing field, working with Kenne Bell, along with some of the best and the brightest in the Mopar performance world to come up with a Challenger that’s more than ready to even up the score.
When it comes to people like Mr. Norm and Jim Bell, the saying “great minds must think alike” rings true. When Norm spoke to Jim about de-veloping the GSS-R, it turned out the Jim Bell was already working with Bill Scharing, whose 2010 Challenger SRT-8 is powered by a 1000 horse-power Kenne Bell super-charged Hemi, backed up by a powertrain that mirrored what Norm had outlined for the GSS-R. In fact, all of the tuning
Mr. Norm unleashes 1000 horsepower GSS-R Challenger
12
calibrations were done and the Challenger had been thor-oughly tested on the track where it was running con-sistent low 10’s in the quarter.
Armed with this infor-mation, Norm and Jim decided that the timing was perfect to offer the 1000 horsepower combination as a new Mr. Norm’s Challenger perfor-mance package. A TorRed 2014 Challenger SRT-8 was chosen for the first production GSS-R. For the purpose built supercharged Gen III 426 Hemi engine, Mr. Norm and Jim Bell chose to work with Chris Seidle at Seidle Motor-sports. Chris starts with a 6.4L Hemi crank case, sonic tests it to check for cracks, machines it, and then adds nothing but the best parts. The engine build includes a Scat 4340 stroker crank, Scat
Mr. Norm’s Signature Carbon Fiber underhood trim adds a touch of detail to the polished and plated Kenne Bell 3.6L Liquid Cooled Supercharger
1000 Horsepower Kenne Bell Supercharged 426 Hemi Engine
H-beam rods with ARP 2000 rod bolts and 10:1 compression Diamond custom pistons with Trend H-13 tool steel wrist pins. Total Seal AP steel rings, a Comp Cams hydraulic roller, non MDS lifters, Cometic head gaskets, coated main and rod bearings, ARP head studs, and an ATI damper are also included in the engine build.
On top of the short block, Jim Bell recom-mends using the earlier 6.1L Hemi heads as they have more material than comparable 6.4L heads making them better suited to high boost applications. The heads are ported and polished so that they will flow enough volume to handle the demands of as much as 23 lbs. of boost and are finished off with a competition valve job. A Kenne Bell 3.6L liquid cooled twin screw super-charger provides the boost. Not enough? Kenne
Badass. There’s just no
other way to describe the
1000 horsepower Mr.
Norm’s GSS-R Challenger.
This is not a muscle car for
the faint of heart; rather,
the GSS-R is a pure blood-
ed, bad to the bone, fire-
breathing animal that’s
ready to lay waste to
nearly anything that pulls
up next to it, any time,
any place.
GSS-R fender emblem detail
GSS hood graphic detail
Mr. Norm’s Serial Number Dash Plaque
13
14
Bell 4.2L and 4.5L Liquid Cooled superchargers are available options and all amazingly, fit under the stock Challenger hood. When it comes to lubrication, Kenne Bell recommends Lucas Syn-thetic Oil for the super-charger and engine.
The end result is a 426 cubic inch Hemi that produc-es 1000 horsepower on the ground at 23 lbs. of boost running on E85 fuel. If you want to run on 91 octane pump gas, the engine can be built with 9.3:1 compression pistons and the boost is set at 15-17 lbs. When it comes to making max power, Kenne Bell recommends running E-85 because of the higher oc-tane it offers, especially when compared to pump gas.
Backing up the engine is a transmission built by Para-mount Performance. This is a completely custom built unit that features extensive machin-ing to reroute the fluid, includ-ing enlarged passages for great-
Katzkin custom leather interior with Mr. Norm’s 50
th Anniversary
embroidered logos (below) Mr. Norm’s Pistol Grip Shifter (right)
15
er fluid volume and proprietary clutches in place of the stock components. Paramount also provides a 3000 rpm stall torque converter. In addition, a custom driveshaft and half shafts are also sourced from Paramount. For those of you who prefer to shift your own gears, a built to the max six speed Tremec by Rockland Standard is an available op-tion.
A complete Mr. Norm’s 50th Anniversary package dresses up the TorRed Challenger GSS-R. On the outside, the Chal-lenger features contrasting sig-nature side and hood graphics, side scoops and chrome GSS-R fender badges. Inside, a Katzkin Custom leather interi-or with special 50th Anniver-sary embroidered logos and a serialized dash plaque remind everyone that this is a very special Challenger, while a Mr.
Norm’s Pistol Grip Shifter handles shifting chores. Keeping the Challenger firmly planted on the pavement are Hotchkis Performance lowering springs and sway bars. The springs low-er the Challeng-er 0.375” (10 mm) in the front and 1.250” (32 mm) at the rear. The front sway bar is 110% stiffer than stock, while the rear is 105% stiffer. Rolling stock consists of a staggered set
of BF Goodrich G-Force Sport Comp 2 tires, with 245/ 45ZR20 on the front and 275/40ZR20 on the rear, mounted on Hurst Stunner al-
loy wheels, size 20” x 9” on the front and 20” x 10” at the rear.
Like all Mr. Norm’s limited edition vehicles, each Chal-lenger GSS-R is entered into the Original Grand Spaulding Dodge Registry, and issued a Certificate of Authenticity that’s signed a sealed by Mr. Norm personally.
The Mr. Norm’s GSS-R Package starts at under 50K. You supply the 2010 to 2014 Challenger, and just add the package with all of the go-fast goodies. Compared to the 145 – 160K the Shelby 1000 pack-age costs, (and that’s without the Mustang GT500) it’s a bar-gain at twice the price.
For more information on the Mr. Norm’s GSS-R Chal-lenger, call Mr. Norm’s at 760-630-0547.
B ill Scharing is a dyed in the wool Mopar enthusiast. He has two late model Challengers, a Kenne Bell
supercharged SRT-8, and his over the top Mr. Norm’s GSS-R that was the development vehi-cle for the 1000 horsepower program. His GSS-R Challenger is the ultimate dual pur-pose street / strip machine and proves that you really can have your cake and eat it too. Bill drives the Challenger to the track, installs the racing tune, changes the wheels and tires and hits the track. When he’s done racing, he
puts the street tune back in, puts the street tires and wheels back on and drives home. In case you were wonder-ing how he does all this without a trailer, Bill leaves the front passenger bucket seat out of the Challenger so that he has room to carry all four wheels and tires in the car, along with an aluminum floor jack, tools, a couple of containers of E-85 and his racing helmet.
In December, Bill drove 150 miles from his home in Southern California to Famoso Dragstrip in Bakersfield and raced at this legendary track where he broke into the nines with a 9.97 @ 139.79 mph. A couple of months earlier, Bill raced his Challenger in the Mojave Mile, an unlimited speed contest where he ran over 191 miles per hour and is plan-ning to crack the 200 mile per hour barrier the next time out. Bill and his Mr. Norm’s Challenger; a man and his ma-chine.
Bill lighting up the tires on the Mr. Norm’s GSS-R
Challenger in the burnout box at
Irwindale Speed-way prior to a run
Bill suited up and ready to run at the Mojave Mile where he ran 191.5 miles
per hour (above).
Bill putting the drag racing tune into his GSS-R prior to hitting the track (below).
16
AVAILABLE IN BOTH CHALLENGER AND CUDA STYLES
FITS ALL 2008 – 2014 DODGE CHALLENGERS
As seen on the cover of Mopar Action Magazine
MR. NORM’S
CHALLENGER SHAKER HOODS
HOOD INFORMATION
The Mr. Norm’s Challenger and Cuda Shaker Style Hoods were in-spired by the original 1970 Hemi Challenger and Hemi Cuda Shaker Hoods. The appearance is authentic right down to the shape of the Shaker, the Shaker Trim Ring and the vehicle specific character lines on the hoods. There’s nothing like looking out the windshield over the Mr. Norm’s Shaker Hood when you’re behind the wheel of your Challenger.
PRODUCT MANUFACTURING INFORMATION
The Mr. Norm’s Challenger and Cuda Shaker Style Hoods are proud-ly Made in the USA from only the highest quality American made products. Each hood is hand laid, has rolled edges and features OEM style inner, hinge plates and latching system. The Mr. Norm’s GSS Challenger and Cuda Shaker Style Hoods are easy to install using simple hand tools.
The Racers Net for the Mr. Norm’s Shaker Hoods is only 749.95 plus shipping. Check them out on the Mr. Norm’s website at www.mrnorms.com or call Mr. Norm’s at 760-612-6365 and order your Shaker Hood today!
CUDA SHAKER HOOD
CHALLENGER SHAKER
HOOD
MR. NORM’S 50TH
ANNIVERSARY
LETTERMAN’S JACKET
Mr. Norm’s Signature and original Grand Spaulding Dodge
emblem embroidered on the front
Mr. Norm’s 50th Anniversary logo embroidered on the back
Mr. Norm’s Letterman Jacket has the following features:
Available in the following popular sizes: S, M, L, XL, 2SL, 3XL, 4XL
Small, Medium, Large and Extra-Large: $279, plus shipping
Larger sizes slightly more
ORDER YOURS TODAY AT www.mrnorms.com ITEM NUMBER 64
24-ounce Melton wool body
100% genuine leather sleeves
Diamond-quilted nylon lining
Rib knit collar, cuffs and waist- band
Snap front closure
Locker loop
Front slash pockets with leather
trim
Interior chest pocket
20
Mr. Norm’s Feature Vehicle
G eneral George S. Patton was one of the most acclaimed military leaders of
all time. His successes lead-ing 3rd Army in the liberation of Europe during WWII are leg-endary, and were seen on the big screen in the Academy Award Winn ing mov i e “Patton.” As a leader, Patton believed that his appearance was extremely important be-
cause it inspired the confi-dence of his troops and com-manded respect. Patton be-lieved in this so much, that he even designed special uni-forms for the tank com-mand. During the war, he of-ten traveled to the front in a Jeep, wearing full battle dress as he personally lead his men into battle.
Which take us to the inevi-table question, if he were still
alive, what would Patton drive? The likely answer is the Jeep Wrangler FIVE STAR, a vehicle that embodies the kind of form and function that he would have appreciated. From the lettering on the hood that follows the theme seen on US ARMY tactical vehicles during WWII, to the graphics on the cowl that mirrors the appear-ance of service stripes on a Class A uniform, the FIVE
Jeep Wrangler
Five Star
What would Patton drive?
21
Mr. Norm’s Feature Vehicle
STAR celebrates its heritage as one of the most popular mili-tary vehicles of all time.
Exterior features abound, including a steel AEV Heat Re-duction Hood that’s secured with Drake Off Road Billet Hood Latches. Additional exte-rior accessories include FIVE STAR Aluminum Bumper Trim, Mopar Tail Light Guards and tubular Side Steps, which are a near necessity due to the high riding stance of the Jeep Wrangler FIVE STAR.
When it comes to on and off road performance, the Jeep
FIVE STAR is more than ready to conquer the toughest chal-lenges. The chassis features a Rancho 3” Trail System Lift Kit t h a t ’ s m a t c h e d w i t h 325/60R20 inch BFGoodrich Mud Terrain T/A KM2 tires mounted on bold Vision Off Road Fury 399 Black Milled 20” x 10” alloy wheels. Ameri-can Rebel Jeep logo aluminum differential covers on both ax-les provide additional gear the oil capacity and cooling neces-sary for surviving tough trails in the wilderness. The 3.6L Pentastar V6 engine breathes
If he were still alive, what would Patton
drive? The likely answer is the
Jeep Wrangler FIVE STAR, a vehicle that
embodies the kind of form and function that
he would have appreciated
Jeep
Wrangler
Five Star
Includes the following equipment
FIVE STAR cowl “service
stripe” graphics and hood
lettering
FIVE STAR windshield ban-
ner
FIVE STAR flat style fender
flares, set of 4 in black grain,
no painting required
FIVE STAR aluminum front
and rear bumper trim
FIVE STAR logo embroi-
dered leather head rests for
front seats
FIVE STAR logo embroi-
dered Berber carpet mats
FIVE STAR serialized dash
data plaque with sequential
serial number
Billet aluminum engraved
transmission shift knob with
rubber read grip
Billet aluminum engraved
transfer case shift knob with
rubber tread grip
Jeep logo ribbed aluminum
front differential cover
Custom adjustable hood
latches
Mr. Norm’s Sport Club win-
dow decals (2)
Mr. Norm’s Grand Spaulding
Dodge emblem
Mr. Norm’s Land of Perfor-
mance embossed licensed
plate
FIVE STAR registered in the
original Mr. Norm’s Grand
Spaulding Dodge registry
8.5– by 11-inch Mr. Norm’s
Certificate of Authenticity
suitable for framing.
Lifetime membership in the
Mr. Norm’s Sport Club
22
deeply through a Mopar cool air intake, while ex-haust chores are handled by a Rush Double Barrel Shotgun cat back system.
Inside, the Wrangler FIVE STAR features glove soft Katzkin Tuscany Leather, with the instantly recognizable FIVE STAR logo embroidered in the headrests, along with Car-bon Bullet wings that con-trast with the Ink perforat-ed leather. Berber carpet mats with the FIVE STAR logo are durable, yet at-tractive. Rounding out the interior is a Jeep MB in-spired Serial Number Dash Data Plaque that’s located to the left of the steering column.
One look at the Jeep Wrangler FIVE STAR and you know that this is no ordinary vehicle. The bold, no nonsense appearance of the FIVE STAR sets it apart from standard production models, and it’s equipped tackle the toughest terrain wi thout breaking a sweat. The Jeep Wrangler FIVE STAR is what General Patton would demand of his personal staff vehicle if he were in command to-day.
JEEP
WRANGLER
FIVE STAR
Available options:
Mr. Norm’s / Katzkin premium
quality, custom leather seat covers
Leather seating surfaces with
contrasting top stitching
Carbon bullet wings
Perforated leather inserts
Embroidered FIVE STAR logo on
front head rests
Custom alloy wheels
Off-road tires
2– or 3-inch lift kit
Cool air intake
Dual exhaust tail pipe with dou-
ble barrel shotgun style exhaust
tips
Heat reduction steel hood
Available for all 2007-2014 Jeep
Wrangler Model S and Colors
Available for 2– and 4-door Jeep
Wranglers
Package price is $3,590 plus
shipping
23
CALL MR. NORM’S AT (813) 789-6179 AND GET YOURS TODAY
THE ONE AND ONLY
JEEP WRANGLER FIVE STAR From The Original Mr. Norm’s Grand Spaulding Performance Products Division
2014 JEEP WRANGLER FIVE STAR
IT’S READY FOR ADVENTURE!
24
Millennium Musings
By Andrew Schultheis
I n last month’s article, I covered the first stage of customizing my new 2013 Dart. While I’m satisfied
with the changes to the car so far, there have been a few set-backs related to the upgrades. First off, I really liked the ag-gressive stance of the Dart thanks to the Eibach Sportline lowering springs. But, if you're like me and live in a rural area with uneven road surfaces and serious dips, or you live in the city where the streets are lit-tered with nasty potholes, the lowered suspension will have you scraping the bottom of the car more often than you would imagine. Every time the bottom meets the pavement, I find my-self cringing at the tortured sounds coming from beneath my seat.
Secondly I had used Plasti-Dip to coat the wheels, chang-ing them to black to match the color of the car. Plasti-Dip is a very inexpensive and easy al-ternative to spray painting or powder coating, but the dura-bility of the product isn't good unless a considerable number of coats are applied. For the most part, my wheels are hold-ing up great, seeing as how I did them about three months ago, but my rear passenger's side wheel is less than attrac-
tive due to a clogged nozzle when I was spraying it. Being a car guy, as well as a perfec-tionist, I can't wait until we have warmer days so that I can fix this mistake. Last but not least, the Injen cold air intake was an investment that I'm very happy with, so I don't par-ticularly have anything nega-tive to say about it except that it gets extremely loud before it shifts when you have it floored, but who doesn't love that!
The Dodge Dart, being a relatively new vehicle, doesn't
have a lot of aftermarket sup-port for it yet. Unfortunately, if you are a car enthusiast like me and love to modify and cus-tomize your vehicle, this may discourage you from buying a new Dart. However, I have heard that development is be-ing done to increase the perfor-mance of the Dart by installing a turbo 2.4 engine, or even crazier rumors of dropping a Pentastar V6 into this little do-
mestic tuner car. Since the Dart is front wheel drive, it would probably have so much torque steer when you lean on the throttle that it would feel like two armies were playing tug of war with the steering wheel. These ideas leave 2.0L owners like me feeling a little left out.
Last, but not least, from the appearance perspective, I would really like see the after-market tool up parts such as body kits, spoilers, and hoods. All of this would really help,
since there's not much to choose from right now, and my quest to build one of the most wicked domestic tuner cars on the road doesn't stop with per-formance.
Stay tuned for more up-grades as I keep looking for more parts and accessories to add to the Dart. Until next month, thanks for reading and remember, Mopar or no car!
Dart Mod
Reviews
Andrew Schultheis and his Dart.
26
By Larry Weiner Photos provided by RB Dickson, Joe Hennings, Curly’s Custom Cycles
T his month we are fea-turing two distinctly different Members Rides. The first is the
2008 Mr. Norm’s Ram Super Truck that is owned by RB Dickson. The Super Truck that RB has, happens to be Serial Number 1 of the production run. Like most Mopar enthusi-asts, after driving the Ram a few times with the stock 5.7 Hemi, RB decided that he
Pro Charger supercharger drives off the crank and mounts on the side of the V-Twin
Dare to be different
27
wanted to step up the perfor-mance.
At this point, most people would have installed a cool air intake and a cat back dual ex-haust system and called it a day. Although the factory 5.7 Hemi is a lively engine in a Ram 1500, especially a stand-ard cab, short bed, RB wanted more power, much more in fact. Not one for half measures, RB decided to up the ante in a big way.
He shipped the Super Truck to Arrington Perfor-mance in Martinsville, Virgin-ia, and in no time flat, the 5.7 had been pulled and was sit-ting on the ground. In its place, Arrington had sourced a 540 horsepower 392 Hemi Crate engine. The 392 has specs that read more like a racing engine, including 10.3:1 compression forged pistons, forged crank, forged rods, CNC
ported aluminum cylinder heads and a hydraulic roller cam. Obviously, RB was well on his way. But, being the true hot rodder that he is, RB want-ed even more performance. So while the Super Truck was still apart, he had Arrington add additional goodies like Kooks long tube headers, a 90mm throttle body, a Corsa cat back dual exhaust and a 2600 rpm stall converter for the trans-
mission. A truck with this kind of
performance also needed a boost in stopping department, so RB had the factory cast iron calipers and rotors replaced with SSBC Tri Power Calipers and 14 inch cross drilled and ventilated rotors. At this time, the stock wheels and tires were also swapped out for a set of Rodtana R/T 2 piece 22 x 10 forged wheels and set of
Mr. Norm’s Super Truck on Hot Rod Power Tour
392 Hemi Engine in Super Truck
Left: Mr. Norm’s Super Truck shows off its Viper Ram hood and front fascia
Want to see your
Mopar featured
in Pentastar
Power? Email
photos and infor-
mation about
your vehicle
along with your
name and phone
number to Larry
@mrnorms.com.
28
staggered Pirelli PZero tires, 275/45ZR20 front and 305/40ZR20 on the rear. For a stance worthy of a Super Truck, the Ram was lowered using an Eibach Pro Truck lowering kit and Bell Tech Ni-
tro Drop 2 Shocks. On the exterior, RB added
a Sir Michaels rear roll pan and a Gaylord’s Lids tonneau cover to his Super Truck. In-side, Katzkin custom leather seat covers are accented with
the Super Truck logo, as are the plush carpet mats. Inter-estingly, many of the parts RB chose were featured on the prototype Mr. Norm’s Super Truck that debuted in the SONY exhibit at the 2007 SE-
MA SHOW. We’d say that RB has built one really cool Ram, and we look forward to seeing him and his one of a kind Mr. Norm’s Su-per Truck at some Mopar shows in 2014. The second Mem-bers Ride featured this month is actu-ally two vehicles. One is a Mr. Norm’s GSS Challenger and the other is a matching, fully cus-tomized Harley Da-vidson that’s been painted and striped to match the Chal-lenger, right down to Mr. Norm’s sig-
Rodtana 22 inch multi piece wheels, Pirelli tires, Eibach lowering springs, Sir Michaels rear roll pan and Gaylord’s Lids tonneau cover all add to the presence of the Super Truck
Custom tubular exhaust is short. Dash gauges look similar those in a Challenger
29
nature. Joe Hennings is a big Mr. Norm’s fan and has a very cool GSS Challenger that he drives as often as possible. The Challenger features nu-merous upgrades including the Mr. Norm’s GSS graphics, hood pins and custom wheels. And while the Chal-lenger is neat, what Joe did next is really incredible.
Joe had a 2011 Harley Electra Glide that he wanted to customize. He hooked up with Curly’s Custom Cycles in Chesterton, Indiana and showed shop owner Lance “Curly” Waugaman his Mr. Norm’s GSS Challenger. Curly asked Joe what he would like to do with the bike. Joe gave Curly carte blanche to do whatever he wanted with the Harley. Seeing how much Joe liked his Mr. Norm’s GSS Chal-lenger, Curly came up with the idea to build the Harley to match the Challenger.
Once the theme of the Har-ley was decided, work on the bike commenced in earnest. Curly and his crew complete-ly blew it apart and then modified virtually every part. They started by stretching the frame and increasing the rake to 44 degrees. Next up, they split the case on the engine and re-placed all of the internals. An S&S stock stroke forged crank replaced the factory piece. The cylinders were bored to the max, in-creasing the displacement of the twin from 95 cubic inches to 107, necessitating new pistons, while the cylinder heads were ported and pol-ished, and larger valves replaced the stockers. Not content to stop there, Curly added a Pro Charger supercharger that is mounted on the left side of the engine and driven off the crank. The result is one bad to the bone V-Twin that now puts out a whopping 155 horsepower at 6800 rpm.
On the outside, nearly every part on the Harley was powder coated, and many custom parts were fabbed by the talented crew at Curly’s shop. Rolling stock consists of a 26 inch front wheel with a 120/50/26 tire, while out back an 18 inch wheel with a 200 wide tire fills the fender.
Joe debuted his Harley at Sturgis where it was chosen for the cover of American Bagger Magazine. Because the Mr. Norm’s GSS Chal-lenger was the inspiration for the Harley, American Bagger featured it on the cover with the bike, making it the first time in the history of the magazine that a car was on the cover. And not just any car, but a Mr. Norm’s GSS Challenger.
SOURCE BOX Curly’s Custom Cycles Phone: 219-395-8457
www.curlyscycles.com
American
Bagger Magazine cover with
full custom Harley Daviszine motorcycle and
matching Mr. Norm’s GSS Challenger.
30
W hile we all enjoy driving our favor-ite Mopars to shows and events,
sometimes that’s just not prac-tical. Race cars and full-on show cars are generally trail-ered. And now that winter has arrived in full force in most of the country, many enthusiasts will be trailering their vehicle to shows and events rather than driving them because of the inclement weather and salt on the roads.
Unlike driving a car or truck, pulling a trailer is much more demanding. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a novice, there are a number of
things to consider when it comes to trailering, starting with the truck you will be us-ing to pull the trailer. The one thing you never want to hap-pen if you can avoid it, is to have a break down on the road. With that thought in mind, the best thing to do be-fore you start out on a trip is to take time to check out your truck. Items such as the brakes, cooling system, tires, lights, battery and even wind-shield wiper blades are all im-portant for a safe journey, whether it’s near or far.
With regard to the truck you choose for trailering, be sure that the manufacturer’s suggested towing capacity for
the vehicle is not exceeded by the total weight of the trailer and the vehicle you will be hauling with it. Likewise, it’s important that the load rating of the trailer hitch meets or ex-ceeds the requirement for the combination of the weight of the trailer and the vehicle it will be towing. In addition, check to confirm that the elec-trical plug your truck is outfit-ted with is compatible with the one on the trailer. If the vehicle does not have a brake control-ler, you’ll need to install one, as it is a necessity for the oper-ation of the trailer brakes. While many new trucks come equipped with a trailer brake controller from the factory, old-
Trailering Tips Tech Page
2003 Dodge Ram 3500 pulling 24’ Haulmark Auto Transport trailer
31
er trucks did not. Another item that’s really important when trailering is exterior mir-rors that extend for trailer tow-ing and have both normal view and convex mirrors
We have been trailering ve-hicles for a number of years with a 2003 Dodge Ram 3500 Quad Cab that has a rated towing capacity of 15,250 lbs. Our trailer is a 24-foot Haul-mark tandem enclosed auto transport trailer. The Ram, a four-wheel drive one-ton dual-ly, is powered by a 24-valve Cummins 550 HO, backed up by a six-speed manual trans-mission. A Gear Vendors under/overdrive has been installed and pro-vides a 22-percent overdrive and the ability to split trans-mission gears, plus the benefit of im-proved fuel economy. The differentials are fitted with 4.10 gears and outfitted with Outlaw ribbed
aluminum Ram logo dif-ferential covers that not only look good but offer increased oil capacity for lower operating tempera-ture and longer gear life.
For rolling stock, the Ram has been upgraded from the stock 17-inch wheels to 19.5-inch forged aluminum Rick-son Truck Wheels. They weigh less than the stock steel wheels, and benefits include better fuel econo-my, along with longer brake and wheel bearing life. When compared to the heavy stock
steel wheels, the lighter alumi-num wheels reduce unsprung weight for safer vehicle han-dling. In addition, the tires have been upgraded from the stock LT235/80R17 to Good-year G159 265/70R 19.5. The G159 Goodyear’s are specifi-cally designed for commercial over-the-road truck use and have more plies than the stock tires.
Out back, rather than use a single position hitch, we out-fitted the Ram with a light-weight aluminum Rapid Hitch which offers 6-inch adjustable height designed to ensure safe level trailering regardless of the tongue height of trailer or the ride height of the truck. The Rapid Hitch is V5 certified with
Tech Page
Rickson 19.5” Forged Aluminum
Wheels and Goodyear 265/70R19.5 commer-
Lightweight aluminum 6” adjustable Rapid Hitch
Unlike just driving a car or truck, pulling a
trailer is much more demanding.
Whether you’re a seasoned veteran, or a
novice, there are a number of things to
consider when it comes to trailering.
32
a strength rating of 10,000 lbs. and a 1500 lb. tongue weight. It utilizes a 2-inch and a 2 5/16-inch steel ball, the larger of which, in our case, is the re-quired size for coupling on the trailer.
We also up-graded the trailer with 12,500 lb. axles and torsion bar suspension in place of the original 7,500 lb. axles and leaf springs. The torsion bar suspension rides much better and is far more reliable than the leaf springs the trailer was originally equipped with. Wheels and tires have also been upgraded from standard 15-inch, five lug wheels to 16-inch eight lug wheels and Goodyear G647 RSS tires, size 225/75R16, which are over the road commercial truck tires like those used on the Ram. Compared to the stand-ard trailer tires, they are larg-er, far more durable and man-ufactured using additional plies. One of the most com-
mon and dangerous occur-rences in trailering is tire fail-ure. Like the upgrade to the higher capacity axles, the Goodyear G647 tires are far more durable and significantly safer than what the trailer was originally equipped with.
Inside the trailer, we in-stalled Kinedyne Logistical Tracking from front to back in addition to the four floor mounted D-Rings that were already in place. The logistical tracking makes it easy to tie down virtually any vehicle in a safe, secure way. In the event of a problem with a vehicle, we added a Superwinch S5000 12 volt electric winch is mounted to iron plate that is welded to the trailer chas-
sis. The Superwinch provides a 5000 lb. pull rate, and with the hand held remote, makes getting a disabled vehicle into the trailer easy.
Equipment to consider carrying in the trailer or the bed of your truck when trail-ering should include a spare
wheel and tire for the trailer, a tool kit, a lightweight alumi-num floor jack, an air tank
and a 12V battery jump box. You never know when you will need a spare tire, tools, jack or need to start a vehicle with a dead bat-tery. A couple of 2 x 4’s are also handy to have for loading lowered vehicles. When
you’re on the road, we’ve learned that it’s best to as self-reliant as possible and believe in the legendary Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared.”
While trailering is more involved than just driving, it provides a great way to get your vehicle to shows and events when it isn’t practical to drive. And by doing your homework and preparing for the unexpected, you will hopefully have a safe, une-ventful trip.
Superwinch S5000 12V electric winch
Aluminum floor jack
12-volt battery jump box
Portable air tank
34
Women’s World
By Linda Mandalas
T his January, like every
other, many people begin with a laundry list of resolutions.
Everyone wants to start off with a new beginning, a clean slate. Those resolutions are usually about losing weight, saving money, paying off debt or spending more time with the family. I find a lot of wom-en are challenging this tradi-tion, gravitating towards a new area in their lives: their auto! That’s right, their "babies" are a top priority. So, from a wom-an who loves cars, here are some New Year’s resolutions you may want to add to your list for 2014. Don't worry, all you men out there, you can take advantage of my list too. I will change my oil on time. believe this one, it will pay off in the long run.
Performing regular oil changes is important to keep your vehicle running smoothly and efficiently. Regular oil changes are key to keep your engine well lubricated and pre-venting corrosion.
Valuable tip: If you have a newer vehicle, regular oil changes may be required to maintain your warranty sta-tus. Be sure to refer to your owner’s manual for your rec-ommended oil change interval.
I will wash my car regularly, remember, everyone loves to get wet and wild!
Let me just say that wash-ing your vehicle, especially in the winter, yes, I said winter, is one of the best moves you could make when preserving your automobile. Rinsing off the slush, salt, sand and snow, particularly from the undercarriage, will prevent the salt from caking on and pro-moting rust.
You should take time once every other week or right after a snowstorm to give your baby a bath. This will give you the most prevention of any type of damage. For those of you who do not reside in the "snow belt" areas, don't be fooled. Every-day road debris such as grav-el, tar and rock chips will also cake on and promote rust. So, be sure to hose your baby down and give her a thorough cleaning so she can continue to look good for years to come. I will keep at least a quarter tank of gas in my car at all times – Fill ‘er up!
Most people are unaware, but there are several reasons to keep at least a quarter tank of gas in your vehicle at all times, especially in the winter. If you’re stuck or off the road, you may need to run your en-
gine to stay warm while you wait for a tow truck. Be aware that if your tank is relatively empty, it allows condensation to occur, which could prevent your car from starting and lead to ice buildup that could damage to your fuel pump and filter.
For those of you not trou-
bled by the winter weather, remember this could assist you when you get stuck in those long traffic jams, burn-ing fuel, watching that fuel in-dicator slowly reaching "E".and hoping you move soon so you don't die and create another traffic jam. I know when we’re in a hurry and see the fuel tank is below the quarter tank mark when we are in a hurry, we put it off. But I hope next time these thoughts will come to your mind and you'll take 5 minutes to pump some fuel! I will keep up on my recom-mended maintenance. Check your owners manual, it's a good read!
When you keep up on the regular maintenance it should improve your fuel economy and extends your auto's life. However many people don’t
take the time to perform the recommended maintenance (other than oil changes) on their vehicles. Manufacturers recommend a specific mainte-nance schedule in your owners manuals. This is to help ex-tend the life of your vehicle, you can save money on per-forming the regular mainte-nance. In the long run it usu-ally prevents your spending it on more costly repairs, and
New Year's Resolutions You say you never stick to them….
These will make you might want to rethink that…
at least according to us WOMEN
35
this will keep you in compli-ance with any warranty cover-age. Be sure to read your own-er’s manual to see your vehi-cle’s recom-mended maintenance schedule.. Think of it as your vehicle’s "Fifty Shades of Grey.”
I will check my tire pressure regularly. No one wants a flat.
Checking your tire pres-sure with a tire gauge is one of the quickest and simplest things you can do for vehicle maintenance. Keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure helps your fuel econ-omy and extends the life of your tires. Be sure to refer to your owner’s manual or the sticker in your driver’s door-jamb to see your tire’s recom-mended inflation. If you no-tice one or all of your tires los-ing air frequently, be sure to have them checked for any damage such as a nail or ob-ject that could have pierced the tire. If you have scuffed a curb you could have damaged the bead of the tire causing a slow leak. Remember, get it checked or you could end up "flat" on the road side waiting to get "picked-up".
Another side note with tires: be sure to rotate your tires on regular intervals. This helps to extend the life of the tires by ensuring all four tires
wear evenly. It is typically rec-ommended every 5,000- 10,000 miles. I will learn how to use the technology in my car. I am smarter than I think.
Today's vehicles are usual-ly equipped with cool gizmo-gadgets such as Bluetooth, allowing you to pair your phone or other devices with your car. This time-saving technology allows you to use GPS, listen to music, make hands-free calls and more. Not only does this make your driving experience more pleas-urable it assists in reducing distracted driving such as tex-ting, making call, putting on makeup, shaving, eating, tending to children or other passengers in the back seat. These are all behaviors that put us and our passengers and other drivers at serious risk. These distractions cause minor fender benders as well as major accidents. In addi-tion, all of these distractions could hurt your driving record and increase your vehicle in-surance. I will review my automotive
insurance coverage. Are you in good hands?
Be sure to review your au-tomobile insurance policy, check your coverage limits and check that all drivers and vehicles in your household are adequately covered. The be-ginning of the New Year may be a good time to check with your insurance agent to ob-tain an updated quote and make sure you are taking ad-vantage of any discounts that may be offered to lower your insurance premium.
Remember, good driving records, year of your vehicle(s), marital status and, yes, your age all affect the pricing of your insurance, and not just your auto insurance. Maybe the New Year would be a good time to a complete in-surance review and update! Be prepared for an automo-tive emergency with an emergency kit. It could save your life!
I have one in my vehicle and so should everyone! Keep an emergency kit in the trunk with supplies to keep you comfortable in case of an emergency. Be sure to include
things like bottled water, granola bars, warm blankets, extra socks and boots, hats and gloves and blankets.
Don't forget to include a cell phone charger. Batteries drain quickly in colder weather. Even if you live in an area where you wouldn’t be depending on your emer-gency kit for survival if you get stuck or go off the road, they may make the wait more comfortable while waiting for a tow truck to arrive. Here are some suggestions you and your love ones should follow: 1. Do Not Panic!!!
2. Do not leave the car. It will protect you from the wind and provide some measure of thermal insulation. Huddle together and wait for help or a break in the weather. It is easier to locate a large vehicle
then a person wandering lost.
3. Use supplies conservative-ly from your Emergency Kit.
4. If you are stuck during the day place an orange or red flag on your antenna.
5. If you are stuck at night leave your dome light on, on-ly while the vehicle is run-ning.
6. Occasionally check your tailpipe to make sure it is free from any blockages, this pre-vents carbon monoxide poi-soning when the engine is running.
7. If there is more than one person in the vehicle, take turns sleeping and do not sleep while the engine is run-ning.
8. If you have a cell phone, call for assistance and pro-vide authorities with your lo-cation. Do not run down the
battery.
9. If you are stuck in the snow, spell “HELP” outside your vehicle-maybe a can of orange spray paint in that emergency kit!
I hope that these "New Years Resolutions" words of wisdom have been some help, assis-tance and guidance to any and all of you. Be sure to share them with everyone you know. You never know whom they may help.
Wishing all of you the Happiest of New Years, may all of your hopes and dreams come true. Stay safe and we hope to have you all back here next month checking out Pentastar Power from Mr. Norm's Sport Club. If you are not a member you are missing out....sign up here: http://www.mrnorms.com/new/sport_club/join.html
37
Charter Sponsors Bosak Motors 3111 W. Lincoln Hwy., Rt. 30 Merrillville, IN 46410 888-507-1403, ask for Mr. J
Crystal Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram 1005 S. Suncoast Blvd. Homosassa, FL 34448 352-563-2277 / Steve Lamb
Fairfield Auto Group 3360 Rt. 406, Muncy, PA 17756 888-548-3870 / Steve Kai-ser, Jr.
Steve White Motors 3470 U.S. Highway 70 Newton, NC 28658 888-827-3721
Steve Landers Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram 4600 South University Little Rock, AR 72204
501-569-4063
Roger Gibson Restoration service. 573-264-2022
Year One Time tested quality parts. . 800-YEAR ONE
Choice Hotels 20% discounts for club members with special number code.
Meguire's Wax Irvine, CA 800-347-5700 / meguiar’s.com
Mancini Racing Offering quality, selec-tion and service for performance needs. 800-843-2821
Galen Govier The Chrysler Registry 608-326-6346
MR. NORM’S SPECIAL JANUARY SALE!MR. NORM’S LOGO CALIPER COVERS
CALIPER COVER SETS ARE EASY TO INSTALL
AND POWDER COATED FOR LONG LIFE
SALE PRICE $199 REGULARLY $290 / YOU SAVE $91
CALIPER COVER SETS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THE FOLLOWING VEHICLES:
2008 - 2014 Dodge Challenger SXT and R/T 2006 - 2014 Dodge Charger SXT and R/T 2005 - 2008 Dodge Magnum SXT and R/T 2005 - 2014 Chrysler 300 Base and Hemi C
2002 - 2014 Ram 1500 2008 - 2014 Dodge Avenger and Caliber 2008 - 2014 Chrysler 200 and Sebring
ORDER TODAY. CALL 760-630-0547 AND CHECK ALL OF THE MR. NORM’S PARTS AND ACCESSORIES AT www.mrnorms.com
Note: No other discounts can be applied to sale price. Shipping is not included in price Offer expires January 31, 2014
MR. NORM’S SPECIAL JANUARY SALE! MR. NORM’S 50TH ANNVERSARY EMBOSSED
METAL SIGN
Item No. 63
LARGE 15 ¾” DIAMETER EMBOSSED METAL SIGN CELEBRATING MR. NORM’S 50
TH ANNIVERSARY
SALE PRICE $18.95 REGULARLY $29.95
0547 AND CHECK ALL OF THE MR. NORM’S PARTS AND ACCESSORIES AT www.mrnorms.com
Note: No other discounts can be applied to sale price. Shipping is not included in price Offer expires January 31, 2014
40
West Coast Report
M any of you would prob-
ably be happy with a
simple day of rain, compared to the snow
storms and sub-zero temperatures
that you are dealing with right now.
Here in Southern California where
it is generally sunny and warm
nearly every day, even in January, the rain kept me from driving the
Plymouth 440 GTX Wagon up to
Huntington Beach this morning to
check out the action at Donut Dere-
licts. For those of you who have not
heard of Donut Derelicts, here in
SoCal, it’s the location for what
has become a near legendary im-
promptu cruise in every Saturday
morning. In typical California fashion, it starts at about 5:30
AM and by 9:00 AM everyone
is gone
and it’s like it never happened.
But during those three and a half
hours, it’s typical for four or five hundred cars and trucks of all
kinds show up and strut their
stuff. And while everyone is walk-
ing around checking out all of the
cool rides, there is a continuous
stream of gear heads waiting in line for a hot cup of coffee and a
fresh donut from the Adams Ave.
Donut Shop, which is the home of
Donut Derelicts. As Paul Revere
and the Raiders sang in the ‘60’s, it’s where the action is.
So thanks to the inclement
weather, here I am, looking out
the window watching the rain and
day dreaming about all of the
amazing cars I saw on display at the Muscle
Car and Corvette Nationals just
before Thanksgiving. While many
of those muscle cars are extreme-
ly valuable collector cars today,
there was a time not so long ago when they were nothing more
than new or late model used
cars. Feeing nostalgic, I started
looking through an old stack of
car magazines and newspapers
I saved from the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Part way through
the magazines, I run across a
page from the Sports, Imports
and Compacts Automotive Section
of the Chicago Sun Times from December, 1971, just before
Christmas.
It’s raining outside today….
Chicago Sun Times Sports, Imports and Compacts Section December, 1971 with Grand Spaulding Dodge ad for used late model high performance cars
“Rare performance
cars of all brands
that are coveted by
collectors today were
nothing more than
used cars that many
owners were eager to
get rid of for the
chance to drive a
brand new high per-
formance Dodge from
Mr. Norm.”
41
West Coast Report The first thing
that caught my
eye was the Mr. Norm’s ad at the
bottom of the
page. While there
were only six cars
listed in the ad,
there were several that sure would
be nice to have
today, especially
at 1971 prices.
How about a ‘68 Charger R/T for
just 1,595 or a
nearly new one
year old ’70 Chal-
lenger T/A for
2,595. If that wasn’t enough,
how about a ’69
Charger R/T with
a 440 four speed
for 2,195 or a ’70 Challenger R/T
with a 383 and
four speed and
factory warranty
for just 2,395.
There was even one for the Chevy
guys, a 1970
Chevelle SS396 with the rare L78
375 horsepower engine. And eve-
ry one was Dyno’d, Sun Scoped and ready to go.
Needless to say, the Grand
Spaulding Dodge ad piqued my
curiosity, so I started reading the
classified ads which revealed even
more bargains. Some of the ads that caught my eye included a
1966 Shelby GT 350 for 950.00
firm, a ’68 Dart GSS equipped
with every speed goodie you
would need to go drag racing, but needing rod bearings, also for
950.00. Other ads included a ’69
Camaro Z/28 for 2,000, a ’58
‘Vette for 1,250 or partial trade
for a Honda, and a ’67 Firebird
400 convertible for 850.00 be-cause the seller had been drafted.
Looking at photos of the used
car lot at Grand Spaulding in the
1960’s and early ‘70’s showed some of the incredible muscle
cars that had been traded in on
new Dodges. Rare performance
cars of all brands that are coveted
by collectors today were nothing
more than used cars that many owners were eager to get rid of for
the chance to drive a brand new
high performance Dodge from Mr.
Norm.
Regardless of where you live, looking at old car magazines is a
great way to pass a snowy or
rainy day. The wood in the fire-
place is crackling, the hot choco-
late tastes great and despite the
cool rainy weather, I’m having a great time reminiscing about the
good old days when you could
buy a new muscle car for under
four thousand dollars, or a nice used one for two grand or less.
Tomorrow, the weatherman pre-
dicts a sunny, warmer day, but
until then, I think that I’ll check
out an old copy of Hi Performance
Cars Magazine and see what kind of mischief Joe Oldham and Cliff
Gromer were getting into. I can
always go to Donut Derelicts next
Saturday.
Original black and white photo of Mr. Norm in a demon costume in front of Grand Spaulding Dodge for factory promotion for the new 1972 Dodge Demon. Look at the photo carefully and you will see that the first vehicle on the front line of the used car lot is a 1970 Plymouth Superbird.
42
T he year was 1965, and
Funny Car racing had
exploded on the scene,
capturing the attention of fans and taking the drag strips
of the country by storm. Chrysler
led the way, commissioning Au-
tomotive Conversion Corporation
to build six acid dipped, altered wheelbase Plymouth Belvedere’s
and six Dodge Coronets to com-
pete in the Factory Experimental
category that quickly morphed
into what became known as Fun-
ny Cars. All twelve were des-tined for top Chrysler racers
such as Sox & Martin, Dick
Landy, Butch Leal and the Ram-
chargers, with the goal of domi-
nating the FX racing. Needless to say, other Chrys-
ler racers, along with fierce com-
petitors like Dick Harrell, Gas
Rhonda and Arnie Beswick who
were running Chevrolets, Fords
and Pontiacs were not about to sit on sidelines and miss out on
the action. Overnight, home
brewed altered wheelbase cars
started coming out of the wood-
work, and by spring of the year, altered wheelbase cars of all
kinds were tearing up strips all
over the nation. Among those
who saw the handwriting on the
wall and wanted a piece of the
action was Mr. Norm. After campaigning two Super
Stock Dodge Polara’s with John
Farkonas and Pat Minick in 1964,
often times racing against his own
customers, Norm parted ways with them at the end of the sea-
son and hooked up with Gary Dy-
er. Dyer immediately set to work
building a new altered wheelbase
‘65 Coronet sedan for FX competi-
tion powered by a blown, nitro
burning Hemi. It was a brutally
fast, highly competitive car, but
as successful as it was, Norm was
determined to go even faster and beat the factory teams at their
own game. And the way to do it
was to get one of the acid dipped
factory altered wheelbase Coro-
nets. The opportunity presented
itself when Roger Lindamood sold
Norm his “Color Me Gone” A/FX
Coronet mid-season in ‘65. Dyer
immediately pulled the stack in-
jected engine and dropped the
blown, nitro burning Hemi and
drivetrain from the sedan into the
factory lightweight and began ter-
rorizing the competition. Running all over the Midwest, Southeast
and East, Mr. Norm’s S/FX Coro-
net was the car to beat every-
where it raced.
But on the West Coast, where much of the racing was dominat-
ed by dragsters, gassers and al-
tered, the racers did not believe
that Mr. Norm’s nitro burning late
model door slammer from Chicago
could hold a candle to them. Nev-
But Wait, There’s More
The Night the Earth Stood Still
Nr. Morn’s S/FX Coronet on the track at Lions. Photo courtesy of the Mr. Norm’s Collection
43
er one to back down from a chal-
lenge, at the end of the racing
season in the Midwest, Mr. Norm
and Gary Dyer loaded the Dodge on the trailer and headed west.
Once there, they raced nearly an-
yone who was willing to go up
against the fire breathing Coro-
net, and put them on the trailer in short order.
Then, one unforgettable night
in November at Lions Dragstrip in
Long Beach, Mr. Norm put an end
to the skeptics once and for all.
The stands were packed as Gary
Dyer in the Dodge faced off
against Don Gay’s Pontiac GTO.
The sound of the two blown mo-tors was deafening and the night
air was thick with the smell of
nitromethane. When the tree
came down, Dyer dropped the
hammer on the blown Hemi and
blasted down the quarter mile in a record 8.63 that brought every-
one to their feet. At a time when
most funny cars were struggling
to break into the 8’s, Mr. Norm’s
S/FX Coronet blew Don Gay away and was instantly recognized as
the fastest funny car in the coun-
try. In fact, Dyer’s record break-
ing run at Lions made the front
page of the Los Angeles Herald
with the headline “8.63 ET; It’s What’s Happening Baby,” and in
the process, made Grand Spauld-
ing Dodge a household name from
coast to coast.
Actual surviving drag handout from Grand Spaulding Dodge circa 1965 celebrating the record run at Lions Dragstrip
But Wait, There’s More
Dyer’s record breaking run
at Lions made the front page
of the Los Angeles Herald
with the headline “8.63 It’s
What’s Happening Baby,”
and in the process, made
Grand Spaulding Dodge a
household name from coast
to coast.
