1969 Race Dart w/ 426 Hemi- garaged for 45+ years

-
71GSSDemon said:
I work in Product Development and Engineering at Mercury Marine. It is pretty cool listening to engines at full song all day. Like a V12 at 6400 for the entire day kinda thing.
Click to expand...
Well ****, that's awesome. My work has a glorified engine stand which is a not working Dyno. But I'm glad I get to be around testing at my buddies house anytime I want as we are testing my 470 tunnel ram now.
V12s are a nice sounding engine...lucky guy !!!
 
71GSSDemon said:
I work in Product Development and Engineering at Mercury Marine. It is pretty cool listening to engines at full song all day. Like a V12 at 6400 for the entire day kinda thing.
Click to expand...
I’m gonna need one of those QC4V 1350s please. Think you can hook that up?
:thumbsup:
 
TT5.9mag said:
I’m gonna need one of those QC4V 1350s please. Think you can hook that up?
:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Why just the 1350? 1650 would be more fun. Or a pair of them! I haven't been able to do anything with those yet, but had a set of heads from one by me. You can almost put your whole hand and arm in the ports!

To date the most hp I have been out on the water with was 1800 and fastest was about 110mph.
 
Last edited:
MOPARMAGA said:
Awesome, on 2nd look... Is that an old pro stock hemi ??
Click to expand...

yes, it is the 500 cu in Hemi Butch Leal raced in his 1982 Horizon (pictured below / restored by Steve Atwell, Sr.). Butch named his engines, the one I have which currently in his Direct Connection Hemi Duster is called "Big Red". With around 16.2 to 1 compression it has a bark unlike most Hemis.

Once acquired I flew Butch to Detroit where he verified authenticity....then we spent 3 days freshening it up. I manned the gunk tank and paid attention.

engine pictured below of how I acquired it, you can see the bulge (#1 cylinder) in the drivers side valve cover. I bought the Hemi before Butch arrived and we (Butch, Steve Atwell and myself ) discovered it was his "Big Red". Gil Kirks (owner of the Rod Shop) son was bracket racing the Horizon with a more docile Hemi after Butch left the Rod Shop. Bob Riffle (Butch's former crew chief for the Horizon @ Rod Shop) told Butch there were some "good" engines with the package Steve got when he bought the race car. He was right.



12056.jpeg


5569.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Maxcustody said:
It is not a bad drive. I will just hop in the jeep. A lot easier than pulling the car trailer. I anticipate going back down at the end of October hopefully to put everything in the car.
Click to expand...
When I finally got the Demon together and ready for Dyno tune. I “Wasted” an entire day waiting on them to fit me in. They were some race buddies doing me a solid so I did not have any real leverage on schedule. It was a day I will never forget. Pure exhilaration at the very same time as pure panic! They were merciless, I spent years getting to that point and I thought to myself these boys are going to destroy all that effort in ten minutes. Every time they let off the gas and I watched the car torque back the other way and settle on the rollers singing the song only Dyno rollers can make I would unconsciously let out my breath, not even realizing I was holding it during the ramp up. @Maxcustody you will never regret it! Be patient, take a book and some groceries, I took a lawn chair so I could sit outside and await the moment of truth. I snacked and read for hours till they rolled her up and prepped for the pulls. You gotta be there guy! Enjoy it!
 
Sublime one said:
When I finally got the Demon together and ready for Dyno tune. I “Wasted” an entire day waiting on them to fit me in. They were some race buddies doing me a solid so I did not have any real leverage on schedule. It was a day I will never forget. Pure exhilaration at the very same time as pure panic! They were merciless, I spent years getting to that point and I thought to myself these boys are going to destroy all that effort in ten minutes. Every time they let off the gas and I watched the car torque back the other way and settle on the rollers singing the song only Dyno rollers can make I would unconsciously let out my breath, not even realizing I was holding it during the ramp up. @Maxcustody you will never regret it! Be patient, take a book and some groceries, I took a lawn chair so I could sit outside and await the moment of truth. I snacked and read for hours till they rolled her up and prepped for the pulls. You gotta be there guy! Enjoy it!
Click to expand...
Thanks John, I am looking forward to it. Hopefully, everything works time wise especially being 6 hours away.
 
71GSSDemon said:
Why just the 1350? 1650 would be more fun. Or a pair of them! I haven't been able to do anything with those yet, but had a set of heads from one by me. You can almost put your whole hand and arm in the ports!

To date the most hp I have been out on the water with was 1800 and fastest was about 110mph.
Click to expand...
The engine in post 1107 above is one I built for my boat. It’s just a cruiser but in lake testing I’ve been 86 mph. On pump gas and on wastegates it makes ~800. I have enough turbo to make about 1800-2000, and if I could get E85 at the river I’d have no problem running it around the 1400hp level. That would solidly put my boat about 115 mph. Which is honestly way too damn fast on water, in a 21 foot boat.
 
TT5.9mag said:
The engine in post 1107 above is one I built for my boat. It’s just a cruiser but in lake testing I’ve been 86 mph. On pump gas and on wastegates it makes ~800. I have enough turbo to make about 1800-2000, and if I could get E85 at the river I’d have no problem running it around the 1400hp level. That would solidly put my boat about 115 mph. Which is honestly way too damn fast on water, in a 21 foot boat.
Click to expand...
That's baddass. The fastest trip on was on, ~110mph, was on a full carbon fiber MTI catamaran with twin 300hp race outboards while down in the Keys. Talking to a test driver one day, I asked what is the fastest he ever drove.... 187mph was the reply. :eek:
 
Scott, what gear ratios did Passon put on your trans for the Hemi OD configuration?
 
Maxcustody said:
Thanks John, I am looking forward to it. Hopefully, everything works time wise especially being 6 hours away.
Click to expand...
Yep mine was only a couple hours away so the logistics were dramatically easier than your situation. But hearing my Hemi “sing” from outside the car was amazing. I ended up at I think 425HP at the tire? I don’t remember but I want to say it figured out to be just north of 20% parasitic loss? Don’t quote me as that was a long time ago? Still just an amazing process for me to experience.
 
HemiDenny said:
yes, it is the 500 cu in Hemi Butch Leal raced in his 1982 Horizon (pictured below / restored by Steve Atwell, Sr.). Butch named his engines, the one I have which currently in his Direct Connection Hemi Duster is called "Big Red". With around 16.2 to 1 compression it has a bark unlike most Hemis.

Once acquired I flew Butch to Detroit where he verified authenticity....then we spent 3 days freshening it up. I manned the gunk tank and paid attention.

engine pictured below of how I acquired it, you can see the bulge (#1 cylinder) in the drivers side valve cover. I bought the Hemi before Butch arrived and we (Butch, Steve Atwell and myself ) discovered it was his "Big Red". Gil Kirks (owner of the Rod Shop) son was bracket racing the Horizon with a more docile Hemi after Butch left the Rod Shop. Bob Riffle (Butch's former crew chief for the Horizon @ Rod Shop) told Butch there were some "good" engines with the package Steve got when he bought the race car. He was right.



View attachment 1716149225

View attachment 1716149230
Click to expand...
That's pretty much all the bad ***. Great story too.
 
I LOVE the old school stance!!! Thanks for sharing & keep those pictures coming!
 
At the risk of replying with a MUCH overused (and now somewhat annoying) word: This is an awesome story! I've been lurking around and trying to keep up to date on it....

Anyway, I see that you're now going to the dyno pull (and good for you!), but now I can't respond with, "Hell! I'm over 20 hours away, and I'd drive non-stop for the opportunity to witness this!"
 
Last edited:
ProjectBazza said:
At the risk of replying with a MUCH overused (and now somewhat annoying) word: This is an awesome story! Ive been lurking around and trying to keep up to date on it....

Anyway, I see that you're now going to the dyno pull (and good for you!), but now I can't respond with, "Hell! I'm over 20 hours away, and I'd drive non-stop for the opportunity to witness this!"
Click to expand...
:thumbsup: Thanks and I appreciate you following along.
 
while we wait for the dyno run.....here is why I love life on the glory trail.

here is the Horizon (pictured above) last May. I flew to California to meet Steve Atwell and ride back to Detroit with the freshly repaired horizon in tow. We were honkin along @ around 80 mph as we entered New Mexico on I-40 and encountered a giant "BUMP" sign and a few whoop-de-dos in the pavement. As we recovered in our air ride seats from the the third crater Steve looked in the rear view mirror and calmly remarked..."we lost the trailer" I asked him what he sees and once again he calmly replied ...."a big cloud of dust". To add a degree of difficulty as we idled on the slanted side access waiting to re-hook to the trailer, the hauler lost prime, no big deal, it was only 113 degrees in the desert sun After a roll back got the trailer out of the center median, the driver transported me twice to a truck stop 10 miles down the road with a 5 gal can to retrieve diesel to attempt a re-fire. After removing and filling the fuel filters and going thru a case of starter fluid / spray to re-prime the fuel system, Steve was forced to call the big hook and were towed to the truck stop to get the fuel system re-primed and back on the road.

out of the 4 trailer tires / spare we only blew 2 of them when the trailer came off. We made it back to Detroit on one axle , 2-tires...and a good spare.

as I told my wife when I reported the days activities....there is excitement around every turn.

20230603_154636.jpg


20230603_154628.jpg


20230603_154704.jpg


20230603_190607.jpg
 
HemiDenny said:
while we wait for the dyno run.....here is why I love life on the glory trail.

here is the Horizon (pictured above) last May. I flew to California to meet Steve Atwell and ride back to Detroit with the freshly repaired horizon in tow. We were honkin along @ around 80 mph as we entered New Mexico on I-40 and encountered a giant "BUMP" sign and a few whoop-de-dos in the pavement. As we recovered in our air ride seats from the the third crater Steve looked in the rear view mirror and calmly remarked..."we lost the trailer" I asked him what he sees and once again he calmly replied ...."a big cloud of dust". To add a degree of difficulty as we idled on the slanted side access waiting to re-hook to the trailer, the hauler lost prime, no big deal, it was only 113 degrees in the desert sun After a roll back got the trailer out of the center median, the driver transported me twice to a truck stop 10 miles down the road with a 5 gal can to retrieve diesel to attempt a re-fire. After removing and filling the fuel filters and going thru a case of starter fluid / spray to re-prime the fuel system, Steve was forced to call the big hook and were towed to the truck stop to get the fuel system re-primed and back on the road.

out of the 4 trailer tires / spare we only blew 2 of them when the trailer came off. We made it back to Detroit on one axle , 2-tires...and a good spare.

as I told my wife when I reported the days activities....there is excitement around every turn.

View attachment 1716149462

View attachment 1716149463

View attachment 1716149464

View attachment 1716149465
Click to expand...
I can't believe the Horizon made it through the ordeal unhurt. Lots of unobtanium there!
 
the original ordeal was a spin going thru the lights (around 150 mph) at Beech Bend, KY during the Holley MoParty event in 2020. It tore the nose off.

Steve asked Butch to contact the original builder Willie Rells who lives just outside the San Diego area to repair it. We were headed back from the 9 month repair. Lucky it did not come off the trailer. It tried but the tie down straps on the right side caught on the spare tire mount at the front and the tail light receiver on the rear.

20220830_141710.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top