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In other Challenger news, I got to looking critically at how efficient the exhaust system is (original, OEM components as delivered on car) and what I found is....pretty freakin' good. As in, geuine 4-into-1 tube headers that collect into a three inch pipe (and shrouded, almost certainly for noise control), which is awesome for ANY production car (I looked around at factory LS1 manifolds for Corvettes and Camaros and they much more..."compromising". Here is example off eBay for OEM setup for sale for someone who's upgrading (these stock sets are apparently popular with guys with the standard 5.7 Hemi). Frankly, I'm having trouble seeing need for upgrade that isn't just cosmetic, since close exam of the stock system is pretty darn impressive. It's a hidden-tube-header system.
Here is the stock exhaust manifold for a Challenger SRT8 dumping to a 3" collector with a cat just behind it:









I'm having trouble just thinking of reasons to change this system that don't get marginally legal real quick (like dumping the cats, which will get you busted at our annual emission inspection). Genuine 4-1 headers are pretty boss for a factory system using thin wall casting material (no cast iron nonsense here. I'm impressed at how well engineered these manifolds are for a non-race application...and my seat of the pants experience seems to confirm that confidence. These are the production answer (read: affordable) version of long-run 4-1 headers in a competitive (and weight saving, very important in this car) package that also space efficient. They look like an "exhaust manifold" on the outside, but like tube header on the inside (of a sheet metal "wrap" to contain heat and make less complex. Somebody thought about this before going to production...

- JG300-Stoopy

- JG300-Ascout

Well, it's back from the airbrush guy...and since "Ramchargers" was already taken, I went for the nest best thing. Something suitably sentimental...

Classy, understated, and yet with that certain machismo flair to throw doubt in the mind of any competitor in the other lane....it's perfect!!!

Well, yeah, that's why I put it on the fender and not the doors....easier to see in the staging lane.

HAA! It's already working!

www.today.com/entertai...6C10551687

He drives a '59 'Vette, so I'll spot his punk azz four car lengths.

- JG300-Ascout

Well, it's back from the airbrush guy...and since "Ramchargers" was already taken, I went for the nest best thing. Something suitably sentimental...

Classy, understated, and yet with that certain machismo flair to throw doubt in the mind of any competitor in the other lane....it's perfect!!!

Well, it's back from the airbrush guy...and since "Ramchargers" was already taken, I went for the nest best thing. Something suitably sentimental...

What is not conveyed in those pics (or any pics I've seen) is how BIG this mohunk is (those oaks are very old and very big, 10.5' girth five feet off the ground).

Now that I have this in my garage, I'm amazed to find that the overall length is the same as my Pathfinder...and the wheelbase is actually long-er than the Pathy. And the LC platform is (slightly) shorter than the LX (Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger). On a tight two-lane road, I am more mindful of the width than I am in the Pathfinder (which, of course, has a lovely view downward). Until I get used to the mass and dimensions, I'd be very wary of slinging it around a twisty two-lane like I did in the Moostang, though it plants better. I was pretty cavalier about going up Palomar Mountain at speed in the 'Stang, but I'd be a whole lot more concious of doing it with the same abandon in this (not that I'm prepared to drive 2,700 miles just to compare).

...and, it's been some time since I've driven a passenger car platform, so some of that's just me getting used to it.

Not everybody shares our assessment about removing the stripes, but I don't awfully care. The black stripes screamed "look at me/boy racer" but removal calms down the presentation a LOT. I may, at some point, put some ghost stripe (white or gray) back on, or maybe a character line pinstripe to break up the large blank side panels that weren't there on the '70's iteration. Think black "Hurst" stripes on the silver '68 Oldmobiles at the uper body line. OTOH, I may just keep it like this as an ultimate stealth machine.

Test and tune night is coming up at our local dragway on Friday, June 28 or so, and I might just try to lay down some times for baseline if I can get some launch practice around here somewhere. The local strip practices "courtesy staging" for footbrake cars so If I don't deep stage, I can probably get pretty sloppy on the brake since it's a manual shift car. (sadly, it does not have the Euro style emergency brake release, but the parking brake pedal with a pull handle release like sedans of the '60's). I'm thinking I'll just have to pre-stage and stage coventionally and trust to gravity to not let me roll out once the autostart on the tree kicks in. Thankfully, they use the full tree except for the "real" races when they used the ProTree (no three ambers, just one before the green after you're staged.
I'm a bit out of practice, but historically, I'm pretty good in the lights (from my mo'cycle days)...and it's just to get baseline anyway.

WOW.

I mean, like, WOW.

Dude that is just so totally beyond noice!

Great call on having the stripes removed. She's perfect!

WOW!

Peek-tures...

In further developments, I must have taken 10 years off of my hearing last night programming the 18 speaker stereo with a USB drive with some of my favorite hits. I have yet to turn the sound system on while driving, but DAMN!, the Grateful Dead Live at the Fillmore in "surround" mode is pretty awesome* sitting motionless in a closed car/garage!


*...and I can only confirm that Donna Jean might have looked good onstage, but, but should have been shepherd's crooked right off the stage whenever she opened her mouth.

- JG300-fr8ycat

- JG300-Ascout

I wonder if any of these guys will trade straight across for an SRT8 wth 261 "original miles"?

Only if you put on that Daytona Kit...and throw a spoked tire on the trunk.

The beautiful 1980 Seville was a not so fond childhood memory of mine and is the reason for my distaste for the infamous red interior. As a kid I would walk to my friends house before school and from there his Mother would give us a ride to school in her Red with Red leather interior Seville. This was also around the time that I saw "The Shining" in the theatres.

Needless to say, everytime I climbed into that car all I could think was "Redrum, Redrum"

What does it mean..."give us a ride to school"?

Showing up on foot might have been infinitely less embarrasing tham arriving in someone's mother's red-on-red cadillac.

In high school, we did have a neighborhood girl with a '67 VW, Beetle...we were never too proud to accept a ride in that, however.

Then, I became a school bus driver (the state used a lot of students for bus driving) and that meant a late arrival and early departure to class, since most of us had two routes...one for the high school and one for elemetary school (where we left the buses parked, ferrying back on a single bus). We used to rob the milk delivery guy blind at the elementary school, sneaking onto his milk truck and swiping choclolate milk to start the day.

And there are any number of shenanigans bus drivers could get involved in on those old straight drive, vacuum-operated accessory buses. The favorite trick was to roll down long hills with the ignition off and the throttle open and then switching on the throttle at the bottom of the hill for spectacular backfires. I managed to blow about six feet off of the exhaust system doing this once. ("Honest, I have no idea how that happened!"). The rural routes, offered all manner of opportunities for misadventure. (Bus) "stop sign slamming" was a favorite when two buses passed in opposite directions.

Needless to say, all these activities were undertaken on buses with no passengers (aka: "witnesses").

- JG300-Ascout

I wonder if any of these guys will trade straight across for an SRT8 wth 261 "original miles"?

Only if you put on that Daytona Kit...and throw a spoked tire on the trunk.

The beautiful 1980 Seville was a not so fond childhood memory of mine and is the reason for my distaste for the infamous red interior. As a kid I would walk to my friends house before school and from there his Mother would give us a ride to school in her Red with Red leather interior Seville. This was also around the time that I saw "The Shining" in the theatres.

Needless to say, everytime I climbed into that car all I could think was "Redrum, Redrum"

- JG300-fr8ycat

Mmmmm...pretty.

www.mecum.com/auctions...0612135527

Well, I have to admit, that's a stunner alright.

However, I'm a little disappointed that a squaddie with the good taste to have owned a '68 Cougar would be into any Cadillacs other than the much heralded '80-'89 Seville:

www.empirelambda.com/w.../04/s4.jpg

...and ideally, the ever sought after "Opry Coop" with dual fender mounted spares:

www.flickr.com/photos/...996822473/

Where unavailable, the "Continentla Kit" with twin chrome straps for the boot are a reasonable second choice...

www.flickr.com/photos/...926213150/




I wonder if any of these guys will trade straight across for an SRT8 wth 261 "original miles"?

Mmmmm...pretty.

www.mecum.com/auctions...0612135527

- JG300-fr8ycat

,,,, red leather interior. Never been a fan of red leather but it's more of a blood red (dark) than the bright red on the old Cadillacs.

Miss Manners sez: Never in anything made since 1959. And even then, only if the top comes down and there are only two seats.

- JG300-Ascout

- JG300-Stoopy

Awesome! It's like having a Von Dutch pinstripe job on top of a vinyl wrap treatment!!!! Are they getting the aftermarket single-exhaust fart-can muffler system installed this week or is that gonna be after the first service?

Well, I don't want to give too much away, but can you say "faux white fur upholstery"?

...and the chassis/wheelwell neons are going to make the look.

If you're gonna have a ride of that caliber, you need to "speak the speak".

"...and the shinizle/whinizle nizzle are going to make the linizle."

Glad it's safely home, enjoy. Also, forgot that a guy at work just got one about 3 weeks ago. Black with black & red leather interior. Never been a fan of red leather but it's more of a blood red (dark) than the bright red on the old Cadillacs.

Exxxxxxxcccelllent!!!!!

Happy polishing!!!