Vehicle Description
2002 Dodge Intrepid NASCAR
When asked directly about the "Petty Blue" color, Richard related,
years later, that indeed, it had been a fluke. Late in the 1959
season, after having to rebuild one of the '59 Plymouth Fury's,
Maurice told Richard that they didn't have enough white paint for
the painting of the entire car. Being brought up to waste nothing,
Richard found some dark blue paint, but not in a sufficient amount
to paint the whole car. Richard said they he looked at Maurice, and
Maurice looked at him, and they just dumped the two paints into one
tub, then proceeded to paint the Plymouth in the color that came
out. When they got done, they were impressed themselves with the
hue. Lee came back from an out of town race, and marveled at how
that color set the car off. Almost electric is what he said. Of
course, Richard and Maurice had to scramble to remember the right
mix. Once they did, the formula became their secret, even to the
point of being patented by a paint company as Petty Blue. When the
1960 season dawned, there was only one color on the Petty cars, the
"electric" Petty Blue. It became their trademark.
For consignment a fully restored actual Petty Enterprises race car.
This is 1 of 2 known to exist when Richard Petty was in a short
stint with Dodge. This car is also a survivor in that was the last
true fully fabricated body. These days several parts come complete
from the manufacturer, and additional parts are fabricated around
these. This car was started from scratch, then completed by all
fabrication, no pre shipped parts.
Exterior
Electric Petty Blue covers the exterior of this thin-skinned
original paint and decal metal over safety caged racer. The
original sponsorship deals are still adhering very nicely and have
not been restored. It's all stickers and only base color on this
exterior. The HRE chassis was repainted during the restoration.
Goodyear Eagle racing tires are affixed to all 4 corners, and this
car is set up to run on a road track and not a super speedway. Thru
the front window a Richard Petty Signature is seen. Thanks to Rhine
Enterprises for restoring this car which came without a driver
seat, fuel cell, and drivetrain. It has now been fully restored to
be used for Vintage racing and track day events.
Interior
Modified for the ultimate safety, a massive roll cage is welded to
the frame. This car is intended to be used as a fan car ride along
as well, as 2 Lajoie style racing seats are now installed. A gaggle
of wiring, electronics, an MSD-HVC ignition system, and Auto Meter
gauges sit within the simple dash, which also has many toggle
switches to be flipped in the operation of this car. A removable
steering wheel is in front of the dash, and a floor shifter is on
the fabricated center console. In the back seat are serious cooling
hoses and more secure roll cage. In the trunk is the fuel cell, and
side filler flange which is opened when the gas can is inserted
into it.
Drivetrain
A 358ci V8 23-degree dry sump engine sits as far back under the
hood as it can go for weight distribution. This has a 4-barrel
carburetor on top and puts out an estimated 550HP. In back of the
racing engine is a Jerico road racing 4-speed manual transmission.
In adherence to NASCAR rules of the time, this is the displacement
of a standard racing engine.
Undercarriage
Heavy duty would be the buzz word here with tubular framing, beefed
up floorboards, and lots-o-lines in braided stainless which through
them course the life blood of the car fluids. Simple chaos would
best describe the operations and add ons underneath. Highlights
include 4 piston Brembo brake assemblies with large brake ducts in
the nose. Also, a 13 gallon safety impact blocked fuel cell has
been added.
Drive-Ability
A complex starting procedure needs to be gone through, but then a
push of a button and the candles are lit. After a thorough warmup,
our decoder/muscle car expert/test driver had a ball. Just the
noise of this car reverberating through the valley where Classic
Auto Mall is located is worth the price of admission. Definitely
the best handling car we have ever driven, hence the road course
set up is working! One had to be of a smaller stature to actually
get into this car to drive it. This is a blue chip investment...a
car you can take to shows and also have a blast driving it on track
day on the many road course's in the country There is also vintage
racecar clubs you can join and have fun. Also comes with a set of
tires for track day fun.
So, an actual racer, raced by John Andretti while he was on the
Richard Petty Racing team in 2002. Patented Electric Petty Racing
Blue, and plenty of sponsorship stickers, an actual working version
of the iconic 43 resides here at Classic Auto Mall. Boogitty,
Boogitty, Boogitty, Lets Go Racin' Boys Wait..is that
patented?!
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 450 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
