Real-deal California R/T. 572-inch HEMI, 700 horsepower. 6-speed, 4-wheel Wilwood disc brakes. Viper Snakeskin Green paint, immaculate bodywork, awesome updated interior. Seriously fast and beautifully built Charger!
You read that correctly, this Charger R/T is a California car and if you’ve ever restored an old car, you probably know that California cars really are better. There was zero rust on this car—none—when it came back east to begin the transformation. There were a few bumps and bruises, of course, and they were all fixed during the build. No ripples, no waves, no orange peel in the finish, just crystal-clear reflections in that outrageous green paint. Borrowed from the Dodge Viper color chart, the Snake Skin Green paint seems to glow like it’s radioactive, and you can bet that if Chrysler designers in the 1960s could have achieved an effect like this, they would have. It’s just stunning in person, with a depth and a lot of metallic to make it almost vibrate off the sheetmetal. If the sound of the HEMI V8 doesn’t get everyone’s attention, we’re pretty sure the paint will.
The interior is obviously completely custom, with black cloth and green vinyl upholstery that works quite well with the Snakeskin Green paint. The front seats are from a late-model Chrysler Sebring convertible and include built-in seat belts, which are a great choice in a hardtop like this where there’s no real B-pillar—it’s both safer and more stylish than the original setup. But beyond that, it’s quite stock inside, from the restored center console to the dash, which is full of stock gauges with cool white faces. You will note that the big Hurst shifter now shows six forward gears instead of four and there’s a fat leather-wrapped Grant GT steering wheel, but it still feels like a vintage Charger from behind the wheel. The original AM/FM radio remains in the dash with its original vertical knobs, but there’s a hidden Kenwood CD stereo with remote so you don’t have to endure broadcast music anymore. The 50,000 miles showing on the odometer are believed to be authentic and since the car was new, but with such a complete makeover, it’s kind of academic. The trunk is also fully finished with plush black carpets and a matching full-sized spare that fits front or rear (smart!) and is stashed under its own Mopar-logo cover.
The original 440 cubic inch mill was gone by the time this car arrived at the shop, so in went a 572 cubic inch HEMI crate motor from Prestige Motorsports. Rated at a nice, round 700 horsepower, it’s $25,000 worth of nasty that’s still street friendly yet insanely powerful. It’s beautifully assembled and ideally tuned so that it starts quickly and without a fuss, idles well even when it’s cold, and pulls like a freight train out on the open road. It’s got an awesome mechanical sound and a baritone exhaust note thanks to a set of ceramic-coated long-tube headers that are like artwork. It’s cooled by a giant aluminum radiator and mechanical fan, so it never gets fussy. This is one burly HEMI that doesn’t act like it.
Part of the reason for its great street manners is the Tremec 6-speed manual gearbox. With two overdrive gears, the 4.10s in a Dana 60 out back are the perfect choice, allowing the engine to get out of the hole without a lot of revs but settling down on the highway and just loafing along at 2500 RPM at 75 MPH. All that torque and all that gear means it’s pretty much impossible to stall this car, and if you’re going to get into the secondaries, you’d better be sure it’s pointed where you want it to go, because things start happening very, very quickly with this car. Fortunately, you have giant Wilwood vented disc brakes at all four corners to keep things under control and a set of beautifully integrated subframe connectors reinforce the tub and look like they’ve always been there. Beautiful Billet Specialties wheels have an old-school performance look and are wrapped in staggered Mickey Thompson rubber.
Combining the best aspects of both Pro-Touring (big brakes, comfortable interior, 6-speed transmission) and Pro-Street (massive motor, big tires, insane acceleration), this Charger gets everything right. It’s docile enough that your wife could drive it to work, but it’ll take someone at the top of their game to see all the performance it has to offer. Call today!
For more details and photos, please visit www.HarwoodMotors.com
