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Hummel Action Figure

In 1992, Todd Hummel purchased this 1970 R/T Challenger for $2500. It was being prepped as a race car at the time, but the Dodge never made it to the dragstrip. Todd had never owned a Mopar before, but he was able to tell that it was an original R/T 383 big block 4-speed car, with only 69,000 miles on the odometer. Decoding the VIN and fender tags, showed that the car had been built on April 1, 1970. It came with the 383 Magnum, FJ5 Sublime paint, 4-speed manual trans with pistol grip, rally instrument cluster, console, black vinyl interior, bucket seats, and many more options.

The original paint was faded. All the sheet metal was original and in excellent shape. The engine wasn’t so lucky, having been blown up along the way The tranny was nowhere in sight. The interior had been removed, but it came with the car. Inside was a rollbar, and there were subframe connectors underneath.

Todd, and wife, Tonya, couldn’t afford to restore the car in 1992, so it was parked in their garage until they accumulated the dough by 1998.

Todd stripped the car down to a shell and had it media blasted. Then, it was off to the body shop for six months. It came back with a great base coat/clear coat Sublime finish.

Legendary and Year One were tapped for new seatcovers, seat backs, carpet, and headliner. The dash was sent out to Just Dashes to be reskinned. The original door panels are retained. Todd installed new emblems, and had the grille restored at Alltrim. He rechromed the bumpers and added new R/T stripes. New Rally wheels and Goodyear skins upgraded the rolling stock.

When it came to the drivetrain, Todd knew a stock 383 magnum wasn't going to be enough, but he still wanted the motor to look like a stock 383 magnum. So, starting with a ’72 400 B-motor, he went with a 500-inch stroker kit from Indy, along with a pair of their SR heads. A set of custom dished Ross pistons brings the CR down to a livable 9.6:1.

Camshaft choice was a Crane hydraulic roller with a .598” lift. Topping the heads is an Edelbrock RPM Performer manifold sporting a Demon 850 carburetor. TTi headers handle the exhaust.

Backing the mill is a McLeod twin-disc clutch, and an 18-spline Hemi 4-speed box. It all feeds back to a 3.54 Sure-Grip Dana. The Challenger is very friendly on the street, and turns 11.72 @118mph in the quarter.