Lonestar Shootout – Mopar Action Article Extra

The Lonestar Shootout shootout was won by Randy Gunter in his 11-sec. 408-inch smallblock-powered ’74 Dart Sport. The June issue has a full feature on Randy’s car.
Here are 10 other shootout entrants who made the cut.

Don and Lynn Kosuda’s ’69 Charger SE is an original SE, not an R/T model. Underneath that fiberglass six-pack hood beats a 440 pump gas motor with 346 iron heads. Valves dance to the tune of a Hughes juice flat-tappet bumpstick, while a 750 Mighty Demon carb sucks in the juice. A TTI exhaust uses Hooker Super Comp 1-7/8” headers at one end and Dynomax FloMax muffs at the other. The 727 trans with 3600 RPM stall converter feeds back to a 4.10 Sure-Grip. Getting it all to the ground are a set of 11.50x28x15” Hoosier Quick Time Pro skins. Best times for this red rocket is an 11.94 and 113.25 MPH.

John Ruzinok Brought his ’69 Beeper to the shootout, relying on a 452-stroked 400 with Edelbrock heads for battle. John has a six-pack induction, .551” lift Comp Cams cam, and Hooker 2” Super Comp headers. A true street machine, John’s ride has air conditioning and highway (3.23) gears in the 8-3/4” rear. The trans is a 4-speed.

Scott O’Hagen and his son, Scott, Jr. showed up with two ’79 Li’l Red Trucks. Pop’s truck has the hood scoop and is the quicker of the two, turning 12.76 @ 104 mph. The 360 has been replaced with a ’66 steel crank 440 fed by a ProForm Holley carb. The 727 spins a 4-grand stall converter while 4.56 cogs twist Moser axles.

Scott O’Hagen, Jr. runs the milder setup of the two. Scott’s truck still has its original 360, now fitted with Keith Black pistons, M1 intake and a Demon carb. The 727 trans runs a 3-grand stall converter. The rear spins 4.10cogs. Best times are 14.30 @ 96 MPH.

Chuck Owen’s clean and very streetable ’68 GTX is powered by a .030”-over 440 with Keith Black flat-top forged slugs. An Isky solid stick works the valves while a 750 Holley atop an Edelbrock intake handles the mixture. An MSD 6-AL box and distributor light it off, while a TTI exhaust with X-pipe and Dynomax muffs exhale the gasses. The blueprinted and balanced motor dynos at 305 HP and 357 ft.-ft. of torque. It is backed by a 3-grand stall 727 and 8-3/4” rear packed with 3.23 cogs. Best time for this air-conditioned car is 13.10 @ 101.82 MPH.

Rusty Webster’s red ’69 Road Runner packs a 493-inch big block with Edelbrock aluminum heads. He runs Ross pistons, Eagle rods and crank and a Comp Cams solid stick. Intake is a Holley Street Dominator. Russ relies on Hooker Super comp headers to keep the environmentalists happy, and he keeps in shape by rowing his A-833 4-speed that spins a 3.23 Sure-Grip. Rear.

Richard Montgomery doesn’t fool around. Everyone can see that he’s packing a tunnelram intake with twin 600 Holleys, so his ’71 beeper is definitely not a sleeper. His 440 is .030”-over, and topped with Edelbrock aluminum heads. He runs an MP purple cam with .510” lift, and Mopar MSD ignition. Rich bangs a 4-speed and smokes the skins with a 3.55 Sure-Grip 8-3/4” rear.

Only the custom wheels are a giveaway to what may be lurking under the hood of Randy Lane’s “Plain Brown Wrapper” ’65 Valiant 200. And that would be a 340 stroked to 373.5 cubes, fully ported Edelbrock RPM heads, Wiseco pistons swung on Eagle rods, Crower solid cam and reworked 750 Holley to flow 900 cfm on a Victor 340 intake. Exhaling is assured with Hooker Comp headers with 2-2/2” crossover and Dynomax muffs. The mill is backed with a fully built 904 trans with large sprags and Turbo Action reverse manual valve body. Inside is an 8” 4500-stall Turbo Action converter that’s built tight for street use. The chassis is beefed with subframe connectors, launches are aided by offset super stock springs and a pinion snubber, and the 4.30-geared 8-3/4 spins Moser axles with the large bolt pattern and long studs. Big brakes complement the rest of the setup.

Sylvia Zemgal’s “Pink Thing” ’70 Challenger is no trailer queen. Sylvia loves to race, and she cuts 12.50s thru the pipes (12.10s on a good day) with her 501-inch stroker stoked with a .488” lift Comp Cams purple cam and 850 Holley double pumper. While Sylvia neglected to mention if the car is an auto or 4-speed, she did tell us that she has 3.55s out back. At least she got the name of the car in, so you know what’s important to her.

Dario Garcia’s clean ’68 Coronet R/T packs a 10:1 440 with ported heads, an 850 Holley on an M1 intake, headers and 3” exhaust. The trans has a manual valve body, and the rear has 4.10 gears. And that’s all that Dario is gonna tell ya.