A quick Mopar nostalgia story:
Ole Gramps had a Black-on-SaddleTan leather, 2-door 1958 Chrysler 300 Convertible with the 392 Hemi (I think it was a 392), with dual 4-barrel carburetors. I distinctly remember that the entire
engine, including the air cleaners, was painted gold. I do not recall it having the Cross-Ram-Induction manifold setup, but rather the carbs were centered inline.
As kids visiting in the summer, super cool Gramps would let us take it on Sunday afternoons after church (rural farm country) where we quickly got to the business of burning off a set of tires every summer. This huge mass of pure elegance and power in an automobile, convertible and all, would burn rubber just kicking into passing gear. Hold the brake, torque it up, and it would burn rubber until you let off the throttle.
In belated hindsight to my abject horror � when seeing one virtually identical on �My Classic Car� TV show � after Gramps kicked-off, the cousins living nearby his beautiful farm in southern Idaho, took the engine out and used it to build a �hotrod�. I don�t know what happened to the car, but I was told they installed a different engine and sold it to finance building their �hot rod� that, of course, they later wrecked.
To my project story:
During 1998-2000, I converted a Concurs 1969 Voyager Motorhome (original 60K miles, garaged its entire life) into a full 4x4. When I bought it from the old man (who used it for nothing but taking his granddaughters to horse shows), it had a 318 engine and the front bumper was about 8 inches off the ground.
Anyhow, after having to turn around a quarter the way up the pass coming out of Jackson Hole, Wyoming (a wickedly steep pass), we took out the anemic 318 and replaced it with a �BUILT� 413
Industrial. We chose the industrial version (virtually impossible to find) as a starting point because it has Stellite-hardened valve seats and sodium filled valves; also the water pump housing has cast-iron ports that run directly into the front of each cylinder head to keep it cool. If that were not enough, it also has a waffle-pattern, reinforced heavier block than the �standard� 413 (if there is such thing as a �standard� 413).
Anyhow, we built our prize catch 413i for low/mid-range torque. Had to overbore it .060 to accommodate the new flattop 9.5:1 pistons (making it a 426, but I still call it a 413 for nostalgia). The 413i also has a steel billet crank so we balanced the crank, rods and pistons, installed a Crower Stage II Cam, COMP springs and lifters, but kept the original intake manifold and center dump headers because the specs were already great for low/mid-range torque. Besides, they fit perfectly, will keep a gasket seal, and will not crack or warp like aftermarket stuff can in heavy-duty high performance applications.
We also built a custom, two-into-one 3.5-inch SINGLE exhaust. It makes trainloads of torque and produces a very crisp exhaust note with all eight cylinders pumping out of one MASSIVE dump.
Believe me, this 413 MOPAR Motorhome gives my Concurs 1974, 401-V8 Jeep Cherokee 2-Door (another classic, another story) a run for its money up to about 50 mph, then of course the Jeep
leaves it in the dust. I never drive the Voyager over 60 mph, and BELIEVE IT, this motorhome gets 12.5 mpg on the highway. About 2.5 mpg around town (ouch).
We installed a Dana 60 front axel w/ 4.10 ratio (only because we had one laying around, which matched the rear ratio, and we wanted to get the thing on the road, or off as the case was). We
are replacing them with Dana 70s with 5.00+ gears so we can get rid of the dual wheels and mount Mickey Thompson Super-single Baja Claw 39-inch tall tires x 17.5 (or something of the sort).
We are setting the front and rear tires to the same track, two inches outside the existing body, with 4� Bushwhacker Cut Out flares finishing it off. The rear track will not change much, but the front will widen by some 14 inches, massively increasing the already great stability! Why the heck they build motorhomes with the front track so narrow, and way inside the body, is a mystery to me.
The suspension is all ready for the larger tires, raised 6 inches over stock by adding full-length leafs and then de-arching/tempering all four spring sets, �complete with dashboard-adjustable �AirLift� bags at all four corners that can give an additional 4 inches of lift, if one ever wanted. I prefer to keep it as low as possible, with the increased height ONLY for accommodating our modifications.
People sometimes ask if it is �top heavy� and unstable on corners or side hills. The answer is a very loud no! It handles like a �very big� sports car cornering the mountain passes around here � riding flat and very stable. The uncanny stability is probably because we re-mounted new water tanks (two 27 gallon tanks), and a single fuel tank (75 gallons), between and alongside the frame rails.
The body is a very light and super strong lamination (no frame). Beginning on the exterior: 1) flat aluminum sheeting, 2) bonded to � inch plywood, 3) bonded to 1.5 inch high density foam, 3)
bonded to � inch walnut wood paneling that finishes off the interior. No squeaks, no rattles, very quiet, very light. Weighing in fully loaded and fueled up at 8,700 lbs!
With the relocated water and fuel tanks, the center of gravity is BELOW the top of the tires. Regardless of tire height, it always will remain below the top of the tires. You would have to be
insanely reckless and drive excessively fast around a hairy corner, or get it sideways on a virtually vertical incline to tip it over. I have no immediate plans on doing either, so I expect that it will remain upright for a very long time.
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