– WEST COAST PREMIER ALL-MOPAR® EVENT
– A FAVORITE HANGOUT FOR JAY LENO
– HUNDREDS OF HIGH-QUALITY DISPLAY CARS
Van Nuys, California, San Fernando Valley, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. In the early 1950s, a guy named Bob Wiam opened up a drive-in restaurant on the main boulevard of the city and named it Bob’s Big Boy. The place became the place to be with your car. Car fanatics know the history of the area, as it’s well known that in the 1960s and into the 1980s, Van Nuys Boulevard was famous for its car cruising on Wednesday nights. Legendary. There even was a movie made about it in 1979, Van Nuys Blvd., featuring Cynthia Wood. A big part of California car culture! Because Wednesday nights were such a big deal on the boulevard, the speed shop called “Van Nuys Racing Equipment”, which was a Super Shops store located right on Van Nuys Blvd, stayed open late those nights just to be a part of the street action. And the “Spring Fling” Mopar Show and Swap Meet takes place just a few streets over from the iconic Van Nuys Blvd.
Of course, there’s been and still are other places in America known for car cruising and street racing; however, because of the warm climate in Southern California year round, the Van Nuys cruising scene wasn’t limited to the summer months. Year round, it was all about American street machines, rods, mini-trucks and vans, low-riders, cheap gas and lots of good times. That era was nothing like anything in the past, and now, looking back, hardly anything to do with “youth misspent” to any true and authentic car lover!
Included in this Part I coverage is an overview of the vintage vehicles that attended, of which there were excellent examples going back to the 1950s, and on through the 1970s! Upcoming Part II has a focus on modern Mopar muscle, legendary wing cars, plus coverage of Viper, Prowler and the large swap meet, as well as an ultra-rare Australian “6 Pack HEMI®” Charger R/T that was a surprise show-up!
MOPAR VEHICLES INVADE VAN NUYS
Each April, there’s an all-Mopar “Spring Fling” that takes place at Woodley Park in Van Nuys, which is located a few streets west from the famous Van Nuys Blvd. The most recent gathering, known as Spring Fling 36 Show & Swap, a weekend event and for a fun activity on Saturday night, the club set up a “Cruise-in” to the local Bob’s Big Boy restaurant. Rare parts, cool cars of all eras, warm California sunshine, if you dig Chrysler products new and old, HEMI engine-powered vehicles of all decades, Spring Fling is where it happens.
This Part I highlights the vintage Mopar vehicles featured (’50s – ’70s) and next in Part II it’s all about modern Mopar muscle, Australian Charger, wing cars and a full tour from the all-Chrysler swap meet!
JAY LENO MAKES THE SCENE
Jay Leno came rolling into the Woodley Park grassy area in his mammoth Blastolene Tank Car, the 190-inch wheel-based machine powered by a 1792-cid V12 engine (from the Chrysler-built Patton tank from the early 1950s). Modified by Gale Banks, it now produces 1,600 maximum horsepower! The wild machine is complete with a Chrysler badge on top of the grille.
Leno gets out, greeted by the crowd, walks around, looking at engines, interiors, talking with car owners and endless requests for photos. Seeing him action at the event clearly shows he is a true “car guy” and was enjoying the Mopar world in a big way.
WIDE VARIETY OF ’50s MOPAR VEHICLES
Here’s a 1955 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer 2-door hardtop w/Super Red Ram Power Package, which is the 270-cid Dodge HEMI V8, 193 hp, Carter WCFB 4-bbl carburetor, dual exhausts. Powerflite 2-speed automatic transmission, power steering. According to Motor Trend Magazine, this car could hit 60 mph from a standing start in 16.2 seconds and had a 101-mph top speed. A rare, fully equipped survivor!
The 1958 Plymouth Fury was the top-of-the-line in the Belvedere series, a limited-edition automobile, available only in one color: Buckskin Beige, and only in a 2-door hardtop configuration. Power on this example came from a Golden Commando V8, displacing 350 cubic inches and was the first of the “Wedge B-engine” family. As equipped with dual four-barrels, it produced 305 horsepower at 5,000 rpm, incorporating 10.0:1 compression ratio. Optional TorqueFlite® 3-speed automatic came on this one, and it was said to be good for reaching 0-60 mph in 7.7 seconds, with a 1/4-mile time of 15.6 seconds, at 86 mph. That was impressive for a full-size car!
Making an appearance is this ’58 Chrysler Letter Car, “D” and in absolute pristine condition. Spring Fling is known for quality vintage Mopar machines of all eras.
It’s a 1959 Dodge Coronet Hardtop in two-tone White and Sapphire Blue, swivel seats, dual antennas, whitewalls and full wheel covers (Lancer 4-bar). Under the hood is a one-year-only 326-cid V8, an overbored 318 Polyspheric and it was rated at 255 hp with 9.2 compression ratio, called “Red Ram”. Included is a 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission, this was the last year of Dodge’s use of a full frame, uni-body coming in ’60. Rarely seen car!
YUP! IT’S A DESOTO
1960 DeSoto Fireflite with original 383 4bbl (optional), swivel seats and styling were close to the Chrysler, just a bit busier. Paint code Adobe Rust Iridescent. Fin cars rock!
EXQUISITE A-BODY EXAMPLES
The 1967 Barracuda 2-door hardtop coupe (known around Chrysler-Plymouth showrooms as the “BH23” model) was one of three body styles available for the “fish” in 1967 (joining the fastback and convertible) and the pictured KK1 Light Turquoise Metallic has the 273-cid “LA” V8 engine, which developed 235 with the optional 4-bbl induction. D70 x 14 Red Streak rubber and 581 Deluxe full wheel covers, copper interior color. This fish has a distinctive look!
The convertible version of the ’67 Barracuda was the rarest, with just 4,228 built, and the most expensive (factory price with V8: $2,869). This RR1 Yellow example was a true “cream puff” as it looked as though it was a brand-new car ready to be delivered to a buyer during the 1967 model year!
A gorgeous B5 Blue Fire Metallic ’69 Barracuda fastback, fully restored (Motech Performance) to its former glory and with rebuilt 318-cid small block, Cragar S/S wheels and modern BFG T/A radials.
“GTS” LS27 convertible Dodge Dart for 1968, factory-fitted 340-cid small block, rare car as only 403 were produced!
B-BODY CARS GALORE
The 1963 Plymouth Savoy was a bare-bones car and this 2-door sedan (often referred to as 2-door “post”) is pristine in every way, it features a 426 “Super Stock” wedge, known as the Max Wedge engine. These cars were total sleepers back when they were new, especially with the standard hub caps and full “plain Jane” appearance … except when it’s started up and the whole car shakes as a result of the high-compression, radical engine!
A true “survivor” and it’s rust free! 1968 Dodge Coronet R/T “J” code car (factory fitted with 426 HEMI engine) and a wonderful representation of what an unrestored car looks like with just 22K miles on the odometer! Classic B-body is a rolling time capsule!
Correctly restored in every way, inside and out, top to bottom, and front to rear, 1969-1/2 A12 Super Bee! M-Code engine was the crown jewel of these cars, complete with aluminum Edelbrock 3×2 intake and a trio of Holley 2-bbl carbs. The A12 cars were mid-year introductions, and the big visual was the black-hued fiberglass lift-off scooped hood, held on with four tie-down pins. Just 420 (hardtops) A12 Super Bees were built.
RARE!!! 1971 Charger R/T, “V-Code” 440 Six Pack, Ramcharger functional hood scoop, a well-equipped example! EV2 paint (HEMI Orange) with V7X longitudinal stripes, V1X vinyl top. R/T models featured unique vertical tape strips on the doors. The ’71 Charger line was completely re-designed, now with ventless side glass, concealed wipers and semi-fastback roof design. That’s the neat thing about this California show, one never knows what sure-rare Mopar shows up!
A 1974 Road Runner is something not often seen at a car show! These particular cars were typically not all that embraced by the performance crowd back in the day. Why? Because performance was dying-off because of the emission regulations that had arrived. That said, there was still a 440 V8 available as optional equipment, rated at 275 horsepower. This one featured some modern upgrades, including a large fiberglass ’68 HEMI-style hood scoop.
E-BODY CARS INCLUDING “MOD SQUAD CHALLENGER”
To anyone walking the grass area of Woodley Park, they came up to this FE5 Rallye Red on red Challenger R/T convertible, well, a well-presented 1970 E-body. AM/FM 8-track, power windows, A/C and S83 Rim Blow steering wheel. There was no engine callout on the hood, which is not consistent with an R/T car. After inquiring with the car’s owner (who drove it down from Fresno), he explained the “bizarre” combination of options, as verified by Galen Govier, the car “Q-Code” meaning it was designated as a Public Relations vehicle, for advertising or TV show placement.
The A/C option for this car didn’t include the normal factory “tinted” windows, which are said to be so equipped with clear glass, in a way for actors not to be obscured by tint. Add in a column shifter (so to allow actors to slide across the seats easily) and it certainly seems to be a unique Challenger convertible! It’s been widely discussed on the Mopar message boards (complete with screen shots from television episodes) and the hippy cop show “Mod Squad” had an exactly equipped 1970 red Challenger R/T convertible as part of the show, albeit fitted with W11 full wheel covers! GreenLight has made an accurate 1/18th diecast of the car!
Another 1970 Challenger R/T droptop, this one with FJ5 Sublime paint, luggage race, 383 Magnum power. V21 Performance Hood Paint, flip-open fuel filler, bumper guards, Magnum 500 wheels. Sweet!
This 1970 ‘Cuda is from the national advertising campaign of BFGoodrich tires back in the 1990s! A factory HEMI engine-powered 4-speed car, it’s an FJ5 Lime Light Green car that was purchased new in Canada, and was drag raced, blowing up the HEMI engine. It was replaced (warranty block) and when Marty Ahlgrim purchased it sight unseen in 1987, it was then decided to have HEMI guru Dick Landy re-do it with the tricks he had learned, upped to 650 hp. It’s a real head-tuner with an interesting history as being chosen by BFG for their advertising spreads in the popular car magazines of the era.
It’s a “1 of 10” car in regard to 1970 ‘Cuda 340 convertible with 4-speed, A/C. FY1 High Impact “Lemon Twist” paint, A21 Elastomeric Front Bumper Group, leather bucket seats, power top, power disc brakes front, loaded with options: $4,901.35 retail price.
BIG BOAT CHRYSLERS CAME TO THE PARTY
Rolling on a 124-inch wheelbase, the 1966 Newport was the “price leader” of the Chrysler line, a C-body, and this convertible example is how sleek and uncomplicated the styling was! 383-cid 2-bbl, single exhaust, standard engine, 270 HP.
Measuring a whopping 229.6 inches in total length, the 1973 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon was big! It had a 4,830-pound curb weight and price (before any options) was $6,010.00. This one has the third seat feature (9 passenger) and came factory fitted with the standard 440 4-barrel engine, which in that smog era was rated at (net) 215 HP using 8.2:1 compression ratio.
Author: James Maxwell
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