– WELL ATTENDED MODERN-ERA MOPAR® MUSCLE
– AN AUSTRALIAN CHARGER R/T SURPRISE
– SWAP MEET GEMS IN THE CALIFORNIA SUNSHINE
In Part I of the Spring Fling Van Nuys coverage, it was all about the classics, ’50s – ’80s, and a visit from car fanatic Jay Leno. This Part II highlights the Modern Muscle, Australian Charger, wing cars and a full tour from the all-Chrysler swap meet! In total, the 2024 running of Spring Fling Mopar Show saw hundreds of high-quality Chrysler products attend, all-out show cars to daily drivers, with the swap meet area well stocked with a variety of parts and pieces for anyone looking for that “missing part” of their project … and/or for high-performance upgrades! The place is pure heaven for anyone who wants to absorb all-things Pentastar and doing it while in the warm California sun. If you can make it to one of these gatherings, it would be well worth the experience. www.cpwclub.com
The cool thing about this event is you never know what rare Mopar vehicles will show up! This one is a “Mopar ’10” limited-edition 2010 Dodge Challenger, #204 of 500, and it was signed by all who were involved in the Mopar project! Fitted with the already potent 5.7L HEMI® engine, Mopar added a fresh-air hood intake, F&R strut tower bracing and special side striping. It looked like it just rolled off the delivery truck brand new!
PLYMOUTH PROWLER WITH TRAILER
Model year 2000 Plymouth Prowler, often overlooked at the various shows! This one in Purple Metallic is powered with the 3.5L V6, front engine, rear drive, 17- and 20-inch diameter wheels. Attached is one of the then-available Prowler Trailer Option, a $5,000 addition, and it’s fitted with 15-inch diameter 5-spoke wheels to match the wheels on the car.
VIPER GTS
A special-edition “Venom 500” version of the 2002 Dodge Viper GTS joined in the fun, a tuner car from Hennessey and the power of the 8.0L V10 was bumped to 500 hp.
SUPERCHARGED V6 CHRYSLER 300
Fitted with an aftermarket Ripp Supercharger, this 2016 300C turned a lot of heads!
SRT® CHALLENGERS
No shortage of SRT® Challengers at this Van Nuys Mopar gathering! The “Last Call” Super Stock is a unique car as it was ordered without any options, the “Yellow Jacket” is from 2012, sunroof, 6-speed 392 HEMI engine and 13,000 miles!
DOWN UNDER CHARGER R/T 4
One car that received a ton of double-takes was this “fir sale” Australian Chrysler Valiant Charger R/T from 1971, a short wheelbase coupe that was powered by the Aussie “Six-Pack” 265-cid inline six-cylinder, triple carburetors and HEMI head. With RH-drive and unique looks, it would certainly be a car that would gather attention anywhere you brought it!
WING CARS
This year was no exception: there’s always wing cars at Spring Fling! A half dozen attended, Superbirds and Daytonas, and the knowledgeable owners were there to explain all the historical highlights to the show visitors!
PROJECT CARS FOR SALE
A number of “as is” project cars were brought in on trailers for interested parties that want to keep these vintage Mopar vehicles in circulation! A 1972 Plymouth Duster roller and 1959 DeSoto Firedome Sportsman, 383-cid wedge, 305 hp, factory A/C car. Spring Fling is a valued resource for locating available authentic California cars.
GLENDORA DODGE
Matt Deane, Parts Manager from Glendora Dodge, set up a full display in his booth of high-performance Mopar goodies, including intake manifolds, valve covers, air cleaners, adjustable pinion snubbers, electronic ignition kits and extended capacity deep transmission pans. Mopar to ya!
SWAP MEET
Walking the grounds and checking the various items in the swap meet area, a good variety of items such as rust-free fenders, Challenger taillight assemblies, factory dual snorkel air cleaners, replacement dash pads, on and on and on!
Mopar aluminum SB cylinder heads, aluminum wedge heads, corrected date-coded Carter AFB carbs, Posi center sections (8 3/4 ring gear diameter), bellhousings galore!
RARE INTAKES
Designed for increased torque for passenger car use, in 1960-64 the Chrysler engineers came up with this radical-looking “long ram” intake manifold design, used on 383 and 413 powerplants, featuring twin Carter 4-bbl carburetors. Wild looks and functional design!
For all-out horsepower, the 413 and 426 RB wedge engines (1962-64) could be factory equipped (known as “Max Wedge” engines) with this style aluminum “cross-ram” and for anyone who wants something to give their RB engine increased power, this manifold will do it! However, the ports are larger and also on this table is a pair of matching Max Wedge cylinder heads, early design (4-bolt valve covers).
The various Mopar magazines over the years have great amounts of historical and technical info in their pages and the Spring Fling had several swap meet sellers that were selling these back issues. Once they’re gone, they’ll be gone forever.
Author: James Maxwell
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