– Verified in writing by Richard Petty himself, it’s an authentic #43 racecar
– Expertly restored by Southern California’s McKinney Brothers
– Powerful 426 HEMI® engine built with in excess of 600 horsepower
The McKinney (Pat and Mike) Brothers of California are bona fide Mopar® fanatics and have long been followers of the great HEMI® engine-powered racecars that competed on the NASCAR tracks in the glory days of stock car racing. A serious passion for all things high performance, especially with golden-era competition cars.
Some years back, they tackled the full restoration of a famous Mopar stock car competition car, the Bobby Allison Coca-Cola Charger Daytona from the 1969-70 racing seasons. This 1971 Petty Plymouth was the second NASCAR Winston Cup car to get their attention, which lasted the better part of four-and-a-half years and upwards of 4,000 hours of labor.
The pictured car was sold from Petty Enterprises after its racing duty was finished by Richard Petty, then “updated” to a show car. It had become an R.J. Reynolds (parent company to NASCAR series past sponsor Winston) display vehicle that wore a Dodge Magnum (1978 era) body. Painted red and with “#1 Winston” markings, by the time it was found it was not a pretty sight. Racetorations (Kim Haynes of Gastonia, NC) is where the then-hulk of a former racecar was sourced.
The car’s chassis and roll cage, etc., remained original and was cosmetically restored, as were the vintage hydraulic Monroe double shocks (marketed in the day as “Regal Ride” NAPA units) and suspension components. Petty used a modified and beefed-up torsion bar front arrangement and 8 ¾ Chrysler rear axle assembly (full floating, 3.91 gears) with big 11 x 3.5” (front) and 11 x 3” (rear) drum brakes – A833 Chrysler 4-speed, with Hurst shifter. All these parts were included with the purchase; however, they needed to be fully rebuilt and prepped just as though the car was heading out to a 500-mile race for the weekend.
The Petty Plymouth team won the NASCAR points championship in 1971, and in typical Petty fashion, he won 21 races in 46 starts en route to his third title. Because of marketing, the car was referred to as a “Road Runner”. It was fitted with a more aerodynamic standard Satellite hood (for long course races) and only the simulated vented RR hood for short tracks. However, the “fuselage” body of the car screamed performance no matter which hood was used! All those individual wins, with one being the Daytona 500, it’s no surprise that this car is clearly a unique piece of Mopar and NASCAR history.
FAMOUS PETTY BLUE
After preparing the 1971 Plymouth body for restoration, approximately 2 gallons total of PPG “Corporate Blue” Petty paint was applied, with the body panels getting buffed to a beautiful luster after hours of color sanding. The interior, truck area, underside and engine compartment were also coated in the famous Blue hue, but because this was a racecar that was built for function and not for winning car shows, there was no effort to color sand or polish these areas. If a project like this is made “too nice”, it loses the flavor of being a restored (and accurately restored) competition car.
It’s a story that’s been told numerous times but it’s true: The Petty Blue paint was first discovered when Richard and Maurice were preparing to paint an early Petty racecar (White) and when the brothers didn’t have enough White paint to do the job, they looked and found some Dark Blue color then added it, having no idea what the it would turn out to be. The resulting hue became “Petty Blue” and this color and the numbers “43” have made motorsports history!
BIG NASCAR HEMI ENGINE
The 426 Track HEMI engine was created with the use of a new MP HEMI block, new MP cylinder heads, MP crank, rods and Aries 12.5:1 pistons. Two of the rarest items are the dry-sump oiling system (authentic Petty piece) and the air intake feeding the big Holley via an original “New Old Stock” fiberglass air bonnet. No detail was overlooked in the engine compartment – thanks to extensive research viewing old photographs, plus conversations with long-time Petty crew member Richie Barsz who had been on the 1971 team and worked on that car!
A vintage A117 “bathtub” intake manifold had to be located along with an era-correct 1150 cfm Holley 4500-series Dominator carburetor, the sunken design which lowers the carburetor is for hood clearance. Yes, just like the good ol’ days of NASCAR, but only better as for 1971 NASCAR mandated a 1.14-inch restrictor plate was used, and no need for that on this powerplant!
INTERIOR
Inside was strictly business and included in the dash are the original Stewart-Warner gauges: Tachometer (Mechanical Cable Drive), Water Temp, Oil Temp, Oil Pressure and Fuel Pressure. When you’re lapping at high speeds around a race track, you don’t have time to study all the gauge readings, so they were all mounted with needles pointed at the “12 o’clock” location to easily note any problems/concerns.
A special racing seat is fitted and this one came with unique fabric from Berkline Furniture, as a marketing exercise back in the timeframe to show how tough the Herculon material was, and it was Richard Petty that selected the checkered flag design.
The headrest design is the reason the car is known as “The Peace Symbol Car” and also was a key construction element when Richard Petty himself approved it as being an original 1971 Petty racecar.
Located in the left rear floor area, the rear axle and transmission cooler w/blower assembly – a Stewart-Warner product. This came with the car and is in flawless condition!
It was Richard Petty’s horrendous crash coming out of Turn 4 at Darlington in 1970 that mandated the use of the safety net starting after that event.
ROLLING STOCK
8.00 / 8.20 – 15 Goodyear race rubber and 15 x 9.5” slotted steel (double center for added strength) race wheels (and fitted with the correct lug nuts) were standard issue on NASCAR cars in the early 1970s. Petty painted the wheels dark blue on this particular car.
RACING SHOCKS
Vintage hydraulic Monroe double shocks (marketed in the day as “Regal Ride” NAPA units) front and rear, these were standard issue back in the day.
To allow for changing the chassis adjustments to suit the particular racetrack, adjustable rear shackles were part of the set-up, as were a variety of available rear leaf springs with spring rates varying from 120 pounds per inch to 600 pounds per inch.
FUEL CELL
Tucked away in the truck is the 22-gallon fuel cell, which had an era-correct 1971 dated safety bladder inside. Note the widened rear wheel tube and the extensions added to the deck lid hinges to facilitate the narrowed mounts.
Detail of the fuel filler tube and overflow tube, and recessed gas cap, high up on the driver’s side quarter panel.
DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS
From front to rear, a great deal of attention was given to ensuring the restoration included accurate details as to when Petty Enterprises did the car originally. Be it radiator overflow tank, front and rear hold-down pins and lanyards, windshield clips and straps, fuel overflow vent and bumper streamlining coverings.
CORRECT LETTERING
Motor Sports Design (Jamestown, NC) was the source for the various markings and Racetorations (Gastonia, NC) was the supplier of the product stickers for the car, colorful and accurate to every detail.
PAT MCKINNEY
It was a very proud moment when Pat (shown here) and his brother Mike were able to show their finished project, all done with extreme detail – and to top it all off with blessings from Richard Petty as to its authenticity, as well as permission to apply the various decals on the body, including the “43” numbering and “Petty Enterprises, Inc. Randleman, N.C.” markings.
SEPTEMBER 1971 WHITE HOUSE VISIT
Richard Petty and his ’71 Plymouth racer were invited to the Richard M. Nixon White House in 1971 for special recognition of American auto racing. How many other automobiles over the years had such a privilege?
WIND-TUNNEL TEST MODEL
Surviving the years, this scale-model of a 1971 Plymouth body shell is now on display at the famed Petty Museum.
VINTAGE PETTY BOOKS
“Sports Hero Richard Petty” from 1974 is just one of the numerous books that were written on Petty back in the day, this one an easy-to-read biography that was typically in school district libraries… and it can still be found on Internet searches under ISBN # 0399608990.
This is the photograph from the jacket back cover of the 1971 “Grand National” Autobiography of Richard Petty book (ISBN #78163255), a very well-detailed memoir filled with rare historical B&W photos.
ON THE DYNO
A Mopar HEMI engine assembly, using a new “MP” block and cylinder heads. 12.5:1 c/r (compression ratio) pistons and .608” lift camshaft. Dyno pull result? 616 horsepower @ 7,100 rpm.
RESTORATION PROCESS
During the process of doing the project, after the body swap, body prep and paint, the car was assembled in, yes, the family garage! A four-plus-year-long labor of love to be sure. The spirit of Level Cross, NC, was definitely injected to the inside of that suburban Southern California garage!
The original Level Cross-built roll cage was fully intact and over 250 feet of 1 ¾” tubing was used originally, with all tubes still present.
One of the telltale characteristic features that helped establish confirmation that this was in fact the “real deal” 1971 Petty Plymouth was the “Peace Sign Headrest” that was originally fitted and remains installed in the car today.
WINNER’S CIRCLE DAYTONA 500
In winning his third Daytona 500, Richard was celebrating with one of the UNION 76 Race Stoppers, Hurst’s Linda Vaughn and Miss Speed Weeks – oh the thrills of victory!
PETTY IN 1/25th SCALE
Part of the MPC Authentic NASCAR Series 1/25th kits, the 1971 Petty Plymouth was a popular model for builders of all ages, released in 1972 and molded in electric blue color. In recent years, a “re-pop” version was released by American manufacturer Salvinos J-R Models, an officially licensed product.
A top-quality build, these are “body off” shots of the ’71 1/25th Petty Plymouth. Close inspection reveals the numerous details experienced builders go through to set their models apart!
Because of huge interest by collectors, the kits are now rather pricey and hard to find, although they do show up (both as unbuilt and built) on places like eBay.
Author: James Maxwell
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