Projects '64 Dodge A/FX - Returning a Gladiator to its former Glory

So my friend Andy brought this car home just before the snow flew last year. It looked basically like every other bracket car at the track. Huge Snorkasaurus hood scoop, new wheels, 14x33 slicks, and really low to the ground. The guy he got it from bought it just for the motor, so the car came with just about everything needed to go racing, except a motor.

Once we got to looking at it, we noticed a lot of clues leading to its racing past. We suspect it has been a race car since the 60s. Since, we don't bracket race and we have no interest in it, we decided to get a little more involved than just throwing a motor in it. It should clasify under A/FX by 60s rules.

The car has a full cage, aluminum floors, subframe connectors, Fiberglass: hood, bumpers, doors, trunk lid, and dash, lexan windshield and side glass

I took these pictures today to show progress on it before we got too far into it. The longshot plan we have is to try to get this thing raceable by the Meltdown Drags on July 23. Which may be difficult since he is in the airforce and a lot of the work will pretty much be left to the club members or friends of the club. Andy is the newest member of the FUGITIVES.

The first thing we did was lose the wheels and put on some 15x3.5 Fentons on the front and 15x10 american slots on the rear. These were also taken after we readjusted the front suspension to get it into the air another 2 inches.

Sorry for the dark pictures



And the Tool himself, Andy

 

Nice ! This should be a good build to follow. Keep us posted on your progress.
Andy, thank you for your service, be careful out there.
Dale
Cleveland OH

 

hope it makes it to the drags. ill see ya there...jones

 

We decided to make the dash look a little better. It had 2 tachs in it. One wasn't connected and the other was a monster tach, but it has cool sun gauges in it.

We cut out the gauge area and made an aluminum gauge panel to cover it. This will make it easy to work, now that we can remove the whole gauge panel with 6 screws and access under the dash easily through the new widow cut into the fiberglass behind the panel.

before (with the gauges removed)


and the new panel. We got a 60 amp SW gauge for free to add in.


We also removed the old gas pedal so we could install this Eelco one we had along with a 14 1/2 in superior wheel instead of the 12 in one that was in it. Just need an old sun tach


Check out the cool push button shifter on the tunnel.

 

Sweet, '64s are my favorite. Why do you think it would be classed in A/FX? It looks like the axles are in the stock position.

 

We dropped in this '69 383 magnum for mock-up while the 440 is being built. The transmission came with the car and was still in it. It is a 727 with a finned aluminum pan that is ready to rock for racing. It doesn't have a trans brake, which we don't need anyway. We have to find a converter.

The motor has been set back about 8 inches. The fenderwells are gone, so that should make it easy for us to build some tri-Y headers for it that will dump in the wheelwell.






The cooling system is still in the car. Check out the air conditioning condenser modified into a trans cooler.


This is mounted to the PS front fenderwell- BONUS

 

They won't be

 

Onto the Speed Equipment

The motor is a .060 over 440 with 11.5-1 pistons. We are going to order an Isky 1012B cam. which is a .538 lift and a 318 duration. We may put 1.6 rockers on it to really jack up the lift.

The motor is going to be built by our friend Phil, who has been racing and rodding since the 50s i believe. He has Roy Clarks Hemi S/S along with 2 Arlen Vanke S/S, one of which was the '67 winternationals runner up.

The motor parts should be done at the machine shop this week and we should be getting the carburetors back any day now too.

The intake is a Weiand Drag Star log manifold with 6 Holley 94 big bore carbs. The valve covers are old magnesium weiands that came off a stock 413 Andy bought from some old timer a couple years ago. They were his 'TRICK' valve covers to help sell the engine.

If anybody can tell us how old these covers are and maybe the value of them, that we be kinda cool to know. We can't find any info on them and the only other set we saw were aluminum. No, we won't be getting rid of them, they will likely stay on this car.



We will be using one of these 2 timing covers. Likely the machined one, as we are also collecting parts to rebuild Andy's grandfathers wedge powered bantam roadster.


I mentioned it had a huge snokel on it, well we sold it off and cut out the area of the hood that had all that bullshit on it. It's a huge hole, but there will be really tall velocity stacks sticking out, we like the motor exposed, and we are on a budget that doesn't allow for a new hood.

 

Awesome! I'm trying to have my straight axle, '64 Valiant done before the summer is out.

I look forward to seeing the progress on this one.

 

Suspension and wheels.

OUT with the old





And in with the older? We won't be running these tires since they are old a hell. But this is the size we want. The rear wheels we are going to run are 15x8 or 15x9 steelies that I am going to make.



The car has been tubbed, and the springs moved inboard. But we were pleasantly surprised to find leaf springs, huge ladder bars, and chromed out bracketry for the rear suspension. The dana rearend has been narrowed too much to be able to run the wheels we want, so we are going to change it out for an 8 3/4 that is the factory width.

Also, whoever did the work made everything so it bolts it. Since the car is severely tubbed, we are going with a smaller tire, and the suspension bolts in... it shouldn't be too difficult to alter the wheelbase 2-3 inches.

 

I need those valve covers and nice score on the green line sw amp guage. I'll be watching this all come together since we're also building an awb '64. Too bad you guys are so far away, it would be cool to see them run together.

Maybe some day.

 

Ry Im glad you and Andy are working on the car and getting rid of its bracket racer days. You now I disagree with you on the intake and carbs but you know me. If it makes it go faster then do it.

 

Here is along the lines of what we are going for. Note the rear wheel location is altered about 2-3 inches. All they did was trim the wheel opening a little at the bottom.

 

Very cool looking...good luck with the build!

 

Killer! I love it and want to marry it. You guys are havin' ALL the fun!

 

James, a single carb and drag lite wheels go together like peas and carrots. I hate peas and carrots...

 

I have a set of A100 seats that would be perfect for that car !!

 

Funny, that's the color scheme we're sort of using. Sounds like you're aiming to build a 2%er. That's super period for a '64 since everything went nuts in '65 with factory mods of 15" in the rear and 10" up front.

 

By the way James... do those front wheels look familier?

 

Looks like fun!

 

Yea they do those are the best thing about the car!.... A cross ram would look bitchin on it

 

Hilborn stacks would look killer. If that extra large hole in the hood is an eye sore, you could always put a max wedge scoop over it. Many of the A/FX cars that changed over to injection just cut a hole in the scoop for the stacks. Good luck having it running for the meltdown.

 

Holly shit thats cool. I love 64 Dodges. Keep her goin, looks great. Gary

 

Ryan...keep doing like your doing.....keep to the budget.. so the car gets done and on the track...Winter is for intake swaps and other modifications....LOOKS GREAT!!

I love the Weiand log....if you want to go real fast, trade it for a tubbed camaro and open your Jegs catalog...you guys have nothing to prove...(as far as times or speed)

Keep it going Andy!! Winter is tweaking time...make the Meltdown bro!!!
Cannot wait to see it there...looks like this is the 2nd AWB Mopar making the MD..

 

What a bitchin car!!! I have a thing for mid 60's mopars, gotta love em! Can't wait to see that thing finished.

 

Having a stock, un-modified wheelbase is actually correct for A/FX in 1964-1966.
This will probably come as a big surprise to some, but........NHRA did not permit altering the wheelbase from o.e.m. specs in Factory Experimental.
Although Chrysler built the '65 a.w.b. cars with Factory Experimental in mind, NHRA never accepted the radically altered wheelbase cars in F/X!
1966 was the last year for the Factory Experimental category and the first year for 3 new classes for "Funny Cars" that did allow altered wheelbases. They were the Experimental Stock or X/S classes.
A/XS is a more correct classification for an a.w.b. car of the period.
So why does everyone call the a.w.b. cars A/FXers? Got me.
WF

P.S. The car looks killer! I also like the idea of covering the hole in the hood with A990 type scoop, with the injectors poking through the top of the scoop!

 

Ryan and "The Tool",
Fantastic work as usual.
Look forward to meeting up next month.

 

6 bbl bird is mostly correct but like earlier in this thread you could move the wheels 2% of the wheelbase and still be a legal a/fx car. Another reason you see a/fx on altered wheelbase cars is many racers modified the cars very quickly and didnt worry about the class designation on the car.

 

Gotta subscribe to this!I think thats my old Drag Star and timing cover!

 

HA HA HA

Looks much much better now that you guys removed those hokey-ass rebound bumpers that were in there.

Like I mentioned earlier, count your input shaft splines. If you need to change the trans over to run a later converter, I have all of the parts necessary.