History Ramchargers/Chrysler History

I'm the last active member of the trio that started the Ramchargers while eating our lunch in the Chrysler cafeteria in Highland Park. I'm in my eighties, so I won't be around much longer. So, if you know of Mopar enthusiasts in the Orlando area, I would appreciate that you advise them that I'm available as a speaker.

In addition, I'd like to answer questions here. For instance, have you ever wondered why the Ramchargers C/A had cones at the ends of the exhaust pipes? Have you wondered where Jack Benny's Maxwell was produced? Why were Ford six cylinder engines installed in Mopars? Did Chrysler ever make a radial engine? Why were some of the dyno operators so frightened when they tested engines with fuel injection stacks? How did Highland Park Chrysler engineers test cars when the proving ground was so far away? Why was the displacement limit for stock-based engines at Indianapolis changed? Like the guy with the ukulele sang in "Mixed Nuts," there are "so many questions."

 

Change URL to http://www.shopeshop.org/

 

I would like to know why a Ford engine was used.

 

Thanks for sharing this info and history. Too much good stuff is going by the wayside as pioneers are aging and taking info with them......

 

I know there were Ford v8 -60 motors with Ardun heads used in Brazillion Mopars, I would like to know more about that. I would also like to hear your version of how the Chrysler 300 came to be. I'm sure I have a lot more questions.

 

Found some old pictures of my 55 Chrysler engine

 

Be sure to post if you are talking in the Orlando area that's open to the public. I'm not too far away. And I remember you guys. I, too, am in my 80s.

 

Very happy to have you here. History from those who created it is the HAMB's most valuable asset. And, a warm ''thank you'' for the intro !

 

I believe I can answer your question about Indy car's displacement being changed. It was because of the test speeds turned with the early Hilborn Injected Hemi you guys built to race there.

 

Great post and replies, hope to hear more!

 

You probably don't remember me, but I used to hang out and watch you guys make magic with Candymatic and the other Ramchargers stuff. I was just a kid then, but VERY IMPRESSED!

 

This is gonna be good!

 

I'm in. Love the history

 

When the slant six was initially mentioned, there were management n0n-engineer people who became very concerned, even when the 45 degree banks of the V8 were pointed out. To prove that there would be no problems, it was necessary to install a Ford ohv six in a Plymouth at the proposed slant six angle. Incidentally, the "slant" was necessary to move the water pump back and shorten the engine.

 

That's news to me. Thanks. Always ready to learn more. The Chrysler 300 was a publicity gimmick, of course. It was very tame compared to the Dodge D501, but, of course, there were very few of those. Used to watch Arnie Beswick run his D501 at Cordova. Back then, there were few rodders who really understood gearing. Beswick, with his factory backing, had a car that would wind out in first almost within spitting distance. With regard to the 300, Vicki Wood was the "Detroit housewife" who drove the 300 on the sand at Daytona. (Betty Skelton was the GM equivalent, but Betty was openly a GM employee and, in addition, was very pretty.) It was suspected that some GM engineers got to Vicki with money, explaining why she over-revved the engine when she "couldn't see the tachometer."

 

You got it! There were a couple of guys spotted way up in the stands as the DeSoto engined cars were testing. They reportedly told the Indy management, "If those guys run, we don't."

 

I'm very anxious to talk, but have not had the opportunity. When I was lecturing at UCF, I'd occasionally talk for 3 hours without a break.

 

Anxious to hear your stories. I worked the starting line at Detroit Dragway...opening the gates for the best drag racers in the country. I worked for the old woman herself(Gil Kohn's mom paid us each night) but mostly for Dave Landry as his wife, my math teacher, got us the jobs. Loved seeing those Mopars wind up down the track.

 

Billy, we're soaking this up as quickly as possible ! When time permits, can you tell us a bit about Ronny Householder, a racer I first read about in a Schwinn history book - he drove the midget race car breaking wind for the 100 + MPH speed record on a bicycle, & put in some time at Indy later. Later, via the HAMB, learned he went to Chrysler & the Ramchargers.
I'm sure I'm not the only HAMBer hoping you have some pictures of the personal cars you & other members drove.

 

yep-best history book i've seen in some time-!!!this man is a jewel....

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hqcg3vmsmqpk08i/BarnesManifold.jpg?dl=0
If I'm lucky, a click on the above will take you to a picture of the E/G engine campaigned by Barnes Daniels. Again, he was one of that original trio. It was the smallest poly made in '57. If it hadn't been for the '53 Dodge of Hermann Mozer (don't have a picture of that engine), Barnes would have held the records for E/G. Barnes' '57 Plymouth had a continental kit filled with concrete. Those side draught Carters cost somewhere around $30 each back in the fifties. I used one as a secondary carburetor in a Vauxhall. Of course, some idiots said he was running Webbers. Wish Carter still made them.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lhcn7z2za1eg8y6/MY_CARS.JPG?dl=0
I promise, there'll be no more of my stuff after this. These are the cars I had when I retired to Florida. They're all gone now. The Sprite had a Toyota engine and Pinto steering and front end (which was almost a "bolt-in"). I've been "on my head" in the sprint car, which, I suppose, is pretty typical.

 

Were you at the Charlotte Auto Fair several years ago? I talked with someone that said they were an original Ramcharger at Auto Fair.

 

I went back to graduate school for a couple more years shortly after the '59 Nationals, so, except for some letters from Barnes, I don't know a lot about the Ramchargers after those early years. The Householder name is, of course, quite familiar.

 

Don't intend to belittle anyone claiming to be "original." I would simply say that it's difficult to be any more original than to be among those who birthed the idea of a club venture. This is all pretty silly. It's nice to say that I was among the original three, but the important matter is to be able to join in with all the club experiences.

 

I was just asking if by chance I spoke with you.

 

Probably not. I don't travel well and stay pretty close to Orlando.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/abstos1pyvpqaxb/HooverEngine.jpg?dl=0
A click on the above should give you a picture of Tom Hoover's C/GA 392 hemi sitting in the engine bay of the '57 Plymouth convertible which held the records for C/GA. It turned out that the intake runners had 8 different lengths. This probably improved the "streetability" of the engine and was of extreme interest to the engineers at Highland Park Engineering. As a result, he was invited to bring the car "inside the gates" so others could drive and evaluate it. Remember: Tom was just a kid at the time.