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Dynotek's Portable Chassis Dyno - The Truth The Whole Truth, And Nothing But...Using Steve Pilic's Dynotek Portable Chassis Dyno, Real-World Performance Numbers Showed Up At Carlisle's All-Chryslers Nationals From the December, 2001 issue of Mopar Muscle By Randy Bolig Photography by Bolig, Stunkard
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We all hear stories about how powerful a car is, but until you see it as a fact, it's still just bench racing. Being able to prove your car's true real-world horsepower is like having a lottery ticket; the numbers are there in black and white. With the great weather at this year's Carlisle All-Chryslers Nationals, Steve Pilic and the crew from Dynotek had the rollers blazing most of the weekend. We had Dale Mathews' Road Runner up on the machine several times, but more than 60 people let Steve spin their engines to maximum performance levels to garner provable bragging rights. It takes a person with strong confidence in the car he's built to allow a stranger to back it up a steep ramp, strap it down, then wind it until it screams for mercy in front of a crowd. We didn't get to see them all, but here's a sampling of what these street cars could do.  Allen Oberchain '64 Polara...  Allen Oberchain
'64 Polara (432 hp)
The Big Kahuna for 2001. Allen Oberchain from Manheim, Pennsylvania, was the big dog this year in his '64 Polara 500. Allen has owned this car for nine years and it uses a .060-over 440 with a dual four-barrel setup and automatic transmission. The numbers at the back tires were a spectacular 432 hp at 5,900 rpm and 504 lbs-ft at 4,000 rpm. This thing kicks butt!  Mark Abate '70 Duster (425...  Mark Abate
'70 Duster (425 hp)
Leading the A-Bomb attack for 2001 was Mark Abate's yellow '70 Duster. Mark hails from Deer Park, New York, and has owned this ride for 10 years. The engine is a .040-over 340/four-speed combo built by Mark and produced 425 hp at 6,400 rpm with 377 lbs-ft at 5,300 rpm. We have to sum it up in one word: atomic!  Steve Menegon '89 Lebaron...  Steve Menegon
'89 Lebaron (317 hp)
Impressive? Who says half the cylinders aren't fun? Keystone State resident Steve Menegon stepped up to the plate with his '89 Chrysler Lebaron GTC and wowed the V8-partial crowd with a whopping 317 hp at 5,000 rpm and 358 lbs-ft at 4,500 rpm (for comparison, that's more than a factory-rated '71 440 Road Runner). Steve has owned his car since new and uses a 2.2 with a five-speed tranny. Banzai!!  Darin Buckles '71 'Cuda (420...  Darin Buckles
'71 'Cuda (420 hp)
Probably the wildest-looking ride to hit the Dynotek rollers was Darin Buckles' '71 blown 'Cuda. Darin hauled his 'Cuda from Desoto, Missouri, and the supercharged beast drew a large crowd. Darin's car uses a 6-71 BDS supercharger on a 440 with twin 1050 Holley carbs hooked to a 727 auto. When the last pull was over, the Plymouth had produced 420 hp at 6,700 rpm and 483 lbs-ft at 4,200 rpm. The Show Me State, indeed.  Don Graham '63 Plymouth (361...  Don Graham
'63 Plymouth (361 hp)
Don Graham, of Butler, Pennsylvania, strapped his retina-frying green '63 Plymouth to the dyno and cranked out a very respectable 361 hp at 6,000 and 440 lbs-ft at 3,700. Don has owned the car for four years and restored it himself. The big Fury uses a 440/727 TorqueFlite combination to produce those numbers; no question, the state troopers know when he drives by.  Greg Luhowiak '67 Coronet...  Greg Luhowiak
'67 Coronet (379 hp)
Pittsburgh's Greg Luhowiak brought his 46,000-original mile '67 Coronet Deluxe out to play-and play he did. The warmed-up .060-over 440 with MP aluminum heads, a Weiand single-plane intake, and an 850 Holley produced a very respectable 379 hp at 6,200 rpm and 392 lbs-ft at 6,100 rpm at the back wheels. Move over, Louis Armstrong....  Dennis Probst '68 Dart (324...  Dennis Probst
'68 Dart (324 hp)
Dennis Probst and his red '68 Dart GTS traveled from Deptford, New Jersey. Dennis has owned this car since high school and the body has more than 100,000 miles showing. The .030-over 340 sports 11.0:1 pistons, "massaged" 340 heads, and an Edelbrock Victor Jr. with a Holley carb. On the rollers, the small-block posted 324 hp at 6,800 rpm and 360 lbs-ft at 4,100 rpm. The Scat Pack is back.  Shawn Kaufman '99 Dakota...  Shawn Kaufman
'99 Dakota (273 hp)
Shawn Kaufman of East Meadow, New York, put his '99 Dakota R/T on the Dynotek machine. With the 360 Magnum engine sporting Magnum R/T heads, a 52mm throttle body and Mopar Performance 1.6 ratio rocker arms, he spun the dyno up to 273 hp at 5,100 rpm and 306 lbs-ft of torque at 4,200 rpm. That's haulin'!  Tony Milazzo '63 Sport Fury...  Tony Milazzo
'63 Sport Fury (275 hp)
Tony Milazzo brought his jet-black '63 Sport Fury from Readsboro, Vermont, and blasted away to a 275 hp at 4,000 rpm and 399 lbs-ft at 3,300 rpm at the rear tires. He has owned his Fury for seven years and restored it himself. The car is powered by a 440 coupled to a four-speed. Definitely one of the fast and the Fury-ous.  Richard Hauk '69 Dart (375...  Richard Hauk
'69 Dart (375 hp)
Just because Richard Hauk of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, is the used car sales manager of a Ford dealership doesn't make him a bad person. In fact, he brought his '69 Dart Swinger to the challenge complete with a Ray Barton-built W2 360 engine and auto trans. The dyno gauges spun to the tune of 375 hp at 5,200 rpm and 464 lbs-ft at 5,200 rpm, despite the fact that the rear numbers were hurt by a slipping torque converter. 5.0 posers, beware!  Dennis Hook '67 Barracuda...  Dennis Hook
'67 Barracuda (324 hp)
Hailing from New York, Dennis Hook and Karen Wood (of Syracuse and Buffalo, respectively) brought their red '67 Barracuda to the show and took the challenge. They have owned the car for a year and did all the work themselves except the engine. That beast, a moderately worked 383 coupled to an automatic made 290 lbs-ft at 4,500 rpm and 324 hp at 6,500 rpm, which had this fish swimming in deep water.  Holley Road Runner 387 hp...  Holley Road Runner
387 hp with A/C on!
John Balow and the guys at Holley Performance brought out the last big Mopar Muscle project car for a requisite showing. As you may remember, the Indy-built engine in the Plymouth made an impressive 577 hp at 4,900 rpm and tractor-trailer-type torque at 700 lbs-ft at 3,800 rpm. Realizing a substantial loss would occur through the torque converter, driveshaft, and differential, John had the Holley Road Runner strapped down and let her fly. The best pull netted a 392 hp at 4,500 and 507 lbs-ft at 3,700. Next up was a pull to see how much the car lost with the Vintage Air air conditioner turned on. It lost only 5 hp and 21 lbs-ft of torque. Not bad for a tire fryer that can ride in comfort, huh?   Kas McManus '73 Challenger...  Kas McManus
'73 Challenger (371 hp)
If you're a frequent reader, you'll probably recognize Kas McManus' '73 Challenger from last December's cover. (A) Last year, Kas made an impressive 294 hp at 6,300 rpm and 322 lbs-ft at 3,250 rpm, using a .030-over 340 with 11.0:1 pistons, an Ultradyne mechanical cam, mildly ported heads, and an 850 Holley carb atop a Victor 340 intake and a 2-inch exhaust. (B) This year, Kas had a little more meat on the plate. He started with a pair of Edelbrock aluminum heads prepped by Indy Cylinder Heads, a ported Victor intake, and an AED-prepped 850 double-pumper carb. As if that wasn't enough, he also added a NOS cheater system and 3-inch exhaust. Without the spray, he turned in a solid 318 hp at 6,800 rpm and 310 lbs-ft at 6,800 rpm. With the spray turned on, the Dodge screamed to a big 371 hp at 6,100 rpm and 348 lbs-ft at 6,000 rpm and should get even more with increased jetting. All in all, one radical street machine.  
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