We at Mopar Muscle have saturated the magazine and our website with coverage of the world's biggest all-Mopar car show/swap meet/event, the Mopar Nationals. You would think that we've shown you everything we could about the massive three-day weekend event, but you'd be dead wrong! One of the staples to Mopar Muscle's coverage of the Nats experience is the Young Guns coverage. This year was a tight squeeze, as we struggled to gather all of our youthful enthusiasts in one area at the same time. Many appear with their cars, but aren't in the group photo while others were so busy participating in the races or on the concourse, that they stood in for the group picture and had to run off. We were lucky enough to hunt down as many as would stand by as we interviewed them and shot their cars, and for that, we wanted to thank each one individually for their patience, interest in classic Mopars, and their enthusiasm in wanting to participate in this year's Mopar Muscle Young Guns competition.
Who: Kevin Thomas, 22
Where: Waverly, IN
What: '99 Dodge Neon R/T
Fine Print: Kevin found this little blue pill in pretty rough shape. With a grocery list of alterations and slight changes, Kevin sought out to restore the Le Mans blue and white stripped Neon R/T back to the factory performance stock shape. Since the introduction of the Neon in the mid-90s, the R/T label has been debated as being totally appropriate. But, with the introduction of the turbo SRT-4 at the turn of the century, nobody can argue that Dodge's little commuter car has the potential to knock out some serious competition while still bringing home superior gas mileage and drivability.
Who: JR Shaner, 24
Where: West Sunbury, PA
What: '82 Plymouth Arrow
Fine Print: This little truck is something to talk about. JR had the 318 under the hood bored .030-inch over, while the 727 TorqueFlite transmission got a 4,000-stall converter and a transbrake, securing hard, brake-neck launches. An 8 3/4 rear sits underneath a custom fabricated aluminum bed and a hand-made fuel cell. Knowing that his Plymouth was gonna be going as hard as it could, he bolted in a 5-point harness to keep him in place. A 4 3/4-inch cowl hood allows all the cold air in from outside and finished the whole build with a wild coat of Indy Green House of Colors paint.
Who: Chris Wing, 18
Where: Lexington KY
What: '73 Plymouth Road Runner
Fine Print: With a 383 big block, an Edelbrock AVS carb, Hedman Headers, a .600-lift cam, new rocker arms, heads, and Torker intake, it's an easy sell to understand how Chris could have one of the coolest cars at his High School. Painted in his parent's garage, this '73 boast 4.10 gears in an 8 3/4 rear, all new wiring, and pump-gas friendly 10:1 compression. Chris installed a custom interior with diamond patterned tuck and roll seats, new carpet, and center console. Even Chris rebuilt the brakes, which need every bit of bite to slow down this beastly B-Body has he tears down the streets.
Who: DeWayne Swing, 24
Where: Shelbyville, TN
What: '73 Plymouth Duster
Fine Print: DeWayne has himself something that will never be mistaken for a sleeper. Anytime you have a tunnel ram showing off your dual four-barrel Edelbrocks out of a blacked out hood, you're basically asking for it. This Duster has been mini-tubbed and loaded up with a professional race-grade fuel cell. A four-speed A-833 transmission with Pistol Grip shifters shows how serious he is to any naysayers. Flowtech headers and Flowmaster exhaust tunnels the gases away from the engine, while the interior got all new cloth covers and carpet. Being teal paint two-toned with black gave this '73 a unique look while the sound is all Mopar.
Who: Rodney Knight, Jr., 20
Where: New Middletown, OH
What: '73 Plymouth Duster
Fine Print: OK, we might have a healthy population of A-Bodies in our line up, but it's easy to see that one and all are not the same. Rodney's rod boasts a 440 bored out .030-inch over with a Mopar M-1 intake and a Holley 800 double pumper. His 727 auto cranks through its gears with a manual valve body. A stout Dana 60 with 3.73 gears boils the BFG drag radials on the classic American Torque Thrust D's. An AAR fiberglass hood with a Six Pack scoop and Plum Crazy purple paint make this Plymouth all Mopar. Rodney handled all the hard work and labor save the paint and body work as he wanted the body as tight as his ride.
Who: Nicole Tomas, 25
Where: Wonder Lake, IL
What: '98 Dodge Dakota Sport
Fine Print: Nicole has got a rare bird on her hands. Hers was mistakenly sent from the factory floor with a 3.9L V6 with a rough and tumble set of 3.92 towing gears out of a Dakota R/T. With that, she decided to build something stout out of the little V6. Wrapped with Xenon ground effects a Stillen bumper, flame suede interior door panels, a glow-in-the-dark dash, flame tail lamps, chrome traction bars, chromed R/T rims, an under-body neon kit, strobe lights, blue and purple LED lights, billet oil and power steering pump caps, and chromed dipsticks. Not only that, but Nicole has a Cookie Monster themed mural on her headlight and seat covers. Talk about being one of a kind...