Orange Crush
Hailing from West Warwick, Rhode Island, were Scott and Wendy Dickinson and their understated-looking '73 Challenger. At first glance, Scott's Challenger looked like the epitome of a "sleeper," but once he opened the hood that thought was quickly removed from our minds.
Fourteen years ago, Scott was looking for a Barracuda, but he found this car sitting along the side of the road and decided that it would fill his needs just fine. Since Scott owns SD Concepts Engineering, it's no wonder the car runs like it does.
Under the hood is a very large ATI supercharger mounted on the usually overlooked 383. That's right, we said a 383. Scott's philosophy is the 383 is as good as any other Mopar engine, and we think he proves his point very well. this car has been running 8-second quarter-mile times for seven years now on the same engine and blower. Scott tells us that, on average, he and Wendy put 1,000 to 1,500 miles on it driving it on the street.
What Makes It Go
Engine
Block: Filled 383 with reverse cooling, custom oil mods, and stock main caps with SDCE custom "splayed-gussets"
Crankshaft: stock steelRods: Eagle steel I-beams 6.8-inches
Pistons: SDCE designed; built by Diamond Racing Pistons
Cam: .600-inch lift;custom Isky solid roller
Heads: aluminum Indy Cylinder Head SR (prepped by SDCE)
Induction: Custom SDCE sheetmetal with adjustable runners; Accell Gen VII EFI
Exhaust: SDCE custom-built headers with 2 1/2 step with 5-inch collectors into 5-inch oval pipes and Spin Tech mufflers
Transmission
Art Carr built 4L80E
Torque converter: CP Transmissions 9-inch
Shifter: Hurst ProMatic II
Valvebody: Manual shift
Suspension
Rear: Ford 9-inch with spool and custom built four-link
Gears: 4.30
Front: SDCE custom-built crossmember and HAL coilover shocks; Flaming River rack-and-pinion steering; Wilwood brakes
Car weight: 3,525
*Best Pass
Launch rpm: 3,50060-foot: 1.32
Shift point: 6,700
Eighth-mile: 5.92 at 120
Quarter-mile: 9.00 at 151.6*Second gear went out
And the Screamin' Mimi award...
And the Screamin' Mimi award goes to Scott Dickinson and his '73 Challenger.
The interior of Scott's car...
The interior of Scott's car looked a lot racier than the other two cars in our shootout, but with the speeds and times he's running, it's all needed.
Scott was definitely willing...
Scott was definitely willing to run the snot out of his Challenger, but the car started to slow down when the transmission went away but he kept running.
When it came to powerplants,...
When it came to powerplants, Scott Dickinson brought a monster. Scott owns SD Concept Engineering, and his 383 represented the guys well.