The Mopar Muscle True Street Challenge

The story is a little different from years past; eight cars are selected and one leaves the victor. For safe measure, nine cars were selected this year, all of which were well executed. The most impressive element this go-around was the presence of drag radials. Last year our "street tires only" rule was taken to heart and many of our competitors were rolling on "standard-fare" street radials. For 2009 many elected to use sticky rubber. This made it one of our closest years ever as just a few points separated most of the cars.

If you're not familiar with the True Street Challenge, it's quite simple, really. We select eight cars--nine this year--to meet us out in Las Vegas for the Mopars at the Strip event (MATS) to be judged in select categories. On the first day of the competition, we assemble each of the drivers in our reserved location and look over their cars. Once we have them all there, we take out our pens and score them in four "show" categories: paint, trim, overall body fit and finish, and interior fit and finish.

After that, we take them out on the street to compile data for the "street" categories: interior appointments, functionality of all interior equipment, road manners, ride quality, and interior noise. To start things off we head over to a gas station and make our competitors fill up with pump gas. Then we bring the cars on a 22-mile cruise to make sure they are tame enough for street use. Finally, they have to make two hits at the track and we take their best elapsed time for scoring.

We had a few cars with power adders, and a handful with big cubes. All methods delivered excellent numbers at The Strip. The scores were so close that our top cars were all within a couple points. When the smoke cleared though, it was Rocky Audenried who nosed ahead with his 10-second '67 Dart to take the gold. His Dart ran the quickest time and offered some of the best on-road manners we have ever experienced in a true 10-second street car.

When we selected Rocky's car, we never imagined it would be so tame. From the photos and description, we pictured a total bruiser with movie star good looks. It wasn't until the ride along that we discovered the car was exceptional. Rocky ran a Supercharger Store/ProCharged 408 set up with electric cutouts. When it wasn't unleashed through the open pipes, it was breathing through a pair of Dynomax mufflers. This made the A-Body quite pleasant to drive and was compounded by a well-matched suspension. This was all it took to send this Dart all the way to the top. Its paint and body were spot-on, and he made the only 10-second pass of the bunch.

The Dart features Wilwood disc brakes on all four corners, Bilstein shocks, and power steering. Out back is an 8-inch rearend filled with 3.55 gears and a Sure-Grip. These components work together to make the driving and riding experience very enjoyable. The right foot controls a forged 408 small-block with a D1SC ProCharger and 9.20:1 compression. The rotating assembly consists of Eagle I-beam rods, coated JE pistons, and a 4-inch stroke Mopar crankshaft. Spinning inside is a hydraulic roller Comp camshaft rated at .523/.523-inch lift and 236/238-degrees duration. Sitting on top are aluminum Edelbrock RPM heads mated to port-matched tti headers and a ported Edelbrock Victor intake manifold with Demon carburetors. The engine is backed by a Trans Craft automatic transmission with a 3200-stall Yank converter.

Mike Sowders pulled up in his '68 Barracuda and blinded us with his bright gold paint, and once we hit the streets, we found what this car was made for: cruising. It's one of those cars you could stay in all day long and just drive. Mike explained a few of the trick features in the 'Cuda while we hopped in for a quick ride-along. The interior was plush with all the creature comforts you could hope for in such a nice car--ice-cold AC, a DVD player, and full audio upgrades.

Under the hood is a re-sleeved small-block that has been expanded to 406 cubic inches. A Hughes Engines stroker kit was installed with 4.02-inch pistons, steel rods, and a billet 4-inch stroke crankshaft. A Hughes hydraulic roller camshaft with .484-inch lift controls the valves while ported aluminum Edelbrock RPM heads sit on time. Hughes 1.5 roller rockers and Edelbrock springs make up the remaining valvetrain. Air and fuel are delivered through a Weiand intake manifold and a Proform carburetor with a 210hp shot of nitrous. The nitrous-injected 406 exhales through a pair of stepped 1 5/8-inch tti headers with a 2-inch X-pipe and Flowmaster Super 44 mufflers.

Mike Johnston has owned this Road Runner for about four years, and in that time he took two and a half years to restore it to the condition you see now. The external appearance of the B-Body was one of our top scorers, and the same attention was reflected on the interior. The only gauges that were added were an oil and water temp gauge. Aside from this, it was showroom stock and restored with parts from YearOne.

While Mike's car was the least modified of the group, he was still posting up some respectable numbers with a best pass of 13.38 at 108.2 mph. This can be attributed to the massive 295/60-15 Hoosiers out back. Powering the Plymouth is a rebuilt 440 bored .030-inch over with all Mopar internals. A healthy .540-inch lift Comp cam actuates the valves in the aluminum Edelbrock heads. Sitting on top is a Six-Pack intake manifold with Holley carburetors. The exhaust is sent through 2-inch primary Hooker headers with 3-inch collectors. These channel the fumes through 2-inch Spintech mufflers. The driveline consists of a Hurst-shifted four-speed rebuilt by Lynch Road in Detroit and a Sure-Grip Dana 60 with 4.10 gears.

As we fanned through this year's submissions, we stopped on this one for quite some time. Sil Brander's '59 Belvedere isn't something you see every day at Mopar events. What's more, this one is heavily modified. Sil went straight to overkill with a 538-cube monster that propels this classic into the 11s.

Inside the big-block are JE pistons, Eagle rods, and a 4.125-inch stroke Mopar crankshaft. Compression comes out to 11:1, and with the aluminum Mopar Stage VI cylinder heads pump gas driving is possible. The heads have been fully ported and polished. A massive-.750-inch lift roller Comp camshaft rounds off the engine and gives the Plymouth a mean idle. Air and fuel are channeled through a Mopar Max Wedge intake manifold and a large 950cfm Holley carburetor. Sitting behind the large engine is a TorqueFlite rebuilt by Quality Transmission in San Jacinto, California, with a Gear Vendors overdrive.

When Steve Morrison and his wife were thinking about getting a muscle car, they chose the Charger for its looks, size, and because it wasn't another run-of-the-mill muscle car. Let's face it, who isn't sick of seeing Novas everywhere? Well, Steve began his buildup the first day he brought it home in the mid-'90s, and just "finished" it in 2007. The 540-inch big-block produces 622 hp and 671 lb/ft of torque, more than enough oomph. A lively Quasar Blue was chosen to set the car apart.

Indy Cylinder Head started with a Chrysler Mega block. Rotating inside are 4.380-inch Ross pistons, Crower rods, and a 4.50-inch Crower stroker crankshaft. The cam selected was a hydraulic roller designed by Indy with .546-inch lift. Aluminum Indy heads are bolted on top, supported by an Indy intake with provisions for fuel injectors and a throttle body. Fuel is delivered with an Accel DFI unit and a full tti system handles the exhaust. Backing the big-block is a TorqueFlite rebuilt by Hughes in Phoenix. Adjustable QA1 shocks allow Steve to make changes to the setup to accommodate changing track conditions and rewarded him with a best pass of 11.79 at 113 mph.

Sergio Leoni drove past this 'Cuda in Wilmington, California, when he was working for a delivery company. It was just sitting in the driveway and never moved. One day he saw a man watering the lawn at the house so he pulled in to ask him if he was interested in selling the car. Sure enough, he was and after a little negotiating, Sergio took the car home. It was in excellent shape with very little damage, and was painted in a light blue. When he got around to restoring the car, he decided to go with a white-on-white color scheme because he felt it would stand out.

L&R Machine Shop in Santa Fe Springs, California, tore into the 440 and filled it with some of the best parts money can buy. The 10.7:1 compression pistons were sourced from Keith Black, the rods come from SCAT, and are fastened to a stock Chrysler crankshaft. Air finds its way into a Quick Fuel 850 carburetor, and the mixture is channeled through a Mopar M1 intake manifold into aluminum Hughes Stage II Edelbrock heads. An MSD ignition system ignites the charge, and it's forced out through Hooker Super Comp headers and into Flowmaster mufflers. The brain behind the operation is a massive Hughes .540-inch lift cam with 276/280-degrees of duration. With more time behind the wheel, Sergio will be flying in no time.

Believe it or not, a man who needed to make room in his garage gave this car to Mike Jubinski. Mike felt he should build a killer car out of it, but once he saw that it was too nice to hack up for a full-on drag car, the direction of the project changed. He ended up building one outstanding street car to drive, show, and race.

It was sprayed down in Viper white by D-Man in Bakersfield, California, and a large Hemi scoop was added along with Glasstek fiberglass bumpers. Front Wilwood binders slow the A-Body, and the rear springs were moved inboard 3-inches with Competition Engineering shocks. Mike has no trouble fitting the mammoth 315/60R15 Mickey Thompson drag radials now. He rebuilt the engine himself and replaced the rotating assembly with SRP pistons, Eagle rods, and a stock crankshaft. The Crane camshaft was ground to .560/.540-inch lift and 248/258-degrees duration. A Weiand Six-Pack intake manifold with Holley carburetors is bolted to aluminum Edelbrock RPM heads. The exhaust is sent through Herb McCandless-sourced headers and then into Flowmaster series 44 mufflers. The combination was good for mid 11s with a best pass of 11.68 at 114 mph.

Chuy Rayes found this Bee sitting behind a house and took it home for only $500. It wasn't in the condition you see it now, as it was a rusted out shell. His wife and friends thought he was crazy. With the assistance of his good friend, Enrique Sotelo, they built the car from the ground up.

The car was one of the smoothest in our competition with its shaved door handles and 18-inch wheels. We learned from last year's winner, Dave Mitton, to never judge a book by its cover. With forged internals from Diamond, a custom cam, and a Supercharger Store/ProCharger with water injection, the 440 punishes the rear tires with 510 horses. Chuy was more than happy to demonstrate the potential of his combination and sent the car into the mid 12s with enough mph to go 11s. Impressive, especially considering that this was done on massive 18-inch wheels.

Mark Shoopman purchased this '69 R/T last October to hold him over as his '71 Charger race car was in the shop getting repaired. It was an offer he couldn't refuse and he now has two killer Mopars to play with. He doesn't know too much about the car but knows that a 500 cubic inch big-block with an Indy top end powers the B-Body into the low 12s. That works for us. He has plans to install AC, an overdrive transmission, and paint it in the opposite scheme of his race car.