The resulting color combination reminded a lot of people of a favorite frozen treat. "I laugh when everybody tells me that I should have a Creamsicle logo put on the side of it," Tim says. "I say, 'Well, I've been thinking of that-calling it the Creamsicle!' "
Orange and white are also the colors covering the stock bench seats and the door panels-joined by tan carpeting on the floors, lower door panels, and in the cargo area. "I had that done by Gruber's Upholstery in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania," Tim notes.
The result is a '64 Dodge 440 wagon that excels at both kinds of hauling, especially on the quarter-mile Maple Grove Raceway strip, where Tim opened it up. "We ran the car there just to see what it would do the way it sits-we didn't do anything to it," Jim says. "We turned a 12.70 with it at 105 mph." How about the more routine kind of hauling such as groceries, etc.? Tim says, "Oh yes! That's what I put it together for, and to have fun with it."
So you see, dear Dodge devotees and Plymouth people, you can build a four-door early B-Body to look and run great, just like you can with the two-door ones. Plus, with the wagon body style, your family and friends can get in and out easier .and you can haul groceries home in it as easily as you can haul you-know-what on the strip.
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Fast Facts
'64 Dodge 440 Station Wagon
Owned by: Tim Simpson, Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Mopar Power
- Engine: A Max Wedge-ified 440, wearing the classic "Ramcharger" cross-ram 2x4 intake between a set of aluminum heads. Carburetion is a pair of Carter four-barrels with correct Max Wedge linkage. This RB also has an aluminum radiator and an MSD ignition with a 6,000-rpm rev limiter.
- Transmission: Rebuilt 727 with a 1,500 stall converter and original dash-mounted pushbutton/cable shift linkage.
- Rearend: 3.90-geared 8¾ rearend is stout enough for the 440-powered 440.
Sure Grip
- Suspension: OEM-style front torsion bars are joined by Mopar Super Stock rear leaf springs, moved inboard for tire clearance.
- Brakes: Updated system has dual-circuit master cylinder, SSBC front discs, OEM Mopar 11-inch rear drums, and is power assisted.
- Wheels: Period-correct Cragar S/S five-spokes.
High Impact
- Body: Original '64 B-Body station wagon unibody wears correct Dodge 440 trim, plus a correct-for-'64 chrome roof rack. Owner Tim Simpson, helped by his son and one of his Simpson's Body Shop craftsmen, did the bodywork himself.
- Paint: A combination of Mazda Orange and Toyota Pearl White, sprayed on at Simpson's Body Shop, Lebanon, Pennsylvania
- Interior: Gruber's Upholstery in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, went with the orange/white "Creamsicle" theme with vinyl matching the exterior colors on the original bench seats and the upper door panels. Tan carpeting covers the rear cargo area, rear sear back, and the bottom of each door panel. Also inside: a Grant GT steering wheel, tachometer, OEM pushbutton AM radio, and Vintage Air AC system.