Photos by: Dillon Hardinger of Restore a Muscle Car
It’s been probably twenty years since pro-street was at the peak of its popularity. From the monochromatic paint schemes, tubbed fender wells and huge blowers strapped to the top of an even more massive engine, pro-street was all about making your drag car as streetable as possible – or was it about making your street car as close to a drag car as possible?
We can’t remember, but either way, the novelty (and the genre as a whole) has largely disappeared from the hobby, as most pro-street cars were never really all that reliable or even drivable for that matter. Trying to nail down that perfect balance of reliable street manners and impressive quarter-mile times wasn’t an easy feat up to the late-90s, and with the pro-touring craze now reigning supreme in the aftermarket, many gearheads have since switched over.
But there’s always the occasional holdout, who not only wants to stick with something that he knows and loves, but insists on keeping it looking as fresh and relevant in a crowd that has largely moved on. As a result, you’ve had one of two things; concours restorations and pro-touring.
However, one individual wanted something just a little bit different, and our friends over at Restore a Muscle Car (RAMC) were just the folks for him to deliver what he wanted; one badass ’68 Charger R/T, with a completely stock exterior with the exception of just one component; a massive chrome blower sticking out of the hood! Actually, its a bit more involved than that, because the crew at RAMC completely overhauled the car from the ground up!
Starting with a .030 overbore 440 Big-Block Chrysler, the Mopar block has been stuffed full of hard-hitting hardware, including; connecting rods and a crankshaft from Eagle, Ross pistons, a custom Howards blower cam and a set of Edelbrock Performer RPM heads. The compression checks in at a boost-friendly 8.5:1 compression.
The reason for the low compression shouldn’t come to a surprise to anyone who sees the car, as that Summit Racing 3-hole scoop and Dyer’s 8-71 blower is forcing oxygen into the twin Quick Fuel 800 cfm carburetors, Dyer’s intake manifold, distributing all of it evenly to the combustion chambers that lie within. With all of that oxygen moving around in the intake tract, it only makes sense for the exhaust to match its performance. So they hooked the up Charger with a pair of Hedman Hedders long-tubes and a Magnaflow dual exhaust system. A custom engine harness, MSD ignition & billet distributor cover the engine’s electrical management system.
Sitting behind the blown big-block is a fortified 727 TorqueFlite transmission, built by California Performance, that sends the boosted power to the Dana 60 rearend out back – which in itself, was rebuilt and solidified by DTS. Obviously, the folks at RAMC know how to build a solid musclecar, and they left no stone unturned in this particular recipe.
Inside, you’ll find a very nice blend of vintage and modern; with all of the classic styling and trim pieces still in place, but with a modern twist – thanks to a high-quality leather interior and a Dakota Digital gauge cluster. Outside, the Mopar Ralleye wheels, vinyl top, twin bumblebee stripes and redline tires look just as they did when Dodge applied them some forty-seven years ago – it’s beautiful, and the overall execution lends itself to something you rarely see these days.
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of AutoCentric Media, the parent company to Timeless Muscle Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the magazine’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next round modifications for his own cars.
