MOPAR SUNDAY
ALL FACETS OF THE CHRYSLER FAITHFUL UNITE TO SACRIFICE RUBBER AND CELEBRATE THE BLESSING THAT IS MOPAR SUNDAY
Mopar tragics head to Willowbank Raceway for a day filled with Hemis and horsepower
THANKFULLY the Mopar Gods pulled rank and turned on a beautiful Queensland winter’s day for Mopar Sunday 2016 at Willowbank Raceway. After last year’s double rain-out, there was an understandably tentative build-up to this year’s event for organiser Sam Tatton and his crew, but they had the backing of a very close-knit Chrysler community, who turned out in droves to help make it a cracker of a day.
The Mopar Sunday philosophy is simple: All cars must be Mopar-based in body and/or soul. It means you’re always treated to a broad spectrum of the Pentastar product range at the event. This year, vintage, classic and modern Mopars from Aussie and American backgrounds mixed with a sprinkling of Japanese and Euro derivatives, and some chose to repower traditional bodystyles with brand-x powerplants, or upgrade non-chrysler rides with Mopar hearts. There were street cars, four-wheel drives and dedicated drag cars – even a Chrysler 300 limo – running as quick or as slow as they damn well pleased, with DYO classes the flavour of the day. Backing the racing up, a healthy show ’n’ shine, dyno competition and swap meet stalls meant there was something to appeal to everyone.
The Chrysler Hemi V8 has long been the basis for many highend professional drag combos, which makes Mopar Sunday the ideal event to enjoy exhibition runs from cars usually reserved for Group 1 meets. Perth’s Anthony Begley was at the helm of the Bailey Brothers’ new Nitro Funny Car, Chemical Warfare. It may resemble a Chevy Monte Carlo, but that red flopper top houses a Psi-blown 498-cube Hemi cranking out close to 10,000hp.
“It’s a brand new car and combo, so we’re trying to get it Nhralicensed before we send it to the US later this year,” Anthony said. “I shut it down at the 800ft mark and rolled through showing a 4.39 at 1000ft with a full-quarter pass of 5.37@211mph, so we’re heading in the right direction. A full-power pass will easily net us in the fours.” An appreciative crowd cheered Anthony and
SOME CHOSE TO REPOWER TRADITIONAL BODYSTYLES WITH BRAND-X POWERPLANTS, OR UPGRADE NON-CHRYSLER RIDES WITH MOPAR HEARTS
the team on as they enjoyed a sensory experience that little else can match.
Another fresh build is the ’78 Chrysler-plated Sigma of Brett Roberts. Brett and his crew towed up from Sydney for his first-ever track time at Willowbank and netted a 9.58@142mph with a 125hp shot of gas, and a naturally aspirated 10.00@133mph.
Brett has an Aussie Charger and quite a collection of Yankee Mopar muscle to his credit, but looked at different options when deciding to build a dedicated strip car. “I wanted something compact but it had to have steel bumpers,” he said. “There’s plenty of Centuras doing the rounds, so I went for a Sigma instead.
“The current engine is a fairly simple set-up based around a 318 block and is really no more than a tough street combo. It has a fourinch stroker crank that stretches it to 390 cubes, and uses ported Edelbrock alloy heads topped with an Edelbrock Victor intake and BG Demon 825 carb, with a fairly basic Crower flat-tappet cam. It’s pretty much a test engine to prepare the car for a Procharged 426 small-block I have ready to go. The chassis set-up works really well, it gets the power down smoothly and runs very consistent at different tracks, so we’ll up the ante with the blown motor after the Heathcote Mopar Nationals later this year.” A 904 Torqueflite and 3.5-geared Dodge 8.75-inch diff round out the all-chrysler driveline, with Brett’s sights set firmly on running good numbers in the 275 radial class.
Local racer Vince Livaditis had his gorgeous black VG hardtop out for some track time and powered on for an 11.33@117mph best. “I bought it three years ago sight unseen – big mistake – with a Hemi 265 and 904 auto,” he explained. “It was full of rust, so I had the body and paint repaired then figured it was time to step it up performance-wise.”
A Proformance Unlimited 408 stroker small-block crate motor was shipped in from the States and matched to a Brinks Performance 904 Torqueflite, while a Detroit Locker nine-inch running 3.55 gears rounds out the driveline. “I raced go-karts for years so drag racing is still fairly new to me, but I’m more than happy with the coupe and how it drives,” Vince said. “It’s the perfect all-rounder; its consistent at the track but very streetable if I want to take my better half, Vicky, out to a car show or weekend coffee run.”
With the morning qualifiers sorted, eliminations began after a short lunch, with capacity fields in all of the DYO classes. The 15-secondand-over bracket saw Matthew Fry take the win in his VF sedan, running a 17.75@77mph on a 17.7 dial-in, after Barbara Sherrard in her Jeep wagon broke out by a tenth with a 15.39@87mph on a 15.49 dial-in.
THIS IS ONLY MY THIRD TIME DRAG RACING AND THE ADRENALINE RUSH IS ADDICTIVE. YOU REALLY NEED TO HAVE YOUR WITS ABOUT YOU
Tammy Ayson in her VH Charger dialled in at 14.12 and won the 13-14.99 class with a near-perfect 14.13@95mph, edging out runner-up Brett Styler and his Hemi-powered sleeper VK ute with a 13.54@99mph on a 13.1 dial-in.
“The blue Charger is actually my husband Mark’s car,” Tammy said. “He’s owned it for 25 years and is currently building a fresh 360 for it, so we’ve fitted the 318 out of my VF sedan project in the meantime. Mark’s raced for years but I was never really interested, so I thought I’d see what all the fuss is about. And yes, I’m hooked! This is only my third time drag racing and the adrenaline rush is pretty addictive; you really need to have your wits about you too. I’m keen to race my own car now and will hopefully have the VF finished for next year’s event.”
Gary Smith was back after a three-year hiatus in his Blueprint-painted VF sedan. Previously powered by a twin-supercharged smallblock, Gary has reverted to a single blown stroker 360 that previously saw service in his black Chrysler Neon Super Sedan.
“I couldn’t keep a belt on the twin-blower arrangement. I put up with it for years but decided it was time to simplify the combo,” Gary explained. “The old motor was good for 11.20s on avgas, but the single Paxton and intercooler set-up is tuned for pump fuel, so is a touch slower at 11.70@116mph. It’s far more streetable and really consistent, so it’s worth the drop in ET.” So much so that Gary came up trumps in a hard-fought 11-12.99 bracket win, cutting a .03 light and running an 11.91@107mph on an 11.90 dial-in to narrowly snatch the win from Troy O’brien, who ran a perfect 11.65@113mph on an 11.65 dial-in in his red Challenger. “It all went our way today, so I couldn’t be happier,” Gary beamed.
AS WITH EVERY MOPAR SUNDAY, THERE WAS ONE ELEMENT THAT UNITED THIS VARIED TRIBE– THE LOVE OF CHRYSLER
The 10.99-and-under bracket came down to a battle of the tunnel-rammed 440s, with Dave Webber in his orange VH Pacer sedan needing nearly all of his tenth-quicker reaction time to edge out Sal Neri’s VH ute with a 10.98@123mph on a 10.89 dial-in, compared to Sal’s tighter 10.98@122mph on a dial-in of 10.95.
The ‘Mopar Madman’ award is always hotly contested, but when the smoke clears there can only be one winner, and this year Rex Scoles was crowned champion, sizzling the tyres of his white 500-cube VF Valiant hardtop.
A break from the drags was easily sorted with a wander through the swap meet or a peek in the dyno cell, while the show ’n’ shine was packed with an awesome array of cars. Hot rods and 50s Yank tanks rubbed shoulders with 70s Aussie and US muscle, dazzling onlookers with their period bright orange or magenta paintwork under sunny skies.
As with every Mopar Sunday, there was one element that united this varied tribe – the love of Chrysler. Whether young or old, novice or pro, Mopar Sunday is the perfect opportunity to get your car out for a drive, run some numbers or simply show it off while checking out what else is on the scene. Next year’s event is on 30 July, and if you worship at the Pentastar altar, you’d be mad to miss it.