In the meantime, Glenn had another 440 rebuilt along with a TorqueFlite and the firmed-up suspension for improved handling. By the time he was finished, Glenn had created a late Challenger that could handle the turns and cut a low-13-second quarter-mile at 108 mph. And if the awards he's taken at several Mopar shows during the last couple of years are any indication, the musclecar fashion police have been successfully averted.
The Details
What: '74 Dodge Challenger Rallye
Owner: Glenn ForbushHometown: Riverside, California
Engine: The nonoriginal 440 block in the Challenger when Glenn got it happened to be a '74, as was the next 440 he pulled from a pickup in the junkyard. That one was bored 0.040-over at The Parts Source in Norco, California, and also decked so the Speed-Pro Six-Pack pistons would attain zero deck. Glenn retained the original '74 cast crank, and reconditioned Chrysler LY rods are now fastened with ARP bolts. The balanced rotating assembly is lubed via a Melling high-volume pump with a 11/42-inch pickup drawing from an MP 6-quart pan.
Heads: Sticking with '74 hardware, Glenn had his No. 902 heads treated to polished combustion chambers after the valves were unshrouded. Stainless 2.14/1.81-inch valves are controlled with Mopar Performance springs and stock 1.5:1 shaft rockers. The castings were also gasket matched, as was the intake. With the Six-Pack pistons, these heads create a 9.8:1 compression ratio.
Camshaft: Glenn went with a Mopar favorite: the MP 0.484/0.484-inch lift, 284-degree advertised-duration hydraulic cam.
Induction: Edelbrock's Performer RPM tops the 440 and mounts a Holley 770 Street Avenger carb concealed beneath the repro, drop-base, MP air cleaner.
Exhaust: Once the '74 was freed from the shackles of smog checks, Glenn replaced the '74 440 manifolds with earlier Magnum castings connected to a TTI 211/42-inch mandrel-bent exhaust system with DynoMax Super Turbo mufflers. Factory-style splitter tips fit snugly into the cutouts in the rear valence.
Transmission: Butch Lightfeldt in San Jacinto, California, prepped the TorqueFlite 727 with his street/strip recipe and topped it off with a Hughes 2,500-stall converter. Later on, Glenn added a Gear Vendors Under/Overdrive unit to knock down highway cruise rpm; the unit can also be used to split gears during acceleration.
Rearend: The Chrysler 831/44-inch axle was already under the '74 Challenger when Glenn took ownership, as was the 741 carrier with Sure Grip and 3.91 gears, though Glenn assumes the whole thing was swapped in from an earlier model. A custom driveshaft from Inland Empire Driveline ties it to the Gear Vendors unit.
Suspension: The Rallye suffix added to this Challenger seemed to be Chrysler's way of shifting performance emphasis from acceleration to all-around handling, and Glenn maintains that direction with his alterations. Up front, extra-fat MP 0.96-inch torsion bars work with the stock sway bar and KYB shocks, while MP "XHD" Hemi-style rear leaves collaborate with the factory rear sway bar and more KYBs. The stock power-steering gear has been refurbished with the Firm Feel II treatment to increase responsiveness.