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Topic starter
02/04/2022 11:31 am
I first read about the Ramcharger's Dodge racing team in 1964 when they sought to debut their 1964 Dodge Hemi drag car at the NYC Auto Show across the river from me. The car was to make a grand entrance by driving north through Manhattan to the show at Lincoln Center. Unfortunately, the 426 Hemi was dropped in but never tuned. The timing was so far off that it continually stalled and, ignominiously, was towed to the show. I thought the 64 Dodges and Plymouth Furys looked so cool that year and this candy-striped Ramcharger really caught my eye. The next year began the age of the Altered Wheelbase drag cars and to be these mid-sized Mopars now looked extra cool. My senior high school notebooks were filled with two things: drawings of different cars in AWB configuration and the name of the girl I had a serious crush on (but was too shy to pursue).
This 1965 AWB Dodge Coronet Candymatic Ramcharger looks so incredibly cool with those long trumpet stacks sticking out of the hood. One thing I notice was there is only a single master cylinder for braking, but I guess that's why there's a parachute on the tail.
02/04/2022 12:36 pm
Very, very cool collection! "Hodges Dodges"...I had forgotten that script.
02/04/2022 1:58 pm
Rich (great pics as always) I have the two vintage Dodge RCs (but not the "modern concept") and love them both. The 1/18 Ramchargers Dodge I really want, however, is this!
Still surprised SOMEONE hasn't tooled this up yet. One day I may just have to make one.... at any rate... I WANT IT! (Saw it in person a few times too... it is one WILD machine!) The original "High & Mighty!"
I also need to "fix" the stance AND the wheels on the other two Ramchargers (one day..right?). Interestingly, HW61 duplicated this 1:1 front steelie (two-color) wheel rim PERFECTLY but used it on the rear wheels.
The Ramchargers Dodge I never want to see (LoL) again is this 🙄 🙄 🤨 :
Topic starter
02/04/2022 6:56 pm
Why a 4 door? More rigid?
BTW: Someone did a model of that Plymouth. I have a pic of it somewhere.
02/04/2022 7:55 pm
Oh, this is an actual RC Dodge from back in the day? I merely thought is was a fictious 4-dr tribute car. Hmm..... 🤔 🤔 🤔
(Oops!! Rich, you were referring to the "High & Mighty" Plymouth and not the above 4-dr Dodge. I got it now.)
Rich Sufficool and Rich Sufficool reacted
03/04/2022 7:16 pm
@chris I remembered this from the 2012 NNL East show. It's somewhere in the 1/24-1/25 range.
OH WOW!! This is really good. Congrats to Neil Van Zile! He did his homework. What a great replica of "drag history!" Thanks Rich for posting this; I REALLY enjoyed seeing it and it makes me want a 1/18 version EVEN MORE!
03/04/2022 10:45 pm
@chris - If you do the High and Mighty, I might be moved to do the 1967 Ramchargers Dart. It was quite an interesting car. The Ramchargers called it their "Science car." The roof was detachable. The Ramchargers designed it like as it provided an option to run the car in match races as a roadster or hardtop. To aid additional aerodynamic streamlining, the body was also narrowed. However, they also narrowed the car along the headlight area on both sides of the car. Duplicating that effect in 1:18 diecast would be quite the headache challenge but doable. Then, of course, it had a custom tube chassis too. Without a doubt, a project of this magnitude constitutes a ton of work.
04/04/2022 12:49 am
The older I get, everything is a ton of work. LoL I want to see that "science car." I'll look it up.
Marty Johnson and Marty Johnson reacted
04/04/2022 12:59 am
The older I get, everything is a ton of work. LoL I want to see that "science car." I'll look it up.
Got it.... I see they did at least another (earlier) Dart. Wow, two RC cars I've never seen before... but then again, my knowledge of vintage '60's gassers is, in reality, non-existent. I just like the way they look! 😎 😎 😎
Topic starter
04/04/2022 8:51 am
The older I get, everything is a ton of work. LoL I want to see that "science car." I'll look it up.
Got it.... I see they did at least another (earlier) Dart. Wow, two RC cars I've never seen before... but then again, my knowledge of vintage '60's gassers is, in reality, non-existent. I just like the way they look! 😎 😎 😎
My sentiments exactly. They just look so cool. I must say though, 60 years I'm getting an education off the internet so I can spund more informed than I really am. LOL
Marty Johnson and Marty Johnson reacted
04/04/2022 8:58 am
The older I get, everything is a ton of work. LoL I want to see that "science car." I'll look it up.
Got it.... I see they did at least another (earlier) Dart. Wow, two RC cars I've never seen before... but then again, my knowledge of vintage '60's gassers is, in reality, non-existent. I just like the way they look! 😎 😎 😎
My sentiments exactly. They just look so cool. I must say though, 60 years I'm getting an education off the internet so I can spund more informed than I really am. LOL
Right... at 58, I learn something new every day!
04/04/2022 11:23 am
@chris -
Allow me to help just a bit with your mid-sixties drag racing education. Gassers were Willys and Anglias. They were called gassers because they ran on gas. The cars you're calling gassers are funny cars. Many who are not that intimately knowledgeable about the era think funny cars are only of the one-piece flip-top variety. That is incorrect.
The funny car moniker was born in 1965. The term "funny car" was first coined by Fran Hernandez, Mercury's drag racing chief. It was after he first saw the highly modified altered wheelbase factory Mopars of Dodge and Plymouth cars. With their extreme look, front and rear wheels moved radically forward, he said "They look funny." The term stuck and the rest is history.
Study up! These points are going to be on Friday's exam. 🧐
Rich Sufficool and Rich Sufficool reacted
04/04/2022 8:19 pm
@chris -
Allow me to help just a bit with your mid-sixties drag racing education. Gassers were Willys and Anglias. They were called gassers because they ran on gas. The cars you're calling gassers are funny cars. Many who are not that intimately knowledgeable about the era think funny cars are only of the one-piece flip-top variety. That is incorrect.
The funny car moniker was born in 1965. The term "funny car" was first coined by Fran Hernandez, Mercury's drag racing chief. It was after he first saw the highly modified altered wheelbase factory Mopars of Dodge and Plymouth cars. With their extreme look, front and rear wheels moved radically forward, he said "They look funny." The term stuck and the rest is history.
Study up! These points are going to be on Friday's exam. 🧐
...like I said, "I learn something new every day!" (I'll be prepared for Friday's exam!)
Marty Johnson and Marty Johnson reacted