{"id":26614,"date":"2019-08-06T21:04:54","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T01:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=26614"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:24:19","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:24:19","slug":"roadkills-dodge-builds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/events\/2019\/08\/roadkills-dodge-builds.html","title":{"rendered":"Roadkill\u2019s Dodge Builds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the end of the week, thousands of drag\nracers, Dodge fans and gearheads will shut down iconic Woodward Avenue in\nPontiac, Michigan, for the annual celebration of Roadkill Nights. Roadkill\nNights, hosted by Roadkill<\/i>\u2019s own David Freiburger, Mike Finnegan, Steve\nDulcich and crew, is an all-out car-enthusiast carnival. Powered by Dodge,\nRoadkill Nights hosts a huge car show, Dodge\u2019s official Thrill-rides and\nstreet racing right on Woodward Avenue! Come celebrate with us on August 9th\nthrough the 10th for this two-day event and you\u2019ll even get to see these badass\nRoadkill<\/i> builds up close and personal! No they are not polished – heck some of\nthem aren\u2019t even painted – but in the spirit of Roadkill<\/i>, these Mopar\u00ae<\/sub> muscle cars\naren\u2019t necessarily “right,” but at least they’re running! Which one of\nRoadkill<\/i>\u2019s Mopar muscle builds are you most excited to see? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vanishing Paint<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Soul music, smokey bears and sleeveless leather jackets; no I\u2019m not talking about the cult classic Vanishing Point<\/i>, but Roadkill<\/i>\u2019s own adaptation, Vanishing Paint<\/em>. So maybe they haven’t been tailed by a never-ending stream of cops (that we can prove at least) or driven headfirst into a bulldozer in a blaze of glory, but the Roadkill<\/i> guys’ 1970 Dodge Challenger – fondly nicknamed after the famous car chase flick – has provided memorable adventures of their own. The car was purchased over 15 years ago by Roadkill<\/i>\u2019s own Steve Dulcich for just $300 bucks, and was kept on the backburner for over a decade before it was given new life on Roadkill Garage<\/i>. The E-body received an LA small block engine robbed from a donor Dodge truck, but being worn, tired and low powered, the guys decided to kick it up a notch with another rebuilt small block Chrysler motor that had been souped up on an episode of their other series, Engine Masters<\/i>. With over 400 horsepower and an upgraded suspension, the VP has pretty much done it all. From road tripping to drag racing, auto cross to daily driving, there\u2019s no doubt the Roadkill<\/i> guys have put this car to the test proving it to be the most versatile Roadkill<\/i> build yet! Come see Vanishing Paint<\/i> in action this year at Roadkill Nights to see what it\u2019s made of for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death Metal Charger<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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If only old iron could speak, tell the tales\nof their history, the places they\u2019ve been and the people they\u2019ve seen. The urge\nto chase the backstory of your car is something we can all relate to but\nRoadkill<\/i>\u2019s Mike Finnegan took action after rescuing this barn find 1968 Dodge\nCharger. It doesn\u2019t take much more than a glance to realize there is something\nspecial about this car: the 8-lug axles, the roll cage and the homemade wheel\nflares make it glaringly obvious this is someone\u2019s old racecar. In an effort\nto learn more about the car\u2019s history, Finn dug up the information on the car\u2019s\nbackground and slaved away to make it run (just good enough) for a surprise\nroad trip to visit with the original owner. Now showing up impromptu at some\nold racecar driver\u2019s house can go many directions, but luckily for Finn and Tony\nAngelo of Hot Rod Garage they weren\u2019t shot, eaten or chased away. Instead, they were\nreluctantly greeted by the car\u2019s original owner, Joe Barry. Joe bought the car\nnew to drive it in the USAC stock car racing circuit, but by the time the build\nwas nearly finished, he decided it was time to focus on his family and put\nhot-rodding aside. So what do you do with a racecar that\u2019s never actually been\nraced? Take it to the track, of course! Now this recent addition to the Roadkill<\/i>\ncar fleet hasn\u2019t been made race-ready yet, but with a repaired transmission\ntunnel and a fresh Dana rear-end, this Charger will be flying past Fords and\nshredding the tires like she was born to do! Come see it on display and decide\nfor yourself if the Death Metal Charger truly is \u201ca death trap.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DF Super Bee<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Being a young-gun in the hobby, I often hear\nthe advice of old-timers who wish to impart their wisdom and experiences with\nnaive youth such as myself. The tip that most commonly seems to come up in\nevery conversation is: \u201cno matter how tight money gets, no matter how good an\noffer is, no matter what happens, never sell your first car\u201d. Sure, you can buy\nor build another one just like it, but you just can\u2019t replace the long nights\nwrenching, the wide grin from winning or memories you make with your first\nlove. After years of hearing this, I know I\u2019ll never sell my 1971 GTX clone, and\nluckily for David Freiburger, he had the good sense to hang onto his first car\ntoo, this 1970 Dodge Super Bee! Like any proper ’80s hot rod, the car went\nthrough its fair share of big blocks, big cams and crazy gear ratios, but\nafter over 30 years of abandonment, rescue and repeat, Freiburger has this Bee\nbuzzin\u2019 better than ever. The roots of this car run much deeper than Roadkill<\/i>,\nbut after being featured on multiple episodes and slaying at previous Roadkill<\/i>\nevents, there is no doubt it can be considered one of the fleet. This year, it\nwill return to Woodward, where we hope to see it continue to conquer! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Off-Road Challenger<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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There are certain benefits to having your own television show: adoring fans, discounted parts and being offered a running ’70 Challenger for just $2,800 bucks! Okay, I\u2019ll admit being a used-up dirt track car, this Challenger has seen better days, but if you\u2019re paying less than $5k for a running E-body, you can always count it as a win! The Roadkill<\/i> guys got this car road trip ready (well, sorta) right in the previous owner\u2019s driveway and before you knew it, were off driving this dingy old Dodge on the street! Despite its many adventures, the O.R.C. naturally wound up derelict in Dulcich\u2019s backyard, where it awaited its next shot at life. It’s received multiple revivals since, but most recently, the O.R.C. was brought back to life with a fresh 360 engine after its original 318 was killed in a hellish sandstorm (turns out sand + open carburetor doesn\u2019t end well). The O.R.C. has road tripped all across the nation, from its origins in Oregon to its debut at the 2016 Roadkill Nights. The Off-Road Challenger will make its return this year, bigger, badder and better than ever! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Mayhem (and General Maintenance)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A classic love ballad between man and machine, the tale of\nthe General Mayhem may be the most popular build Roadkill<\/i> has done to date and\nat its core is a true embodiment of the Roadkill<\/i> spirit. If you aren\u2019t familiar\nwith the legend of this 1968 Dodge Charger (or you just need a refresher), then\nallow me to take you back. We\u2019re going back to a time when you could trade an\nold set of cylinder heads for one of the world\u2019s most desirable muscle cars,\nback to a time when you bought an old motorhome just to rob it of its 440\nChrysler RB engine, and back to a time when you could beat the absolute piss\nout of this iconic car without even a shred of guilt. You would think I\u2019m\ntelling you a story from the early 1980s, but in fact, this was all just a matter\nof the last decade. The chicken wire grille, the mismatched paint and that\ncruddy old big block engine, this car screams with pride \u201cBECAUSE ROADKILL!\u201d As\nthe cheap Charger build evolved into a Roadkill<\/i> icon, the car itself evolved as\nwell. The guys asked and the fans begged, so Dodge pitched in a 707-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT\u00ae<\/sup>\nHellcat engine, transforming this car into a burnout beast. Now the General\nMayhem is as fast as it looks (or maybe even faster) and the guys even got\nanother car out of the deal, the General Maintenance! General Maintenance is a\n2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, all the fun of Mayhem but instead of laboring work,\nall it needs is basic maintenance, hence the name! The two Roadkill<\/i> icons\nwill be with us this year at Roadkill Nights; which of the two would you rather\ndrive? <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rampage<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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One of these things is not like the other.\nOkay, maybe Roadkill<\/i> has had a few other FWD low-powered cars sprinkled into\nthe mix, but I\u2019ve yet to see one that has actually gotten me this excited! This\n1982 Dodge Rampage is anything but rambunctious with its 2.2 motor providing a\nwhopping 96 horsepower, yet there is something oddly charming about Dodge\u2019s last-ditch effort at a utility coupe. Maybe it\u2019s the sleek styling, the bright red\npaint, or that big ugly smile that just screams 1980s, but I\u2019ve always had a\nfondness for these cheesy little bed cars. Roadkill<\/i>\u2019s surprising addition\nprompts one simple question, \u201cwhy\u201d? While on the surface the car may not seem\nto have a lot of potential, I\u2019ve seen others in the Mopar community do some interesting\nbuilds with Dodge Rampages. Maybe a RWD V8 swap, maybe throw a HEMI engine into\nthe bed to replace their long-lost \u201cMazdarati\u201d, or maybe they\u2019ll just install a cheap\nturbo; whatever it is that Freiburger, Dulcich and Finnegan decide to do with this\ncar, I\u2019m sure it will be very fun and very Roadkill<\/i>. Come see the latest\naddition to their fleet before the rest of the world at Roadkill Nights in\nPontiac, Michigan!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos courtesy of David Freiburger and MotorTrend.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At the end of the week, thousands of drag racers, Dodge fans and gearheads will shut down iconic Woodward Avenue in Pontiac, Michigan, for the annual celebration of Roadkill Nights. Roadkill Nights, hosted by Roadkill\u2019s own David Freiburger, Mike Finnegan, Steve Dulcich and crew, is an all-out car-enthusiast carnival. Powered by Dodge, Roadkill Nights hosts a huge car show, Dodge\u2019s official Thrill-rides and street racing right on Woodward Avenue! Come celebrate with us on August 9th through the 10th for this two-day event and you\u2019ll even get to see these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":26699,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[497],"tags":[2948],"class_list":["post-26614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-dodge-classics"],"acf":[],"custom_fields":{"post_thumbnail_image":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/feature-4.jpg","icon_selection":"article","external_link":"","featured_article":[],"upload_background_image":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26614"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26614"}],"version-history":[{"count":80,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26786,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26614\/revisions\/26786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}