{"id":84240,"date":"2024-12-28T08:32:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T13:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=84240"},"modified":"2024-12-19T14:42:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T19:42:39","slug":"pro-stock-challenger-resurrection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/events\/2024\/12\/pro-stock-challenger-resurrection.html","title":{"rendered":"Pro Stock Challenger Resurrection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Old racecars led a hard life, especially Pro Stockers, which burst onto the NHRA scene during the 1970 Winternationals. While racers embraced the new “heads-up” class, many Mopar\u00ae<\/sub><\/strong><\/strong> competitors ran their older but trusty 1968 HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> Barracudas and Darts. They had updated exterior trim and highly modified Pro Stock “legal” engines under their fiberglass hoods. However, they weren\u2019t as sexy as the all-new “E-body” Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda. Chrysler had just entered the sporty “Pony Car Wars” (albeit a bit late) to compete with Mustang and Camaro, and drag racing was the perfect venue to promote their entries in this highly lucrative youth market. It was the dawn of the 1970s, and for the heavily funded Chrysler teams like Sox & Martin, Don Grotheer and Dick Landy, the NHRA Winternationals, held at the LA County Fairgrounds in February of 1970, was the consummate event to show off the company\u2019s brand-new Challenger and Barracuda Pro Stock racecars. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Fast forward 50-plus years and many of these old racecars have led a hard life and disappeared. Unlike their street counterparts that succumbed to snow, salted roads, rain and eventually rust, these old Mopar Pro Stockers led a rough life. These purpose-built race machines had the snot kicked out of them by owners looking to extract every ounce of performance advantage over their competition. They pushed the rule book to the limits while hammers and blow torches became the tools of choice when making mid-season modifications. After cycling through many owners who found out the hard way speed costs money and how fast you went was predicated on the size of your wallet, these racecars got parked. These old warriors of the quarter-mile battlefield got pushed off to the side in the shop or languished in the dark corners of a garage. Luckily for us Mopar fans that appreciate vintage Pro Stockers, the recent Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN)<\/a> had the debut of a famous Dodge Challenger Pro Stocker that was once campaigned by Mopar legend Dick Landy. It made us stop as the exhaust note from its high-compression 426 Race HEMI V8 was pounding off the walls in the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center while being unloaded off a trailer during set up for the MCACN show.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Meet Erik Lindberg, a 58-year-old gearhead who loves old Mopar vehicles and has spent most of his adult life chasing down old Dodge and Plymouth Super Stockers, Pro Stockers and even the fragile and paper-thin altered wheelbase HEMI engine-powered B-bodies. If you look at the roster of rare cars he\u2019s restored, it will make any car collector or museum envious. Some of these machines include a 426 Max Wedge, AF\/X HEMI engine racers, production-based Super Stockers (including the highly sought-after 1968 HEMI Darts and Barracudas), and various Pro Stock Challengers, \u2018Cudas and Dusters. But it was at the MCACN show that Erik unveiled his recently completed project – Dick Landy\u2019s 1970 Pro Stock Challenger. How he found this rare car could fill volumes of mystery novels.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cAround 2005, I had acquired Dick Landy\u2019s 1971 built Pro Stock Challenger, and during the authentication process on that car, I brought up the 1970 Pro Stock Challenger to Dick (Landy) and asked if he remembered who he sold it to or any info on it. Unfortunately, it didn\u2019t ring a bell at that time, but a few weeks later in a discussion, he mentioned the name of Dave Gildart from Memphis, Tennessee, as being the second owner. Now the search was on,\u201d said Erik. But the plot had thickened, and it started to take another turn. \u201cAround that time frame, a friend of mine who traveled the country swapping Mopar parts had mentioned a Challenger that he had seen in Arkansas maybe in the late 1980s or early 1990s with the owner claiming it was a former Landy Pro Stock Challenger. I knew Landy\u2019s 1971 Challenger had come from the East Coast, so this Arkansas car was a possible link to Dave Gildart. I got busy with work and a few years had passed with no new leads and sadly Dick Landy had passed away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Undaunted, Erik didn\u2019t lose hope, but his focus had now turned to another famous Landy Dodge, his 1967 Coronet R\/T 440 Super Stocker. \u201cDuring this period, I had acquired Dick\u2019s Coronet R\/T and began the authentication process with Dick\u2019s oldest son, Richard Landy, and we were able to bring the car back to its glory. Richard (Landy) and I became friends during that period and remain close today. Because of my friendship with Richard, he picked up a 1965 Plymouth Altered Wheelbase racecar in California for me,\u201d noted Erik. With the 1970 Pro Stock Challenger still on Erik\u2019s mind, he was still trying to connect the dots. While staying with Richard, Erik was able to go through Dick Landy\u2019s old filing cabinets and that\u2019s when he found something magical. \u201cI was able to locate the bill of sale for Landy\u2019s 1970 Pro Stock Challenger to Dave Gildart! This was the turning point that got things going again as I found the second owner of this historic Mopar,\u201d gleamed Erik. \u201cThe last step in this puzzle was to find and meet Terry Sevener who owned the car since the 1980s. I\u2019d been given a description of what Terry looked like and began tracking him down. This was 2012 and my friend Reed Koeppe was able to meet with Terry. So it was the defining moment as we all confirmed it was the 1970 Dick Landy Pro Stock Challenger. Reed looked the car over and confirmed it was the acid-dipped body with some of the specific details, trademarks and even clues Landy used in the build process decades ago. I was now convinced and ready to make a run at purchasing this historic racecar, but it proved to be very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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For Erik, the next three years would be very stressful, as Terry had agreed to sell the car but backed out three different times. Still keeping Richard in the loop with all the madness Erik was dealing with the Challenger, some strange news came about. \u201cMy phone rings one morning and it’s Richard with some frightening news. He informs me the ex-Landy Pro Stock Challenger is on Facebook Marketplace. The prior owner had passed away and the car, together with rare Mopar parts, was being sold. \u201cIn the end, Richard (Landy) and Reed (Koeppe) saved my butt and I hit the road to Missouri that night and picked up the car the next morning from its then owner. I\u2019ll never forget when I headed back north with that car on my open trailer and thought \u2018I can\u2019t believe I got the original Landy Pro Stock Challenger. The first person I called from the road was Richard (Landy) to inform I just purchased his father\u2019s old Pro Stocker.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Now in his possession, Erik went to work on restoring the Challenger to its “as-raced” condition during the 1970 and 1971 seasons. Unlike production muscle cars, in which a comprehensive restoration parts industry and network exist, vintage racecars can be more challenging, especially when tracking down era-correct speed parts. It also requires a lot of documents that include combing through old magazines such as Hot Rod<\/em>, Car Craft<\/em>, Super Stock & Drag Illustrated<\/em> for exterior, interior and, just as important, under-hood images that show numerous details. \u201cProduction cars are straight-ahead restoration projects. Vintage racecars usually have a heavily modified body and chassis which creates hurdles in bringing the car back to its origins. If you\u2019re lucky, there\u2019s a good feature or two in an old magazine, drag newspaper, and vintage photos are always needed. Last but not least, hunting down, finding and being able to purchase all the vintage era-correct parts to assemble one of these beautiful cars can be daunting,\u201d noted Erik.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cAlmost every race part was hard to find during the restoration of the ex-Landy Pro Stock Challenger. From the Cragar wheels, Goodyear slicks, intake manifold, 16-plug HEMI heads, carburetors, shifter and even the correct racing contingency decals, I was online every day hunting parts. Luckily, I have great contacts in the Mopar hobby including Mike Guffey and Jim Kramer. They helped me tremendously track down parts for this car,\u201d commented Erik. \u201cWhen not hunting for parts, I picked away at the metalwork on the car. It was quite a challenge to weld on brittle acid-dipped sheet metal. Repairing the rear wheel well lips was done with many tack welds over and over and making sure not to overheat the metal and warp it or blow penny-sized holes in it. The 56-year-old fiberglass fenders and deck lid had stress cracks all over and needed repairs but luckily I have done a lot over the past 30 years on these fragile parts,\u201d exclaimed Erik. \u201cLuckily, Heath Hite at Hite Auto Body in Elk River, Minnesota, sprayed the beautiful candy colors while Brian Truesdell worked his magic and perfectly did the hand pin stripping and lettering. When it came to rebuilding the 426 Race HEMI, Total Engine in Bloomington, Minnesota, did all the work and made this beast hit on all eight cylinders and thunder once again.”<\/p>\n\n\n

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After many years of sweat and labor, the freshly completed Dick Landy 1970 HEMI Challenger was ready to make its debut at the 2024 MCACN show. On hand for this momentous unveiling was Richard Landy, the oldest son of Dick Landy. \u201cIt was like d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu when I laid eyes on my late father\u2019s Challenger, it brought back many emotions of a bygone era as it was an adventure,\u201d reminisced Richard. \u201cIt also rekindled lots of emotions racing with dad as a teenager during the summer months I was out of school. I fondly remember changing the HEMI\u2019s 16 spark plugs after each run. When Erik (Lindberg) was hunting down the car years ago, I helped him validate the Challenger due to my dad\u2019s construction techniques on the chassis, roll bar and other key areas of the car\u2019s build. Seeing now accurately restored is a great testimony to my dad\u2019s Pro Stock innovations back then and the Landy family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Here are some great pics of Dick Landy\u2019s Pro Stock HEMI Challenger throughout the 1970 NHRA and AHRA Pro Stock racing season as it received numerous updates. There are also more exterior and interior shots after its fantastic restoration!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Old racecars led a hard life, especially Pro Stockers, which burst onto the NHRA scene during the 1970 Winternationals. While racers embraced the new “heads-up” class, many Mopar\u00ae competitors ran their older but trusty 1968 HEMI\u00ae Barracudas and Darts. They had updated exterior trim and highly modified Pro Stock “legal” engines under their fiberglass hoods. However, they weren\u2019t as sexy as the all-new “E-body” Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda. Chrysler had just entered the sporty “Pony Car Wars” (albeit a bit late) to compete with Mustang and Camaro, and drag […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":84200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[497],"tags":[2948],"class_list":["post-84240","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\/2024\/12\/ProStockRessurection_Feature.jpg","social_image":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ProStockRessurection_Social.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\/84240"}],"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\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84240"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84277,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84240\/revisions\/84277"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}