{"id":84366,"date":"2025-01-06T09:01:30","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T14:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=84366"},"modified":"2025-01-06T09:01:31","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T14:01:31","slug":"playing-bridge-and-burning-rubber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/owners-clubs\/2025\/01\/playing-bridge-and-burning-rubber.html","title":{"rendered":"Playing Bridge and Burning Rubber"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Erik Olla from Fritsla lives by several mottos. One of them is, “You should always own a HEMI\u00ae<\/sup>.” Olla certainly does, and he\u2019s not afraid to put it to use. But that\u2019s just the beginning, Olla also owns the predecessor to the HEMI, the 426 Max Wedge – a V8 engine that powers a stunningly restored 1963 Polara. Yes, Olla drives his Polara both on the drag strip and on everyday roads.<\/p>\n\n\n

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I primarily prefer custom-built cars, which means I rarely write about carefully and beautifully restored original vehicles, like a pristine Dodge ’59. However, I covered some original cars over the years – specifically, American performance vehicles. And not just any muscle cars, but truly unique ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about Olla’s Dodge Polara? It isn\u2019t entirely original. He\u2019s replaced the air in the tires, swapped out all the fluids, and occasionally runs retreaded slicks on the rear wheels. The transmission is also a four-speed A-833 instead of the factory-installed three-speed.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Olla’s Dodge is one of only four known factory-built Polaras equipped with a 426 Max Wedge and a manual transmission that still exist worldwide. That makes it as exclusive as any freshly built show car – guaranteed rarer than, say, a 1968 Charger with a 440.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\u2019s no coincidence that I ended up with a Polara with a Max Wedge. I\u2019ve been to Florida several times, including visits to the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing. They have cars there with both 413 and 426 engines. That\u2019s where I really began to appreciate how amazing these cars are,” Ollas says.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Olla also owns multiple HEMI engines, including one in his 1966 Charger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But I wanted more unique cars, and the Max Wedge quickly became a top priority.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olla’s passion for American cars hasn\u2019t been a straight line. At one point, he didn\u2019t own any at all. When he got the chance to dive back into American V8s, Mopar\u00ae<\/sub> vehicles weren\u2019t his starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No, my comeback began with a Ford – a 1960 model. One of the ugliest cars out there. So let\u2019s not talk about that one.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after, he started searching for a new car. Among his favorites was the Chrysler 300, and he found a 1960 model for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“But then a friend suggested I get a convertible instead. He knew of a ’58 with a 392 engine. So that\u2019s what I went for. It became my first HEMI-powered car. Towing with it was fantastic – it felt great passing other cars uphill near J\u00f6nk\u00f6ping with a caravan hooked on.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olla bought the Chrysler 300 in 1998 but sold it a few years later, having spent most of his capital on new business premises for one of his three companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere wasn\u2019t much money left at the time. But eventually, the desire returned, and I bought a cheap American car – a 1966 Barracuda with a 273 engine.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Since then, Olla has owned seven Barracudas. One of them, also a 1966 with a 273, remains in his collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I drove the Barracuda to the first Mopars at the Strip in 2005 in Sweden, and even raced it on the strip. That was the turning point.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olla caught the drag-racing bug and began modifying his 273 with backyard tuning and nitrous. He managed to run 201 meters (1\/8 mile) in exactly nine seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That\u2019s pretty good for a 273. In fact, I run faster with the Barracuda over 1\/8 mile than with the Polara. The Polara clocks 9.04 seconds for 201 meters, but that\u2019s with street slicks and poor traction. Still, the Dodge makes quite a roar.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After selling the 300 convertible and stabilizing his finances, Olla bought a 1953 Chrysler with a 331 HEMI engine, which he later sold in favor of a 1957 DeSoto Adventurer with a 354 HEMI – a “cruiser,\u201d as Olla describes it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Olla sold one of his companies, Eribel – a circuit board manufacturer and his largest business, employing 60 people – he freed up funds to reinvest in \u2026 more American cars, of course, including a 1966 Charger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love engines, and I have a saying: \u2018You should always own a HEMI.\u2019 That\u2019s why there are some cars I\u2019ll never part with.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s likely referring to the HEMI engine-powered Charger he bought in 2011 – a car he\u2019d long dreamed of owning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was probably 2005 when he first saw a 1966 or 1967 Charger in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt happened in little town Nossebro, Sweden,\u201d Olla recalls. \u201cI followed it on foot for quite a while, just to get a closer look. It was the same thing with the Barracuda once. I had just turned 18 and was in Ljunsele with some friends. We had borrowed my dad\u2019s old Volkswagen, a 1500, and driven there. In the parking lot, there it was – a \u201965 Barracuda. I remember walking around that car three times, inspecting it closely. I had no idea back then that I would one day own such cars.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olla explains that 480 HEMI engines were built into Chargers in 1966. Today, 64 of them are documented to still exist – two of them outside the U.S.: one in Australia and one in Fritsla, Olla’s place and car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, the pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance: a 1963 Polara Max Wedge, one of four documented survivors.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cYes, with a manual transmission, I should add. Only 44 were built, and they came with three-speed transmissions. The car was in great shape and fully restored when I bought it, but I\u2019ve taken care of some minor flaws, like damage to the right rear fender.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olla chuckles softly, adding that the damage was so subtle it was overlooked during a judging session at a car show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I think \u2026 yes, Olla is a perfectionist of the highest order, which is wonderful, of course, especially since I often take the “good enough” approach myself. Kinda\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cEven though the car was in great condition, there were some issues in the engine bay. For example, all the hose clamps had been zinc-plated and they started leaking. Someone had replaced them with modern stainless clamps, painted black, but they hadn\u2019t removed the original ones. Double clamps don\u2019t look very good.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also couldn\u2019t tolerate the modern Mopar-logo ignition wires, so he swapped them out for classic black ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI plan to build my own ignition wires, custom-fitted for the right look. That\u2019s just how you keep tweaking things.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olla fondly recalls the first time he had the Polara road inspected. Everyone in the inspection hall gathered to marvel at the car\u2019s undercarriage. Olla hadn\u2019t realized how immaculate it was underneath, so it came as a pleasant surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For those with an eye for detail, the Polara features cutouts on the exhaust pipes. When Olla hits the drag strip, he removes the covers. Old style!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s supposed to sound like it means business,\u201d he says, grinning – the same man who enjoys playing a logical card game like Bridge with his friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When I think of Bridge, I picture something played by great-grandfathers. Hmmm. In that case, this great-grandfather is made of tough and resilient steel. And as I bid farewell to Olla, he surprises me with a smoky, high-rev launch.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Erik Olla from Fritsla lives by several mottos. One of them is, “You should always own a HEMI\u00ae.” Olla certainly does, and he\u2019s not afraid to put it to use. But that\u2019s just the beginning, Olla also owns the predecessor to the HEMI, the 426 Max Wedge – a V8 engine that powers a stunningly restored 1963 Polara. Yes, Olla drives his Polara both on the drag strip and on everyday roads. I primarily prefer custom-built cars, which means I rarely write about carefully and beautifully restored original vehicles, like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":84370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2624],"tags":[2948,3012],"class_list":["post-84366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-owners-clubs","tag-dodge-classics","tag-dodge-europe"],"acf":[],"custom_fields":{"post_thumbnail_image":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/PlayingBridgeBurningRubber_Feature.jpg","social_image":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/PlayingBridgeBurningRubber_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\/84366"}],"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\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84366"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84415,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84366\/revisions\/84415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}