Hemi in the Yard, Two 6-bbls in a bush and a R/T thown in for good measure.

I was chowing down at a Drive In on my way to the Race Expo when someone noticed I was driving a 2009 Blue Challenger R/T.  They mentioned it was just like the one in sitting in a lot nearby. I was intrigued and got the directions to the place.

I was heading (or so I thought) to the Race and Performance Expo in St. Charles, so I didn't have much time to stop, but I did get the cars owners phone number and left him a voice message explaining my interest in seeing what he had when I got back into town that evening.

Everyone has been in the same situation I was in on Saturday. I went to Saint Charles, Illinois for the Race and Performance Expo only to discover that I had the wrong date and it was actually the next weekend.   Instead of getting angry, it was a beautiful day out, and the winding roads along the Fox River were calling, So in Top Gear UK fashion, I did a Grand Tour of the Fox River Valley. It really is a beautiful driving road when free of traffic.

On my way back home the owner of the cars in the lot called me back. He was interested in allowing me to view the cars and do a little writeup on them. So I met up with him at the storage lot and he gave me the 10 cent tour.


Kevin is the nicest guy you will meet.  He showed me around, gave me the full history of the cars and what he was doing and how he got them, which will be followed up in the spring,





Up front was nothing too special, just some Big Block B-bodies.  The first is a 1968 Hemi GTX 4-speed car. No engine or transmission, but Kevin said he has many parts stored away for it.  He had gotten this car in a separate deal then the other B-Bodies, but it definitely was a good one.


 
















Next to the GTX is a 1970 Charger R/T, a Super Track Pack Car, still has the 440 under the hood, extra bracing and Dana rear end.  No fender tag, but is a legit U-Code R/T as the VIN says... he got this in a deal with the two V-Code Road Runners that were next up on the tour.




















Then behind the R/T is a standard 70 Road Runner, 383 car. Automatic on the column.  It is still a good project, everything needed to fix the car up should be readily available.  I didn't know if it was numbers matching or not, but did have some cool speed parts on there, classic magneto and a few other odds and ends.

Walking to the back of the yard he has stashed two 1970 Plymouth Road Runners. Not just any Road Runners, but 440-6 cars, both of them. One a 4-speed and one an automatic. Both were in rough shape, but could be restored in this day and age with “ease” The automatic had been hit in the front end, but was actually in pretty good shape.
































 

Coming up around the yard he had his drivable Mopar, a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T, 440 automatic car. White, red interior with red rump stripe, it is pretty cool. Looks like something out of Vanishing Point. It runs and drives, needs a paint job. He takes his daughter to car shows with him, so in the back seat is her baby seat, along with a giant plush toy of Clifford the Big Red Dog that someone put in there one day because it looked like it belonged.

Walking towards the end of our tour there was the remains of a 71 Demon (just some scrap metal really), along with a 1970's Puch Motorcycle (two pistons, one large cylinder... odd), a bunch of spare parts and a cool 1970 383 Satellite 2-door. It had all the options a Road Runner would have, without being a Road Runner, very odd combination.

Kevin told me about how his love of Mopars didn't start at birth, but before. His father said he was conceived in a 68 Charger R/T, and that as he grew up, his father used to take him for rides, until one day when his father noticed that his son was running his hands along the rust in the wheel wells. Not wanting to cut off his finger, he promptly sold the car.

Years later Kevin was working a deal to get a 68 Coronet 2-door from a guy. He was paying a fair price for the car. The gentleman asked if he wanted any other cars he had and would throw in on the deal. Not to turn down more cars for the same money, he agreed. What started as a 68 Coronet, turned into the three 70 Road Runners and the 70 Charger R/T!

Well as happens in life, Kevin moved to Arizona with his girlfriend and they had a beautiful and healthy little baby girl. Things didn't work out and Kevin came home to Chicago to be near family with his baby .  Now a single father supporting a family it looks like the cars are going to have to go.  But not quite yet.