Concept corner: SEMA–worthy streeter

17 April, 2015

Every month, we ask the cover-car owner for the concept they’d most like to build or see built. Here’s the concept from Johnny Burkhart, owner of the amazing Plymouth Road Runner that graced the cover of NZV8 Issue No. 120

Take another look at the amazing Road Runner on the cover of Issue No. 120 — the bloke behind the build clearly ‘gets’ cars, right? He’s absolutely nailed it with this one. So, what would happen if Johnny Burkhart were to go all out and build the car he’s always wanted to?

“An idea I’ve had — well, one of them, anyway — is to build a seven to eight second–capable, street-driven 1968 Charger,” Johnny says.

“It would start with a full, custom tube–frame chassis, with a street-friendly interior, including a semi-race version of an original dash. Outside would get a three-layer pearl Lamborghini Arancia paint — orange is cool!

“Wheels would need to be huge double beadlock Weld Racing 15×15 billet rears with 33×16 Goodyear rubber, and a front runner set-up like on my Road Runner.

“Engine wise, I’d do a fuel-injected and twin F2 procharged set-up, with the prochargers mirrored and facing forwards, so the belt drive faced the rear. Set up like that, the compressor housings would sit just out of the bonnet, and each would have its own integrated bonnet intake. I’d run a Nelson Racing Engines Elephant twin fuel intake, so I could run 98 octane on the street tune, and switch to run C16 and over 2300hp on a race tune. 

“The base engine would be none other than a Hemi, displacing 572ci and detailed in black with silver fittings. It’d push out around 2000hp on a street tune, so would require a four-linked Strange Dana 60 rear, with a Rossler TH400 three-speed transmission.” 

While the Charger would certainly be a bit of a handful to build, and would likely cost far too much, we really want to see it done. Come on, Johnny, get building!

What are your thoughts? Would you do anything different? Post your ideas in the comments below.

You can read about Johnny’s amazing Procharged Hemi–powered 1969 Plymouth Road Runner in NZV8 Issue No. 120, on sale now, or it can be purchased online here.

1975 Suzuki RE5

Suzuki had high hopes for its RE5 Wankel-engined bike launched in 1975. It had started looking at the Wankel engine in the mid-60s and bought the licence to the concept in 1970.
Apparently all of the big four Japanese makers experimented with the design, Yamaha even showing a rotary-engined bike at a motor show in 1972. But Suzuki was the only one of the big four to go into production. Like many others at the time, Suzuki believed that the light, compact, free-revving Wankel design would consign piston engines — with their complex, multiple, whirring valves and pistons, which (can you believe it?) had to reverse direction all the time — to history.

Westside story

For the young Dave Blyth, the Sandman was always the coolest car and he finally got one when he was 50. “I have always had a rule. When you turn 50, you buy or can afford to buy the car you lusted after when you were 20. I was 20 in 1979 and the HZ Sandman came out in 1978. It was the coolest of the cool — I just wanted one,” he says. “Back then a Sandman cost $4500 new and a house was worth about $20,000. I made about $30 a week so it was an impossible dream then.”
Dave was heavily influenced by the panel van culture of the time. “I started with an Escort panel van and upgraded to a Holden HD panel van with a 186ci six cylinder. I started a van club, Avon City Vans.