BY RICHARD PRINCE
T
he performance outlook was
somewhat bleak for young
men and women coming of
age in the mid- to late-1970s.
From the beginning of the
decade, virtually every bit of
the time, energy, and creative thinking of
the engineers and designers at all of the
car companies was devoted to addressing
increasingly stringent emissions, fuel
consumption, safety, and noise mandates
from the federal government. Nearly
every one of the new laws and all of the
regulations written to implement them
diminished performance, either by adding
mass, reducing power, or doing both.
This is why native Californian Sean
Ryan, along with nearly everyone else who
began driving in the late-1970s, found
muscle cars from the 1960s far more
appealing than anything they could buy
new. Ryan’s appreciation for classic mus-
cle cars was deepened as he learned more
about them while working at various hot
rod shops in Southern California. Like so
many others with a love for hot cars from a
bygone era, however, Ryan never dreamed
that exponentially advancing technology
would ultimately crush performance-rob-
bing government requirements, yielding
a second—even brighter—golden age of
muscle cars that we’re enjoying today.
The return to performance that began
in the 1980s and grew stronger as time
marched on certainly caught Ryan’s
attention, but work demands and the
other typical obligations that come with
adulthood took precedence over his love
for fast and fun cars. Following retirement
from a successful career in investing, Ryan
again turned his attention to the go-fast
hobby. After considering a wide variety
of available cars, he bought a 2014 Dodge
Charger SRT8. It offered the visceral feel
of a classic, high-output muscle car from
the 1960s, without any of the sacrifices
vintage iron demanded.
Ryan loved the appearance of his
Charger as delivered, but made a couple
of changes to suit his taste. For a touch
of modern, JS Wraps added a carbon-fiber
wrap to the hood, trunk, rockers,
rear wing, and body-side cove outline.
And for a tip of the hat to Ryan’s
MOPAR MUSCLE OCTOBER 2019 69
