SEPTEMBER 2019 59 One of the greatest qualities of the early
B-body Mopars is the simplicity and beauty
of their bare-bones interiors. The turquoise
bench seat interior with slide rule speed-
ometer and column shifter belies its perfor-
mance potential. The N.O.S. material for the
seat covers was sourced by Scott from SMS
Auto Fabric. The seat covers were stitched
and installed on the seat frames by Diamond
Interior. The Coronet Deluxe spent most of its life
going down the quarter-mile. The odometer
works, indicating its original 15,681.9 miles.“I bought these
Hemi cars
because they
were fast”
The garbage black paint job did not deter
Scott from purchasing the rolling Hemi
body for $600. He says, “I bought these
Hemi cars because there were fast.”
Scott would know. His first car, when
he was 17, was a 1968 440-powered Char-
ger R/T. He quickly installed a 426 Hemi
engine, then converted the Charger into
a fulltime drag car. When he was 18 and
without a daily driver, he ordered a brand
new 1973 340 Charger Rallye. About a year
later, while still a teenager, Scott purchased
a beautiful 1968 Hemi Road Runner sport-
ing about 40,000 original miles and the
original paint.
Scott raced the 1968 Charger from 1973
to 1978. That car helped him earn the 1977
Regional Drag Racing Championship with
the United Stockers Association. He then
purchased a 1970 318 Challenger convert-
ible and transplanted the Hemi drivetrain
from the Charger R/T into his new Chal-
lenger. The end product was a very com-
petitive B/SA Hemi Challenger convertible
that he raced in NHRA Sportsman until
1984.
With that arsenal of Mopar muscle and
drag racing experience, it’s not surprising
that Scott would eventually form Super-
car Collectibles, a company that creates
authentic scale models of muscle cars
from the 1960s and early 1970s. Supercar
Collectibles specializes in offering vintage
drag cars that were driven, coincidentally,
by Scott’s Mopar heroes from back in the
day. It also explains why he would eventu-
ally restore the Hammerin’ Hemi Coronet
Deluxe to its present pristine condition.
Around 1989, Scott became interested in
competing in the Muscle Car Shootout at
Brainerd International Raceway. The most
logical candidate for those events was
the Hammerin’ Hemi that had been safely
tucked away for about eight years. Scott
pulled a 426 Hemi block out of his inven-
tory, and commissioned Bruce Crandall
and Kenny Frison at Total Engine Service
to bore the block 0.020 over. Scott then
assembled the engine, did the bodywork
and paint, restored the interior, installed
the wiring harnesses, installed the engine
and transmission, and plumbed the car. Is
there anything this guy can’t do? The Coro-
net Deluxe, now immaculate, was ready to
race in 1990.
Scott hammered on his Hemi for about
four years before relegating it to street and
cruise-night duties in 1994. Always on the
hunt, Scott has been busy on various other
Mopar muscle car projects. If you liked his
1966 Coronet Deluxe, you might really like
his future project. Stay tuned.RACING DAYS
When present owner Scott Dahlberg
restored the 1966 Coronet in the early
1990s, he raced it in the Minnesota
Muscle Car Shootouts at Brainerd Inter-
national Raceway. Scott reports that it
never lost a race in any of the shootouts
he attended. The second owner of the Hemi Coro-
net Deluxe, Lou Costello, bought it in
1968 and transformed it into the Ham-
merin’ Hemi. He raced it until 1972 with
much success. Lou was listed in the
June 18, 1972, Minnesota Class Champi-
on roster as the SS/DA Class Champion.