Mopar Muscle – October 2019

FAST FACTS

1972 DODGE CHALLENGER

CAR OWNER: Paul Castiglione • Deer Park, NY

ENGINE

BUILT BY: The Sparks brothers, Tommy and Todd Sparks

TYPE: 400ci low-deck stroked to 512 ci

BORE AND STROKE: 4.375 bore x 4.250 stroke

BLOCK: 1971 400 “230 Block” 0.040 over bore

ROTATING ASSEMBLY: Carrillo crankshaft and I-beam rods, Wiseco pistons

all balanced, studded billet main caps with 440source.com main girdle

COMPRESSION: 11.0:1

CYLINDER HEADS: Indy EZ heads manhandled and manipulated by

Frankie Ford

CAMSHAFT: Howards solid-roller and lifters

VALVETRAIN: T&D 1.5 full roller bearing rocker arms with shaft oiling

and Smith Bros. pushrods

INDUCTION: Holley 950 carb prepped by Vinny Carvel

OILING SYSTEM: Milodon high-volume external pickup system,

7-quart oil pan

IGNITION: Billet MSD Distributor with Digital 6al-2 Ignition, MSD wires

FUEL: MagnaFuel 300

EXHAUST: TTI headers with Moroso spiral mufflers

COOLING: Griffin radiator with Dual SPAL fans with custom shroud,

mechanical water pump

CHARGING SYSTEM: PowerMaster 160-amp, single-wire Alternator

DRIVETRAIN

TRANSMISSION: Freddy Brown–prepped 727 with reverse manual

valvebody and transbrake, with Gear Vendors Overdrive

CONVERTER: GER 9-inch 4,000 stall

SHIFTER: Hurst Pistol Grip Quarter Stick with reverse pattern

DRIVESHAFT: Custom 3.5-inch

AXLES: Moser 35-spline

REAR END: Strange Dana 60 with Strange spool 4.56 gears

CHASSIS

CONSTRUCTION: Body is all steel with subframe connectors and an

eight-point rollbar, fiberglass hood

FRONT SUSPENSION: K-frame braced and welded, stock upper and

lower control arms with rubber bushings, adjustable drag shocks

REAR SUSPENSION: Cal-Trac split monoleaf with adjustable shocks

FRONT-END REAR BRAKES: Manual The Right Stuff vented and slotted

disc, with an aluminum master cylinder

STEERING: Flaming River manual

INTERIOR

INSTRUMENTS: Stock rallye dash with AutoMeter gauges and

aviation-grade switches.

SEATS: Kirkey

WIRING: Mostly stock, upgraded with Painless relays

WHEELS AND TIRES

WHEELS: 15x6 front steelies, 15x8 rear steelies with Dodge dog-dish

caps

TIRES: Fronts 215/75/15, rears Mickey Thompson 275/60/15

drag radials

PERFORMANCE

BEST PASS: 10.40 at 129.00, 1.47 60-foot, and there’s plenty more

in there!

WEIGHT: 3,500 in street trim with driver and fuel

a 400ci ‘low-deck’ block Chrysler produced in ’71 for a six-month

run called the Winter block. It had extra-large crankshaft webbing

for added strength,” Paul says. The famed “230” blocks are not

easy to find—or cheap. “I ended up finding a few and stashed

the extras away.”

Paul dropped the new block off at the Spark Brothers shop for

a rebuild. Built with a stroked Callies crankshaft, I-beam rods, and

Wiseco pistons, this beast now spread out to 512 ci of pure power.

A Howard’s solid-roller camshaft, T&D full-roller valvetrain, and

ported Indy cylinder heads ported by Frankie Ford add to the rodder’s

recipe. Studded main caps and girdle keep the lower half in check.

It’s now backed by a fresh Freddie Brown 727 and runs a 9-inch,

4,000-stall converter along with the Gear Vendors overdrive unit.

RUSSEL-MOBILE LIVES

Paul took his newly minted beast to the track for some shakedowns.

He was ready to hit the road again for the 2018 Drag Week festiv-

ities. There, the Challenger ran consistent 10-second times without

any major issues. But Paul knows there’s more in this combination

and hopes to get the car into the 9s soon.

More importantly, the Challenger is on the road and has become

a rolling remembrance to a brother and friend. “The car is a tribute,

and in honor of Russel, it was built to be kinda stock-looking, but

when you hear it coming, people say, ‘What the hell is that?’ It was

like the way he was; he wasn’t a troublemaker, but when he entered

a room, his friends would say, ‘Here comes trouble,’” Paul says.

Thanks go out to many for their help, but Paul would especially

like to thank his wife, Jackie, and his family for giving him the sup-

port and having the patience while Paul spent countless weekends,

nights, and holidays (and unreal amounts of money) making this

dream a reality. “My wife knew Russel well and was actually the

one that came up with our ‘4RUSL’ license plate,” Paul says.

Last but not least, Paul admits the best part of having the

Challenger finished is taking the car out to shows and running into

Russel’s friends. “He had a large group of friends he hung around

with. They all have stories about the Challenger to share, whether

it was riding around in the car, getting stuck somewhere, or just

hanging out.” Russel’s ride will live on—on the street and on the

track. Just the way he would have wanted it.

RUSSEL’S MUSCLE

66 moparmuscle.com