zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
For $16,000, Go On A Straight-Line Rampage
For $16,000, Go On A Straight-Line Rampage-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:11

You can't just stick a two-story wing on any Mopar product and call it a Superbird, that dog won't hunt. Despite that, as today's dragster Dodge proves, you can drop in a massive mill and call it a day. But will its price turn this ‘bird' into a dog?

Buying yesterday's would mean being on the hook for a cool seventy nine hundred bucks. According to 62% of you, that was too high a price to wrest that wrecker from its current owner's clutches, although most of you did find it to be a hoot and a half.

If your tastes tend towards Teutonic tow trucks then today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe be-hooked…

Despite its current guise as a participant in as intrinsically an American activity as baseball, apple pie, and fighting for the right not to be offered health care coverage, today's over the top can actually trace its roots back to France. That's right, it started out more merde than ‘merican, the L-car platform having been originally developed by Chrysler's French partner Simca.

Of course, there's no Simca still simmering in this Rampage, and while the French are frequently (and unfairly) besmirched as cowardly, the only thing yellow on this Dodge is its loud and proud - and be-flamed - paint. As a matter of fact, this mini-truck rampages from a whole different end as its transverse economy-class front-driving four has been replaced by what is described as a 650-bhp 500-CID big block V8 that now twists the fat meats in back like they were boys' nipples in junior high gym class.

That massive mill sticks so far out of the engine bay that if the car had a hood it would be rendered little more than a g-string's width to make room. Sitting atop, and looking uncomfortably like Johnny 5 from Short Circuit is a 850 CFM carb and filter-less two-runner ram making driving during dust storms ill advised. Extraction duties are handled by Hooker headers leading to four-port manifold side pipes.

The gearbox is a reverse-valve (slap down to shift up) 727, while the Art Morrison ladder bar rear suspension holds a cut-down rear end with 3:89 gears turning massive 31-18.50-15 Mickey Thompsons. Stopping is accomplished by four-wheel discs and should they prove less effective than hoped, the truck has been caged.

Slipping in around that pipe you'll plunk down in a pair of supermodel-thing racing buckets, into an equally sparse and business-like interior. The entire dash has been replaced with a broad swath of carbon fiber, into which Autometer gauges have been judiciously sunk. Sitting on top is a tach big enough that it could clock Flava flav spinning in his grave, were he not still among the living.

This isn't just a quarter mile queen as the seller says it's street able and - despite its being offered for sale in Maryland - does sport a Hoosier State plate. That means if you happen to work 1,320 feet from home, this bad boy will let you sleep-in an extra five minutes every single day.

Of course you might lose some sleep after having spent $16,000 on a car with what looks like the turning circle of a parade float and the fuel economy of of an Abrams M1. Those debbie downers may be ameliorated by the promise of stool-loosening acceleration, and that big-ass wing ensuring you'd never lose this Hot Wheels truck in a crowded parking lot.

One note about that wing and the ad. This being a Dodge - it says so right at the top of the tailgate - adding that bridge scraper does not make this a Superbird, Mr. Motivated Seller. That would be a Plymouth. The Dodge edition of those pointy-nosed NASCAR rules-pushers would be the Charger Daytona, a car that preceded the Plymouth by a full year.

Okay, now that I've gotten that off my chest, it's time for you to get something off yours, and I'm not talking about your mom's bra. No, it's now time to weigh in on whether the seller of this dragster Dodge has set a price that's low enough to make you prematurely pop your chute. Or, if it's so high you'd need to stand on that wing to reach it.

You decide!

or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to Wes Barton for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
Someone Willingly Paid $16,000 For A Maserati Ghibli On Cars & Bids. Don’t Make The Same Mistake
Someone Willingly Paid $16,000 For A Maserati Ghibli On Cars & Bids. Don’t Make The Same Mistake
Let’s cut right to the chase: buying a is not a good idea unless you have deep enough pockets for the upkeep. For those not in the know, they’re sirens. They draw you in with their premium Italian image and sweet songs of and then go in for the...
Oct 22, 2024
At $18,500, Would You Lean Toward Buying This 2022 Ford Mustang?
At $18,500, Would You Lean Toward Buying This 2022 Ford Mustang?
Today’s Mustang is being sold by a towing yard, which means it’s probably a lien sale. Let’s see if this clean title convertible is priced to put a new buyer on the hook. The general consensus on last Friday’s was that it would be the perfect car for someone...
Oct 22, 2024
Which One Of You Suckers Is Going To Pay Over $32,000 For A 25-Year-Old Toyota 4Runner
Which One Of You Suckers Is Going To Pay Over $32,000 For A 25-Year-Old Toyota 4Runner
The (and Tacoma) have a death grip on used values. It’s been this way for years. Go ahead, go try and buy any TRD trim that’s a couple of years old; it’ll cost you as much as a new one — not that you could buy a new one...
Oct 22, 2024
At $950, Would You Go All-In On This 1984 Plymouth Colt GTS Turbo Project?
At $950, Would You Go All-In On This 1984 Plymouth Colt GTS Turbo Project?
One of the calling cards of today’s Plymouth Colt is its “Twin Stick” overdrive gear change, which gives the car eight speeds going forward and two in reverse. Let’s see if this project car has anything else to offer. Just as Goldilocks discovered when appropriating Papa Bear’s lifestyle and...
Oct 22, 2024
At $5,900, Is This 1984 Nissan 720 4X4 A Solid Deal?
At $5,900, Is This 1984 Nissan 720 4X4 A Solid Deal?
According to its seller, today’s Nissan 4X4 shows “pride of ownership.” Let’s see if it would take swallowing one’s pride to pay its asking price. Opinions were split on how well the design of yesterday’s has held up over the years. Some of you commented that the design still...
Oct 22, 2024
At $8,600, Would You Go Topless In This 1994 Cadillac Eldorado?
At $8,600, Would You Go Topless In This 1994 Cadillac Eldorado?
The seller of today’s Caddy claims they should be selling it at auction but says who’s got time for that? Let’s see if we have the time for this custom convertible at its non-auction price. Many of you agreed that the $950 asked for yesterday’s was “chump change.” Even...
Oct 22, 2024
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved