A 1953 Woodill Wildcat. This is not the particular vehicle we are working on, rather just a great shot to show what this rare car looks like in its habitat.
The 1953 Woodill Wildfire, currently undergoing a complete restoration and powertrain upgrade at All American Classic Car Restoration (AACCR), is a unique and rarely remembered piece of American sports car history. The brainchild of Blanchard Robert "Woody" Woodhill, this fiberglass sports car was offered as a kit for many car owners looking for something that was totally different from the cars of the era. Debuting a year before another fiberglass sports car was to arrive, the 1953 Corvette, the Woodill Wildcat was truly amazing!
The Series 1 Wildcats were a conglomeration of parts, including Glasspar custom fiberglass bodies, a custom frame built from angle iron, front suspension from a Willys Jeepster, and the rear axle from a Willys Aero. To power the package, they used a Willy inline six-cylinder engine that gave it power befitting the sports car theme. Shortly thereafter, a Series 2 version arrived with slight modifications, including a hood bulge for more engine space, a hood scoop for fresh air, and a number of cosmetic changes for improved safety. Only two Series 2 versions were ever constructed.
After some positive media visibility for the Woodill Wildfire at the Petersen Motorama show in November 1952, excitement by sports car fans in the Woodill Wildfire increased quickly. That enthusiasm was cut short by the introduction of the Kaiser-Darrin, a car produced by Willys that became a direct competitor to the Wildfire.
Not to worry, Woody decided to make his new Wildcats available in kit form for home builders using many parts from readily available 1939-48 Fords. As noted by Woody, "Do it yourselfers with a modicum of mechanical skill" could assemble these cars in their home garage.
The new Type 2 Wildfire evolved over the next few years integrating more advanced parts to make them serviceable, and accepting larger power plants such as the Ford flat-head engine. A complete Wildfire kit sold for $1,208 in 1953, the more advanced 1954 models receiving a price increase to $1,617. For those looking for turnkey Wildfires, they could be had for $3,260 in 1953 (about $31,500 today). While that may seem cheap by today's standards, this was a significant sum for that era since a Cadillac Series 62 club coupe sold for $2,900 that year, a convertible priced at $3400.
The Wildfire under construction at AACCR was a 1953 model fitted by a previous owner with a classic Cadillac engine. At the owner's request, everything underbody has been freshened, a late model 383cid small block Chevy engine now powering the chassis. A 5-speed Tremec transmission will make the gear shifts easy to control and a new rear end along with Woodill four wheel disc brakes are a huge handling upgrade over the previous underpinnings.
The classic Wildfire fiberglass body has been removed from the chassis and refinished by the AACCR technicians, taking care to retain the original bodyline configuration. As you can see from the photos, the body has been repaired, reinforced and re-fiberglassed where needed. Now in primer, the body will receive a gel-coat to fill in any surface imperfections, primed, and then painted.
The Woodill Wildfire is a striking body shape that received great notoriety in its time. Now forgotten, AACCR is excited to see the car come back to life, reminding us of a time long past when a home-built fiberglass car was to wave the green flag for an exciting new era in car customization.
Different from the 1970 versions as you might expect, the taillights of this 1971 Cuda have become more difficult to tack down as you may expect.
A love lost is a love always remembered.
Or such was the case with Brad Toles and his 'Cuda obsession.The financial depression of 2007 caused Toles' love of classic Mopars to reluctantly sell his yet to be finished '71 'Cuda, just to survive. Like so many business owners at that fateful time, it required great resourcefulness to avoid total bankruptcy. With banks failing and stocks on the rocks, his '71 'Cuda was sold just to keep things afloat.
But loves lost have a way to making a mark that sticks with us for many years after the fact. But having weathered the rough years, seven years after the loss of his first 'Cuda, a new opportunity reared its grille. With his focus on tribute hemi cars becoming a driving force, he uncovered a very nice '71 'Cuda 340 complete with a fender tag denoting the rare billboard-style graphics and a shaker hood. With a terrific head start on this car compared to the one he sold - Toles set his plan in motion with the mindset of not letting this one get away.
Hemi Heaven
Toles is a maniac. His collection of rare parts its amazing not only for its tremendous size but also for its organization. A chef by vocation, the same style of organization that allows him to make amazing culinary creations, is present with his car builds. When making an amazing dish for his customers, he can't run out to the grocery store for a missing item. All of the ingredients must be present mise en place as the chefs call it everything in place.
That same style of organization is present in Toles garage where parts are logged, bagged, sorted, and racked for easy access. When he needs a carburetor jet for a classic Carter AFB or the right hose camp for a 1970 GTX, it's ready to go. In addition, he has stockpiled a collection of original Chrysler sheetmetal just to make sure that when recreating his cars, original sheetmetal is used throughout.
So Toles set out to build his dream Cuda, a 1971 model with Sublime Green exterior, one of his favorite hues for all things Mopar. For the interior he went with the factory black vinyl coverings while retaining the 727 Torqueflite transmission and Slap Stik Mopar shifter with surrounding console. All of the high information, high 'data" gauges were used to keep track of engine and cooling system operation and a shiny red pull knob under the dash opens the doors within the Shaker Hood to unleash the beast of all 426 cubic inches ramming air through the twin four barrel carbs for combustion.
The move to the hemi engine in place of the more than capable original 340cid engine was for a variety of reasons. First, there is nothing cooler than a hemi engine. The powerplant that rewrote the books with regards to not only drag racing competition (the 426 Hemi engine was the template for the most suspension Top Fuel and Funny Car class vehicles) but also made an enormous impact on NASCAR just as Richard Petty.
Another key reason for switching to a hemi engine was simple those who can do. Through his Mopar "Nugget find" Excursions across the US to locate cool and ultra rare parts, Toles has amassed a number of hemi engines and parts. After teaming up with John Shewbert, one of the last of the great engine builders from the 1960's and 70's, he had the two key pieces required to build cars of this type the parts and a guy who knows how to put them together. Today Toles has not only a number of hemi-powered cars but also engines assembled by Shewbert that stand ready to find their way between the fender wells of cars he has under construction.
Final Execution
The Sublime Green '71 Cuda that rolled out if Toles' shop in Palm Springs is a perfect recreation of what could have been delivered by your local Chrysler/Plymouth dealership in late 1970 or most of 1971 (only 6,228 coupes where made that year in total- only 108 with the Hemi engines), Remember this was the time of the conversion to unleaded fuels nation wide, which basically heralded the end of the muscle car era. The last year of the 426cid hemi engine, Chrysler was to make the 440cid engine the top dog in 1972. For that reason alone, original '71 Hemi cars have reached stratospheric heights.
Without a doubt these cars were made to go fast. No A/C options on the order blank, these cars featured only go fast upgrades such as power front disc brakes (standard was four wheel drum), shaker hood, Track Pak, Super Track Pak and Performance axle packages were just some of the more notable upgrades. For the fashion conscious, there were options such as body color Elastomeric bumpers and "high performance tape" such as the Billboard "Hemi" body graphics shown on Toles' Cuda.
Home for Good
So Toles' Cuda is back safely in his garage for cruising or showing when the urge hits him. The one-year-only body shape is a collectable for certain and one that Toles sees as being recognized in the near future of its true grounding breaking style and amazing performance.
Says Toles, "I see these cars getting recognition at the Pebble Beach Concours and major shows of this caliber in the near future. These cars may not have been assembled by hand in an Italian shop surrounded by wine country but they are striking in their cutting edge exterior design and colorations. Combine that with the legacy of their powertrains which was to rewrite the racing record books, especially their domination of American racing, I believe, makes them concours worthy."
Fast Facts
1971 Plymouth 'Cuda Tribute 426 Hemi
Brad Toles, Palm Springs, CA
ENGIN
Type: 426cid Hemi 425HP/490 lb. ft.
Bore x stroke: 4.310 (bore) x 3.250 (stroke)
Block: Factory OE 0.030-inch overbore
Rotating assembly: Diamond Forged pistons, Mopar Kellogg crankshaft, street hemi connecting rods
Compression: 10.5:1
Cylinder heads: Factory original port matched and bowl blended over size 2.19-inch intake and 1.88-inch exhaust
Camshaft: Comp Cams 0.3850/0.3830-inch Lift, 248/255-degree duration, All original valve train throughout
Induction: Edelbrock AFB Carbs for engine break in original Carter AFB's are ready for installation
Oiling system: Melling oiling system
Exhaust: Stock Hemi exhaust manifolds
Ignition: Factory Mopar original CD ignition 36-degrees timing
Cooling: Factory original radiator and clutch fan
DRIVETRAIN
Transmission: Chrysler TorqueFlite 727-B three-speed automatic
Clutch: McLeod clutch system
Shifter: Factory Slap Stik shifter
Driveshaft: stock factory restored to original
Rearend: Dana 60 with 3:55:1 ratio with Sure-Grip
CHASSIS
Front suspension: Stock Chrysler
Rear suspension: Stock Chrysler
Steering: stock power steering box
Front brakes: Stock Chrysler Bendix disc brakes
Rear brakes: Stock Chrysler drum brakes
Power Booster: Aftermarket booster shown - Factory unit ready to go
Painter: West Coast Mopar/AACCR
Paint: PPG water-base with two-stage clear X9 Black
Wheels: Factory original steel wheel with button hub caps
Tires: B. F. Goodrich T/A Radials
In the scheme of Holy Grail muscle cars, this has to be one of them. Not only does it feature that awesome wedge shape and clothes-line rear deck spoiler, it has red hot Tor-Red paint and the most incredible powertrain ever: a 426-cid Hemi engine backed with a Pistol-Grip-shifted four-speed and Dana 60 rear end.
Yep, this one checks all the boxes.
The restoration of this 1970 Plymouth "Tribute" Superbird began after some pretty slick trading by the owner. Part horse trader with more than a side of culinary acumen, Brad Toles always wanted one of the legendary wing cars. At the time, he had a number of cars under construction, but a backyard full of cars needing some serious love to revive. To get the picture, Swiss cheese has fewer holes than the five cars Toles had located over time.
Enter one very rough Roadrunner. While a five for one trade rarely has merit, for Toles there was one element of the Road Runner that really caught his eye — the brand-new steel nose that came with the rough bird. As car negotiations go, this one was rather simple. Five for one and where there once was a load of cars to be restored, Toles now had one on which to focus.
Digging In
As has become his way, Toles loves Hemi-powered machines. While he has several cars that were originally equipped with 426-cid Hemi engines, he has dedicated himself to building cars that feature these powerplants. So it was clear from the outset that the Road Runner would soon not only become a Superbird courtesy of that rare steel nose, it'd be running Hemi power under the Tor-Red paint. It wasn't long before the Road Runner was going under the knife, replacing those Swiss cheese panels for OE components he had collected over the years.
With the new body panels in place, Tribute Superbird began to take shape. While it's common for Superbirds, both real and recreated, to have a fiberglass nose, the original factory cars wore the steel beak. Finding an original metal one isn't easy. Upon review, the Superbird's hood and fenders are also quite different from the factory Road Runner parts. With the skill of a brain surgeon, Toles and his team blended and shaped all of these components to build out the proper Superbird shape.
Winged Victory
If you pulled up a photo of a 1970 Plymouth Superbird in a magazine that fateful year, you'd probably have seen the requisite photo of a magazine journalist sitting on the rear wing. The point to all of that was that these pieces were really strong, destined to deliver significant downforce on superspeedways around the NASCAR circuit. With its strikingly pointed nose that cut through the Talladega Speedway air like a hot knife through butter, the Dodge Daytonas and Plymouth Superbirds of the era struck fear in the competition from Ford and Chevrolet.
In his book, American Racing Classics, Bob Myers quotes Chrysler Team GM Harry Hyde about his experience with the Superbirds and Daytonas of the era.
Said Hyde, concerning the Superbirds before they were reduced to 305cid for the 1971 season, "There is no telling how fast they would have run. Two hundred and eighty wouldn't have been out of the question with the tires we have today. But it's really just a guess as they (Dodge Daytonas and Plymouth Superbirds) were almost the perfect race car. They were so stable. They had real low drag numbers, and we all know how important low drag numbers have become."
As to handling, Hyde indicated that the wing was paramount in importance, as Myers quoted Hyde as saying, "You could just tilt the wing and make the car either loose or tight, whatever you wanted. No matter what the driver wanted, you could give it to him. The wing was tilted 11 degrees to start with, and this was almost perfect. But if needed, you could change the handling of the car just by tilting the wing. They were the easiest cars I've ever had to work with [but] NASCAR could see that they were too fastback then. The speeds were getting out of control. Yeah," Hyde continued, "The worst thing about the Daytona (and Superbird) was they helped create the carburetor plate. Later in the 1970 season, carburetor restrictor plates were required at Michigan, resulting in speeds being cut there by about 5 mph."
The role of the Dodge Daytona and the Plymouth Superbird in racing history make this Tribute Superbird all more significant. With a shape unmistakable from an era when high performance was a key to marketing automobiles in America (remember the adage of the era: Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday) these two vehicles did an admirable job of selling Chryslers — and share a legacy with Hellcat Dodges, Red Eyes, and Demons that live on today.
"The Toles Tribute Superbird is as impressive in person as it is in print," says writer Cam Benty. "We photographed the Tor-Red Superbird on a very hot day in Palm Springs, California, and the car drove very well. It was 119 according to our chase car temp display, and we had no issues running it around town. With that big camshaft the car cranked out a proper lope on idle and under power it roared through the Street Hemi mufflers. It was a great day all around both car and support team survived the day.
Upon completion of the 'Bird, Toles reached out to his former trading partner to show him just what had become of his rusty Road Runner. "He wanted to know if I wanted to trade back," said Toles. "While that was a kind offer, I was pleased with the car and how my end of the bargain turned out. No deal!"
No kidding!
Brad Toles is a sick man.
Not in the sense of having truly debilitating illness, but in the realm of an addiction to Chrysler's Street Hemi cars and the Holy Grail of performance engines, the 426-cid Hemi. Affectionately labeled Elephant Engines when they debuted in 1964 due to their immense size and power output, they were to cut the die as arguably the most dominant drag racing engine of all time.
This stunning 1968 Street Hemi R/T "Tribute" Charger was restored to perfection by Toles at West Coast Mopar, a division of All American Collector Car Restoration in Palm Springs, California. Taken down to bare metal, this rotisserie restoration is perfect in every way. But the road to perfection doesn't come easily — it takes vision, time, and money to create a car like this.
In the Beginning
"I purchased the Charger February 2011 from a gentleman in Los Angeles," notes Toles. "It had been stored in his backyard for 30-plus years. The Charger belonged to the father of the person I purchased it from and their goal had always been to rebuild the car. But like so many automotive projects, that dream was never realized. Instead, the car slowly decayed, many of the original parts sold off or thrown in the trash. To most people who saw the car, it was a pile of junk sitting in someone's backyard."
Chasing cars like these has become an obsession for Toles who loves nothing more than to drop everything in his life and head to parts unknown to check out a collection of specifically classic Mopar parts. At about the same time of the Charger purchase, he was to fortuitously meet up with Tom Agee, whose contagious Hemi affliction was in full bloom.
States Toles, "I have been hunting for classic Mopar parts and cars for the last decade, and it was on a run when I met up with Tom Agee. As we walked through the Mopar items he had for sale, the subject turned to the topic of Hemi's. Agee shared a passionate story about when he was a teenager his dad had given him a 1968 Street Hemi Charger — a car that was to save his life in later years. Evidently, years later he would be dating a girl whose father became unhappy about her choice of boyfriends. To avoid the shotgun blasts from the angry father, it required the power of a Street Hemi to carry him away from the dangerous encounter. With guns blazing, expletives flying, and gravel spewing from the Charger's spinning tires, Agee escaped with his life. But I digress ..."
What came out of Toles' conversation with Agee was the connection to a guy named Jim Shewbert. According to Agee, Shewbert was the only person who knew more about Hemi motors other than Agee's father. That's when Toles' Hemi troubles began. Shewbert was a racer who had worked with the likes of racing legends Ed Pink and Keith Black along with so many other great nostalgic Mopar racing geniuses. It was through Shewbert's knowledge of Hemis, that Toles discovered the right guy to build period-correct, high-output Mopar engines.
"One of 'products' [and there have been many since] of having met Jim Shewbert was the Hemi engine that currently resides in this Charger," noted Toles. "From the onset, the goal wasn't to just build a Charger — it became absolutely paramount to build as close as we could to a perfectly restored '68 Hemi Dodge Charger. Knowing that only 475 original [264 with automatic transmissions and 211 four-speeds] 1968 Street Hemi R/T Chargers were ever built and that only a couple dozen probably exist today, this is the best route to create one I could afford. My passion for Mopars has not only led me to want to save these amazing cars but it is also equally important to me to seek out the Mopar masters logging their knowledge and wisdom."
The State of The Street Hemi Today
Toles' passion for 1968-1971 Chrysler cars is proven by his large collection of hard-to-find original parts that he has chased down from all corners of the country — his "nugget runs" as he calls these excursions. His facility in Palm Springs, California, has a full complement of state-of-the-art tools to allow him to fully strip to the bare metal and then build back to perfection with number's matching perfection.
States Toles, "This 1968 Dodge Charger triple X9, XSL code was one of the fortunate ones to be brought back, but is still in the process of becoming a completely accurate restoration. The more I learn from others like Jim Shewbert, the more this car and others will benefit.It was Shewbert's love for Hemi engines and the inherent rarity of Hemi cars and engines that really motivated me to build this "tribute" Hemi car."
While Toles says he would love to convert all of his car builds to incorporate exclusively Street Hemi engines, that's almost impossible due to do the rarity of Hemi blocks today. Hemi cars were never produced in big numbers (10,904 Street Hemis and just a tick under 900 Race Hemis) despite the headlines they drew. While that number may sound like it would be big enough to build as many Hemi-powered cars Toles could possibly want, it was the fact that guys like Shewbert and other racers often grabbed the Street Hemi engines out of original cars to build their race cars.
Remember, the 426-cid Hemi engine was the powerplant of choice for the majority of the truly fast drag cars in the 1960s and 1970s — many Top Fuel and Funny Cars using these engines for nitro-fueled competition. Aftermarket 426 Street Hemi "replica" engine blocks produced by folks like Keith Black reduced the need for the iron Street Hemis since they were lighter and stronger internally. But the damage had been done, and today finding an original Street Hemi is extremely rare. And when a Street Hemi iron block is used in Nitro Methane-class racing, the repetitive super-high heat and quick cool down cycling that these engines experience over time makes them very brittle. According to Shewbert, they "make a great paperweight" but can't be used as an engine in a vehicle ever again.
A Fitting Tribute
While Toles wishes this Charger was an original Street Hemi, his effort to honor a very rare car is extremely well done. From the X9 Black Paint to the Red deck stripes, this true 1968 R/T Charger is a work of art. The car is correct right down to the correctly dated Street Hemi engine block, date-coded cylinder heads, and ultra "unobtainium" Street Hemi exhaust manifolds.
The triple-black Charger (black vinyl top, black exterior, black interior) is a rare combination that strikes a stunning silhouette when rolling down the highway. Regardless of your favorite car brand, when a 1968 Street Hemi Charger appears, it becomes easy to fully understand just why these cars — especially with this engine combination — are the most iconic shape ever from America's classic muscle car era.
Fast Facts
1968 Dodge "Tribute" Hemi Charger
Brad Toles, Palm Springs, CA
ENGINE
Type: 426-cid Hemi, 425 hp, 490 lb-ft
Bore x stroke: 4.310 (bore) x 3.250 (stroke)
Block: factory OE 0.030-inch overbore
Rotating assembly: Diamond Forged pistons, Mopar Kellogg crankshaft, street Hemi connecting rods
Compression: 11:1
Cylinder heads: factory original port matched and bowl blended, over-size 2.19-inch intake and 1.88-inch exhaust
Camshaft: Comp Cams 0.3850/0.3830-inch Lift, 248/255-degree duration, All original valve train throughout
Induction: Factory 2x4 intake manifold with original Carter AFB 4BBL carburetors (PN 4430S front and PN 44315 rear)
Oiling system: Melling oiling system
Exhaust: stock Hemi exhaust manifolds
Ignition: factory Mopar original CD ignition, 36 degrees timing
Cooling: factory original radiator and clutch fan
Engine built by: Adams Machine (Palmdale, CA)
DRIVE TRAIN
Transmission: Dodge A-833 New Process four-speed,18-spline input shaft
Clutch: McLeod clutch system
Shifter: factory stock Hurst four-speed shifter
Driveshaft: stock factory, restored to original
Rearend: Dana 60 with 3:55:1 ratio with Sure-Grip
CHASSIS
Front suspension: stock Chrysler
Rear suspension: stock Chrysler
Steering: stock power steering box
Front brakes: stock Chrysler Bendix disc brakes
Rear brakes: stock Chrysler drum brakes
Painter: West Coast Mopar/AACCR
Paint: PPG water-base with two-stage clear X9 Black
Wheels: Factory original steel wheel with button hubcaps
Tires: Goodyear original style tires, F70-15 front and rear
All American Classic Car Restoration
285 West Radio Road, Palm Springs, CA
Shop (760) 778-7674 Cell (760) 275-1108
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