"We usually take it on a week-long
summer vacation every year. Last year it went out to the Smoky Mountains,
Atlanta, and all over that part of the country. This year we drove it down
to Texas. It's out pretty much from Easter until Thanksgiving, and then it
gets put away for the winter. But for the eight months it's out, we drive it
every week." So says Gerry Spray about the annual mileage his '71 Challenger
racks up. A drop-top E-Body-what better way to see the country?
Gerry bought the car about six years ago, and set about doing a complete
restoration. While most would jump at the chance to own a convertible
Challenger, we're fairly certain the majority of enthusiasts wouldn't have
jumped at the chance to retain this car's original driveline. In a "bigger's
always better" hobby, a 318/904 powertrain combo usually isn't held as the
object of desire for performance enthusiasts. But Gerry's version of "performance"
differs from most, and we'd have to say we like it.
"It's not much of a quarter-mile machine," Gerry says. "It's more a highway
cruiser than a race car, that's for sure. I'm not sure what the rear gear
ratio is-it's got to be in the 2s-but it idles along real nice at 100 mph on
the toll road, and it gets 16.5 miles per gallon."
He sent the original 318 to the machine shop, where it received a .040-inch
overbore, a "mild" Edelbrock cam, intake and carb, an electronic ignition,
and not much more in the way of hot rod performance. Backing up the mild-mannered
engine is a stock rebuilt 904 with a Slap Stick shifter and the mystery-geared
831/44. The stock standard suspension ("That's why it's got all that body
roll to it!") was retained along with the manual drum brakes on all four
corners, and power steering rounds out the mechanicals.