Dusk 'Til Drawn

All (HEMI) Things are Delicately Interconnected

All things Hemi are delicately interconnected.

A FIVE YEAR OLD SETS OUT ON A FORTY YEAR QUEST

I’ve had this shred of paper hanging over my desk for as long as I can recall, and the words on it have always proven true.

I was but a toddler when Steve Lisk’s brutal ’71 Hemi-powered Challenger (it was originally a 383 car) prowled Woodward Avenue, yet that car carved a place into the foundation of my car guy-ness. My introduction to that car came via a feature in Hot Rod Magazine and a trip to the barber shop. I’d bet that not many people can connect a lifetime fascination with a particular car with a visit to the local barber shop when they were but five years old. If you can, I’d love to shake your hand, as we share an eerily similar past!

lisk challengerFor me, it was around August of ’77, and my Dad had taken me to Bob and John’s Barber Shop for my start-of-the-school-year haircut. What was great about that place (beyond the cool guys who ran it, and those who seemed to populate that place, and the foosball and pinball tables upstairs!) were the stacks of cool magazines in the waiting area. They had what seemed like everything! The learning potential in that barber shop was mind-boggling. Whether you were listening to the conversations, or reading about some far off land, or even witnessing the skill of some pool shark, I had a theory that someone raised in that place might be overwhelmingly well-rounded in the art of street smarts.

STREET SMARTS/FORCED FATE

Speaking of street smarts, I happened to grab what in hindsight, anyway, was the perfect magazine at the perfect time. For in it, I glanced upon a car that would leave ripples across my brain. I had asked my Dad what this ‘Woodward’ place was, and thus began a series of tales of this amazing street where hundreds of cool cars would drive, and occasionally engage in a grudge match. To my 5 year-old brain, this was a magical land! Had you offered me the choice between a playground made of cake and candy or this Woodward Avenue, you can bet that we’d be stopping to fill the tank. The more I thought about it, the car in that magazine grew on me. It sparked a dream to one day be like the owner of that red Challenger, and cruise Woodward Avenue in a Hemi Challenger. Hell, talk about fate… When the Challenger concept was unveiled back in 2006, it was as though the universe had agreed that I damned-well should have one of my own. So it took me nine years deep into the model run to grab my own… But that same universe provided me with a career that made it possible. Talk about delicate interconnections.

hemi challenger
It may have been three decades in the making, but a couple of years back, I realized the dream, thanks to Dodge and my great friends over at Ignite Social Media:

I CRUISED WOODWARD

In a Hemi Challenger.

All things are delicately interconnected. There it was again. From a simple one-thousand character entry on a whim, to a stop at the NY International Auto Show, to realizing a childhood dream. Weird how things go.

Heck… I walked around and talked cars with Steve Magnante. A magical land? Oh, you only know part of it.

While we’ll get into some of the stops we made at historical plants and places around Detroit in later posts, I have to share the magical interconnections of that half-week. You just know that things are going to go well when you’re scooped-up from the airport in a Challenger Blacktop (Track Pak car, no less!) by one of the great friends you’ve made on this amazing journey (thanks, Eric!), and the first stop you make is Vinsetta Garage. At that point, the cosmic interconnections became even more vivid.

Standing in front of Vinsetta Garage on Woodward, I took a few moments to ponder the history, the incredible iron that cruised that fabled stretch of blacktop, and just smiled. That day in the barber shop came flooding back, and all seemed right in the world, accentuated by the rumble of cars passing, the scent of high octane, and just being back with the friends I was fortunate to make as a part of writing for the Dodge REDLINE Blog.

HELLO FATE, I’M BRIAN. WE MAY HAVE MET.

And then cosmic coincidence turned and winked at me. All things are delicately interconnected.

challengers on woodwardTim Kuniskis, CEO of Dodge, pulled up in his personal 1971 Challenger. My brain melted a bit. There I was… this lucky guy who wound up in a place he’d dreamed of as a kid, hanging out with people who just ‘get it’, drawn there by chance, having a love for the history surrounding that red ’71 Challenger, and now the CEO of Dodge is pulling up in his ’71 Challenger. Coincidence? Hardly a chance. Add to it that both that red, Wodward-dominating monster mentioned earlier, as well as Mr. Kuniskis’ beautifully restored black R/T began life as 383 cars, and each sported fire-breathing, modified engines, and the list of cosmic oddities was growing by the second. If there were ever a place which, car-related, anyway, I was meant to be, it was right there, right then.

On Friday and Saturday, I lived my dream of cruising Woodward in a Hemi Challenger, and enjoyed every single second of it. Not having found the time to have ever taken my personal car up to Detroit for the event, I did suffer a slight twinge of guilt, as mine sat back home in the garage, a couple of thousand miles away…

cruising-woodwardYet I digress. As many have said, it’s a thirteen-mile traffic jam you want to be stuck in, and it was nothing shy of amazing. I saw great cars, met some fantastic people (even made friends with a gentleman who, get this, works at the plant where my Challenger was built!), and made another huge batch of memories. It’s been like building this giant layer cake, adding friends, memories, and dreams realized to an already astounding recipe. Yeah… ‘Dream Cruise’ is a fitting name for it. All things being so delicately interconnected, I’m beginning to see just how strong those bonds can become, and can honestly say that I’m stoked to be a part of these many links fitting together so neatly.

 

HISTORY RETURNS IN GRAND FASHION

The story takes an interesting turn in August of 2017, when I received an email here, via the website contact page. The Lisk car was available.

hemi challenger

And I was one of the first contacted regarding it.

Stop for a moment and breathe that in.

I am being honored by the universe to play a small part in how this piece of history is preserved. All things are delicately interconnected. Indeed.

A MATTER OF PRESERVATION

The elephant in the room (pardon the obvious pun) is in selecting just how this all shakes out. The car needs to, nay, deserves to be preserved over the next forty years or so. And in that lies the rub. As a single Dad, my options are limited. I can’t simply liquidate things or harvest internal organs.. well, at least not my own… wait, that was out loud. However, I am in the position to assist in ensuring that the car winds up in the correct hands, and is preserved for future generations to enjoy.

hemi engine platelisk challenger tankDoes it need work? Sure… but it’s surprisingly close. The Lenco is gone, as is the original engine (read as “the one that matters,” anyway… the car began as a 383-powered R/T), but that’s all stuff that can be re-done. I’d take it back to the bright bumper, red spoiler and T/A scoop days (yes, versus the snorkel… just a preference thing on the visual side), but leave the trick traction compound applicator (fashioned from a windshield washer bottle) in the trunk. Trick little stuff is what makes it, kids. It’s not the sort of car I’d want to see pushed across an auction block, an then have it disappear into the ether; but rather enjoyed and preserved and driven. HARD. It needs to be placed into the hands of a steward, not a collector of things.

That said, I’m in a bit of a quandary. Do I liquidate things like a house, move my son and I in with my Dad and then tinker on it as I manage to scrape pennies? Or do I do the logical thing, and work to find the right buyer, and stick close to the car, hopefully acting as manager and caretaker, and see it through the end of my life, ensuring that it lives on to inspire some other five year old?

I believe that the cosmic string of events which have transpired all serve to answer the many questions with a resounding “YES.” I should remain attached to this car, and find a role that serves it best. After all, this car has literally been one of the very few constants in my life.

LISK MANAGEMENT

That said, it’s a matter of getting the right hands into the right pocketbook, and making the right moves. All things are delicately interconnected. Funny how that is.

Do you have a Woodward ‘dream’ story? Has there been a series of ‘delicately interconnected’ events or experiences that brought you and your car either together, or to a place where you may have made a friend? Hit me with it below in the comments.

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The Author

Brian Stupski

Brian Stupski

6 Comments

  1. August 31, 2017 at 8:58 pm — Reply

    Thanks for sharing that history, Brian! I have a hard drive full of memories involving cars, travelling, driving… one that stands out to me and is most relevant to this post is driving in my uncle’s 68 Barracuda that he bought new. This would have been in the late 80’s I’m guessing… I can’t remember how old I am most of the time, so to attach an age to a memory is something I need to bring in extra help for. It’s a black coupe, 383 4 speed I think, and the seat belts kind of clicked in at the top of the A pillar from what I can remember, then you had to unbuckle it to become the shoulder portion of the belt. I can still see the little tag on the seatbelt fluttering in the wind as he slammed us down a gear and I was pressed into the bucket seat. Just as you don’t notice your heart beating until you sit there for a second and are aware of it, I didn’t know that an involuntary, goofy grin had grown across my face until he let off the throttle.
    He still has that car… hopefully I can still surprise myself with a throttle grin if he takes me for another ride. Till then, I’ll keep trying to put a grin on the face of my kids when the light turns green every so often 🙂

    • September 2, 2017 at 7:00 pm — Reply

      Thanks, DW! There’s something about that involuntary action… A little bit of torque goes a long way toward keeping those face muscles taut!
      Thanks for sharing, sir!

  2. David Thornton
    June 14, 2018 at 1:15 am — Reply

    iWas behind the full zoot Lisk Challenger in my cool ’73 Camaro in a North Woodward turn around late 1 nite in the ’77-’78 era on a quiet weekend nite. iM 60 now, but iWill never 4get the wheelie bars on Lisk’s car twitching & my Camaro’s side windows vibrating from what probably was a dual plug stroker Hemi by that time in that cars back door OEM R&D…

    • June 14, 2018 at 6:45 am — Reply

      Hey David, thanks for sharing that memory! Lisk’s car remains one pf the most influential cars in my life, and your description of that experience really got my mind racing. Awesome. Would love to see your Camaro, if you have some pics! HUGE thanks for stopping by, and especially for sharing your comment.

  3. Bruce Norgaard
    February 19, 2021 at 3:58 pm — Reply

    This isn’t about a Mopar ride but back in Spencwer, Iowa in the 70’s a very good friend of mine bought a little “62-ish Chevy II Nova, 2 door post car from his uncle- in Colorado I think. It had a straight axle, large 427 Chevy with a 3-barrel and a 4-speed and posi 12 bolt, it was really jacked up off the ground. It was wicked to say the least. He took me for a ride late one night and I’ve never gone for a ride in a hotrod that ended up giving me a puch in the stomach every time he shifted gears. It was flat out awesome- dang near scary!! It was my first real introduction to what a highly modified- really powerful street car could be. I have no idea where it ever went but it was the most wicked car I’ve EVER ridden in. I’m 70 now and I’ve been in a few. Love your articles. THANX!! Bruce

  4. Bruce Norgaard
    February 19, 2021 at 3:59 pm — Reply

    That was SPENCER, IOWA, not Spencwer, Iowa. Fatfingers…..

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