While it looks like it should be more at home on the track, Rich and Karen Mehas’ 1966 Dodge Coronet is a Grand National Roadster Show class winner, and sees more street miles than strip miles.
The Coronet was languishing in Lang Paciulli’s LP Racing shop as the vehicle’s owner got sidetracked with other projects. Eventually, Lang, a longtime family friend of Mehas and chief mechanic on many of his vehicles, suggested he take over the project. A deal was made in 2013, and after Lang took Mehas for a ride in another customer’s 2,000-horsepower machine, Mehas wanted something similarly mean, as well.
Lang’s LP Racing shop fabricated the Dodge’s suspension, which includes a dual A-arm setup up front, and a ladder bar rear suspension with a wishbone locator for state-of-the-art control of its radial tires under power. LP Racing also installed the 25.4-cert roll cage, and as race-track-appropriate as that is, Lang also installed a 20-gallon fuel cell to provide an adequate supply of fuel for the street.
In the Coronet’s engine bay sits a 540 cubic inch Wedge engine built by Pro Line Racing from a Keith Black aluminum block and Indy aluminum cylinder heads and intake manifold. While EFI is hugely popular these days, Mehas’ Coronet utilizes a CSU blow-through carburetor to complement the intercooled air from the twin Precision GT4788 turbochargers with an appropriate amount of fuel. The combination is said to be capable of over 2,000 horsepower.
Backing the built engine is a Rossler Turbo 400 automatic transmission with a ProTorque torque converter, and at the aft of the big Dodge is an LP Racing-fabricated 9-inch rearend with a 3.70 gear and 40-spline axles.
A host of subtle body modifications were made, including the one-off carbon-fiber hood, and the Dodge Coronet was shipped off to Arizona where Jay and Colleen Jorgensen of Speedway Customs took care of the bodywork and paint. Aside from its striking stance, the Coronet wears the attention-grabbing Jetstream Blue hue from Chevrolet’s Corvette.
On the inside you’ll find a RacePak IQ3 digital display providing the driver with engine vitals, and a pair of Kirkey racing bucket seats were covered by upholstery and interior guru Ron Mangus.
With plenty of components to ensure it is street-worthy, Mehas’ Coronet would make one rad drag-and-drive machine. It could be yours, as Mehas, a member of the Old Farts Racing team who is 78 years young, has decided to let someone else have…
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