George Baptiste found the fountain of youth back in 1968! It comes in the shape of a ’68 Barracuda and is filled with 426 Hemi power. There is something to be said for getting the blood flowing with a Hemi… George is still loving his MoPar at the age of 91.

“I bought this Hemi Barracuda in 1968 from Idle Wild Motors in Queens New York. It’s a BO29 original 4-speed 426 HEMI. They made only 50 or so. The car was parked from 1968-1993. I started racing the car in ’93 after I retired at the age of 61. I raced it in the NHRA and IHRA circuit. I have 12 NHRA class wins and one championship in IHRA. To this day my car (my baby) and I are still going strong at my age of 91!”

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Not only are the aforementioned partners on board, but Carlisle Events will work with MoPar too. They are onboard this time around and have supplied the engine with a brand new MoPar iron block. In addition, Ross is supplying the pistons and Comp Cams will provide the valve train for this amazing prize. This is an engine that almost every MoPar fan will want and the build will see coverage in the pages of MoPar Muscle magazine, while the winner will be showcased in post event coverage too. The value of this gem is somewhere around $18,000.

Registration is very simple and best of all, hopeful winners will have multiple outlets to sign up. First and foremost, the contest goes live online April 18 at www.CarlisleEvents.com/Giveaways. From there, online entries will be taken until the registration cut off at 3:29.59 p.m. on Saturday, July 16. In between, there will be onsite options to register at Spring Carlisle and then again at the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals. The winning name will be drawn on the Red 102.3 stage Saturday of the event weekend not long after the entry deadline cut off. From there, the prize will be awarded and if the prize winner is present, will pose for photos on the stage with representatives from the giveaway partners.

“There has never been an engine from any manufacturer that’s as legendary as the Hemi,” said event manager Ed Buczeskie.“With this year being the 50th anniversary of the Street Hemi, what better way to celebrate than by giving one away? This one will be bored and stroked to 572 inches but power levels will remain very street friendly. I’ve seen Hemi giveaways before but this one is FREE to register.I encourage everyone to do so and to attend the event in July to see all that we have going on.It will be historic!”

In addition to the engine giveaway, guests coming to Carlisle in July can experience a unique all-MoPar themed weekend. There are historically-significant displays, a hall of fame induction Saturday night, special guests, thrill rides from Dodge, a massive swap meet, plus you can celebrate 50 Years of the Charger and Street Hemi, a showcase of C-Bodies and there’s also a Thursday kick-off party at the neighboring Carlisle Expo Center. Further, industry-specific guests will be onsite and as always, the popular FREE seminars return to better educate MoPar enthusiasts on a myriad of topics. In total, the 2016 weekend once again highlights the best from Detroit and beyond.

Carlisle Events is a partner or producer of 11 annual collector car and truck events. Events are held at the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds (Carlisle, PA), Allentown Fairgrounds (Allentown, PA) and the SUN ‘n FUN Complex (Lakeland, FL). The season schedule includes five automotive swap meets of varying size, four auctions, as well as individual specialty shows featuring Corvettes, Fords, GMs, Chryslers, trucks, imports, tuners and performance sport compacts. Founded in 1974 by friends Bill Miller and Chip Miller, events hosted at Carlisle attract more than a half a million enthusiasts annually from all corners of the globe. More information is available via www.CarlisleEvents.com or www.CarlisleAuctions.com.

The post Win a 426 HEMI at Carlisle in 2016 appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

The last documented car to leave any Chrysler plant with a factory-installed 426 HEMI engine will make its first public appearance after restoration during the Food Lion AutoFair at Charlotte Motor Speedway, to be held April 4-7, 2013.

The 1971 Dodge Charger, dubbed “The Last HEMI,” was restored by Mooresville, N.C.-based RKM Performance Center. The car will be unveiled to the public at 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 4, as part of opening day of the Food Lion AutoFair.

The history of this 1971 Hemi Charger R/T, believed to be one of only 33 from 1971 with the HEMI/automatic transmission combination, is certainly an interesting one. Records show the car was built on June 18, 1971, a full two weeks later than the closest documented HEMI-equipped car.

Ordered by a customer at Glavic Dodge in Wickliffe, Ohio, the salesman at the time told the customer the car would likely never be built as Chrysler had discontinued the HEMI. Against all odds and to the delight of the customer, the bright white car with full R/T striping was delivered just three weeks after being ordered.

In the late 1970s, a 14-year-old boy named Joe Angelucci noticed the car sticking out of a garage. Angelucci, the son of a racer, immediately recognized the car for what it was and tracked down the owner.

“After talking to my dad and finding out it might have a HEMI, my interest grew from there,” said Angelucci.

The car, which had changed hands once since it was originally purchased, wasn’t for sale at that point in time.

In the early 1990s, when Angelucci had grown to a mid-20s adult, he learned the Charger was finally for sale. The owner, who remembered the young boy from years past, agreed to sell the Charger to the young man.

“I didn’t find out it was the last HEMI for many years. I bought the car because I loved it. It had nothing to do with the value,” said Angelucci, who recently decided to get it restored. “I’d known of RK Motors for a while and had seen the kind of work they do. I knew that was where the Charger had to go.”

The car, with its 425-hp 426-cid HEMI V-8 featuring 490 foot pounds of torque, left its owner in Ohio and is now at RKM Performance Center. The skilled mechanics and technicians there were given orders to restore the car to better-than-new condition before its first public appearance at the Food Lion AutoFair.

Mike Velek, the restoration manager at RKM Performance Center, was unsure at first as to how the restoration would go after seeing the car for the first time.

“I initially had mixed emotions about the Charger,” Velek said. “While it was great to see an untouched original HEMI car, northeastern life had definitely taken its toll. I knew it was going to be a labor-intensive build.”

Tasked with returning the car to better-than-new condition, Velek put his team to work. They tracked down original parts, gave the car a coat of fresh paint and put in countless hours of work to make sure Mopar fans all around the world will be awestruck when the car debuts at AutoFair in April.

“Like any restoration, The Last HEMI came with its own set of challenges,” Velek said. “Sourcing NOS (new old stock) parts was especially difficult given the low R/T production numbers for the year.”

After hours of hard work on the 1971 Dodge Charger R/T, Velek expects the car to draw large crowds during AutoFair.

“In the end, I’m proud of the final product and can’t wait for Mopar fans to see it for the first time,” Velek said. “It’s been an honor to lead the restoration of The Last HEMI. I’m confident that, even without the car’s historical significance, it would be among the top ’71 Chargers in the country. There were absolutely no shortcuts taken anywhere.”

The Food Lion AutoFair annually attracts more than 100,000 visitors, features nearly 50 car club displays and offers a surplus of automotive parts and memorabilia for sale or trade. There’s also a collector car auction conducted by Dealer Auctions Inc. and more than 1,500 collectible vehicles of all makes and models will be available for sale in the car corral that rings the 1.5-mile superspeedway.

Food Lion AutoFair Tickets are $10 for adults and free for children 13 and under. AutoFair is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. For tickets or additional information about Food Lion AutoFair or other events at Charlotte Motor Speedway, call 1-800-455-FANS or visit www.charlottemotorspeedway.com.

Related Resources

Read about Mother Mopar in “Mopar: The Performance Years“

Read “Muscle Car Confidential: Confessions of a Muscle Car Test Driver“

Hang fine Mopar art on your wall with Michael Irvine’s Dodge Challenger piece

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