Iron Butterfly info?
#574205
01/05/10 08:58 PM
01/05/10 08:58 PM
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Barnstorm
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Trying to fill in an ownership on the 64 Dodge Iron Butterfly now owned by Rick Johnson. We know Ted Spehar built/raced it with Wally Booth. It then went to Dick Oldfield then Rod Shop with numerous drivers including Larry Morgan. Rick bought it from DeFrank. We don't know the owner[s] between Rod Shop and DeFrank. Any help guys?
The little old lady from Pasadena is back!
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: sixpakdodge]
#574207
01/05/10 09:35 PM
01/05/10 09:35 PM
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Have to get to Rick's this weekend an look. It was Spehar's wifes car tha he built.
The little old lady from Pasadena is back!
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: Barnstorm]
#574208
01/05/10 09:41 PM
01/05/10 09:41 PM
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sixpakdodge
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Quote:
Have to get to Rick's this weekend an look. It was Spehar's wifes car tha he built.
I know it was his wife's car. Mrs. Spehar and I have discussed it.
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: Barnstorm]
#574209
01/05/10 09:44 PM
01/05/10 09:44 PM
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Leigh
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You could try Dave Young, Bruce Crandall, Don (Sharadon Perf), Dyno Dan Zrust, anyone in the Line/Nelson family, Big Daddy, Gene Mosbeck, and Al Corda. Most have been around for over 30-35 (and some more) and might be able to help.
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: Barnstorm]
#574212
01/06/10 12:26 AM
01/06/10 12:26 AM
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Anonymous
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The aluminum front end that is on it is not original. Rod Shop bought it off a guy in KY. The shop paid $500 for the nose. That was in 79'or80'
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
#574213
01/06/10 12:15 PM
01/06/10 12:15 PM
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Good info, Poppa J. Did the doors come with the deal?
The little old lady from Pasadena is back!
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: Barnstorm]
#574214
01/06/10 01:10 PM
01/06/10 01:10 PM
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JERICOGTX
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Is Rick still in Litchfield? Both of his cars have a interesting past... The Cuda was John Hagens Red 68 built by jerry Hemmingson.
Jeff
69 GTX
68 Road Runner
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: 64hemi330sedan]
#574216
01/06/10 07:28 PM
01/06/10 07:28 PM
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Did Jackson/Coleman get the car from the Rod Shop? Rick seem to think it spent some time in Louisiana B4 DeFrank.
The little old lady from Pasadena is back!
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: Barnstorm]
#574217
01/06/10 07:39 PM
01/06/10 07:39 PM
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B G Racing
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Quote:
Did Jackson/Coleman get the car from the Rod Shop? Rick seem to think it spent some time in Louisiana B4 DeFrank.
Corky Bliss out of Louisiana may have had it at one time.
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
#574218
01/07/10 11:33 AM
01/07/10 11:33 AM
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Frito
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Quote:
The aluminum front end that is on it is not original. Rod Shop bought it off a guy in KY. The shop paid $500 for the nose. That was in 79'or80'
Interesting!!!! I have found my old Dodge but less front end. The front was missing when Fred E. got the car from Donnie Chapman. Donnie also bought it less front. We sold the car to Donald Stepp, who has passed. I think he raced the car locally until the mid 80"s though. There is a Max Wedge aluminum front end out there somewhere.
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: Frito]
#574220
01/07/10 04:10 PM
01/07/10 04:10 PM
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mr_340
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Oldfield told me they (Dick and possibly Ted) went through the Chrysler parts warehouse and picked out all the aluminum parts for the car. Dick told me the brakes were terrible when he drove it. Ted had installed wooden brake drums on the front. I wonder who ended up with those?
Floyd Lippencott IV
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: mr_340]
#574221
01/07/10 06:12 PM
01/07/10 06:12 PM
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sixpakdodge
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Quote:
Oldfield told me they (Dick and possibly Ted) went through the Chrysler parts warehouse and picked out all the aluminum parts for the car. Dick told me the brakes were terrible when he drove it. Ted had installed wooden brake drums on the front. I wonder who ended up with those?
News to me about the aluminum since the car was built by Spehar to run a steel nose. Dave Koffel told me that because he was one of the ones who commissioned the 4 steel nose/fresh air Hemi '64 cars that year. Also, Wally Booth drove it before Dick O. Dick O used it after he broke the Dart he was running for the NY Dodge Dealers. He never owned the car.
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: sixpakdodge]
#574222
01/07/10 07:33 PM
01/07/10 07:33 PM
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A pic copied off Class Racer of the Butterfly, Hemi hood, steel nose.
The little old lady from Pasadena is back!
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: Barnstorm]
#574223
01/07/10 07:56 PM
01/07/10 07:56 PM
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Anonymous
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Quote:
Good info, Poppa J. Did the doors come with the deal?
we bought the whole car for that and just stripped off all the light weight parts.No doors as I remember. The donor car was near Somerset, KY
Last edited by poppa J; 01/07/10 08:03 PM.
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: sixpakdodge]
#574226
01/07/10 09:59 PM
01/07/10 09:59 PM
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Extensive thread of the Butterfy on Class Racer under Original Hemi Dart Info about 3 weeks ago. Jason Oldfield has some good stuff.
The little old lady from Pasadena is back!
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: mgpanos]
#574229
01/08/10 01:42 AM
01/08/10 01:42 AM
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Call Bruce Meihls at Fast Racing in Groveport OH for more history. As I recall, the Fink Bros raced this car as a SS/EA Max Wedge car with steel front end under Rod Shop paint. In about 82 or so, Bruce and Larry converted the car to a Hemi SS/BA car with aluminum front end and doors. I also remember Bruce talking about finding a very rare plexiglass rear window and it seems like an aluminum trunk lid (not too sure on that one). Mark
I spoke to Carrol Fink last week. When he drove it, it was with the steel front end. He said he did not know what happend to it as it was owned by Gil Kirk. Bortman also drove it some.
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: prochargedhemi]
#574230
01/08/10 01:42 AM
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Dick said the brake drums were fiberglass, not wood. He deferred to Ted on the rest of it, so hopefully he will pop in to fill us in on the rest.
Floyd Lippencott IV
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: StewartP]
#574232
01/08/10 01:20 PM
01/08/10 01:20 PM
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: StewartP]
#574233
01/08/10 01:20 PM
01/08/10 01:20 PM
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: StewartP]
#574234
01/08/10 01:21 PM
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: StewartP]
#574235
01/08/10 01:21 PM
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: mr_340]
#574236
01/08/10 01:23 PM
01/08/10 01:23 PM
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Well, neither Dick or Ted are interested ini posting directly on here, so I called Ted to get the story. I had to call Stewart P. to get his number, and Stewart thought the brake drums were wood, so maybe I confused his story with what Dick told me. I took some notes and will try to get it exactly per Ted. He had to make it short to take his wife to the doctor's office. I'll try back later to get the rest of the story.
Per Ted:
The car was his wife's car, a 6 cylinder 330, 1964 Dodge. They built the car in two weeks. It had the aluminum front end, NOT steel. He wasn't sure where the parts came from, but thought it was the DC warehouse.
Dick broke his car, and he met Dick at a race on the east coast. He sold the car after the finals, the engine went one way and the car another. He said the car was sold to someone in Dayton, Ohio, then the Rod Shop got it later and Dave Boertman drove it.
Ted said the fiberglass drums were on the D-Dart he had, and not on the Hemi car. He mentioned that Rick Johnson thought it was an original '64 Hemi car when he bought it because it had many of the original parts on it.
Floyd Lippencott IV
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: StewartP]
#574238
01/09/10 12:16 AM
01/09/10 12:16 AM
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Quote:
5
Do you know who owned the car in this pic? I see the "Rod Shop" has been removed. When Bud & Dewey Cook bought the school bus the "Rod Shop" was taken off before they picked it up. It only had the "Dodge" left on the side.
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: Frito]
#574239
01/09/10 12:31 AM
01/09/10 12:31 AM
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The season before Rod Shop Sold the car Bruce built a hemi out of the many parts in the shop. Christian prepped a trans and built a converter. it was all dropped in the 64'. The car was painted solid blue (No flag stripes) and we put a gold rod shop door decal along the bottom of the doors. As I remember that is the way it was sold (less door decals) the car's quickest pass that summer was 9.99. We had to remove the front bumper, door panels and a few other things to get the 9.99. Complete it would only go the best of 10.02 Bruce was hungry for a 9. He did the driving. Shortly after that it was sold by Gil and the Shop closed it's doors as well. Sad time for all of us at the time.
Last edited by poppa J; 01/09/10 12:33 AM.
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: mr_340]
#574240
01/09/10 02:01 PM
01/09/10 02:01 PM
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ddartdude
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Quote:
Well, neither Dick or Ted are interested ini posting directly on here, so I called Ted to get the story. I had to call Stewart P. to get his number, and Stewart thought the brake drums were wood, so maybe I confused his story with what Dick told me. I took some notes and will try to get it exactly per Ted. He had to make it short to take his wife to the doctor's office. I'll try back later to get the rest of the story.
Per Ted:
The car was his wife's car, a 6 cylinder 330, 1964 Dodge. They built the car in two weeks. It had the aluminum front end, NOT steel. He wasn't sure where the parts came from, but thought it was the DC warehouse.
Dick broke his car, and he met Dick at a race on the east coast. He sold the car after the finals, the engine went one way and the car another. He said the car was sold to someone in Dayton, Ohio, then the Rod Shop got it later and Dave Boertman drove it.
Ted said the fiberglass drums were on the D-Dart he had, and not on the Hemi car. He mentioned that Rick Johnson thought it was an original '64 Hemi car when he bought it because it had many of the original parts on it.
Fiberglass brake drums --- I just went out and checked the D/Dart. It's got steel drums on it now. Ted must have taken them off back in the 60's before he sold it.
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: bill_greenwood]
#574242
01/10/10 02:06 PM
01/10/10 02:06 PM
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Evidently there never were any wooden brake drums per Oldfield and Spehar. Another funny thing Dick told me about the original Missile was the use of magnesium torsion bars (non-functional). They just sat the front end on the rubber snubbers. I got the impression that even at the beginning, Pro Stock wasn't too stock. That was quite a thing to get to talk to Dick at Carlisle for a few hours. Thanks to Stewart P. and Hemi Fred for connecting me with the big boys. It was kind of funny when we walked up to the MP trailer at Carlisle and David Hakim just about jumped off the trailer when he saw Dick walk up. It would be good to get all the war stories written down and published in a book from these guys.
Floyd Lippencott IV
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Re: Iron Butterfly info?
[Re: 64hemi330sedan]
#574244
01/12/10 05:28 PM
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Rick Johnson has owned and raced it since mid 80s. Probably the only aluminum Dodge running NHRA.
The little old lady from Pasadena is back!
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