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HOW A G-MACHINE WORKS

A ’70 Challenger That’s Being Reborn Into the 21st Century as a Modern-Day Super Sports Car

Not your ordinary Hemi Challenger, this low-slung, force-fed, Hemi-powered G-Machine has more going for it than meets the eye, although what you see initially ain’t all that bad. The R/T hood and subtle R/T markings don’t begin to tell the whole story. Designed by Jason Rushforth, this E-body Mopar has some serious long and fat legs.

Author

Picture of John Dianna

John Dianna

Photography by Jay Harden

It’s all taking place at Bruning Auto Design in Vancouver, Washington, where this ’70 vintage Challenger is undergoing much more than a revamp. At a time when enthusiasts are looking for Chrysler E-bodies to restore and upgrade as show-quality daily drivers, Bruning becomes engrossed in what we would term a truly spectacular but real-world ’70 Challenger.

The foundation for this car is unique to say the least, as the build incorporates an elaborate chassis designed to create a sinister muscular stance and ultra-low ride height, but it’s more than just having the right attitude, as the chassis under this Mopar will ensure that it drives and performs as well as any modern-day supercar. Well, it is a supercar.

To drive that point even further, take a look at the handcrafted tubular chassis. It is an intricate combination of designed-in strength that takes form to triangulate the body for optimum chassis rigidity. Along the way, the Bruning team ensured that its fabrication exudes the craftsmanship and detail found in hand-built racing technology. And you find this at every bend of the tubing, at every fish-mouthed tubing juncture, as the beautifully TIG-welded chassis has been constructed with the utmost care. It’s also been built around C5 Corvette front and rear suspension components, as well as the complete Corvette six-speed transmission and torque tunnel. This was to improve weight distribution and to provide the same superior handling characteristics you might find on a C5R Corvette, if there were one running around.

The custom-built three-piece 19- and 20-inch Rushforth rims, naturally, are wrapped in large—and by large we mean huge for this car—245- and 335mm tires, and this is all backed by equally impressive 15-inch Baer rotors with six-piston clamps. This is in keeping with the notion that this Hemi-powered Challenger will be a stout runner, and an even more impressive handler, and because of that, it must have equal power to slow it for corner entrances and bring the mass of acceleration to an abrupt halt. Which is your perfect equation—go fast, with brutal acceleration, or come to a stop with equal and opposite reaction?

The Hemi power is the new 6.1-liter Hemi, which rests under an R/T hood. But get this: As if 425 hp wasn’t enough, this Hemi will be force-fed all the air it can handle, via not one but two turbochargers. The twin turbos feed through handcrafted stainless steel intake plumbing  and equally impressive stainless steel exhaust headers. Considerable thought was given to the routing of all this large tubing, which is no small feat to fit within the confines of this pony-car body.

As the illustration suggests, and the all-metal mock-up clearly shows, the car will be sinister looking, in spite of the fact that body mods have been kept to a minimum and will be subtle. Oh, there are plenty of modifications, but they’ve been done so expertly that it will take a careful eye to figure out exactly why this Challenger looks to have an appearance all its own. Obviously, much care has been extended to the wheel arches, as you don’t fit this size rubber under a car by accident. In addition, the front wheel wells have been moved closer to the front some 2 inches, and they’ve been moved up 1 inch. This was done to accommodate the stretched wheelbase of the chassis and to fit the tires for that extremely low stance.

You could safely call this Challenger an optimum G-machine, for that is what it is being built to do. No doubt, it will pull Gs to equal the likes of the world’s best and most expensive sports cars, but there’s more to this project. Aside from the G-machine concept, reliability and durability rank right up there with the designed-in performance this car will undoubtedly display once it is stitched in leather and fit with dark windows, adding to its sinister appeal. To ensure that all goes as planned, the part of this build that is most impressive to us is the creativity that has gone into its basic architecture, as well as the attention to detail throughout, and this can only be achieved through the incredible craftsmanship that has gone into this one-of-a-kind Challenger.

Can you say fun to drive? The whooshing sounds this forced-air Hemi will make will have some scratching their heads, but not nearly as much as the side-loaded tire squealing will. We can’t wait. Stay tuned!

All mocked up with no place to go, it won’t be long until the final stitchwork is done, the well-plumbed 6.1-liter Hemi is put in place and fired, and the altered-wheelbase Challenger will be looking for places to roam. The huge tires and wheels on this car are well placed and fit as if the car was designed for them, which it was.
The car looks menacing from any angle, and although minus trim parts, trunk lid, glass and interior, it doesn’t take much of an imagination to visualize what the finished product will look like—a view that will be incredibly awesome on the street. Of course, when it does, beware—it’ll be a fun, fun face-stretching ride.
From this angle, the car looks like any other slammed Challenger with big tires and wheels, but the similarities end there. While the R/T hood looks quite at home, it’s what’s under that hood that’ll rattle more than a few cages. Speaking of cages, this car was built with the finesse of a world-class sports car and then some.
There’s lots to see here. Note the forward movement of the front wheel opening, 2 inches forward and 1 inch up. The right-size tire is placed squarely on the spindle position for the full effect. Once the tubular chassis was built to specs, it’s these details that tie the intended contact points together, and it’s how the car sits so low.
The same was done for the rear once new quarter panels were fit. In effect, this is a Challenger body wrapped around a very capable full-tube frame, which was built around Corvette C5 gear. The wheel wells are perfectly formed around the 335mm tires, with enough clearance that you would swear the car was built for them, and it was.
Still on the chassis jig, but without the drive components installed, the builders were able to get a better overview of the finished product once the custom wheels were mounted to the tires and fit within the wheel openings. This is the preliminary work that ensures a project ends up exactly as planned. And it looks very cool.
At the heart of it all is the beautifully crafted tube frame. Built to fit the body, the dual-tube frame is not only strong, but it also triangulates the structure to withstand severe torque stress and side loads. The Hemi mock-up engine served to fit the adapter that will ultimately mate to the Corvette transaxle, including the torque tube.
The Corvette C5 swing axle and transmission bell housing is neatly nestled within a strong tube-frame structure. Note the upper and lower rear A-arm mounts affixed to the rigid center tubing structure. Nothing was left to chance, as attachment points were carefully positioned to maintain the proper latitude and location.
This impressive view shows that considerable thought has gone into the construction of the frame. The rear assembly is rigidly mounted, but the swing axles (not shown) and A-arms are allowed the freedom to move without interference or binding. This cradle, along with the front structure, ties together with the twin framerails and main hoop.
Rigidity is the theme throughout the frame, rear axle mounting, suspension and engine mounts. The flexplate adds stiffness, yet facilitates engine removal. For as much tubing as is involved in this construction, the layout is clean and will enable thoughtful routing of the twin-turbo plumbing, headers and Hemi engine accessories.
Here’s a worm’s view of the incredible stance that results from careful measuring during the chassis build. Note the positive placement of the wheel openings that match the new wheel centerline locations. Along with the tin work, this provides tire clearance for the dynamic component repositioning that occurs under load.

ARTICLE SOURCES

Picture of Bruning Auto Design – CLOSED

Bruning Auto Design – CLOSED

11616 NE 212th Ave.
Brush Prairie, WA 98606

360/254-0066

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