Black Ghost - Hemi Challenger

[Mr70]

What's this?,manipulation with the intent to gain more money in the classic car hobby? Say it isn't so.
Unfortunately this has been going on since the wheel was invented.
I 've always taken that particular cars story with a grain of salt,for so many reasons.
It stands on it's own for how it was built,it doesn't need a outlandish story like that.

[DW31S]

Originally Posted by Lee Stewart

Did the original owner order the car as we see it today? A Gator Grain vinyl top on a Hemi is super rare.

The Silver Bullet ran an A990 Super Stock Hemi which put out around 750 horsepower. The same engine that powered the 1968 Darts and Barracudas to 10 second quarter miles.

Actually, the Silver Bullet’s mill was closer to 500 cubic inches. It was “poked & stroked” by Chrysler engineers and was also put on a helluva diet, as it had fiberglass nose, doors, etc. It was a freakin’ beast that ran through 4 Cadillac mufflers. It ran bottom 10s. The “Sudden Death” Mustang (Mustang II) was even quicker as it ran mid 9s. The Black Ghost wouldn’t have been a threat to those two.

[markjohnson]

Twice, I see much-respected Tony DeFeo described as a “hack” in this thread. He’s owned, raced, driven Fuel cars, Hemi cars, was a pioneer in the Fox-body Mustang movement, etc. He’s a long-time wrench spinner operating at a Jedi-level. He’s the “hack” that will get your car started for you at a car show before you can even call AAA on your phones.

[67BelAir427]

Originally Posted by markjohnson

Twice, I see much-respected Tony DeFeo described as a “hack” in this thread. He’s owned, raced, driven Fuel cars, Hemi cars, was a pioneer in the Fox-body Mustang movement, etc. He’s a long-time wrench spinner operating at a Jedi-level. He’s the “hack” that will get your car started for you at a car show before you can even call AAA on your phones.

Tony Defeo is not a hack. I have followed him since his days at Cars Illustrated. Honest to a fault and not beholden to auto companies, part manufacturers or auction houses.

[Lee Stewart]

It may be a case where The Black Ghost was very selective about which cars he ran against. Take on anything out of the showrooms - guaranteed he would win, except maybe another Hemi, and he probably avoided racing them.

If you street race and win a lot, you get a reputation which you then have to defend. Better to not race and keep your reputation intact then lose and get a ding to your reputation.

But beating a professionally built Super Stock car running on the street . . . never happened.

It's evident that with all the street racing, only a handful of cars became legends. And yes, the Black Ghost was one of them.

A legend is presumed to have some basis in historical fact and tends to mention real people or events. Historical fact morphs into a legend when the truth has been exaggerated to the point that real people or events have taken on a romanticized, "larger than life" quality.

[70 copo]

Legends have proponents. Follow the money.

[Lee Stewart]

Originally Posted by 70 copo

Legends have proponents. Follow the money.

What is the job of an auction house? You might say to put a seller and a buyer together. And that would be a fact. But they do more than that.

Their real job is to get the highest price possible for the seller. Their commission depends on it as does their reputation.

I remember when Mecum was standing in the shadow of Barret-Jackson. Now IMO, it's reversed. Mecum is getting the high dollar cars and B-J isn't. They earned their current standing. And getting big bucks for the Black Ghost is just one example of their prowess.

[William]

Mecum gets much criticism for not vetting old muscle as B-J does. Those days are quickly fading as dockets are increasingly trucks, resto-mods, late model exotics. No need to vet those. With their busy schedule, they are eating B-Js lunch.

Wonder what direction the new B-J ownership will take.

[Pro Stock John]

Tony is a long time performance car journalist.

I think his points are valid, the car was all stock and most likely the owner simply took it out once in a while and ran some other folks from a light when cruising.

[TarheelRyan]

As the high bidder of the Black Ghost, here is my 2 cents worth. It is a fully documented, triple black, "original" numbers matching Hemi Challenger R/T SE 4 speed with a gator grain top. The documentation for the car is in the top 1% of all Mopar's. As for the history of this car, I will listen to (1) Dodge Factory; (2) Hagerty; (3) Bob Ashton; (4) Dave Wise; and (5) the Qualls' family any day of the week over Uncle Tony's Garage.

Over the past 2 days, I have seen the absolute best and worst of the classic/muscle car community in its treatment of this car. As far as I'm concerned, it is a bad ass Hemi Challenger with a trailer hitch that has a pretty cool backstory...embellished or not.