Words & Photos: Clive Branson Owner: Scott Mellan
One of the most obvious advantages of owning a unique car, especially a classic car, is the response from the public. Not only does a classic car stand out amongst the homogenous array of today’s cars, it emits a feeling of nostalgia. Scott Mellan remembers when his 1971 Dodge Charger R/T ran out of gas and the help he received. “A few years ago I was at the Moparfest show in New Hamburg, and while driving home I had a tough time finding a gas station along Route 407. I eventually ran out of fuel along a backwoods road that my GPS said had the closest gas station – typical misguidance. There was a small home beside where I finally came to a stop. As I knocked on the door, a lady answered, but at first she seemed to be made nervous by my presence. After I explained my situation and she noticed my car, her demeanour quickly changed. She excused herself for a moment and when she returned, said she would drive me to the closest station! Lucky for me she was a car enthusiast, too (she had a BMW convertible sports car). She drove me to two small villages till we found a service station open – 30 km away! We spoke about cars and life in general, and I had a great visit. I feel honoured to have met her. She took a bunch of pictures of my car for her husband, who she said would love to have seen it. It was a bad situation that turned out to be rewarding.”
Funnily enough, it was at a gas station in 2012 when Scott first noticed the car. “I was at a service station and noticed the car parked at a neighbouring house. I inquired about the car and was told it was for sale. The car was in decent shape when I bought it, but it needed some work on the body and was missing some parts to complete it. The frame was solid and that clinched the deal. Typically, these cars show signs of rotten-out frames.”
During conversation, the owner explained to Scott that he purchased the car in Alberta from a man who had taken an interest in muscle cars, and though he gave it a restoration, after two years he realized his true passion was for European sports cars. The Dodge isn’t the first Charger Scott has owned. He owned his first one back in the 1990s. It was a 1972 Charger SE Brougham, but unfortunately there was very little availability to restore the rusting body and Scott sold it for, basically, the engine. The 1971 model, a slightly smaller, leaner version from the previous year, introduced a new split grill and a more rounded fuselage body style.
Restoring his ’71 Charger R/T took two-and-a-half years, working on it 6 to 12 hours a week. “I took the car down to bare metal and started from scratch, by welding in new ½ quarters trunk extensions and applying various patches throughout the car,” says Scott. “I pulled the 400 cu. in. 4 BBL engine and rebuilt a 440 block with parts sourced out from all over Canada and the United States. I sent the 727 transmission to a local specialist and had it toughened up and a shift kit installed.”
One of the sweetest pieces of music I’ve heard is when Scott starts the car. I can feel the ground shake. “The pristine interior was completely restored with all new panels from Legendary Interiors. I had Randy’s Performance build the short block, and added the Edelbrock E Street heads and period-correct aluminum 6-Pack intake. Hooker Super Comp ceramic headers complemented the flow into a custom, stainless steel 2 ½” exhaust system complete with Flow Master mufflers. I added a MSD All-In-One electronic distributor to improve the ignition, but left all of the stock wiring and controls to give it a stock appearance. I installed a beefed up 9 ¼” differential with 3:55 gearing and Sure Grip. I replaced all the suspension with original spec super stock springs and torsion bars to stiffen up the ride. And I installed frame connectors and torque boxes from U.S. Car Tools to help tighten up the Unibody.” It’s a masterpiece!
“I’m not sure of the original color, because when I was stripping it down to bare metal, I found red on one door, green on another and silver on the trunk lid. It was obviously pieced together from the last rebuild.” Over the two years of building the car, Scott had the fortune of being introduced to John Blouin, who Scott refers to as ‘an absolute genius’ when it comes to car body maintenance. “John took me from not knowing how to load sand paper onto a sanding block to being able to do fairly decent bodywork. He spent hours and hours coming to my shop to tutor me on his art.” John took Scott’s car and did all of the finishing touches to get it into its award-winning shape – to which Scott can testify by the number of 1st, 2nd and 3rd-place trophies he has since accumulated in Eastern Ontario and Northern New York. “John applied a base coat of Green Go paint from the 1971 paint code (Citron Yella) then followed with seven coats of clear. I brought the car home, then spent another two weeks wet sanding and buffing it to a showcase finish. I then sent the car to Classic Graphics in Kemptville to have the graphics installed.”
“I believe that classic cars will thrive in the upcoming years as the reproduction parts are readily available now. The car is great to drive, albeit mostly in a straight line as it’s not much for corners. The car hasn’t really changed me other than realizing that I never want to put that much effort into rebuilding one again.”
