A New Personal Favorite
The growing band of Hemi brothers / sisters that is Blackbird Performance, has been so blessed to work on and help so, so many G3 Hemi powered dreams become reality.
Today my new personal favorite arrived.
At first glance, when you see this project, and you think or know about other things we’ve worked on, it may be surprising or hardly believable, but trust me, it’s at the top of my personal list.
Why so ? you might ask. Well, the reasons are numerous and begin with the most important things in life, not race cars, but the people you race with and where it all started.
Of the numerous seeds and roots that led to who and what we are as a business, undeniably, it all started in 1977. A 14 year old me, standing in a gravel driveway, next to a 318 powered Duster, talking to my 17 year old brother, Don Turk. The start of it all was a car that wasn’t mine and an older brother who gave me a chance to help work on it, to help make it faster. It was when he heard the news that had just shook me and forever changed my direction. The news I had gotten from the, forced by a teacher’s note, optometrist visit where it was confirmed. I had been hiding my terrible near sightedness. Hiding it because it would destroy my chances to ever be a military pilot and fly jets. On that day, instead of jets, I would begin to learn how to make cars go faster and my brother would be my teacher, mentor, soon race team mate and the first driver whose efforts, I supported with all I had to give.
The fact that the Duster, with my brother at the wheel, had not long before collected a number of tickets, going 141 in a 55, and that Direct Connection catalogs/build manuals were scattered all about our small, modest, garage less house, might lead you to believe he, like myself later, would soon be racing a Mopar. But, instead a few weeks later, he drug home a ‘66 Pontiac Tempest to become his first ‘race car’. It turned out to be the first in a long line of Pontiacs he would race over the next 45 years. About a year later, at 15, I bought my first ‘race car’, a ‘69 Dodge Charger with a built 383. Now 45 years later, after a long line of Mopar race cars, here we are, helping make more and now parts, for many, many more.
This project car, delivered by two sons of multi generational racing families, Keaton Vester and Rodney Keakel, after a challenging 24 hour round trip to retrieve it, they made it, albeit they got their trailer door blown off on the way back.
Then they unloaded what will become my brother’s next race ride, and it’s not a Pontiac. It is sort of where he and I began this adventure, working together on making a Mopar faster. This one, a 1982 Dodge Mirada, currently powered by a 318, soon to be a race fuel burning G3 Hemi in a legal Super Stock GT car.
To say I am excited to be building a car, with our partners, PMR, for my brother, powered by a 392 G3 Hemi … ‘excited’, man that’s the understatement of the year. He picked the car but I’ve always loved the Miradas. We both love unusual, big race cars, and the long hood, sharp, angular lines styling. It didn’t hurt that it’s already black and red
Stay tuned as the build progresses. So much more to come as we transform it into a legal, safe, deep in the 9s Super Stocker.
