03/01/2026
Today we've got one of the best examples of bringing back a classic from the dead that we've seen. The story of its journey is just as rare. Richard Ehrenberg (Hudson Valley, NY) & Brian Dowell (Melbourne, Australia) have been the best of friends since a chance encounter in Australia 15 years ago. Both MOPAR junkies. Dowell a body repair, fitment and paint master, Ehrenberg the engineer behind well...all the rest. In the summer of 2019 the 2 put the heads together and divised a monumental task of bringing a muscle car back to life and make a cross-country trip from coast to coast ... all before the snow flew that coming winter, just a few short months away. Naturaly the search for a MOPAR began to which Ehrenberg stumbled on the remains of a true 1970 Roadrunner that was born with all teh goodies....440 six pack, 4 spd, Super Track pack, air grabber. To say she needed some help was an understatement, the work began. Powell went right to work on the body, saving what could be saved and tracking down what was bad or not even there. Ehrenberg tracked down a 440 6-bbl engine that needed a little freshening along with making the call to install a Tremec TKO 5-speed OD gearbox, because after all... a 4:10 Dana 60 aint gonna be happy on a 2000 mile trip. The work went consistenlty but dragged into mid October and the window was closing to make their trip. The boys wrapped it up, except for the paint as Dowell planned to finish her up once the Runner was back home with him in Australia. They hit the road and made the trip....complete with the experience of a 50 yr old muscle car ride in Wyoming snow, a memory Dowell would love to forget. From Hudson Valley, NY to San Francisco, CA .... then across the big lake to its new home in Melbourne, Australia, the Runner didn't miss a beat. Their journey was featured in the long-gone Mopar Action Magazine. What a story...what a trip....what a save of this badass MOPAR!!