Season
Darryl Bliss
Merrillville, IL
This 1972 Demon had been sitting in my buddy Fletcher’s garage here in Gary, IN for 20 years. The owner of the Demon promised me that if he ever came to sell it, he would sell it to me. We call each other Mopar brothers. It used to be a drag car. After his wife became ill and bedridden, he dedicated all his time to her. So, over a year ago I got a phone call from him. And he simply asked me, “you want this old car, huh?” I told him yes most definitely. So, 3 days later I took my trailer over to his garage and we dug it out. I brought it home immediately and gave it a good wash and buff to get the ground-in dirt out of the paint. Next was removing the 6-point cage. I was so excited about getting the car. I never tried to get it started on the numerous visits I had to the garage, so I hooked the battery up not really to get it started but just to see if the electrical system was working. In doing so, I hit some of the switches on the dash. Surprisingly they all lit up and worked. On a whim, I gave the accelerator a couple of shots and hit the starter button, and it immediately fired up scared the s*** out of me. I was just too excited! My next project was to strip the trunk down and refinish it with spatter paint. I moved from that project to the front end, where I cut out the hacked up inner fenders and replaced them with new AMD inner fender panels. It was the first time I’d ever tried doing that and it turned out very well. From there I went inside to cut out the entire floor. The guy that Fletcher bought this car from had done a terrible job of patching the floor, so I wanted to remove the entire floor and replace it with a single panel. I couldn't afford to buy the panel and have it shipped at that time. So, I went to the next project which was removing the entire front suspension and rebuilding it or replacing it with new uppers, new lowers, ball joints, etc. I got rid of the Kelsey Hayes stuff because it was the small bolt pattern. I offset the cost of the new Mancini disc brake kit by selling all the old suspension and brakes. They all sold within two days to a local Mopar enthusiast that I had met earlier in the year. So far, I have been able to get all this done in a matter of a few months but of course, now it's freezing cold outside. I do have heat in my garage but have also run out of money. I pulled the engine, and I knew that the compression was around 12.5:1. I wanted to lower it because I don't want to burn the big gas. I just can't afford it. So, I broke the engine down. I was glad to find some TRW pistons inside that I had milled down to a 10.5:1 ratio. I had the engine cleaned and checked, and I have now finished painting it. Within the next week or so, I'll turn the heat on and go out and reassemble it. My plans are to have a filthy street car! The first person to drive this car will be Fletcher. He lost his wife and never touched the Demon again. As soon as I get it finished, I'll call him up and have him take the first drive.
