1971 Dodge Demon

BEING SOLD WITH TITLE







The story: Bill Creech grew up in Southern California and was privileged enough to have a hot rod / drag racing dad, be in the absolute pinnacle of nitro funny cars (the early 1970s), and live close enough to OCIR (Orange County International Raceway) at the time the super track of its day and host of the most badass funny car events you ever dreamed of the Manufacturers Meet being the main one. 200 nitro funny cars on the property with 64 qualifying to represent their respective factory teams. This was the time of: Mongoose vs Snake, Jungle Jim vs The Snowman, the Lil Demon vs the Blue Max, The Revellution Demon vs The Chitown Hustler it was a spectacle, it was an event, it sounded like you were going to a monster movie. And when you arrived and walked in the pits you were not disappointed insane paint jobs, wild characters, and loud cars. Add in the brand wars: Dodge vs Chevy, Ford vs Plymouth it became even more crazy and filled with excitement. Everyone was in and everyone went. To Bill these are the critical missing components in drag racing today. Nobody cares about the Matco Tools funny car vs the Peak Antifreeze funny car, one bubble car vs another bubble car boring and fan attendance reflects it. None of those exist in drag racing anymore it has gone corporate and therefore bland and uninteresting. Racers have lost the plot as they are purely focused on winning rather than understanding that without fans, there is no racing at all. With that in mind,Bill set out to create a car that would time warp people straight back to 1972. A loud car that shakes like a Southern California Earthquake, a name and character that make you want to see what it is, a paint-scheme that will keep your eyes glued to it, and burnouts that will make you think he is violating at least a dozen EPA regulations. Bill always loved the lines of the Dodge Demon. Add in that most people collect Dodges not race them, and add in that Demons were only produced for two years combining that with one of my favorite cars Pete Everetts Lil Demon and that became my target. Bill purchased the Demon in Ohio and brought it to California. he began getting it to be more of my style and once he was satisfied with how she ran, he contacted Bill Everett (Petes son) who enthusiastically gave Bill permission to use the Lil Demon namesake. Then he took her to Riverside California to Richard McPeak one of the most well-known hot rod and race car graphics painters of the 70s who just so happened to have painted his dads hot rod / race car (1970 Dodge Charger R/T Magnum Force). Taking his input of all of my favorite funny cars, Bill gave Richard a sketch of what he thought it should look like. He gave him a look, and told him to throw that away and just let him do his thing he kept Bills pics of the original funny cars. A week later Lil Demon rolled out of his paint booth in November 2007. Three days later she was drawing massive amounts of attention at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma CA and the attention never left her. The only change I would make to the car would be to remove the modern contingency decals and replace them with 1971 decals (whether the parts are actually on the car or not).







The Facts









Vehicle: 1971 Dodge Demon H Code car. Originally 340 4-Speed Plum Crazy Purple. This is an H code car the rarest of the Dodge Demons. Ive owned the car for 16 years

Namesake: Pete Everetts Lil Demon early 1970s Dodge Demon nitro funny car (AA/FC) competing in Division 7 NHRA AHRA, and Match Racing predominantly in the western US. The Lil Demon name is used with the late Pete Everetts son (Bill Everetts) blessing.

Racing Heritage: NHRA Division 7 Summit Series (Bracket), Heritage Series (C/Gas), West Coast Pro Gas (C/Gas), and special events



Special Events: Funny Car Fever, Fox Hunt, Pinks All Out (television show)(picked a different class for airing so car did not appear on show), Team Sacramento Raceway



Always a fan and announce favorite









Won Best of Show in 2011 at a car show





Performance: The car runs very consistent low 9.4X ETs in the mile. It has run a best of 9.31 @149MPH. It is capable of running in the low 9.20s or high 9.10s with additional tuning (combo only has 10 or so passes on it still sorting out shock and 4-Link settings when parked). With the bigger cam and some weight loss (factory glass, door panels, etc) it should be an 8.80 car

Media: The Lil Demon is ALWAYS a fan, announcer, and media favorite. The paint scheme and loud snapping-popping engine with big smokey burnouts drag fans instantly back to the early 1970s era of drag racing when cars were named after characters and the drivers took on that persona the event wasnt just about the competition it was also about the thrill for the fans and Lil Demon always delivered



The car has appeared in National Dragster and many online hot rod and racing oriented publications





It repeatedly shows up in current posts and blogs about the best looking Demon ever and the like





Paint Scheme:



Unique to this car, the paint scheme is a combination of most of my favorite funny cars from the early 1970s at the fabled OCIR (Orange County International Raceway)





Conceived and painted by Richard McPeak in Riverside CA. McPeak is one of the foremost hot rod and race car painters in Southern California in the heyday of drag racing. He painted my dads race car (1970 R/T Charger locally known as Magnum Force) in the early 70s. In 2007 I had him paint my Demon in the same paint booth that he painted my dads car in





The scheme uses nearly every 70s painting technique: Flames, pinstripes, lettering, feathering, pearl, stripes, panels.





Breakdown: As mentioned the paint scheme is unique to me, but is a culmination of my favorite cars from my childhood at the drag strip.



The flames over the top (not down the sides) are from the Mongoose II and Snake II funny cars driven by Tom McEwen and Don Prudhomme respectively.





The yellow and horizontal stripes are from the Stardust funny car driven by Don Schumacher





The Lil Demon name is from the Lil Demon funny car owned by Pete Everett. NOTE: Pete passed away before I could locate him, but his son Bill Everett gave me permission to use the name on the side of the car and was thrilled that someone so vividly remembered his dads car and that the name would once again be terrorizing opponents and thrilling fans



The unique spelling of Lil rather than the more proper Lil or Lil is unique to the Lil Demon funny car and this car









The blue color in the flames and panel outline are from multiple funny cars: The Jungle Jim Vega driven by the late Jim Lieberman, The Blue Max driven by Raymond Beadle, the Mongoose II driven by Tom McEwen, Don Cooks Damn Yankee and The Snowman driven by Gene Snow





The lettering style and coloring is from the Dunn & Reath funny car driven by Jim Dunn





The gold leaf with outline on the window lettering and numbering is from The Blue Max, the Damn Yankee, and Jungle Jim Vega funny cars



















Engine:



400 ci Low Deck Mopar (stronger block than a 440) filled and hardened





511 cubic inches professionally built by Muscle Motors





Indy Cylinder Head 440-1 heads CNC ported and polished





Indy Tunnel Ram





Twin Holley 1050 Dominator carburetors tuned and flowed by Jessie Biggs





Competition Cams .727 lift cam (baby cam for the combo)





Competition Cams triple spring valve springs





TD 1.5 rocker arms





Overhead oiling





TTi ceramic coated headers





Moroso electric water pump and vacuum pump





MSD Pro Billet digital distributor





MSD Digital 6 ignition with two step and rev limiter





Eagle crank





Ross Pistons





RNR Aluminum rods





Charlies 10qt dragster pan





Specs: HP: 860+/-, Compression 15.8:1





Transmission:



Chrysler 727 Torqueflight 3 speed





Pro Trans internals





Steve Griner Valve body and trans brake





Low band apply





ATi torque converter w/ 5600 stall





Rear Differential:



Dana 60 shortened





Moser axles





Richmond gears 4.56:1 and spool





1350 U-joints





Drive shaft shortened





Brakes:



4 wheel disc



Front: Aerospace engineering





Rear: Wilwood









Wheels:



Front: Weld Magnum Frontrunner (Sfi)





Rear: Weld Magnum Pro (SFi)





Tires:



Goodyear Racing Eagle





Chassis:



NHRA certified to 8.50 (currently out of date should recertify no problem)





car (firewall rearward) square tube race frame mild steel





Alston Chassis works Four Link





16 pt cage mild steel attached to chassis under the body





Front stiffeners chromoly





Chassis built by Winning Way Chassis





Interior:



Kirkey seat





RJS 5 point belt





RJS Safety net





Safecraft Halon system (dual nozzle)





Grant GT steering wheel with Moroso quick release collar





Precision Performance Products (PPP) shifter with line lock and transbraks



Set at angle on pedestal for optimum shifting









Autometer Pro Comp and Sport Comp gauges: Fuel Pressure, RPM with Shift light and recall, Trans Temp, Oil Pressure, Water Temp





Painless Wiring Switch panel (wiring is Painless Wiring harness)





Lights and blinkers work





Helmet and steering wheel hooks





Parachute lever





Original door panels windows work





Body:



1971 Dodge Demon





All factory steel except for fiberglass: front bumper, hood, rear deck lid, rear bumper





Master cutoff switch located on PASSENGER REAR bumper (Pull On/ Push Off per NHRA spec)





All windows are factory original glass and work





All factory original chrome trim in place





Factory side mirror and door handles all present and functional





Factory lights all present and functional (including blinkers)





Ed Quay custom full width adjustable rear aluminum wing (the first Demon with a full width wing others were 10 narrower as the wing was actually for a Dart)





Weight 2960# without driver





Fluids:



Radiator: Water

Fuel: VP C16 or 115-117 octane equivalent

Oil: Racing oil weight based on conditions typically a 5/30, 10/30, 20/50 Brad Penn was preferred

Differential: 75/90 Brad Penn hypoid was preferred