The 426 Hemi of the 1960s made drag race heroes out of guys like Dick Landy, Sox & Martin, Arlen Vanke, Roger Lindamood, and many others. More recently, the G3 Hemi has done the same on the straightaways with Geoff Turk of Blackbird Performance Products leading the pack. His Challenger Drag Paks, Blackbird and Blackbird X, have put the hurt on a great many Fords and Chevys like it’s 1968 all over again.
And now that success is spreading as Blackbird branches out to help all modern Hemi owners squeeze every ounce of power out of drag cars, street cars, or swapped muscle cars. Mark Dudley Jr. is the latest Hemi hero with his 1974 Plymouth Duster.
Formally equipped with a 340-based stroker, the A-body now sports a Blackbird Race Spec 700+ HP 6.4L Hemi and Mark won’t likely ever be going back to anything wedge-based.
While the small block had a best time of 6.59 in the eighth-mile, the G3 has touched 6.04 with the same torque converter, same 727 automatic transmission, and a little more weight after a Dana rear end swap.
So far, the Blackbird Hemi could be called two things: consistent and a winner. “The thing has made money. It really didn’t have any bugs. We brought it out, put it in, and it went straight down Broadway. I’ve not really changed anything,” says Mark.
In only about six weeks, he’s put over 100 passes on the new mill without a single hiccup. “I’m one hundred percent confident with my motor that I could just drive it down the road and have no issues with it. Idling, it’s not aggressive at all. But as soon as I crack the gas, that thing is hellacious.”
Stay tuned as we keep up with Blackbird Performance, Mark, and other G3 Hemi heroes out here handing it to the Brand X’ers.
