In Wheel Time - Cartalk Radio

What happens when a family heirloom gets a NASCAR heart and a date with a mountain? We brought Richard Tomlin of Apex Auto Works on to share the full story of transforming a 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner into a Pike’s Peak contender by setting the classic body over a stretched NASCAR truck chassis and dropping in a Mopar R5 P7 that sings to 9,500 RPM. The road to SEMA almost ended on the shoulder after a tow rig failure, but with help from racers and friends the car made a prime debut and drew a crowd that wanted every detail—how it was built, why it matters, and where it’s headed next.We dig into the engineering: cutting and adding four inches to match the B-body wheelbase, aligning the shell, using NASCAR-style ride height adjusters, and balancing street presence with a proper cage, race seats, and belts. Then we climb into the thin-air problem. Pike’s Peak starts near 8,000 feet and finishes above 14,000, so we talk mid-altitude tuning targets, power loss on NA engines, and a throwback solution—variable jetting