Grady's Therapy
"Fun on the Run or Fun in the Raw"
Welcome to Grady's Therapy personal website. You will
soon learn the I have one of those passions for automotive things,
MOPARS, Chargers, Muscle cars, racing, fast cars and women, NASCAR and
more. As anyone who shares this passion knows it's impossible to
be cured. Also having attended many different car shows I've taken
photos of vehicles and things that interest me. Since most high
definition photos are large files and hard to share, a web site became
the logical choice enabling others to enjoy the pictures. I
encourage you to check back time to time to see what's been added or
changed as this web site will be a work in progress.
Grady's Therapy has always graced my race cars and the byline of "Fun on
the Run or Fun in the Raw" it's all stress reducing. Some who have
hung around 81 Speedway, Hutch Salt City Raceway or Fairgrounds Dirt
Tracks might remember those cars. (shown under Stories) Others will have to have a much
better memory to remember the Douglas street cruising, or 1/4 mile drags
of the Chargers and such.
To set the record straight Chargers are my strongest passion ever since
Dad came home with a new 68 Charger (shown below) and I got to drive and
later on buy it for transportation to High School and Work. I have
owned, raced, and worked on many different vehicles, motorcycles and
Muscle cars including: 56 Ford 2 door Sedan Delivery Wagon with 292 Y
block, Z series heads and Holly 4 BBl with 3 speed on the column {I got
real good experience changing clutches on this one}; several Chevy
Camero's and Z28s, various Pontiacs like a 69 Formula 400, 4 BBL, 4
Speed Firebird; and three different Dodge Chargers of which I retained
two. Couple that with many business and family cars, Suburban's and such
and you get the idea I enjoy many varieties. So you may see many
different things on this site. Additionally, I will place various
stories, articles, and reference information on here that may be of
benefit to others like myself. If you find it interesting and
helpful then pass the favor on to someone else, Kind of like my Scouting
background in doing a good turn daily - it makes the world a better
place. And remember to always "Buckle Up" or "wear your helmet".
Experience with these safety devices made me a believer! Enjoy!
68 Dodge Charger -MY FIRST-
Wow, I would never have imagined at age 13 that the Dodge Charger
would become a ICON of the automotive world with more appearances in
Movies and TV Series than any other car out there. Wild as it may sound
my first Charger wasn't your typical Performance MOPAR. Nope it
didn't come with the HEMI, 440 or 383 standard offering.
My dad,
who previously worked at Chrysler, ordered this car from Don Schmid
Dodge with a 225 slant six, 1bbl holly, A904 automatic on the column,
2.76 gears in a 7-1/4 rear end. Black vinyl bucket seats, no power
anything, and no air conditioning. Thank goodness he got the AM radio. The
color of lemon Yellow with no vinyl top rounded out the Charger.
Somehow he managed to get a 25 gallon gas tank and at about 24 miles per
gallon it went a long way between stops.
BUT, it couldn't remain
that way if I drove it. In went the 8 track stereo, L60x14 rear
tires, air shocks, and such. Couple that with the constant
Saturday Night drags on Douglas and eventually to the Wichita
International Speedway. Things changed. With the introduction of "Direct
Connection" engineering and performance "how to" books
help the Engine went to
.40 over bore, special cam and springs, Offenhauser dual carburetor
intake with holly's 2 Bbls, a early electronic ignition system that
eventually changed to MOPAR electronic ignition control. Hooker Split headers and Thrush Glass pack dual exhaust this car
was real consistent at the track turning 16.90's and 17 second
quarter mile times regularly
without even burning a tire off the line. As with all Drag racing things
break and replacements included a 727 torqueflite and 8-3/4 rear end, I had the pleasure of driving the car to Spring
and Summer IHRA Nationals in Tulsa, OK and KC, popping open the headers
and racing it. It sure was fun getting a head start on the faster cars
and seeing them red light or break out trying to beat my consistency.
Most everyone was fooled by the dual exhaust thinking I had the bigger
V8 engine. Little did I know at the time this Charger was
probably a one of a kind since the 6 cylinder wasn't even offered until
69 in Chargers by Dodge. However, having acquired a 69 Charger RT 440
with AC and all the power niceties I sold it to a friend who eventually
abandoned it and let it go to salvage due to wreck(s) damage and rust. I
still own the 69 RT and acquired another 68 Charger as well. Wish
I had kept the six banger Charger. Picture above was taken in 1975 in
front of Grandma's place in Florida. You can see the damage on the
drivers side from guard rail and car side swipe incident along with the
usual rust.