'71 Impala Sleeper
AutoCross Monster
707 hp Dodge Hellcat Motor
Gearstar GM 4L85E Transmission
QA1 Coilover Suspension
Moser Ford 9” Rearend
Wilwood Brakes
Dakota Digital Gauges
Vintage Air
Ride Of The Week 11/06/2023: Paul Terlosky's 1971 Impala
By Drake Donovan
What happens when you cross a big 70s sedan with 2020s Mopar Muscle? You get an autocross monster known as the “Mopala”. It’s the brain-child of House of Mouse Racing Proprietor, Paul Terlosky of Twinsburg, OH.
“I had a ’74 impala as my first car and raced it. It had quarter mile times in the thirteens.” He goes on to tell me that he specialized in Impalas for a while before getting into Mopars, specifically, Hellcats. “The last six years or so, I’ve done a lot of Hellcat cars and we had an engine and wiring harness laying around.”
The 1971 two-door Impala had become his “White Whale”. Because of a multitude of factors: UAW strikes, the Oil Embargo, the 1971 model year was a low-production year compared to 1970 or ’72 so the volume of two-door Impalas was limited. He was able to find one that had been a bit used up.
“I wanted something to play with while my Cuda was being done and I had my sights set on competing in a Goodguys autocross event, but the only one left in the east was Columbus, so I had a timetable.” With only had 5 weeks to prepare the car for the event, he dropped the Hellcat engine from a Challenger it right into the ’71 Chevy.
The old white interior was quickly replaced with blue leather and the suspension redone with QA1 coilovers with Wilwood disc brakes and a Gearstar 4L85E transmission. “I finished the car the night before we left for Columbus.” And it workout well as he goes on to say, “I was out pro-touring F-bodies with this thing and no paddle shifters either!”
Yeah, it’s a full-size Chevy but 707 HP sure helps. And if he ever needs service, all of the on-board computer systems still think it’s a Hellcat challenger, so he could literally take it to any Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep/Ram dealer.
