Lucky Costa Gives Mopala Some Love at the 37-Second Mark
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.
By Jordon Scott, August 14, 2021
MotorTend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge is finally here! If you've been hiding under a rock for the last six years, Roadkill Nights is a street legal celebration of speed where drag cars come to compete in the eighth-mile on historic Woodward Avenue in Pontiac, Michigan. Friday night was for tech inspection and the competition looks stiff! We snapped as many pictures as we could of all the street legal muscle cars and hot rods rolled in.
Congratulations to Darcy Angell; she brought home the win for the Mobil 1 Fan Favorite on the last stop of the Hot Wheels Legends Tour with Speed Society!
This female-owned and raced ‘Hot Rod Taxi’ wagon is powered by a GM ZZ4 350 ci crate motor and a Weiand supercharger producing a remarkable 500 hp. The garage spirit continues all around this wild wagon; it features air ride suspension, Wilwood disc brakes, 20” chrome wheels, and wheelie bars.
Who’s ready to go tear up the track with Darcy?! We know we are.
A '78 Dodge D300 dually slammed to the ground with Hellcat Hemi power? Sounds like a great combo to us! Paul Terlosky's brute makes an even bigger impact with a bold stripe down the middle of the white paint and big billet wheels.
13 Aug 2021, 12:49 UTC ·
by Daniel Patrascu
There was a time when this here truck was an unassuming D-300, part of the D/W series Dodge manufactured from the early 1960s all the way into the 1990s. But after the guys over at Ohio-based House of Mouse Racing had their way with it, it turned into a build that is impossible to miss.
Nicknamed Hellcat Hauler, the truck presents itself as a dually, custom inside and out and, and despite looking pretty tame on the lawn (check gallery for more), it’s a true monster.
First, the thing is capable of sitting so low in the grass, like a snail hugging the ground, thanks to the use of a custom built heavy duty four-link air ride suspension. These hidden bits end in 20-inch inch chrome wheels that support a sculpted body in Diamond Crystal White Pearl with an anodized Blue Pearl stripe running down the middle.
The impressive body hides two surprises inside. First, under the hood the shop behind the build fitted a Hellcat engine, tied it to an automatic transmission, and called it at 707 horsepower.
Then, the other surprise is inside, where the House of Mouse fitted leather bucket seats, a folding armrest console, and rear cushioned bench with two hidden compartments. On the dash sits a set of Dakota Digital gauges, but also lot of the gadgets we’re used to having around in our modern-day cars: Bluetooth, USB, auxiliary, XM capability, and rear view camera.
The truck remains towing-capable, and packs gooseneck and Reese hitches, slide out mirrors, and auxiliary LED backup light.
The Hellcat Hauler was finished last year and, after getting the Best Dodge Truck Pick at the 2021 Goodguys Summit Racing Nationals, is looking for a new owner. The truck is for sale during the Mecum auction in Dallas in September, with no mention of how much it is expected to fetch.