Steve Lisk Hemi Challenger
- Thread starter RMC
- Start date
cjmatt
Club Member
Got a link? I dont want it. but I am friends with the younger Rugirellos, and they have talked about it. One of them has talked about getting it back
TTchevelle78
New member
Is there a finders fee for someone offering $500k for the car? I'm sure he would sell it for that. :lmao: Lisk knows where the car is at, he has known RMC for a long time. The story in hot rod is true. Steve pulled the motor, sold the car, and the motor went to someone in Ohio. A Hemi was installed from muscle motors in Lansing, a 727, and the ring and pinion was swapped from a ~5.80-ish to a 5.13. The car has changed hands a few times. When RMC found the car for sale, he called Lisk to verify that it was his, and he did verify it. I will get pictures, it will take a while though...
dante1120
Forum Member
Cool stuff:handshake:
moneypit
Club Member
A friend of mine in Warren, Ohio bought the Challenger (minus engine and lenco) off of Lisk shortly after the car appeared at the Street Machine Nationals at Indy. I don't remember what year that was. Late 70's? He put a crossram Hemi and 727 in it along with a T/A hood in place of the Tunnelram hood.
The car was repainted after thieves broke into his garage and stole his tools. They dragged his tool boxes over the front of the car to get to the window. He was heart broken. He said he would have left his tools out in the driveway if it would have kept these kids away from the car. I think he only drove it a couple of times after the repaint and then it sat for a few years.
We lost track of the car after he sold it. I think he might still have the engine and trans that he had in the car
Here's a little trivia I have never seen printed anywhere. Mike Fons built the car for Steve out of a bunch of parts salvaged from a wrecked Prostock Colt. That's why the ladder bars where so short.
As of the Mid 80s the car Had a TA hood installed and the stripes were painted onto it by the owner the Ohio owner sold it to, The rumor is the car went to central USA and has dissappeared since
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TTchevelle78
New member
RMC also has a 69 nova that Mike Fons built. It was originally a 396 4 speed car.
Kryp2nitE
Club Member
chevelledave
Club Member
its mentioned in the new hotrod ...just got it today...
I saw that car run at Milan in the 70s. For a while it had the title of "fastest street car in America". I think it was running low tens when I saw it at Milan. His brother (I think) Tom Lisk had a killer black big block '71 (?) Trans Am that cleaned our clocks bad on Woodward in the mid-late 70s. It beat us so bad I thought my buddy had his '68, 327 4 speed 4.56 geared Camaro in reverse.
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Scott714
Club Member
Got mine today but I wasn't sure if this was based off that story or not but Hot Rod wants to know where it is also.
intriguing
Forum Member
alrighty, I did some background searching on this car.. I work with Tom Lisk.. So I asked him if he had a brother named Steve. Sure enough, they are related and he talked about his Trans Am with a Chevy drivetrain LS7 and said it was a screamer as well. Anyways, he told me that his brother ran a 9.60 as his fastest time at the strip. The Challenger is *gasp* still in Michigan and owned by a transmission shop owner right now. He did not mention the name. Tom said the owner has done the trans' on most of his performance cars he's owned. I'm not sure how recent this is tracked too, but at least the time of the trans being done in his vette.
Any questions that you guys have for him.. I can ask.. he may not know the full details because it's been a few years, but I can have him ask his brother
oke:
Any questions that you guys have for him.. I can ask.. he may not know the full details because it's been a few years, but I can have him ask his brother
oke:TTchevelle78
New member
alrighty, I did some background searching on this car.. I work with Tom Lisk.. So I asked him if he had a brother named Steve. Sure enough, they are related and he talked about his Trans Am with a Chevy drivetrain LS7 and said it was a screamer as well. Anyways, he told me that his brother ran a 9.60 as his fastest time at the strip. The Challenger is *gasp* still in Michigan and owned by a transmission shop owner right now. He did not mention the name. Tom said the owner has done the trans' on most of his performance cars he's owned. I'm not sure how recent this is tracked too, but at least the time of the trans being done in his vette.
Any questions that you guys have for him.. I can ask.. he may not know the full details because it's been a few years, but I can have him ask his brother
Zing! The person you speak of still owns the car.
Intriguing, do you work at the Cadillac dealer in Troy?
intriguing
Forum Member
quite possibly:nervous:
intriguing
Forum Member
The Challenger NEVER raced the silver bullet according to Steve Lisk; Tom called to confirm this last night.. although on paper it was much faster.. 9.60 Challenger vs. a 10.30 Silver Bullet
Tom told me a story today about driving behind his brother Steve in the Challenger when the lenco started pissing trans fluid all over his Trans Am. His brother did not race a ton, but when he did it was with specific cars and people. He and that Joe guy would go back and forth, but when things came down to it, the Challenger would beat the Mustang every time when they were both running properly (which was not very often according to Tom.)
sidenote.. A guy at work with the last name Hehn, who owned a Dart with a 440-6 pack in it, hung out with Steve Lisk and talked about races on 696 and the Golden Nugget restaurant. Cool stuff. He brought in an article from 1976 in Car and Driver by Brock Yates about the Detroit street racing scene. some awesome stuff in it. Pics of Joe's Stang, Lisk's Challenger, and a pic with the Golden Nugget.
Tom told me a story today about driving behind his brother Steve in the Challenger when the lenco started pissing trans fluid all over his Trans Am. His brother did not race a ton, but when he did it was with specific cars and people. He and that Joe guy would go back and forth, but when things came down to it, the Challenger would beat the Mustang every time when they were both running properly (which was not very often according to Tom.)
sidenote.. A guy at work with the last name Hehn, who owned a Dart with a 440-6 pack in it, hung out with Steve Lisk and talked about races on 696 and the Golden Nugget restaurant. Cool stuff. He brought in an article from 1976 in Car and Driver by Brock Yates about the Detroit street racing scene. some awesome stuff in it. Pics of Joe's Stang, Lisk's Challenger, and a pic with the Golden Nugget.