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Car of The Day: April 15, 2010; MotorMax '99 Chrysler Howler
Topic Started: Apr 14 2010, 09:59 PM (585 Views)
craftymore
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Support your local demo derby.

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The car for today is the Motor Max 1999 Chrysler Howler.

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From a December 2000 issue of Motortred:
Motortrend.com
 
From the instant the key turned, we were in eight-cylinder heaven.
The Howler's V-8 vibrated and burbled the way a hot rod's should. Driving this one-off concept was like finally getting a date with the potential soulmate you've lusted after for years-yet knowing you probably have no future together. That's because DaimlerChrysler claims it has no official plan to build this saucier version of its production street rod, the Plymouth Prowler. Yet V-8 motorvation, said to be under engineering consideration, could actually happen. When the moribund Plymouth brand goes away after '01, the production Prowler will remain-badged as a Chrysler and still powered by a V-6.

The Howler convincingly demonstrated what the Prowler, introduced at the 1996 North American Autoshow in Detroit, could be with the right engine. We put the hammer down on some Detroit-area roads and this car moved in proper bad-ass hot-rod fashion. So perhaps D-C was cruel to let us drive it. The sweet memory of its 4.7L V-8's lusty surge and eight-piston serenade brought us a certain exquisite pain.

The standard powertrain in the more than 5200 Prowlers currently on the street is a 3.5L/253-hp SOHC V-6 teamed with an "AutoStick" four-speed automatic. Nice-but not naughty enough. The Prowler weighs a modest 2800 lb, thanks to its aluminum frame and aluminum and plastic body panels. So with the V-6, it performs well (0-60 mph in 5.8 sec, 14.4 sec/93.3 mph in the quarter). But the whole point behind most hot rods is putting torquey V-8 power-and the right, all-American noise-in a super-light chassis. Chrysler's own 4.7L/235-hp SOHC V-8 (used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee) with its 295 lb-ft of torque fills the bill and the Howler's engine bay. Adding to the fun is a five-speed manual (NV3500) yanked from a full-size Ram pickup. We found its handmade linkage a bit loosey-goosey-yet we still greatly preferred it over the standard autobox. The manual moves power into a Corvette (C3 type) differential and out through the rear axle halfshafts.

The biggest problem with the swap was squeezing an entirely different powertrain into an existing chassis setup for a rear transaxle. Additionally, the Prowler is built on an adhesively bonded, riveted, and MIG-welded single-plane aluminum frame. Although wonderfully light, it doesn't offer the rigidity of a steel frame or a well-executed steel unibody. So a Detroit-based subcontractor engineered major mods to the frame, adding sheer plates and extruded-aluminum crossmembers. This allowed the Prowler to accept the all-new powertrain configuration, and stiffened it significantly. The changes work surprisingly well, eliminating most of the Prowler's typical shudders and shakes and neatly allowing the V-8 engine, its larger Walker muffler, large-diameter exhaust pipes, the manual trans, and the new driveshaft to be tucked into the body envelope. The Howler feels substantially more solid than the Prowler.



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Stylewise, the Howler is actually quite different from the standard Prowler. Most of the changes are subtle, like the lack of front bumpers, the unique taillights, the huge dual exhaust pipes, and the polished front control arms. Major bodywork revisions include the addition of a tailgate and rear hatch that open for cargo stowage. Also check out those polished light-alloy wheels from American Racing; just the right touch. The rear of the Howler sports a handsome rear valance panel that covers the awkward appearance of the bare frame, which is visible in the standard Prowler. Details make the difference-particularly in a hot rod.


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For more info in the Howler, check out Motortrend.com

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The Howler is a bit of a confusing concept from Chrysler. It was based on the Plymouth Prowler but with the Plymouth brand at the time going the way of Edsel or Packard, Chrysler decided to come up with this concept by modifying the trunk, adding a V-8 used via a Jeep at the time and switching the nameplate brand. The wiki article even incorrectly lists this model as the Plymouth Howler. :blink: Regardless, this model remained a concept car and was never produced.

This Motormax casting is rather large at 1/55 in scale. Far as I know, this is the only model of the Howler ever produced in small scale.

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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
I'm pretty sure you're right that this is the only Howler. And it's a good casting, so it's the only one needed in this scale, also. ;)
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JustDavid
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SUV
Mmmmmm V8...
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