DENNIS FARION'S '69 Dodge is faster than a speeding bullet. It may seem odd to refer to a 38-year-old car as the new kid on the block, but Farion's freshly restored 1969 Dodge Super Bee has quickly become the talk of the town. Since completing the car late last summer, the accolades have literally been pouring in. With the 2007 cruising season only in its infant stages, this clean machine has already taken home best Mopar honours at both the World of Wheels and Rodarama car shows. For his friends and family, these latest achievements come as no surprise. In addition to being a talented painter and bodyman, Farion has been a huge fan of Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge for as long as anyone can remember. "My first Mopar was a '63 Plymouth," offered the 49-year-old Farion. "I put a 340 engine and a four-speed transmission in it back in high school -- I was basically hooked on cars from that moment on." In those days, Farion was enrolled in the auto-body course at Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School. After he was done school, he got a job as a painter's helper at New Flyer. Perfecting his painting skills by day, Farion continued to buy cars and fix them up in the evenings. His rolling resume is long and impressive. The highlights include '55, '56 and '57 Chevs, but it's his Mopar memories that are most vivid. "I had a '72 Cuda with a 383," Farion sentimentally recalls, "but my nicest one was a really clean '69 Charger R/T. It was a 440 Six-Pack car with a four-speed." Farion left New Flyer and went out on his own over 20 years ago, right around the time he parted with his prized Charger. His well-equipped East Selkirk body shop is tucked away in his backyard and over the years he's done it all, from MPI collision repair claims to complete restorations. Back in the '90s, Farion built a new shop and changed the focus of his business. Rather than MPI claims, he started paying the bills doing independent contract work, applying special coatings to a variety of parts destined for industrial applications. This change not only added some extra room in the shop, it also turned out to be the catalyst that got him back in the muscle-car game. "I was always saying I wanted another '69 Charger," recalls Farion, "then my brother-in-law Stan Kormilo told me about a Charger his neighbour in Arborg had for sale." It took a while before Farion actually got a closer look and although it wasn't the '69 Charger he was looking for, it still caught his eye. "I wasn't expecting a '69 Dodge Super Bee," chuckled Farion, "but it was a nice complete car and we already had the trailer there, so I bought it and brought it home." The car had been in storage for over 15 years, but it still had the usual dings and dents, along with a bit of rust on the quarter panels and a worn out interior. The magic, however, was revealed when Farion cross-referenced the VIN number with the fender tag and determined that the car was indeed equipped from the factory with a 383 engine linked to a four-speed manual transmission. Further inspection revealed the engine was numbers-matching. In the Mopar muscle world, if the car has the engine it came out of the factory with, the result is a profoundly higher level of both desirability and value. Once he was sure he had a bona-fide numbers-matching 1969 Dodge Super Bee in his possession, Farion made the decision to completely restore the car to factory specs.

With help from brother-in-law George McGinnis, the dirty Dodge was stripped bare. The front clip, the doors, the glass, the entire interior -- everything was disassembled. Farion then built a rotisserie to aid in the restoration. A body rotisserie is not a lot different from the one on your barbecue, just way bigger. It allows the car's body shell to be secured and totally spun upside down for easy access to the underside. Aircraft grade paint stripper was applied to the body and panels before sandblasting the entire works inside and out. The advantage of the paint stripper meant everything was softened up. A nice low-pressure session with the sandblaster gently stripped the whole lot to bare metal. Farion worked his metal magic getting the body and panels arrow straight, he also carefully welded in a couple of patches. Following what were surely hundreds of hours of sanding, he then applied several coats of epoxy primer. The paint colour was an easy choice -- the original factory Dodge W1 White and the paintwork was done with the car in the disassembled state. The body was also wet sanded and polished before receiving a clear-coat finish to really bring out the shine in the PPG acrylic urethane paint. Otto's Custom Upholstery in Beausejour beautifully recreated the interior. Otto installed new door panels, created a headliner and restitched the bucket seats to factory-fresh condition. The resulting sea of red is a beautiful compliment to the white paint, and really gives the car a distinct Canadian appeal. Back in 1969, the 383 big-block engine was factory rated at 335 horsepower. The motor received a complete rebuild at Competition Engine Machine Inc. on Portage Ave., while the factory four-speed was freshly rebuilt at Asperline Transmission on Arena Rd. In addition to running as smooth as silk, the attention to detail on the engine is truly amazing. Dennis refurbished or replaced all of the accessories and painted them exactly the way they looked when the car left the factory. Reproduction decals and a recreation of the period-correct battery totally seal the deal. In addition to making the car go fast and look pretty, Farion also rebuilt or replaced all of the mechanical components, including brakes, suspension and steering. The wizards at Winnipeg Wheel Works on Gunn Rd. transformed a set of original 14-inch rally wheels into 15-inchers. The rims are wrapped in meaty Goodyear Eagle GTII radials. This wheel-and-tire combination is much more highway friendly than the original setup, yet maintains the original look. The car features a nice compliment of factory-installed options, including bucket seats with a console, a full range of gauges including the desirable Tick-Tock-Tach, a Chryco AM radio with a rear speaker, a rear-window defroster and power front disc brakes. Additional chrome and wood trim in the interior and stainless fender trim really set this Bee apart from the rest of the Coronet lineup. Other desirable options include side air scoops and the fully functional Ramcharger hood scoop adorned with chrome 383 badges. The final touches occurred when Farion added the factory correct Bumble Bee stripe and those ferocious looking little Super Bee emblems on the grille and trunk lid. Dennis received lots of help and support from his wife Phyllis and the couple's 15-year-old son Tysonn on the project. Although he was only eight when the Super Bee first appeared in the family shop back in 1999, Tysonn has literally grown up with it. He now stands 6-foot-5. "He's a good kid," added the proud father, "he's taking the power-mechanics course at Selkirk Comp and has really taken an interest in cars." It may be a few more months before Tysonn gets his driver's license, but it looks like the future of Mopar in Manitoba is in good, solid hands. paul.williamson@ freepress.mb.ca