Black Betty The Big Chrysler 383

I WAS IN LOVE AND MADE AN OFFER ON THE SPOT WITH THIS CHRYSLER 383, NAMED BLACK BETTY.

By: Terence Kuipers Pics: Joe van Zyl

Big girls. Yes, I like them and I am not shy to admit it. Black Betty is her name and she is a “big girl”. Now I am going to elaborate on how I like my cars big, big engines. 

No wimpy small blocks for me. Big bodies, there needs to be space for all my pals and a cooler box. Big seats, preferably a bench so the missus has no excuse not to sit close. So now that we have established that I like my cars big, we can carry on. 

My affair with “big girls” started in early 2010 when I returned home after spending 10 years travelling in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Faced with the possibility of settling down, I decided to look for something to restore. 

I found a 1968 Impala that needed a full restoration. My dad and I decided to tackle this together, and even though we were making some good progress, it turned out I yearned to drive the cars and not just slowly restore them. 

So I began the search for something equally big and this is when I came across the Chrysler 383, a Dodge Monaco with Chrysler Newport interior and a 2 barrel 383 mated to a TorqueFlite 727 running with a 3.23 rear end. The Chrysler factory in Paarden Eiland assembled 353 examples in 1969 and the sticker price was R5,207 making it one of the most expensive cars available at the time.

This one ticked all the boxes, big block, big body, the all-important bench seat in vinyl and it was up for sale by a neighbour of the deceased owners son. It was going to take a while to get the paperwork sorted and into my name but I was in love and made an offer on the spot. 

We agreed on a price and, on collecting it a couple of days later, I was happy to find that the previous owner had a detailed folder still containing the original change of ownership. As well as all the tax disks and roadworthy certificates and the original dealer brochure. 

I returned a few months later, got even more literature and photos, and listened to a few stories from the original owners son. According to the paperwork, the car was bought new by the Pretoria National Filmraad. 

It was in their possession till 1973 when Angus Van Collier bought it. Shortly after taking ownership, Angus painted the car white in his garage (originally it was black with a black vinyl roof and red interior).

As this was going to be a daily driver, my plan was to do a rolling restoration. I started to formulate a plan of attack that would keep the car off the road as little as possible. As this car was going to be a learning platform to assist in the restoration of the Impala, I decided early on that I would do everything myself. With a little background in working on marine types of diesel, I felt confident tackling the mechanics but was less enthusiastic about the rest.

So I started with what I knew best and decided that the engine needed more horsepower. Especially if I wanted to use it every day. I set my goal at 400 horses with as much torque as low in the rev range as possible. This was going to be a 100horse more than a stock 383 so again, not asking too much from the old girl. First on the shopping list were the intake and exhaust manifolds coupled with a 4-barrel Holley. 

These really woke the asthmatic 383 up. By this time I had rebuilt the brakes and flushed the diff and gearbox. As we were still restoring the Impala, I spent very little time on Black Betty. However, I did squeeze in a blow over with gloss black, painting the bumpers and all the chrome in the same gloss to give it a sinister look.

At the beginning of 2011, I moved to Cape Town from JHB and decided to drive Black Betty while my wife drove her car. We loaded the pets and headed down on the 1st of January, the trip was mostly uneventful until we hit Beaufort West. This is where I noticed the temperature rising. 

The drive had loosened all the rust in the cooling system which in turn clogged the radiator. Furthermore, being a public holiday, with no chance of finding a replacement radiator, the heater was called into action and for the rest of the trip, I had the heat on full blast which took just enough heat out of the coolant to keep us moving.

I had left the Impala in JHB with my dad so all the attention went into getting Black Betty to a condition that would allow me to use it daily. The gearbox got some much-needed attention, rebuilt to factory specs and no shift kit or bigger torque converter just what Ma Mopar would have asked of the TorqueFlite 727. The interior received new carpets, vinyl seats and plenty of Dynamat.

To date the engine has a mild cam, the heads have received a little work, the ignition is upgraded to electronic and the water pump, oil pump and timing set are all new. It is a true daily driver and gets driven in rain or shine. She lives outside as she is too long to fit in the garage. So, the rust is popping up here and there, but nothing that a little blow over with Hammerite cant hide.

While she has been put together with daily driving in mind, she excels at road trips. Recently I joined the local Rodders on an epic pilgrimage to Hakskeen pan for the inaugural Speedweek. She was a perfect travelling companion and did not skip a beat on the 2500km round trip and even spent some time towing one of the Rods into town for repairs. That is why I like big girls.