Block Party

Paul Block’s Sublime 1969 Charger R/T.

- Eric Geisert

There are a limited amount of folks in that special age group who grew up in the heyday of muscle cars, and Paul Block is one of them. He’s been into cars since the age of seven, when he built his first car: a 1961 Corvette. Sure, it was a plastic model, but it plugged him into the automotive scene that was happening all around him in the 1960s.

By the time he was in his 40s, living in Upland, California, Paul had a successful contracting business that allowed him to devote some time and money to his passion, and he built two customized 1968 Camaros: one coupe and one convertible. But after that experience, he decided he was done with Chevys and looked for another quintessential 1960s muscle car: an old-school Mopar equipped with a big-block.

As luck would have it, he came across one at a swap meet, or at least the makings of one. On a trailer was the frame and shell of a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, and it was already painted Sublime Green, the exact color Paul wanted for his ride. Though there were some loose parts located in the trunk, several other parts were missing. Paul was undeterred; he figured the hunt for parts has always been part of the fun in building a car.

The advantage of working on a 1960s-era car nowadays is being able to utilize updated performance and suspension parts in the build, which is why Paul turned to Ron Blanchard at Performance Carb & Speed in Ontario, California, to do the complete build and help with sorting out the best combination for Paul.