Absolutely. The Interceptor has italian styling, traditional british
coachbuilt interior, smooth V8 power and good handling. What more could you
want? Trouble is they rust like hell and the body and interior cost a
fortune to restore. Tell me about it! So you can't give away a restoration
project Interceptor. Not really a competitor to the MkII at the time,
though, as they cost as much as an Aston or Rolls Royce. Less room in the
back too.
To us English, a 7.2-litre engine is hard to comprehend, but having worked
on a 440 I was amazed by the quality of the casting. I can honestly say that
a 440 cylinder head is not much heavier than an MGBs. It should be twice as
heavy. You can see why the GM ali V8 was overtaken by new iron casting
techniques.
The 440 in the Interceptor is good pootling around. It does not like to be
revved. Driving it hard reminded me of driving a truck diesel - you know -
strong pull then it hits a brick wall at 4,500 or so. Not very satisfying. I
expect a hemi would answer this problem, but a hemi was too tall for the
Interceptor.
Yes, Neil, Chrysler seemed to be the engine of choice for europeans: Jensen,
Bristol, Facel Vega, Monica. G-K was Chevvy, as was Iso. Don't know why. I
thought it might be because they were made in Canada so got some
preferential tarif for the UK - John might know.
> As for a whole 'nother car, I can think of a Brit built Mopar powered
> car that could give a Mk II and its comtemporary counter part a pretty
> good run, right Paul?
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