Racers will pick their car based on many different things: brand loyalty, specific class rules, or a memory from their childhood. Michigan native Jim Johnson has fond memories of Mopar cars from his childhood, so it’s only natural he would pick a 1965 Plymouth Belvedere to become his racecar. Johnson has found a way to combine his love for the old school Mopar with modern technology to stand out in the Nostalgia Super Stock ranks.

Over the years, Johnson has become a fairly decorated racer winning many races, a track championship at the Mid-Michigan Motorplex, and a NHRA Wally. Even with all of those accomplishments behind the wheel of various cars, Johnson wanted something to bring back the fond memories of his childhood.

“Growing up, my dad had a 1965 Satellite that we would work on during the week, and race on the weekends. When I had the opportunity to own this 1965 Belvedere, I felt that I would have a chance to relive some of the memories from when I was growing up. So, two years ago I traded a dragster for the Belvedere, and haven’t looked back,” Johnson says.

Currently, Johnson’s Belvedere has a Muscle Motors 440 cubic inch engine under the hood. Topping the Mopar mill off is a set of Straightline Performance heads, and intake manifold from Indy Cylinder Head. What makes Johnson’s car unique in the Nostalgia Super Stock world is the pair of Edelbrock Performer carburetors that have been converted to use E85 fuel.

“The benefits of running E85 are the car runs cooler, it produces more torque, and the best part is the price per gallon. The average price of 110 octane race gas is $8 a gallon, whereas E85, on average, is less than $2 per gallon. I like to think of this car as old school muscle with new school ideas,” Johnson explains.

The Belvedere has run a best of 10.40 ET in the quarter mile, at just a hair over 3,500 pounds with a mostly steel body. Johnson is looking at doing a cam swap for next season that should help the car run in the low ten-second, to high nine-second range.