drive
Wall’s Wheels
premier brad Wall’s long love affair with old cars
By Dale Johnson
Top: brAd WALL; boTTom: FiAT CHrySLEr
To say saskaTchewan Premier
Brad
daytime running lights) and a fullWall is a fan of old cars would be an
width taillight. Wall’s Charger had
understatement.
a relatively tame 383 V-8 engine—a
Wall, who was elected to a third
souped-up 426 Hemi also hit the
term earlier this year, fuels a growing
market at the time.
car collection with his passion for
He later owned a 1973 Dodge
classics, particularly
Challenger with a 340
Wall, who was
Chryslers and Dodges.
V-8. The Challenger
elected to a
It’s a love affair dating
was introduced for
third term earlier
back to his high school
the 1970 model year
this year, fuels
days in Swift Current,
and was intended to
a growing car
when he bought a 1966
compete with the Ford
collection with his Mustang. It shared some
Dodge Charger. “I still
passion for classics, components with the
remember the great
particularly
split bucket seats, going
Plymouth Barracuda—
chryslers and
right into the back seat,
but was slightly larger
Dodges
and the trap door to the
and more luxurious.
trunk—that came in
Over the years, Wall
handy at the drive-in,” Wall recalls.
has restored several cars too, including
The Charger was Dodge’s sporty,
a 1970 Chrysler Newport convertible,
high-performance model introduced
1971 Plymouth Scamp,
in ’66, and based on the mid-sized
Dodge Coronet. To set it apart from the
Coronet, the Charger was exclusively
available as a two-door fastback.
It featured a full-width grill with
Muscle
headlights that disappeared behind the
mania: 1973
challenger
grill (this was a time before mandatory
1949-50 Ford and his recently sold
hobby car, a 1967 Dodge Coronet 500.
For a time, he even drove a 1986 Dodge
Omni—or, as he puts it, the worst car
he’s ever owned.
When it came time for a proper
family vehicle, Wall got behind the
wheel of a Chevrolet Suburban, which
he later replaced with a Dodge Ram
pickup, his current ride. He predicts
his next vehicle will be another Ram
pickup too. But what would Wall be
driving if cost and practicality weren’t
factors? “A 1969 Hemi (Plymouth)
Roadrunner would be tied with
a ’68 Shelby GT500,” he says,
without hesitation.
The Roadrunner, a mid-sized
Plymouth, hit the market in 1968 as a
bare-bones muscle car. The emphasis
was on performance and power—with
a 426 option.
Wall’s affinity for the Shelby likely
inspired a 2014 fundraising effort. The
premier and other donors bought a
1968 Shelby Mustang clone, and had it
rebuilt and trimmed in Saskatchewan
Roughrider colours. The gridiron
ride raised about $200,000 at
auction, with proceeds supporting the
Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan
and Football Saskatchewan.
This year, Wall’s group has been
rebuilding another classic to support
the RCMP Heritage Centre in Regina.
The “Franken-Dodger” will boast
the body of a 1970 Dodge Charger
combined with the safety, technology
and performance of a 2015 Dodge
Charger SRT.
When asked to name the all-time
best vehicle he has ever owned, the
premier doesn’t “dodge” the question:
“It’s a three-way Dodge tie—the
’66 Charger, ’73 Challenger and ’67
Coronet 500.”
caa SASKATCHEWAN
FALL 2016
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