CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — They’re serious about cars that scream fun at American Performance LLC in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Inside their garage, you’ll find more muscle than you will at most gyms. Owner Frank Badalson is considered the nation’s preeminent Mopar expert and has a 50-plus-year body of work to prove it.
“We like to keep original cars original,” Badalson said. ”They’re fast and they attract a lot of attention.”
The Northern Virginia native refurbishes classics like Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler with such precision, jobs can take months if not years to complete. The work is not cheap.
“Cars like this sell in excess of $200,000,” he said.
While Badalson has laid his hands on nearly every type of Mopar ever made, one vehicle that recently arrived at his shop he called “a very rare car.”
“There is quite a story behind it,” Badalson said. “It is called the Black Ghost.”
The Story of the Black Ghost
Detroit Police Officer Godfrey Qualls purchased the car in the early 1970s. The former Green Beret and paratrooper modified his Mopar to burn rubber through Motown.