A Unique Devil

I’ve been looking. For a demon. A Dodge Demon, to be exact. And if it took Börje Nilsson and his wife Marie half a year to find the right Demon in the United States, you can imagine how long it took me to find a decent feature car here in Sweden.

Dusters and Darts are all well and good. They’re sharp little compacts by American standards, and there are still a fair number of them in Sweden. You see them every summer.

You can’t say the same about a Dodge Demon.

Without knowing the exact Swedish registration numbers, I can say that the Nilssons’ 1971 Demon is the third one I’ve seen in Sweden in five years. And I travel constantly, read every Swedish car magazine, and have a pretty wide network. They’re rare as hell, plain and simple.

The car was only produced under the Demon name in 1971 and 1972, and with the 340-cubic-inch engine, total production numbers sit just under 19,000 units.

Very few of those survived – and even fewer made it to Sweden.

That makes the Nilssons’ Demon a rather unusual sight on our roads.

“My wife and I had decided it was time to get our first American car. My mother-in-law was already on her second, so it was about time for us, too! We started searching seriously online and came across a Dodge Demon on eBay after about a year of browsing every imaginable make and model. We hadn’t quite agreed on which American car we wanted, but we both fell for the Demon. Another half-year later, we finally found the right one – the one we eventually bought,” Nilsson says.

The Demon arrived in Sweden a couple of years ago.

“My mother-in-law’s boyfriend knows American cars inside and out, and he helped with the import. That’s what he works with, and he had a not-quite-full container leaving Houston. Our Texas Demon fit perfectly,” Nilsson says.

At the time of the interview, the couple had owned the car for less than a year. They were still testing, learning and exploring their Dodge.

The other day, Nilsson found a strange square-tube sleeve welded to the top of the Demon’s rear axle. Inside it ran a slightly smaller square tube, held in place with a cotter pin.

It turned out to be a homemade drag-racing device. Crude, but effective.

“The previous owner did some pretty funny things to the car. The rear axle is modified, for example, and with this square tube – which you pull forward after removing the pin – you basically eliminate the suspension travel. That way, the rear doesn’t squat when you launch at the Christmas tree. You simply lock out the suspension before heading down the strip,” Nilsson says.

When you’re done racing, you slide the tube back, lock the pin and voilà – the rear suspension is restored.

“Apparently there are tons of books on this. How to cheaply prep a car for drag racing. I’d love to get my hands on that literature,” Nilsson says.

It might come in handy. Nilsson has already started putting the Demon through its paces. During this year’s Mopars_® at the Strip in Orsa, he tested the car on the strip for the first time.

The results weren’t record-breaking, but definitely respectable – especially considering it was his first time staging at an actual strip.

“I ended up with a 119 km/h trap speed and 10.14 seconds over 201 meters. Considering it was my first pass ever, I shouldn’t complain,” Nilsson laughs.

He adds that Marie caught the bug in Orsa, so next year we’ll see her on the strip as well.

So what kind of drivetrain sits in their Dodge? A 340 with a slightly hotter cam, a column-shifted 727 (did I mention the Demon also has a full bench seat up front – hardcore, perfect for drag racing, ha!), and Chrysler’s 1971 heavy-duty rear axle with 3.23:1 gears.

Speaking of the bench seat and column shifter – the car also has unusual seat belts. By Swedish standards, that is.

“There are two separate lap belts up front. One from the roof and one around the waist,” Nilsson laughs.

He has no grand plans for major modifications. Instead, it’s all about TLC – and has been since day one.

“I replaced all the wheel cylinders and the master cylinder. They were close to leaking. I didn’t need to inspect the brake booster, though – because I don’t have one,” Nilsson says with a grin.

He notes that the already worn-out tires are completely uneven, so an alignment is planned for the coming winter.

“The fuel gauge didn’t work either. The float was full of gas. So we used a champagne cork instead. Works perfectly,” Nilsson says, chuckling.

He’s a clever guy, Nilsson. The following exchange takes place when it’s time to photograph the Demon:

“19:30 works. That’s the earliest I can make it. I need to go home first – I work in Södertälje. Then I have to assemble the car.” “Sounds good. 19:30. Wait – what?” “It’s true. I have to remove the bumper to fit the car in the garage. So I bolt it back on every time I take it out.” “Ah. Haha!”

The garage he rents is a couple of centimeters too short. But nothing is impossible for a resourceful owner.

That goes for simpler issues as well. Like the awful traction.

Nilsson adds that it’s high time to buy new tires – the old ones are probably from the early ’90s. The Demon just spun endlessly on the Tallhed airfield, and traction is non-existent when the pavement is wet.

“The previous owner ran 13.3 seconds over 402 meters. I’ve got that written down. So it should be possible to run better than I did in Orsa. The guy who won the stock class this year ran a Dodge Dart with a 340, if I remember correctly,” Nilsson says.

No doubt about it – little horns are starting to appear on Nilsson’s forehead. After Mopars at the Strip, there’s now a tiny demon inside the Demon.