Rick Mariano's 1965 Dodge Dart GT
An individual’s attachment to their hot rod is easily understood by those of us who own them, and just about impossible to explain to those who live outside the culture of the classic American muscle car. In the case of this months feature car, the attachment is not held strictly by its owner, but a whole club. For those of us lucky enough to have crossed paths with Tommy Craig, we only have great memories of help, advice, and encouragement. While I may be the one whose name is now on the title, to me and others it will always be simply “Tommy’s Dart”
The car is a 1965 Dodge Dart GT hardtop, originally equipped with a 273 V8, 833 4speed and an 8 ¾. When I took possession of it the car had been in Tommy and Janice’s garage in the state of semi retirement while Tommy concentrated on his Dart Sport race car (now capably owned and operated by Kim Humphrey) Although now equipped with a very potent 340, the rest of the car was beginning to show the signs of being almost forty years old. The internals of the rear end had been looted for other, more immediate racing needs. A call to Moser and an explanation that the axles were twisted at the splines and that I wanted a big bolt pattern without changing the narrow rear brakes (tire clearance).and proved immediately that the Moser folks know their Mopars. A complete set of axles arrived in less than a week for about the same price as a OEM set of A-body axles. Fortunately Tommy had rebuilt a spare posi unit, and it was installed with a fresh 3.91 ring and pinion from Precision Gear. I removed and carefully stored all the chrome and trim for later cleaning and polishing. The grill and candy canes were in perfect shape, and the tail lights were in excellent condition. Then things started to take a bad turn. I went to remove the vinyl top and almost the entire roof skin came with it. I literally had a full sized sunroof. The rear quarter panels were rusted through and dirt mud and grime had collected in various hard to reach places and had done their damage. Thank goodness for Eddie Stephens who owns HAWS Paint and Body in Fort Worth. Not only was he my neighbor, but a racer to boot. He also owns one of the nicest restored 68 Camaros around. (okay, but he understands these things). Lucky for me a trip to Barkley’s in Decatur netted a derelict Dart for the necessary sheet metal. Eddie tended to the body himself and shot the original yellow, although viewing the car at night, under the lights, makes me think he slipped in a little gold pearl. I’m pleased he did! The interior had brand new carpet, but the seats and door panels had succumbed to use, age, and the sun. Enter Bob Fuller and Fuller’s Upholstery. Bob took modern, durable fabrics and did a masterful job of keeping the same sixties look on the inside. Bob and his crew handled the new headliner also.
With all that completed, I handled the reassembly while also cleaning and polishing out the classic Cragar S/S mags that were on the car. I replaced gaskets, rebuilt the carb, new plugs, redid some electrical, installed a set of Flowmasters, and had the bumpers redone. The motor has remained basically untouched, but bring the revs up to around 3000 and nail the throttle, and it pulls as hard as anything I’ve ever been in, big or small block. It also has a way cool set of Hedman fenderwells, a cable drive distributor and tach, a classic row of SW gauges, no radio (couldn’t hear it anyway) and a Hurst shifter with T-handle.
I don’t take it out as often as I like, but when I do it gets plenty of looks, few challenges, and some knowing nods from some fellow classic muscle car owners. My favorite encounter was from right out of “American Graffiti”: Coming home from a short run to the parts store, two youngsters in some Japanese roller skate pulled up and let go with an anemic rap out of their fart can. I responded by stirring the trans into first gear, bringing up the revs and then dropping the hammer and the clutch for about thirty feet. I backed up, looked over with my best evil eye, and nodded forward. They responded by raising their hands and saying, “no way mister, that car is possessed.” Well sort of…….. maybe more like blessed.
Right, Tommy?
Rick "Dago Red" Mariano