Car of the Week: I'll do it myself edition. HEMI Dart.

[dodgechargerfan]

A 540 cubic inch jewel shines under the custom designed fiberglass hood.

By his own admission John Burpee will tell you he’s a true motor head, always has been, and without doubt, always will be. He displays a love and appreciation for most things mechanical, and has a certain affliction for Classic American Muscle. As any good motor head worth their “I’m not speeding, I’m qualifying” bumper sticker can tell you, there will always be that one car that just stops you in your tracks, the car that just reaches out and grabs you, the car that somehow, magically forces you to fall head over heels in love with it, the car that you vow to own someday, even if it means selling your collection of Rolling Stones vinyl LP’s, or your first edition Superman comic book.

For John Burpee, the object of his affection would be a Dodge Hemi Dart, red with a black interior, and chrome wheels.

Read more.

 

[dodgechargerfan]

OldCarsWeekly hasn't posted one for this week. So, I did some searching and came up with this one.

 

[Dr.Jass]

Overall I like the car, particularly the fact that it's a manual transmission. Just a few observations:

1. Why is the 540-inch Hemi so weak? I mean, if he wanted mild, 745HP is easy on a smaller combo--even a 426. The first engine I saw run on the dyno at Barton's was a 528-inch, 900+ horsepower, single four-barrel, streetable 93-octane-fueled Hemi. That was in 1998. You can run the compression on a Hemi higher than the balls on a giraffe and still run pump gas all day. The engine builder should be ashamed, and maybe stick to non-Hemi engines of the bowtie variety.

2. This car, to me, is further evidence that the '68 SS Hemi A-body scoop only looks good on a '68. Yeah, I guess I'm that picky. However, they refer to it as "custom designed" and I wonder why. Is it the fact that they used a grade-schooler's 60-cent protractor as a guide to cut a mild curve in the leading edges of the scoop sides?

3. Alter-K-tion: I don't get it. I never will. Maybe on a drag car where geometry and strength don't matter, but even then it still hurts load ditribution.

4. The interior of this car would be, to my eyes, damned-near perfection if they put the radio above the gauges where it belongs and got rid of everything billet including those awful pedals and "Hemi" door emblems.

5. No monster rear meats. I want to hug this guy. Seriously... I'm so sick of stupid, totally unnecessary steamroller tires I could puke.

Overall, it's a pretty cool car. It's his dream and he likes it, so all the better for him... I love the fact that he drives it to work, too. Paint the core support black.

 

[restoman]

I like it. A lot.

A few more observations:

1. Straight as an arrow, really good fit on the body panels, nice gaps all around, RED, and shiny as Hell.

2. That hood sucks.

3. Paint the core support black.

4. Change the title of the article to: "I'll pay someone to do it for me" Edition. I thought I'd be reading a story about a guy building his own car, not a story about a guy writing cheques to some talented people as they build his car for him.

5. Love the wheels. Those are very similar to what I was going to use on my '69 Dart, without the spinner centers.

6. Where is the chrome trim for the drip rails?

 

[dodgechargerfan]

4. I meant that I had to go looking for a car to post instead of just leeching the one from Old Cars Weekly.