Re: Original hemi dart information
 

M68,
Never saw that Cuda before...I wonder if it is an original BO23?
Correct on the Test Mule.
A 1967 383 4-speed car.
I'm not sure where I heard it, but I think it was an executives 1967
company vehicle. So it did have some miles on it, along with the standard items.
Radio, heater, body sealer and under-coating, rear seats, etc.
Most of the calculations were done on paper, to determine what would be required (removed off the car/lighten) to run 10.90's..
If you see the magazine with the car, you can see that the Test Mule was
an automatic, with the proper Hurst shift box/console.
The heater controls were still present, as well as an abundance of
under-coating on the under-carriage.
PC

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

OK I'm a newbie here and saw this thread. I'm a bit older now but I seem to remember a 68 Hemi dart owned by a guy named Olori. They owned Olori Crane in Nanuet NY. Not far from Pomona. He lived in the New City/Bardonia area. Pretty sure that Olori Crane is still in business. For the life of me I cannot remember the color. This may be nothing but might be worth a shot to call the company and see.

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

65Fairlane,
You may have found a connection.
Possibly the missing Pomona Dart.(1975 thru 1979)
Paint was dark-gray when I saw it.
I saw the car at a guys repair shop, that he had adjacent to his house
The car was somewhat beat. When I saw it, it had been sitting for 2 years.
That car supposedly ended up in Tompkins Cove, at some Sunoco Gas Station (?)
off route 9W. (I'm guessing 1980 or so)
After that, it disappeared into the deep-dark world of an
auto salvage yard.
Not sure if it was the same car as the Olori Crane Co.
PC

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Paul, I remember that gas staion.My buddy had a 440-six pack Road Runner and we went there to prepare his car. The guy there had a T/A Challenger 340 six pack car that he raced on the streets at the time. This was about 1973 or so

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

BTW That Station was not in Tompins Cove. It was in Haverstraw on 210 or 202

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

65Fairlane,
1980-ish
I remember heading south on Rt. 9W from Bear Mountain, and the gas station was on the right. Small 2-bay station, with a bunch of cars parked on the right side. I'm not 100% sure, but I think it was a Sunoco Station.
Of course, Tompkins Cove was kind of one horse town.
Thats where the car supposedly ended up.. I went there, but never saw the car there, but was told by several people, that the mechanic (not the owner) owned it.
I wonder if that car ended up in the little junkyard in town?
Anyone interested in Hemi Hunting?
PC

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

I know the station you are talking about. Looks like something from the 50's !!. The other one I mentioned had a lot of Mopar stuff back in the day. If I were the gent looking for the Dart info I might still reach out to Olori people. As In said we are talking around 73/74 so memory may or may not be so good

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

65Fairlane,
On the Hemi Car, I first saw the Pomona Dart at Dover, the end of
75' or very early 76' before Dover closed (May 76').
It had some lettering on it that I think said 'Pomona Speed Parts'.
Back in maybe 78' or 79', I came upon the car at a repair shop in Pomona. I think the guys name was Vic, and he had a 2-car garage repair shop adjacent to his house, which may have been called
Vic's Repair Service or Radiator Repair.
Inside the garage, his office was a little speed parts store, called
Pomona Speed. Nothing fancy, and it may have been just a name he used to purchase parts at a discount.. No signage on the building.
Alongside the garage, the Hemi Dart was there. It supposedly was driven and raced on the street for a short time. Maybe North Jersey or down Route 303. It was dark-gray. It was not for sale.
PC

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Hey Guys
It's been awhile since I've been on this thread & it looks like I might have another lead to check from 6t5frlane. I did some Google searching on Olori Crane & in fact did find some contact info. Looks like there are three names attatched to this company. Ron, John, & Bob Olori. Does this ring a bell with anyone??? I will be making some calls this next week to see if this takes me anywhere. I appreciate all the info that you guys are putting on this, & keeping this thread alive. There's been alot of very cool info put into this thread.
thanx again
liteweight
Daryl

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

I called Olori Crane today, and the person I talked to said he will get back to me with any info on the car that he can. I'll post any updates.

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

PM sent with info...........Good Luck

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Daryl,
Whether Olori Crane Co. had a car or not, I never saw it at Dover Drag Strip (Wingdale, NY), which was only about an hour away from the
Nyack, NY area.
Maybe the car hit Island and/or Englishtown in New Jersey, as both Jersey tracks are closer to Nyack (Rockland County).
PC

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

The Suppa Cuda is the Test Mule. Arlen Vanke bought the mule and sold it to Tony. I heard that Tony had some problems running the car in class because it had different seats, ect... from the Hurst built cars.

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

6T5, you may have been the guy who emailed me about the Orlani Crane Dart (possibly from the old hotrodder.com site)? I called them some time back and spoke with one brother - he really didn't know - said his brother ran cars mostly Fords. Might be more to the story if someone can talk with the other brother??

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

I did speak to an " older " Hot Rodder from the Rockland area about the Dart. Said he thought John Olori owned it but could not remember much more. I'm guessing John would be in his early 60's by now......FYI

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

i just joined the site yesterday specifically for this thread which i'm greatly interested in. i'm very into the Hemi Darts and Barracuda's and i've gotten alot out of reading this thread and have enjoyed every second of it. like Matt Conte i am a model car builder and am looking forward to the upcoming Revell kit. i'm very interested in any books or pictures and history on the 1:1 cars. i have a pile of magazine references as well as the authenticity guide by Jim Schild.

there are a few cars that i have an interest in finding more information about if anyone can help or has anything. does anyone know anything about the Dart that belonged to Brooklyn Heavy? i have just a picture or two from a magazine article but no other information on it. i also have some pictures of a Dart named "That Dart" that i took at Mason-Dixon in Maryland. i talked to the owner at length many years ago but it was mostly about details of the car, not it's history unfortunately. does anyone know anything about this car as well?

i'm very interested in the history on Daryl's car too as well as the "Pomona" car and the Manhattan Speed car.

i've misplaced it but i had an issue of Mopar Collectors Guide that did a feature on a black clone that was built to replicate a Hemi Dart that was totalled street racing in the 70's. does anyone have that issue or remember that car?

really wish i had found this thread much earlier as it looks like alot of good pictures are no longer here that were posted.

Dave

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Dave,
Good luck finding info on the 'Manhattan Speed Shop' car.
Guys were out of lower Manhattan. New York
Only photo I ever saw of it, was at the line at Englishtown,
versus Charlie Castaldo, 1969?
PC

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Paul, you seem to be one of the leading knowledgeable people in regards to these cars in this thread. i found some information over in the Connecting Highway thread that filled in a little information on the S&K/Mutt bros. car and that it was sold to or went to Brooklyn Heavy.

the Hot Rod magazine Mopar special issue has a picture of the Manhattan Speed Parts Dart racing Ed Miller at the Super Stock Nationals in '68. the picture is in black and white so i'm guessing that the car could be grey. it also has what appears to be some deep offset rear wheels on it.


Dave

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Dave,
Good pick-up on the 'Manhattan Speed Shop' car.
Only (12) S/S Hemi Darts or Cuda's were at the 1968
Super/Stock Magazine Nationals, New York National Speedway August 1968.
The one photo that I saw, had 'Manhattan Speed Shop" lettered on the front fender. It may have also been affiliated with R & R Construction.

Not to throw another cog in the wheel, but a Chrsyler Fleet Service
Technician, out of the NYC, West 51st Street Service Center says that a 68' Hemi Dart was brought to the New York service center at the end of March, 1968.
It was prepped and painted white with a red 'Dodge' emblem placed on the rear quarters, trunk deck-lid and front hood, and 'Hemi" on the sides of the scoop.
Cragar S/S wheels were put on in place of the steel wheels.
He was not sure if it was a 4-speed or automatic. Many moons ago!
It was supposed to be brought to the New York International Car Show, at New York Coliseum (West 72nd Street) for April 7, 1968.
It was to be brought in as Dodge's performance car, to be in direct competition with Motion Performance, who had a performance booth their.
The car never made it to the show. Some Dodge Rep or a Dodge dealership got wind of the car at the service center, and got it out of their before it went to the
Auto show.
PC
I'll post some more information on that one.

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Wow, 422 messages in this thread to skim through to get caught up with all the info shared within, but of all the Darts spoken of, one hasn't been mentioned...John Friel's (former?) SS/AA Hemi Dart, that ran a 9.14 @ 144mph at a national event in Rockingham, NC., back in '92 following a nearly 200 ft long wheelstand!!!

I haven't heard anything about John...is he still alive and well with us? If yes, did he sell his car, or has he just parked it over the years? If he no longer owns it, who does and what are they doing with it? I have the "Turbo Action" video of Div. 2 racing action that has the footage of his awesome run (above), where "Bullit" Bob Reed's Cuda broke at the start, thus allowing the video footage of their qualifying race to show the splendor of John's Dart from staging to crossing the finishing line (with the above mentioned et., and speed displayed on the scoreboard), and it was great to see that his car was the only one during that taping that had the pleasure of showing the full run...must've been due to the "HEMI", and the AWESOME WHEELSTAND TOO!!! :)

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

GarysZ24,
Gary,
One of the first Hemi S/S cars that really opened peoples eyes.
Bob Gaudrea "Candy Cuda'
Ran 10.09 @ 135,50 mph at Connecticut Drag Strip, in October 1969.
Was classed in one of the first ever northeast Pro/Stock meets.
Was still In SS/B trim, too (w/Cross-Ram)
PC

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

As far as I know John still has his dart.

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Sounds cool to me, I wish I would've been able to see it for myself (even though I was only 11yrs old at the time), but I was growing up in Denver and didn't even find out what drag racing was until Apr. 3, 1972, thru a "Car Craft" magazine that I saw in a grocery store. This date stands out because the Sunday night before (Easter no less), I lost my older (half) sister (Deborah) at age 18, due to an untreatable blood clot in her lungs... :(

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

I wish he was still racing it, but perhaps his budget is subpar like mine has been (most of us that is as well), or perhaps he's enjoying the collector car status of it? However, I will enjoy the collector status of that video tape with his awesome run in it!!! I bet even the great "Bob Frey" would've put that run "WAY UP ON THE COOL-O-METER" too!!! :)

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

where is the S&K/Mutt bros./Heavy Dart today? does that car still exist or is it lost?

Paul i'm interested in seeing some pics of the Dart that your father had too.

Dave

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Dave,
I sent photos of the 1968 black dart to Mark J (68hemis).
Maybe he can post them.
I'm not at my home base, where the photo's are at.
Unfortunately, after investigation, we determined that it was not an
original LO23, just a conversion with original 1968 parts.

The S & K car. I think the original owners got it back, or it burned in a garage. I can't remember.
Don't know if you ever saw a photo of 'Heads Up', the 68 SS/BA owned by John Macey out of eastern Connecticut. Saw it race in 68' and 69'
versus Charlie Castaldo.

Paul

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

The S-K Speed Dart is still unacounted for - I do have the VIN# but it has not surfaced as of yet. It was burned in a garage fire and then sold. Last known to have been sold to someone in Philly in the mid-70's. Car was in primer and not completed. There was an ad in ND (1972) where Bob Beckert was looking for one of these cars. I belive this is the same guy that used to race old Olds stockers - don't know where he is today to ask him.
Mark J

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Last I knew John Friel was getting the Dart ready to return to the SS/AA wars. think the effort was sidetracked and not sure what the status is now. I spoke with John at the U.S. Nats a few years ago. Talking to David Barton he said all they have to do is put the engine together??
Paul, I havent figured out how to post photos on this site yet - I will try later
Mark J

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Dave,
"That Dart" is still owned by the original owners in MD. Dell Jones and I have been researching these cars for a number of years and have amassed a ton of information and history on them. If you have any questions feel free to email me

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Paul and/or 68hemis, could you email me at shebert3001@yahoo.com with your contact info? Have a project.......

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

was there some information posted here about a Dart that had been purchased with damage from a garage fire? i thought i had read about a garage fire damaged Dart somewhere.

i saw "That Dart" at a Mopar show at Mason-Dixon in the mid-90's. it was just in the show area and did not make any passes down the track. the guy who was there with the car said he was the original owner. we talked for awhile and he was showing me all kinds of things on the car and seemed to like that i had an interest in it.


Dave

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Here's the latest update on my car. Spoke with Paul Pittman in regards to him painting the car for Lou Vignonia back in the early 80's. He emailed me a couple photos of it, in pre-paint condition, but unfortunately the car is stripped to bare metal, so there are no traces of it's previous paint scheme prior to 1980. There is a red Lakewood 3 point bolt in roll bar that can be seen installed in it tho, with a fire extiguisher bolted to the rear bar. Paul does remember (sorta) that it was painted silver with a red inlay down it's sides. Jimmi Vignonia (Lou's son) has told me he has pictures of my car when his dad purchased it in the late 70's, but has not had the time to search for them. Jimmi is THE key to finding the next chapter to this car, so I am waiting (patiently) for this to happen.
I spoke with John Olorie from Olorie Crane a few weeks back because of a lead from this forum. He told me he never owned any Super Stock Hemi Darts. He had a 67 GT Fairlane that he pulled the 390 out of & installed a 427, but he's never owned any Mopars.
So, there you have it, I'm still stuck with history previous to 1980.
At least, with all the help from you guys keeping this thread alive, there is still a chance of me finding my cars background. I'll keep plugging along. Every lead is worthwhile, no matter how small you might think it is.
Thanx
Liteweight
Daryl

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

68hemiss,

I'm glad to know that now--thanks, and I can't wait to see it in action again...I guess I'll have to plop the video tape in the player and enjoy the footage again while I wait for his return with that awesome car! About the only other car/pass I enjoyed nearly as much, was the profile shot taken at a nearly 7o'clock angle of the SS/BA Savoy of "Steve Bagwell" (from a national event in Commerce, Ga...also on that same video, along with a test session run, he had that went from burnout to the finish line!), which was another awesome run to enjoy!!! :)

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Hemi Moose
The Cookie Duster was campaigned as a 4 spd. car. My car has never had a 4 spd. in it. There are some similarities in the Wild Fire car,. This is the next direction I am going with the help of Mark Janaky & Jimi Vignonia. We'll see where this leads.

Paul C.
Any input here????

Liteweight
Daryl

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Daryl,
More mysteries!!!
The A/MP Hemi Dart that won Modified Production Eliminator at the
70' NHRA Winternationals, was that the 4-speed car, with a 69' grille.

Also, Dick won SS/E at the 70' NHRA Winternationals with the
69' Hemi Charger R/T, 11.15 @ 120.00. That car was campaigned as a
SS/F car in 1969. During the 70' season he campaigned it as a B/MP
car.
In March of 70', he got another Hemi Charger R/T (automatic) and ran it in SS/EA.
Charger History.
1968 Hemi Charger R/T (ran SS/D in 1968,,,ran B/MP in 1969)
1969 Hemi Charger R/T (ran SS/F in 1969)
1969 Hemi Charger R/T (ran in SS/E in 1970 and B/MP)
1970 Hemi Charger R/T (ran SS/EA in 1970)

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Paul
Yes it was fitted with 69 trim for the 70 Winternats.



I've been in contact with Jimmi Vignonia, & he gave me a lead to try. I am looking for a Billy Bellafato out of the Portchester NY area. He used to do alot of race Torque Flites for guys in the NY, CT, NJ area. Anyone have some contact info on him???

Mark Janaky also gave me a lead to try. This guys name is Jack Schneider out of Canton Ohio area. Supposidly he was the second owner of the "Wildfire" Hemi Dart. There seems to be some similarity between this car & mine. Any info on Jack would be greatly appreciated also.
Thanx
Liteweight
Daryl

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

GT-1
I think Mark would have all that info.
I think when the BO-29 Cuda's were first built, I think there was
a limited amount of Dana rears available. Thats why only a handful of
4-speed cars came out. And of those limited cars, the majority went to
selected factory-sponsored teams
Also, some issue with the fiberglass fenders, and front-end steering with the modifications to the control arm.
pc

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Hi Daryl, Did you ask Steve O'Neill? Also, not to hi-jack, but Daryl, Paul and others: Orange, Ma Dragstrip Reunion coming up on Sept. 11.... S. O'Neill will be there w/ '65 A990 Hemi Coronet "Flintstone Charger" former Gene O'Neill car and a Willys or 2....Lots of early stuff should be there....NHRA sanctioned track in 1955---one of the originals....Have a great wknd...... PS..... Paul, make sure you bring your 'chute......they are still jumping out of planes there.......:) Warren Lederer. WJ

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

WJ,
I will be packing a parachute.
Approximate drop off height 10,000 feet.
I will pack my own chute, plus (3) back-ups.
Must have a guaranteed landing.
Still missing in action
Hemi Dart SS/BA 'Deb's Automotive', Springfield, Mass.
Maybe someone will know what happened to the car.
It ran at Orange in 68'
Or someone from Hampden might have info on it.

Another missing Dart. Mary Ann Foss 'Go Hummer II'
Where did that car go?
paul

Re: Original hemi dart information
 

Isnt Mary ann nitrojoes mom he does the racing stats he would know where the car went.