Original hemi dart information

[Paul Ceasrine]

Paul here,

I'm originally from the Mahopac, NY area, and spent pretty much every Sunday at Dover Drag Strip from 68' thru 75'. (Track closed in May 76').
We raced our Cuda's there. Also, good friends with Lou Vignogna.
He lived about a mile away from us. He spent many nights at our house helping my father work on his Cuda. Also, hung out at my fathers garage
"West Road Amoco" in Carmel, a racers haven from 67' thru 70'.
And later the machine shop, "Valley Motors" in Jefferson Valley, NY
from 71' thru 95'. So I know Lou, late wife Chrissie, brothers Ray and
Jerry "Super Scissors". (The damn guy even cut my hair for a while).
As for the Castaldo car, that Daryl has. I'm not so sure. Charlie's
car (the second one) was an original SS/BA car. But it was brown, with a
goldish center section. Not red w/ sliver-white center section. I saw that car more than a few times at Dover (69' thru 71'). Even when Charlie
put a "FOR SALE" sign in the passenger side rear-side window.
Ready for this $5500. Believe it or not, he had a little difficulty selling the car. The car flew pretty good too, 10.70's. In 70' it ran SS/AA and in 71' it split between SS/AA and Pro/Stock (a couple of times). I think
Charlie may have switched up the front grille and headlight bezels to a
69' to qualify for Pro/S at the sanctioned meets. Dover, which was not
sanctioned by the NHRA allowed the rules to be bent for earlier cars that wanted to run in Pro/Stock (2-year old car rule).
As for finding the car in a basement garage in an apartment complex in Mt. Kisco, NY, well that leaves only (2) places. the Mount Kisco Arms,
a Co-op, and another place. I knew that area, and as a Mopar-Nut, I never heard of any Hemi Super Stock car just laying around.

Paul

[Bobby Zlatkin]

In May 1970 I was at Arlen Vanke's shop in Akron, Ohio and took a bunch of pictures of the cars there (his 1st. pro stock Duster, his '68 Cuda, both painted yellow & black and a couple of the '67 Hemi Belvederes SS/DA cars).

If anyone knows how to get in touch with him I would love to send him these pictures before we both die and my kids just throw them out. I know he will enjoy them.

[Paul Ceasrine]

Bobby Z,

If you want to get in touch with Akron Arlon vanke, you can try
Geoff Stunkard at Muscle Car Review (a contributor to the magazine).
Or try Le Hodge, at Hodge Restorations, located in Inman, South Carolina.
He was the Guru who recently restored Arlen's second Barracuda,
which he bought in 69' and sold later that year. The car was painted light blue with a darh blue center section. The nose was white with a dark blue center section. On the door panel, it was lettered Arlon Vanke with
JEGS underneath his name.
The first Cuda, that won the 68' U.S Nationals S/S Eliminator was sold
in late 69', and turned into a Pro/Stock car for 1970. It is no longer with us, as it burned to Hemi-Dust in a fire.

Oh! Please don't die. The kids will sell everything, and what isn't sold
will end up on E-Bay
Paul C

[quickford1]

Bill Flynn out West Haven ,CT. had a red and silver Dart. The name of it was the Yankee Peddler. Bill has pass away but this could be the car.
Rich

[Paul Ceasrine]

Rich,
No on the "Yankee Peddler", that car is already accounted for. But yes,
Bill Flynn was out of New Haven. Ran the car only at NHRA events and
Match-races, as Bill was pretty popular, due to the 65' AWB car.
Northeast 68' Factory Hemi Super Stock cars.
Bill Flynn, "Yankee Peddler", New Haven, CT
Chuck McJury, "Playmate", Schenectady, NY
Charlie Lendrum, "Northern Skaker", Albany, NY
Chick Brignolo, "Play Thing", Norton, Mass.
Joe Pateli, "Deb's Automotive", Springfield, Mass.
Gene O'Neill, Worcester, Mass.
Joe Jill, "Speedwin Engineering Automitive", Mineola, L.I., New York
S & K Speed Shop, Long Island, New York, *( Sold to the Mutt Brothers
in Brooklyn, NY in late 68', who then raced it on the street)

Paul

New Jersey Hemi Darts next.
Also, Manhattan Speed Parts (Varick Street, NYC)
Pomona Speed Shop (Pomona, NY)
Jade Grenade (White Plains, NY)

[Alex Polewik]

Bobby,

Private Message sent with Arlen's number. He'd love to see them.

FYI,
Alex

[dragst racer]

The Yankee Peddler car was in Indiana for years and was sold a couple times after that and now has been redone.

[jimi]

Originally Posted by quickford1

Bill Flynn out West Haven ,CT. had a red and silver Dart. The name of it was the Yankee Peddler. Bill has pass away but this could be the car.
Rich

the car in question here was one of castaldos darts period! the cars was in mine and my fathers keep for a few years you get to know a car when it is around that long.. this car had the entire floor for the trans tunnel cut out with a removeable piece,the body was pounded,raced hard and put away wet! it does not mean the floor was not replaced to perfection, tim hennesey restored this car and it was and still is one of the nicest restorations around. all this guy that owns the car now needs to do is connect the dots and get ahold of hennesey and ask the big question did he replace the entire floor pan with a stock one from another car or did he rebody it. when this car was restored it was the mid 80's there was dodge darts laying everywhere for under 1000.00 in near perfect shape, it would have been easy to obtain parts to do the job correctly with original sheetmetal.

[Paul Ceasrine]

Jimi,

Paul here. Tell your Pop, My father Vincent and I said I. Hope all is well.
I remember "Earthquake" in the barn off Route 6, behind Keane's Pub.
Absolutely the most beautiful paint job (black) on a car (Plymouth) I ever saw. (1969 or 1970). Perfect lettering too, the way the tail of the letter Q
intersected with the letter U. I remember it in SS/EA, than C/Gas with
the front I-beam (from Marin's JunkYard).
How' that for confirmation. I was only 12 at the time, but I always listened
when your Pop spoke.
OK. The first Castaldo Dart, a 4-speed was reddish-brown with a silver
center section. Raced in 68', but was wrecked at E-Town (in late 68').
I woudn't think Charlie trashed the good parts (Dana rear, S/S springs,
4-speed trans, and engine, which was built by Joe Jill of Speedwin).
Also, something from the body of the car must have been salvageable.
Lets just say, it didn't end up in the trash bin at Saw Mill Auto Wreckers in Elmsford.
Car #2. Brown, with a gold-center section. Was an automatic (SS/BA)
that Charlie ran in 69' (the car was at the Indy Nationals and ran 10.75)
and ran at Dover (69' thru 71'). Sometime in 70' or early 71' the car campaigned in Pro/Stock, and a manual-trans was added. whether it was the original 4-speed from the first Dart, a Liberty-trans or Lenco,
thta I do not know. But if the 4-speed was put in, then the floor board most likely was cut-up. If the car was restored to perfection, than I imagine all sub-floor panels were replaced. The Hennesy restored car is
a perfect gem. Hard to imagine, the last time I saw Charlie Castaldo's
second car was at Adam's Diner (in Wingdale, down the street from Dover) in 1970, with a For Sale sign on the passenger side rear window
$5500.

Paul

P.S. Ask your Pop about the time he went with my father and me out to
New York National (1969). My father bent the pushrods in our Cuda
during the first round. Your father straightened them out ( I think with
a hammer). My Pop went back out in the second round a won. The good old days when 4-cars ran at a time.

[Chuck Comella]

Originally Posted by jimi

the car in question here was one of castaldos darts period! the cars was in mine and my fathers keep for a few years you get to know a car when it is around that long.. this car had the entire floor for the trans tunnel cut out with a removeable piece,the body was pounded,raced hard and put away wet! it does not mean the floor was not replaced to perfection, tim hennesey restored this car and it was and still is one of the nicest restorations around. all this guy that owns the car now needs to do is connect the dots and get ahold of hennesey and ask the big question did he replace the entire floor pan with a stock one from another car or did he rebody it. when this car was restored it was the mid 80's there was dodge darts laying everywhere for under 1000.00 in near perfect shape, it would have been easy to obtain parts to do the job correctly with original sheetmetal.

Lou offered to sell me the car sometime in the mid 80s for around 3500. Tim who lived about 20 miles from me came and looked at mine to get ideas on restoration. If anybody could replace the floor without u be able to see it Tim could do it . Say hello to Lou, George , and the rest of the guys for me Chuck