Original hemi dart information

[Chris DeGidio]

Nice car! IMHO...I'd leave it the color it is now.

[Charlie A]

Does anyone have any COLOR pictures of this one?


It's been a long time since last posted and the owner would really appreciate ANY (color or black & white) pictures that might be found.

[Liteweight]

Originally Posted by LO23

Thank you! No, I've never been there. I have a few mopars, and have thought about bringing my Q5 turquoise Charger Daytona out there, but haven't made it happen yet. Maybe this year... As for the Dart, I definitely plan to get it out and share it with people!

Its a great show for sure. You should bring your new acquisition to it
Ill be showing my Dart this year in the Race car display. . It would be pretty cool to have another there.

liteweight

[LO23]

Originally Posted by Liteweight

Its a great show for sure. You should bring your new acquisition to it
Ill be showing my Dart this year in the Race car display. . It would be pretty cool to have another there.

liteweight

I will check with the wife/boss and see if it's possible. Have three kids, so their activities seem to take priority, I've found.


Is there a good resource for learning about the specifics of these cars? Not that I'm going to do a concourse restoration or anything, but lots of little things that I am confused about. For example, my car has 270 badges on the doors. Since my car was only owned by two other people, and I was told they are the original doors, I assume that is correct. Also, all of the L023 cars I've seen have carpeting, but several online articles (not always accurate, I know) state that carpeting was one of the things left out of these cars.


Any books out there I should get? I would love to see more pictures of factory untouched L023s. Any good resources for decoding the fender tag? These online decoders I've seen are a bit confusing as to where to enter each digit.


Finally, I am having trouble getting the car registered in my state (South Dakota), as the previous owner Jim Keyes said he never had a title to the vehicle, only a bill of sale, and the DMV here seems not to understand that this car isn't a typical passenger car and won't be licensed for use on the street. Did these cars come with titles? At least they have VINs. I'm told that todays factory drag cars (COPO Camaros, Drag Pack Challengers, Cobra Jet Mustangs) don't even have a VIN.


Thanks for any help, folks.

[Spyphish]

My good friends Chuck Comella (Dart) and Jim Kramer (Cuda) help me with questions as they got theirs new and still have them. I am no expert but the 270 door badges are on my Dart. It has carpet and a valid title matching the VIN. Since it was one of the last of the Feb. batch (56 plus or minus I have been told), Chuck pointed out its 67 steering wheel. He has seen others with that wheel as well. Maybe they were running out of parts on that first batch. Hope that helps. Good luck.

[marfen]

Originally Posted by LO23

I will check with the wife/boss and see if it's possible. Have three kids, so their activities seem to take priority, I've found.


Is there a good resource for learning about the specifics of these cars? Not that I'm going to do a concourse restoration or anything, but lots of little things that I am confused about. For example, my car has 270 badges on the doors. Since my car was only owned by two other people, and I was told they are the original doors, I assume that is correct. Also, all of the L023 cars I've seen have carpeting, but several online articles (not always accurate, I know) state that carpeting was one of the things left out of these cars.


Any books out there I should get? I would love to see more pictures of factory untouched L023s. Any good resources for decoding the fender tag? These online decoders I've seen are a bit confusing as to where to enter each digit.


Finally, I am having trouble getting the car registered in my state (South Dakota), as the previous owner Jim Keyes said he never had a title to the vehicle, only a bill of sale, and the DMV here seems not to understand that this car isn't a typical passenger car and won't be licensed for use on the street. Did these cars come with titles? At least they have VINs. I'm told that todays factory drag cars (COPO Camaros, Drag Pack Challengers, Cobra Jet Mustangs) don't even have a VIN.


Thanks for any help, folks.

Jim Schild's book is good. I believe Kramer sells them, maybe Mancini. Of course Jim Kramer is top authoritity. Fender tag what's to decode, ain't much to see, no extra options on these cars. As long as the assembly number on the tag matches your rad support number the rest is just confusing as these cars were converted 383 bodies, come to Farmington, Liteweight's forgotten more about these cars than most know. Bring the car, lot's of race hemi folk around there.
Yes your car came with carpet, yes your car is supposed to have 270 tags on door panels. You can tell if your doors are original if you find an exposed edge somewhere, really thin and sharp and your door handles will feel like they might tear off anytime (and they might if you're not careful). Steering wheel is just plain jane dart wheel with horn ring.
Title and registration? good luck. You bought yourself a historical race car not a street car. Restoration? I recommend you first immerse yourself in learning/gathering the race history of your car, talk to it's owners, look for racing pics, learn about the victories, losses, cause it's all about the history with these cars. You need to meet Mark.

[LO23]

Thank you, guys.


The radiator support number matches the fender tag. The doors seem correct. As for the data tag, there are several codes on there, so I thought it would be interesting to see how it decodes. As best I can tell, it decodes like this:


CAR: Unknown Make and Model.
ENGINE: 383cid 4-bbl HP V8
TRANSMISSION: 3-Speed Automatic
TIRES: Unknown tire code
BUILD DATE: May 21.
AXLE: 3.23 Rear Axle Ratio
INTERIOR: Sport Trim Grade, Vinyl Bucket Seats. Black Interior.
PAINT: Special Order Paint.
OTHER: Black Upper Door Frame Color. Stripe Deleted.
MOLDINGS:
25: Drip Rail Mouldings
30: Body Belt Mouldings
78: Wheel Lip Mouldings
ABC OPTIONS:
D9: Front Disk Brakes
abc OPTIONS:
a6: Console
b4: Bucket Seats
y9: Special Order




Finally, marfen mentions that I bought a historical race car, not a street car. True enough, but it would be nice to have a document that states I own this car. It has considerable value, and even though I never intend to sell it, I imagine it would be easier for my heirs someday to deal with, when settling my estate. Hopefully a long, long time from now. Others here have stated that they have titles to theirs, so...


Thanks for the recommendation on the book, marfen. I will try to purchase one right away!

[marfen]

Good point re title confirming ownership...up here in the great white north we register/plate on bill of sale. We really don't know understand your title process. I do know having a title for your car will help greatly on resale. On that point I do see @ Scottsdale auctions they do sell race cars on bill of sale only.
Regardless you got a really cool LO23 with history...have some fun with it this summer...take it down the track a couple of times and truly experience this car in its natural habitat especially before you detune it.

[LO23]

Originally Posted by marfen

Good point re title confirming ownership...up here in the great white north we register/plate on bill of sale. We really don't know understand your title process. I do know having a title for your car will help greatly on resale. On that point I do see @ Scottsdale auctions they do sell race cars on bill of sale only.
Regardless you got a really cool LO23 with history...have some fun with it this summer...take it down the track a couple of times and truly experience this car in its natural habitat especially before you detune it.

Thank you. The owner was very up-front about this car being sold on a bill of sale only, but I figured that in my state of South Dakota, it wouldn't be very difficult to apply for a title. I still think it will get done without too much of a problem. They just have to do a VIN record and title search first.


I wouldn't say I am "detuning" it- the new engine will be much stronger, 572 cubes, and much lighter (all alloy). I am definitely going to need some wheelie bars. Tim Banning and I spec'd out a nice compromise between an engine with some longevity, yet put down respectable power, and still look fairly original. Although, I am going to have to go with a Mopar cross-ram intake, because I am told the original style is just going to be too restrictive for the power I want to make (900+ hp).


I haven't decided for sure, but I may install some fresh valve springs on the super stock hemi that is in it, and take it down the track, just for fun, before swapping in the new engine. Supposedly, the current hemi has about 650 hp. It was good enough to hit 9.80s back in the day. The first order of business was to get new rims and tires, which should be here Monday. The current tires look old and cool, and hold air, but sure don't look very safe to drive on.


I was able to order the book on Amazon- thanks again.


By the way, the guy I am using for my new engine is Tim Banning at ForHemisOnly (FHO). He has been terrific to work with in the past. He built me a great street hemi for my '67 GTX. Pump gas, mild cam, 572 cubic inches, and 813 hp running a cross ram intake. The new engine for the L023 Dart will be similar but with much higher compression, more aggressive cam, some more exotic and durable internals, and will be painted up and look more like an original Super Stock hemi (although hard to make the Mopar cross ram intake look completely original).


Here is a link to some info on my GTX, if anybody is interested:


http://forhemisonly.com/project/clint-brunner/




Clint

[marfen]

572 all aluminum will be cool for sure. Be nice to get some dead weight off those front tire. I scaled mine a while ago, shocking how much weight is on the front end despite the weight reductions with those big chunks of cast iron. FHO does nice work. Canadian eh!
I'll bet that bullet that's in there will give you a wild ride...these cars are a handful.