Original hemi dart information - Page 17

mike koester 66 nova · 10-25-2009, 07:31 AM

Hemiss ( Mark J ) Another question to consider. Its been established that the Costello's picked up their first dart in Detroit, then crashed that dart at Englishtown in late 68 or early 69. He then replaced that dart with a dart owned and driven by Tom Crutchfield / Palmer Dodge in Indy / Kokomo area. That car was a bronze color, I saw it race @ Indy in 68 and also @ Edgewater.Was the first dart completely destroyed? Was the car rebuilt or repaired? Was another dart used to make this transistion.Is this why some of the above members claim to have seen 2 different darts at the same time. Mark J , you might be able to clear this up. Or maybe still a question.

68hemiss · 10-25-2009, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike koester 66 nova

Hemiss. ( Mark Y. ) Are you talking about the DeFrank and Cohen red cuda with the gold stripe? I have a mag picture of the same cuda just re -lettered with Don Mac Callum 's name on the car. Ray Barton on the front fender, NHRA number 1978 racing the John Friel dart. Don't know who had the car first McCallum or DeFrank. I am comparing this picture with another picture taken at Gainsville with Phil Mandella driving the cuda, with Bob Lambeck Ent. on the front fender. No Joe Allread or Rick Houser.

Mike,
This is the same car I am talking about - DeFrank had it went tp Lyden & Johnson in PA. I think that Jim told me they bought it from a guy named "Pistol" Pete who had the car at Ron Butler's shop for some work. I don't know any earlier history (that I can prove) than that.
Thanks,
Mark J

mike koester 66 nova · 10-25-2009, 09:15 AM

hemiss ( mark J ) I do not think we are talking about the same car. Again a different mag picture shows 6 of the DeFrank and Cohen cars. The all red cuda has a gold stripe at the top of the fender continuing all the way along the top of the doors and quarters. Again the other picture has the same paint and striping with MacCallums name on the car. The other DeFrank and Cohen cuda sold to Lydon and Johnson was a golden / yellow cuda with red side panels all the way down to the lower fenders and doors / quarters. I quess the question is who owned the all red cuda first DeFrank or MacCallum? Also have seen pictures of the Lydon and Johnson cuda and they raced this cuda without changing the paint only the lettering. This has always been a common practice with racers.

68hemiss · 10-25-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike koester 66 nova

Hemiss ( Mark J ) Another question to consider. Its been established that the Costello's picked up their first dart in Detroit, then crashed that dart at Englishtown in late 68 or early 69. He then replaced that dart with a dart owned and driven by Tom Crutchfield / Palmer Dodge in Indy / Kokomo area. That car was a bronze color, I saw it race @ Indy in 68 and also @ Edgewater.Was the first dart completely destroyed? Was the car rebuilt or repaired? Was another dart used to make this transistion.Is this why some of the above members claim to have seen 2 different darts at the same time. Mark J , you might be able to clear this up. Or maybe still a question.

Mike,
This is where the debate begins. I spoke with one of Charlie's crew (i belive it was Rick Rickman) who told me that the car sat out back the shop - they took some parts off the car but he didn't remember what happened to the car. He said we could have junked it or it could still be out there somewhere?? I have pictures of the car being picked up off the track with a wrecker at E-Town. The roof was buckled quarters, doors were crunched pretty good - I thought I was told that the oil filter leaked/blew (Like Ron Mancini's crash at Indy years later) and the car ended up upside down on the guardrail. By todays standards fixable but in 1968 the car was a junk racecar. You could buy another one for WAY cheaper than fixing it and that is what Charlie did. Remember these cars were not that valuable in the 70's or 80's and were not selling for $300,000.00 at B-J auction - it was just another old racecar. The argument is that this car may have been repaired or that Charlie had another car.

Mark J

Phillip marvetz · 10-25-2009, 12:05 PM

You guys may want to get ahold of Dave Wren, He has owned a least ten of them over the years and used to make trips back east to buy cars to help fund his racing so he may be able to fill in the blanks on a few of them.

P.S the SS/AH car he runs now is not an original.

Liteweight · 10-25-2009, 02:00 PM

I spoke with a crew member that wrenched for Castaldo for much of his racing career, Charlie Licata. He confirmed that Castaldo had only 2 Hemi Darts. The 4 spd. that crashed in E Town, & the auto which he purchased while he was still in the hospital recovering from the crash. He never had both cars at the same race at the same time. The Auto car is the car in which he won the SuperStock Nationals at York in 69. This same car was later converted to Modified Production in 71 or 72 & ran with the name Fun City Flyers on the doors.They tryed running it once with a clutchflite but was unsuccesfull with it,so they put a 4 spd. in it.The car was eventually sold to a fellow by the name of Ralph Costello. Licata doesn't know what happened to the car after this. The 4 spd. car had all the useable parts removed from it, & then it sat behind the shop for a while. Eventually it was hauled off & crushed. OUCH!!!!
Paul, You certainly have my attention with the car that your father purchased, especially the part about him selling it to a couple brothers in Mt. Kisco.There is alot of coincidence in this. But, you mentioned that it had regular quarter panel openings on it, & my car still retains it's original quarters. I will have a look at mine to confirm this at the first chance I get, probably tommorrow.

Liteweight
Daryl

Liteweight · 10-25-2009, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phillip marvetz

You guys may want to get ahold of Dave Wren, He has owned a least ten of them over the years and used to make trips back east to buy cars to help fund his racing so he may be able to fill in the blanks on a few of them.

P.S the SS/AH car he runs now is not an original.

Phillip
I will certainly give this a try also. Do you have a contact # in which to get ahold of him??? PM me please if anyone can get this for me.Again,many thanx for the input that's being put into this, as any lead might be the one I'm looking for to find the history to this unknown soldier.

Liteweight
Daryl

Paul Ceasrine · 10-26-2009, 12:57 AM

Daryl,
I think Mark J posted that when Tim Hennessey got the car, new quarter-panels were on the car (standard units). He replaced them with Hurst
replica units. I think thats what he said. As for the Mt. Kisco apartment complex. Barker Street is an area where that sounds. Several gear head guys lived in that area. A short walk to Ritchie Mattoni's Professional
Machine Shop, off Maple Avenue

As for Charlie Castaldo, saw him alot from 68' thru 72' at Dover. Not so much after 73'. Lived in Scarsdale, near the Yonkers border.
Yes, he had only (2) Hemi Darts. The two car reference that someone mentioned pertains to 1970. Charlie had the Hemi Dart and a 70' Hemi
Challenger that ran in SS/DA. The Dart, I think ran in Pro/Stock for a very short period in 70' (The 68' car qualified for Pro/Stock in 70', and in 71' if you retro-fitted the front grille and light hardware with 69' Dart units).
I know Charlie was at the 70' S/S Magazine Nationals at US30 York in May 1970 and the NHRA SummerNationals in July, also at York.
PC

Paul Ceasrine · 10-26-2009, 01:28 AM

Mark J,
Didn't... DeFrank & Cohen purchase the "Gentle Ben" car (Idaho-based)
as their first Cuda??

Back to Charlie Castaldo, some confusion for those who follow.
Charlie had (2) cars, but (3) variations of paint and lettering.
The first car (SS/B; 4-speed) was reddish-brown with silverish center section. The roof was silver and the hood was reddish-brown. No lettering on the scoop. DODGE was lettered on the "B" pillar. Westchester Automotive, Mt. Vernon was lettered on the front fenders, and Speedwin Automotive was lettered on the quarter-panels. A Hooker Header emblem was on the lower portion of the front fender. CHARLIE CASTALDO was lettered on the door horizontally, but the letters were slightly staggered. OH, a little heart with TLC was placed on the lower quarter-panel, in front of the rear-wheel opening.
Joe Jill did the engine. Not sure on the make, but the pistons were
lightweight, not the standard heavy-slugs. (Brooks or Duffy). Crankshaft done by my old friend, Jerry at Storm Crankshaft, Mt. Vernon, NY.
Who's got that engine???
P

Bill Rolik · 10-26-2009, 07:50 AM

Paul,

A couple of tidbits:

First up are two more shots of the Castaldo car at Island. Rick Rickman is "holding the car up" in one of the photos.

Also, since these cars were from the Westchester/Dutchess/Putnam area, "For Your Viewing Pleasure", I have included shots of Peter Faucetta's SS/DA Cuda (A Sox&Martin-prepped car), and also the K/SA 273/235 67 Valiant post sedan of Jeff Seligmann and the late Joe Kenney. Both were taken at the Summernationals in 71. Why Joe ever was involved in a Mopar I will never know!

Bill Rolik

10-25-2009, 07:31 AM	#161
mike koester 66 nova Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 20 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Original hemi dart information Hemiss ( Mark J ) Another question to consider. Its been established that the Costello's picked up their first dart in Detroit, then crashed that dart at Englishtown in late 68 or early 69. He then replaced that dart with a dart owned and driven by Tom Crutchfield / Palmer Dodge in Indy / Kokomo area. That car was a bronze color, I saw it race @ Indy in 68 and also @ Edgewater.Was the first dart completely destroyed? Was the car rebuilt or repaired? Was another dart used to make this transistion.Is this why some of the above members claim to have seen 2 different darts at the same time. Mark J , you might be able to clear this up. Or maybe still a question.

10-25-2009, 09:15 AM	#163
mike koester 66 nova Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 20 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Original hemi dart information hemiss ( mark J ) I do not think we are talking about the same car. Again a different mag picture shows 6 of the DeFrank and Cohen cars. The all red cuda has a gold stripe at the top of the fender continuing all the way along the top of the doors and quarters. Again the other picture has the same paint and striping with MacCallums name on the car. The other DeFrank and Cohen cuda sold to Lydon and Johnson was a golden / yellow cuda with red side panels all the way down to the lower fenders and doors / quarters. I quess the question is who owned the all red cuda first DeFrank or MacCallum? Also have seen pictures of the Lydon and Johnson cuda and they raced this cuda without changing the paint only the lettering. This has always been a common practice with racers.

10-25-2009, 12:05 PM	#165
Phillip marvetz Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Lynden ,WA Posts: 820 Likes: 0 Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Original hemi dart information You guys may want to get ahold of Dave Wren, He has owned a least ten of them over the years and used to make trips back east to buy cars to help fund his racing so he may be able to fill in the blanks on a few of them. P.S the SS/AH car he runs now is not an original.

10-25-2009, 02:00 PM	#166
Liteweight VIP Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1,280 Likes: 23 Liked 31 Times in 19 Posts	Re: Original hemi dart information I spoke with a crew member that wrenched for Castaldo for much of his racing career, Charlie Licata. He confirmed that Castaldo had only 2 Hemi Darts. The 4 spd. that crashed in E Town, & the auto which he purchased while he was still in the hospital recovering from the crash. He never had both cars at the same race at the same time. The Auto car is the car in which he won the SuperStock Nationals at York in 69. This same car was later converted to Modified Production in 71 or 72 & ran with the name Fun City Flyers on the doors.They tryed running it once with a clutchflite but was unsuccesfull with it,so they put a 4 spd. in it.The car was eventually sold to a fellow by the name of Ralph Costello. Licata doesn't know what happened to the car after this. The 4 spd. car had all the useable parts removed from it, & then it sat behind the shop for a while. Eventually it was hauled off & crushed. OUCH!!!! Paul, You certainly have my attention with the car that your father purchased, especially the part about him selling it to a couple brothers in Mt. Kisco.There is alot of coincidence in this. But, you mentioned that it had regular quarter panel openings on it, & my car still retains it's original quarters. I will have a look at mine to confirm this at the first chance I get, probably tommorrow. Liteweight Daryl

10-26-2009, 12:57 AM	#168
Paul Ceasrine VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2,546 Likes: 0 Liked 10 Times in 10 Posts	Re: Original hemi dart information Daryl, I think Mark J posted that when Tim Hennessey got the car, new quarter-panels were on the car (standard units). He replaced them with Hurst replica units. I think thats what he said. As for the Mt. Kisco apartment complex. Barker Street is an area where that sounds. Several gear head guys lived in that area. A short walk to Ritchie Mattoni's Professional Machine Shop, off Maple Avenue As for Charlie Castaldo, saw him alot from 68' thru 72' at Dover. Not so much after 73'. Lived in Scarsdale, near the Yonkers border. Yes, he had only (2) Hemi Darts. The two car reference that someone mentioned pertains to 1970. Charlie had the Hemi Dart and a 70' Hemi Challenger that ran in SS/DA. The Dart, I think ran in Pro/Stock for a very short period in 70' (The 68' car qualified for Pro/Stock in 70', and in 71' if you retro-fitted the front grille and light hardware with 69' Dart units). I know Charlie was at the 70' S/S Magazine Nationals at US30 York in May 1970 and the NHRA SummerNationals in July, also at York. PC

10-26-2009, 01:28 AM	#169
Paul Ceasrine VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2,546 Likes: 0 Liked 10 Times in 10 Posts	Re: Original hemi dart information Mark J, Didn't... DeFrank & Cohen purchase the "Gentle Ben" car (Idaho-based) as their first Cuda?? Back to Charlie Castaldo, some confusion for those who follow. Charlie had (2) cars, but (3) variations of paint and lettering. The first car (SS/B; 4-speed) was reddish-brown with silverish center section. The roof was silver and the hood was reddish-brown. No lettering on the scoop. DODGE was lettered on the "B" pillar. Westchester Automotive, Mt. Vernon was lettered on the front fenders, and Speedwin Automotive was lettered on the quarter-panels. A Hooker Header emblem was on the lower portion of the front fender. CHARLIE CASTALDO was lettered on the door horizontally, but the letters were slightly staggered. OH, a little heart with TLC was placed on the lower quarter-panel, in front of the rear-wheel opening. Joe Jill did the engine. Not sure on the make, but the pistons were lightweight, not the standard heavy-slugs. (Brooks or Duffy). Crankshaft done by my old friend, Jerry at Storm Crankshaft, Mt. Vernon, NY. Who's got that engine??? P

10-26-2009, 07:50 AM	#170
Bill Rolik Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Hasbrouck Heights, NJ Posts: 120 Likes: 1 Liked 47 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Original hemi dart information Paul, A couple of tidbits: First up are two more shots of the Castaldo car at Island. Rick Rickman is "holding the car up" in one of the photos. Also, since these cars were from the Westchester/Dutchess/Putnam area, "For Your Viewing Pleasure", I have included shots of Peter Faucetta's SS/DA Cuda (A Sox&Martin-prepped car), and also the K/SA 273/235 67 Valiant post sedan of Jeff Seligmann and the late Joe Kenney. Both were taken at the Summernationals in 71. Why Joe ever was involved in a Mopar I will never know! Bill Rolik Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Bill Rolik; 10-26-2009 at 07:59 AM.