Original hemi dart information

[mopar68]

I don't recall seeing this car. Clone? Or the real deal?



In Super Gas? Say it isn't so!

M68

[mopar68]

Nice color shot of the Playmate.



M68

[Paul Ceasrine]

M68,
You always come through with the rare/lost photo's.
Great stuff.
Notice, on Jim Skarbeck's 'Private Enterprise' Cuda.
Sox and Martin Preparred on the front fender.
Also, you can see the car still has the original factory installed smaller collector Hooker Headers.
Car still ran under the SS/B record in 1968.

Paul

[davezinn]

very cool pics! thank you for posting them.

anyone have any color pictures of the Private Enterprize car? i'm curious too if it was prepared by Sox&Martin if it had a blue painted Hemi built by Jake King.

the Fink's Used Cars Dart is exactly the kind of thing i'm looking for over in the "life after Super Stock" thread i started. very cool picture and very interesting, at least to me.

on the Playmate Dart, did it have a vinyl top or was the roof painted white? i think the El Toro Dart had a tan vinyl top?


Dave

[Wayne W]

Originally Posted by mopar68

I don't recall seeing this car. Clone? Or the real deal?



In Super Gas? Say it isn't so!

M68

I parked next to this car at the Sportsnationals held at Indy in the spring of 83. It was running in Super Gas but I don't remember seeing Butch Leal's name on the car. The pic must be from later in the year.

[Paul Ceasrine]

M68,
Forgot about Super/Gas. I was thinking Pro/Gas, the 9.90 class that came first.
On Chuck McJury's car. Roof was black at the 1970 Super/Stock Magazine Nationals, at York In May.
At the 70' SummerNationals in July, it was white, and it looked better.

Thanks on the Finks site. They cleaned up at the 70' Super/Stock Magazine Nationals. SS/DA with the old Sox & Martin's 67' R/O
Belvedere (with GTX lettering). One awesome car.
Paul

[davezinn]

so there were three Mancini Darts that existed. anyone have any pics of the red/silver car? interesting that the two yellow cars were "built" cars and not originally Hurst built 68's. i'm guessing here that the '69 was the one that was wrecked? or was it the '70 converted to '68? it makes me wonder too if that means there are two surviving Ron Mancini Darts still out there?

Dave

[Paul Ceasrine]

Dave,
I think Mark J or Daryl can verify this.
Ron Mancini's first Hemi Dart did not come directly from the factory.
He bought Gil Clark's car in June 1969. (an original factory car).
Gil was an AHRA-contracted racer out of Toronto, Canada.
I'm pretty sure it was a 4-speed originally.
Gil Clark's car was the #5 car out of the first 56 produced (first run) on
February 18, 1968.
Supposedly Gil's last run was at Detroit Dragway in June 1969.
Records show it ran a 10.73 in SS/B.
Paul

[Paul Ceasrine]

Gooch,
Charlie Lendrum was also from upstate New York.
Charlie was out of the Schenectady area.
His car was co-sponsored by Albany Dodge.
Charlie was another AWB-racer, with a 66' Chevy.
He ran a SS/BA 68' Hemi Dart.
It was an original factory car.
Ran it in SS/AA and Pro/Stock in 1970.
He was called the 'Northern Shaker'.
In refrence to Albany-Shaker Road.
pc

[davezinn]

some internet searching turned up two pics. one is of the red/silver version of Mancini's car and the second looks to be Larry Griffith's '68 turned '70. Griffith's '70 would be the same one that's restored today back to mostly it's '68 configuration?

Dave