Darren Smith wins 3 in a row

bill dedman · 05-08-2007, 12:31 AM

Thanks, Jeff.

Mopar engineering, for all the hoopla over the '68 A-body Hemi cars, never had a clue as to how to win on the street.

The 440 6-pack motor would have been awesome in an A body '69 'Cuda or Dart, and could have done some serious damage to the competition on Woodward Avenue, but no.... they stuck it in a much heavier Roadrunner chassis and it could barely hold its own against 428 CJ Mustangs and COPO Camaros.

The 340 cars (Dusters etc.) had such poor cylinder heads (mainly exhaust ports; the intakes were actually pretty good) and exhaust manifolds, and diesel-like rods and cranks (compared with the Chevys) that they never dominated like they could have, with better cams and exhaust systems.

The bottom line was, Mopar was never willing to go the extra mile and give the Pentastar faithful what they needed to outrun, rather than just "run with" the competition.

A 340 Duster was no race for an L-79 '66 Nova... but, should have been.

I wonder why they wouldn't, or maybe couldn't do it right?

Ancient history, but it still sticks in my craw...

Bill

05-08-2007, 12:31 AM	#25
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Thanks, Jeff. Mopar engineering, for all the hoopla over the '68 A-body Hemi cars, never had a clue as to how to win on the street. The 440 6-pack motor would have been awesome in an A body '69 'Cuda or Dart, and could have done some serious damage to the competition on Woodward Avenue, but no.... they stuck it in a much heavier Roadrunner chassis and it could barely hold its own against 428 CJ Mustangs and COPO Camaros. The 340 cars (Dusters etc.) had such poor cylinder heads (mainly exhaust ports; the intakes were actually pretty good) and exhaust manifolds, and diesel-like rods and cranks (compared with the Chevys) that they never dominated like they could have, with better cams and exhaust systems. The bottom line was, Mopar was never willing to go the extra mile and give the Pentastar faithful what they needed to outrun, rather than just "run with" the competition. A 340 Duster was no race for an L-79 '66 Nova... but, should have been. I wonder why they wouldn't, or maybe couldn't do it right? Ancient history, but it still sticks in my craw... Bill __________________ Bill