1968 Dart 340 GTS (68' Winternationals)

[Paul Ceasrine]

Mike,

This is the car you may be asking about.
1968 Dodge Dart 340 GTS.

Driven by; 'Wild' Bill Shrewsberry
Engine by; Keith Black
Sponsored by; The Southern California Dodge Dealers

[Paul Ceasrine]

A better view of the 1968 Dart 340 GTS.

Chrysler backed, and sponsored by the Los Angeles and Orange County Dodge Dealerships.

The Southern California Dodge Dealers Association had
'Wild' Bill Shrewsberry (The L. A. Dart wheelstander) drive the car
at the 1968 NHRA Winternationals @ Pomona.

Classed in E/S, it was expected to win its class, and challenge for the
Stock Eliminator Championship at the Winternationals, and then
head into the 68' Springnationals @ Englishtown in June, the Super Stock
Magazine Nationals in July, and and the Indy Nationals in September.

It was the E/S Class Runner-Up at the 68' Winternationals.
Over-heating problems was its downfall heading into the Class Final.

Chrysler put alot of time and effort into this car in December 1967,
while preparing it for the January 1968 NHRA event.
The Dodge Performance Heads even labeled it their 'Pride and Joy',
after it had won '3' straight Stock Eliminator Events in a row in
early January, prior to the 68' Winternationals.

Chrysler supplied all the parts, Keith Black did the engine, and Cyclone Headers
were even on the sponsorship too.

Ran 12.80's @ 108 MPH.

[Paul Ceasrine]

One more photo of the 1968 Dart 340 GTS,,
This time at the 1969 NHRA Winternationals.
Classed in F/S.
Sporting the new 1969 GT Sport (split-stripe)

[Pvt Parts]

Originally Posted by A56

I wonder if he claimed it as a 69' ? I can fainty still see the 68' side marker lights. I know we can get away with a lot of cross year breeding these days, but back then I heard it wasnt possible.

Mark Lelchook
E/SA #704

It was possible and indeed did happen a lot, but you had to have just about everything "right". I've seen cars at Indy get bounced for interior emblems being incorrect.

[Paul Ceasrine]

In 1969,,,,
The only thing they changed on the car was the rear deck stripe,
and the NHRA # from 879 to 821.

It was still a 1968 340 GTS.
Just classed in F/S, like the 69' GTS 340 Darts.

Supposedly, after the 1968 season,,,one of the 'top mechanics' at
Saddleback Dodge in California (home of Charlie Allen) bought it.
And campainged it in F/Stock in 1969,,,,winning a bunch of 'Stock Eliminators' at OCIR (Orange County International Raceway) and at Irwindale Raceway.

[Dan Bennett]

Originally Posted by Paul Ceasrine

A better view of the 1968 Dart 340 GTS.

Chrysler put alot of time and effort into this car in December 1967,
while preparing it for the January 1968 NHRA event.
The Dodge Performance Heads even labeled it their 'Pride and Joy',
after it had won '3' straight Stock Eliminator Events in a row in
early January, prior to the 68' Winternationals.

Chrysler supplied all the parts, Keith Black did the engine, and Cyclone Headers were even on the sponsorship too.

Ran 12.80's @ 108 MPH.

That was flying for 1968. Who was the Winternationals winner in E/S?
They must have been doing some rocket science since I never saw a 340 have any kind of cooling problems.

Just curious about its competition back then. Weren't the 396 Chevelles and GTOs in E in 1968?

[Paul Ceasrine]

Dan,

Are you sitting down,,,,,,,,
The E/S Class Winner,,,,,,,,was a 1968 Oldsombile Cutlass 'Ram Rod'
350 cubic inch / 325 Horsepower.
In 1969, they were called the W-31.

Ron Garey, of Chesron Oldsmobile (Columbus, Ohio) upset Bill Shrewsberry.
The 68' Oldsmobile was also running 12.80's.
Came out of nowhere to pull the upset.

Yes, Ron won Stock Eliminator at the 68' Springnationals
@ Englishtown too......

On the over-heating problems,,,,,,,,,blown cylinder head gasket
on the right side engine bank,,,,,,,the gasket-centers were cooked.
The E/S Dart had previously run a 12.69 @ 109.10 at Irwindale, only 2-weeks
before the 68' Winternationals.

pc

[Dan Bennett]

Originally Posted by Paul Ceasrine

Dan,

Are you sitting down,,,,,,,,
The E/S Class Winner,,,,,,,,was a 1968 Oldsombile Cutlass 'Ram Rod'
350 cubic inch / 325 Horsepower.
In 1969, they were called the W-31.

Ron Garey, of Chesron Oldsmobile (Columbus, Ohio) upset Bill Shrewsberry.
The Oldsmobile was running 12.70's.
Came out of nowhere to pull the upset.

Yes, Ron won Stock Eliminator at the 68' Springnationals
@ Englishtown too......

On the over-heating problems,,,,,,,,,blown cylinder head gasket
on the right side engine bank,,,,,,,#4, #6 and #8 gasket-centers were cooked.
The E/S Dart had previously run a 12.69 @ 109.10 at Irwindale, only 2-weeks
before the 68' Winternationals.

pc

Ah, the Chesron Olds. I should have remembered that.

It's interesting how much just a bit of tweaking will pick a car up. There was a W31 post in town that didn't impress anyone. But I bet it carried a 3.31 axle or some such. Those gears were no doubt there to minimize warranty claims but they sure didn't help anybody's street credibility.

These threads are among the best I've ever followed in the internet, but they're making me feel sadder and sadder. Back then Indy was really exciting as every major city had a couple (at least) dealerships sending examples of the cars anyone could buy. The trick was in how well you played the rules and that's what made a class win such a memorable thing.

Back to that street credibility thing, we quickly learned not to trust the factory hype nor the magazine tests. You'd see some awesome car appear (best example was a Boss 429) and then see it get embarrassed by an "average" musclecar.

In defense of Ford, the Cobra Jet was as impressive as the 390GT cars failed to keep up.

And in keeping with the thread subject, a lot of people learned that Chevy small blocks weren't invincible when the 340 came to play.

[Paul Ceasrine]

Dan,

Great post,,,,,,,,and you're right,,,,,,
the Boss 429 Mustang,,,,,not impressive,,,,,,,after all the build up.

Trying to put some 1968 results together,,,,,,really the best year for
68' factory musclecars,,,,,,

The Mopar 340, rated at 275 HP by the factory,,,,,,,,was quickly
re-bunked by NHRA, as they re-rated it to 310 HP in 1968.

1968 Indy E/S Class Winner.
12.74 @ 107.14 MPH,,,,,,,Gary Cole out of Hatfield, Pennsylvania
A Chevy,,,,,,not a Camaro or Corvette either,,,,,,,GUESS??

1968 E/S Class Winners
Winternationals; Ron Garey (1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass 350/325HP),,,,, 12.90 @ 107.01 MPH
Springnationals; Ron Garey (1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass 350/325HP),,,,, 12.98 @ 107.65 MPH

At the 68' Springnationals, Ron Garey did run a best of 12.67 @ 108.95 MPH,
both NHRA National Records.

[Paul Ceasrine]

Mike,

Found the 1968 NHRA Winternationals E/S Class Run-offs.

Both Bill Shrewsberry and Ron Garey cut through the E/S class, like a
'hot knife through butter'.
Both cars were at a minimum, 3/10's quicker than the competition.
Most of the other competitors were running 13.20's.

The 68' 340 Dart started to develop overheating problems, as a result of a blown head gasket in the Class semi-finals.
Up to that time, the Dart had run the quickest E.T. in the class, going into the Class Championship.

In the E/S Class Championship, Ron Garey pulled a slight holeshot,
and ran a 12.90 @ 107.01 MPH, over 'Wild Bill' Shrewsberry in the
Dart, as the 340 could not overcome the engine problem (overheating).

Ron Garey (1968 NHRA Winternationals)
E/S Class Championship.
Opposite lane,,,,you can see the 68' Darts hood.

pc