The Collector
As much as I enjoy such English delicacies as my Jaguar XK120 or Lotus 26R, sometimes you just get a hankering for some good old American red meat. Just like I did the other day when I pulled my 1968 Dodge Dart GTS 383 out of the garage. When the Dart was introduced it was sold as a compact, usually with a six-cylinder engine and an automatic transmission. It’s about the same size as a Ford Falcon or a Chevy Nova. But once the muscle-car craze of the mid-1960s began they added a V8, starting with a 273, a 340, then a 318 and up to 383 cubic inches. Even a 440ci was available by special order.
The hot cars from Chrysler that year were the Plymouth Road Runner and the Dodge Super Bee, intended to fight the Pontiac GTO but at a bargain price. These were stripped-down versions of full-size cars but with a V8, a four-speed, cartoon graphics and fancy wheels. They sold like hot cakes. The smaller A-body cars, to me, seemed like a much better deal – lighter, shorter wheelbase, not as flashy.
I was lucky enough to buy my car from the original owner. Pauline and her husband John married young and, being Mopar fans, decided to buy a ’68 Charger R/T for her and a Dodge Dart GTS for him. He was a racer, so he specced the car the way he wanted it, with the big-block 383 and a four-speed manual transmission. No power steering. No power brakes. Not even discs, just drums all around. No options other than an AM radio.
He also ordered a 355 rear end. He won a lot of street races with this car but then, as luck would have it, the Army called – this was the 1960s, after all – and he entered military service. Since he was going to Vietnam, the young couple couldn’t afford two cars so one had to go. Given that he was the one doing time, Pauline gave up her Charger and they kept the Dart. She kept it warm for him until he got back, winning stop-light Grands Prix all over town.
When he got back, life got in the way. Kids came along and the Dart got sidelined. Pauline and John eventually divorced, and she kept the car. As a single mum working full-time and raising kids, the car got put away for a number of years. She still loved it though, and had a lot of fond memories of her years with the Dart, so she decided to give it a full restoration. The shop did an excellent job, returning the car to 100% stock condition.
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