Ron's
1968 HEMI Dart

From the early days when Ron grew up around Muscle Cars and hung out at the drag strip, the 1968 Super Stock Hemi Dart left a lasting impression upon him. His dream has always been to build a car the way he felt Chrysler should have offered as an option. Unlike the bare bones, full-blown race car developed by Mother Mopar and Hurst corporation that dominated the drag strip back then, this build will be more of a “gentlemen’s” car that has been refined with tasteful upgrades and subtle styling cues that will make the car all its own.

Similar to the “COPO” cars from GM offered in the muscle car era, this build will incorporate the idea of taking the biggest, baddest mill ever offered from Chrysler and squeezing into the lightest, most compact vehicle offered in the muscle era. What a great plan! The difference being that in today’s world, we have access to a ton of cool parts and pieces that were never available in the glory days and we’ll be taking full advantage of that.

The short list of components utilized in this build includes, of course, a 426 cubic inch HEMI engine built by HEMI Haines which will be fed by the FAST EZ EFI dual-quad fuel injection system. So, combined with a mild cam and pump gas, this monster mill will be as street-friendly as anything you would drive today, but with gobs more torque available at the drop of the hammer! In front of the beast sits a Billet Specialties Tru-Trac serpentine accessory drive system that will keep all systems in check. Behind the engine will be a 727 Torqueflite trans with a gear-vendors overdrive unit so we can keep the RPMs at bay on the freeway. The car also boasts the RMS Alter-K-tion front end, which is a must if you want power steering and excellent street handling, along with a nice set of Wilwood front disc brakes. Out back will be a Moser-built Dana 60 rear axle with Wilwood disc brakes. The HEMI will breathe through TTI 2 1/8” primary tube headers and a custom 3” exhaust system, with Doug’s Headers electric exhaust cutouts. With the flip of a switch, this “gentlemen’s” hot rod will sound like it’s ready for a 10-second pass at the drag strip….and it will be!

The car will be treated to custom badging inside & out, Vintage Air A/C system, a modern Bluetooth audio system with an all-stock appearing radio in the dash, an updated “GT-style” interior treatment, Dynamatted interior, mini-tubbed rear wheel wells with custom built, limited edition Billet Specialites Lobeck-G series wheels, wrapped in Nitto rubber, a killer jet black paint job with a silver Bumble Bee stripe, the list goes on…. In short, this will be one of the finest 68 Hemi Darts ever built. It’s an honor and a privelage to build this fine automobile for Ron.