I drove this car for three years with little problems. Then one dark and rainy day as I was driving to lunch, a 72-year-old, one-armed gentleman made a left turn in front of me while signaling that he was turning right, and I could not stop on the rain slicked street. The car was "totaled" and so ended my first Dart experience.
This experience left me feeling incomplete, because I had always planned that once I had gotten out of school and had a job that I would restore the old Dart to her former glory. So I started a quest to replace the car. A quest which would span 10 years of sometimes aggressive, sometimes passive looking. Then, one fateful day in January of 1991, I found her! I was driving through San Marcos, Texas, on my way home when I saw what appeared to be a Dart sitting on a used car lot of all places. I was reluctant to stop because lots always want more than something is really worth, especially when they're "classics," but I did anyway. It was a 1968 Dart 270, 2-door hardtop. The car was some kind of teal blue color and the body was extremely straight. The interior was trashed! But I was looking for a project car anyway! The dealer wanted $350 and informed me that the 225-six she packed was "knocking a little". I purchased the car without batting an eye.
I resolved to return the next day to put the car on a trailer as I did not think the engine could stand the 3-hour drive home. I had a friend (former friend, that is!) with me on the trip who professed to know something about cars and he assured me the car would make the trip and against my better judgment he convinced me. Well, we filled her tank up and started out west on I-35 for home, the Dart (Doris as she would later come to be named), in the lead. We had traveled approximately 3 miles when I heard a loud explosion. Next thing I knew, I was "dodging" pieces of flying metal and smoke! Doris' "indestructible" 225 had thrown her guts all over I-35. There was a hole the size of my fist in her block and the end of a mangled piston rod was sticking out of this hole. I pulled her home with a car hauler the next day.
I spent the next year rebuilding her. I decided to convert the car to a V-8 since I had to get a new engine anyway and happened on a bit of luck towards this end. I was talking to a guy about engines and he told me he had a '71 Duster with a 340 that he would sell me. He had won this car in a race, but it no longer ran, and he had no title. I secured "salvage" rights for $200.00. For my money I could take whatever I wanted from the car! When I left it the body was sitting on the ground. From this car I took the engine, transmission, K-frame, suspension, hubs, a 3.91 Sure Grip rear end and 4 original Dodge rally wheels. The "340" from the Duster really turned out to be Chrysler's other indestructible engine, a 318, which had a 340 thermoquad intake manifold. I secured an original 318 2 bbl manifold, the radio and V-8 emblems from a "deceased" '68 Dart in an Austin, TX, salvage yard for $50. The engine was completely rebuilt. The "new" K-frame from the Duster was installed, the rear end was swapped, and after many long hours, the newly refurbished 318 slid right into the engine compartment. The only real modification I had to make was shortening the drive shaft, which was handled by a local machinist.
Painting was accomplished with the help of my friend, Warren Fulcher. I chose 1993 Flame Red which was on a Lebaron I saw. Interior was completely redone from various sources, including MCO, Year One and yes, even JC Whitney.
So, after about $4500 and who knows how many hours (loving every minute of it!), Doris was ready to cruise!
As a rule, I keep my Dart in the garage most of the time but lately I have been driving her to work daily as my wife has stored a bunch of stuff "temporarily" in the garage. Also my '87 Tempo which I usually drive to work is not healthy. I love to drive the Dart anyway; her 318, dual exhaust, and gears make her quick and a great temptation at every stop sign. The other night I was forced to teach an Eclipse a little respect as the driver kept winding his little "wind-up toy" engine up at me!
Doris receives many appreciative looks and comments daily as she takes me from home to work. I have had many offers to buy my Dart, but I really don't think I will ever sell her. She is a part of the family.
