The second car was a 1972 Plymouth Scamp, which triggered the turnaround of my life in a big way. I'll save that story for the Plymouth section when it comes up.
The last memorable car was a 1970 Dodge Dart GT that I found back in 1990 after selling the Plymouth Scamp and wanting to find a Dodge car. The Dodge Dart was a logical choice since there plenty were around for sale. So I shopped the local classified ads, and one day, I saw an ad for a 1970 GT 2 door for sale. I said to myself, "A GT in 1970? I thought 1969 was the last year?" After a little research, I found out, yes, there was a GT option after 1969! [Ed: Reportedly, the GT package continued for 1970 and 1971 -- see The 1970-71 Dart GT Registry.]
I called the owner, who told me about the car having bucket seats, a console with auto shift, woodgrain trim, fender turn signals (love them!), and a 318 2-barrel engine with only 99,000 miles on it. The car had a Bronze Tan exterior with a brown interior; rather luxurious with such colors! The owner told me that it had been owned and driven by her aunt in a small town near Kelwona, BC, using it as a "grocery shopping" car, and it had never been outside of BC, even to the USA! It was in good shape with only one big dent on the passenger fender and some rust on rear sides -- that's all. The aunt had given up the car since she had become too old to drive anymore. Since the niece had too many cars with her husband, she decided to sell the Dart.
I bought it on the spot for $1500.
After getting license plates, I started to wash it up, give it good clean-up all around and use it for going to work. I began to like how it went down the road, with its nimble steering -- I could easily steer with one finger through turns; the power steering was too good!
Then one day in the early summer of 1990, I gave a ride to my friend, Stephen, going to a cruise. We got to talking about my new car I had bought over a week ago. He said that he found it hard to believe that I was the second owner. You see, most of the cars like this had been resold many times, so one-owner cars were rare! My friend commented to me on the power of the V8 engine and asked me to try to go faster. "Sure, why not?" I pressed down on the gas and the car accelerated to 65 mph. At that point, suddenly the car jerked with a "rrrrVOOOM!" The gears inside the tranny clicked, the car's acceleration increased, and our heads snapped back!
"Hot damn! This is a virgin car! You lucky guy!" yelled Stephen.
Puzzled, I asked, "What do you mean?"
He told me that his his hot-rodder father had taught him that if one finds a car that has never been driven over 65 mph in its life and always gently, the transmission never has a chance to flex all its gears for high speeds. Once it does, the gears get more use and will wear down over the course of time. So, I really did got a "virgin" car -- a rarity among young people!
One early morning at 5 AM after dropping off another friend at his home, I started thinking about how fast I had heard that Darts were. Staring at the 120 mph maximum on the speedometer, I wondered, "Is it possible that the needle can go all way to 120 mph?" Feeling a temptation inside from the days of the Dukes of Hazzard, I went for it!
I floored the gas, and "Bessie" the Dart went faster and faster, the needle moving to 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 mph! The car started feeling a bit floaty, but still I kept on it, the needle swinging past 110 to 115, nearing the magic 120, my foot flat on the floor. To my surprise, the needle went PAST 120 mph! I had buried the needle into the dash and Bessie was still running great!
At home, I wondered how was it possible? I guessed the speed to be about 130+ mph. I thought, was it because I put in new oil and new spark plugs, gave it good care, and tuned the engine up? Nah, that couldn't be.
Late one night I was heading for an exit off the highway. Cocky as I was, I told my friend that I wouldn't slow down! His face paled as I came to the turn; I braced my left arm against the armrest, while I tilted my steering wheel to a angle and held it there, making a perfect roundabout at 90 mph. The car leaned sideways but held the road with no difficulty.
"You're crazy, man! But the car is awesome!" said my trembling friend.
I had another adventure late at night with a couple friends on a flat road near the US border in BC. On this road, I happened to know that there was a big bump before one major road crossover ahead; I told the guys what I planned to try.
They said that it was my car and I could do whatever I wanted! I laughed and stepped harder on gas. One guy leaned over and saw how fast we were going, saying, "Are-are you joking? You're serious aren't you?"
I said "Yep, I am!"
Bessie was going almost 100 mph when we hit the bump. Wham! For a moment, the car felt weightless, with all of the tires off the road. It had made a long jump! After what must have been at least five seconds, we slammed down on the road with a loud screeching sound, sending sparks up from the rear!
The guys yelled to me, "Oh, man! You did it!" We talked about that jump for some time. To me, it was high excitement!
Then over the next two years, I kept my car in good mechanical condition and always changed oil regularly. I drove the car to California once for the holidays. The engine did so well on that trip that I blew three tires on hot highways! Being a handyman, mechanic and bodyman had taught me to treat the car with more respect to ensure it lasted longer.
Having decided to keep Bessie because of its good engine, I thought that it was time for a rebuild at 120,000 miles -- although the engine still ran well, I had noticed reduced power since my wild times with the car. After all, I had blown the rear end due to too much torque from the engine and discovered it had 2.76 gears! No wonder why it broke down! I soon took a course on rear axle repair. I brought another 1970 Dart parts car with 2.96 gears, since it was hard to find one with 8 1/4 rear axle at the time.
I swapped axles all by myself!
While I was tearing down the 318 engine on a stand in the garage came the bad news -- mother told me that we had to move out! I had to put my car repairs on hold and take it to mom's aunt-in-law to park there until I could find a place to resume. It sat there over a year and a half until I could find a place to live with space to finish the repairs I had started. One day I went to check my car and, to my shock, it had been stolen!
I gave police all of the details and told them that it was impossible to steal because the engine was in storage at the time. It must have been towed. Police sent reports of my missing car to every local junkyard. Nothing! For the next month I drove to every yard I could think of to check them personally.
Today, I still have the 318 engine disassembled, waiting to get back with its original missing vehicle. If any of you in Canada or the western USA might see a car like mine, the VIN is LH23G0R183509 and it was built in Windsor Plant in Ontario, Canada, in 1970 and delivered to New Westminster Dodge. I really miss Bessie -- I had never had so much fun in any other car.
All of you Canadian Dart fans, please don't let your cars out of your sight. These days I have noticed fewer and fewer Darts in decent shape on the roads. I now own a 1969 Dart Custom hardtop with a slant six waiting to be fixed up. Anyone that likes to chat with me about Darts or swap repair tips, please e-mail me.