[razookelly]

Hi Guys,
The words "HEMI DART" cought my attention! Back in 1968 I got my first NEW car. My Father bought it for me as a graduation gift. It was a '68 HEMI Roadrunner, 4 speed, Dana 60/4.11's. The real deal. It cost $4200.00, and of that, $800.00 was for the HEMI option.

I rolled the car in 1971, but salvaged the engine and drive train. I bought a new '71 Dart Swinger /6, auto on the column, A/C, vinyl roof, etc. It was gold with a black roof, and beige interior. Get the picture?

I also found and purchased a '69 GTX 440/6Bbl, 4 speed, dana, etc. It had 1600 miles on it and I got it for less than $2000.00. You have to understand that this was in the middle of the big oil embargo of the early 70's. Everyone was buying 4 cylinder cars, and anything with big cubes was dirt cheap!

In '73 I bought a '67 Mustang 289/auto with A/C. It had 48000 miles on it and I paid $500.00 cash for it. It was my in-laws car, and my wife always wanted it. This freed up the Dart for the Hemi, etc.

It took nearly 8 months to get the 426 HEMI, 833, Dana 60 into the A body, a lot of fabrication work, countless trips to the juck yards, parts stores, and even the dodge dealerships. Endless hours of cutting, welding, and fabricating. But it worked. Infact, it worked so well that the outward appearance of the Swinger looked stock. It was still gold with a black vinyl roof with beige interior. The column shift auto was gone, but a simple Hurst shifter allowed me to keep the front bench seat. I mini tubbed the the rear ( that's before the term "mini tub" was even a term!), tied and braced the frame rails, and had some minor sheet metal work done under the hood to fabricate some inner front wheel wells. Had new motor mounts fab'd to maintain the stock 6 cylinder K member which was heavily braced, and a new trans mount was added. THe Dana was narrowed and the driveshaft shortened at a local machine shop. I bought the clutch pedal hanger new, as well as a complete front disc breake set up with spindles, master cylinder, proportioning valve, and a 4 1/2" bolt circle to match the rear.
All in all, it was a great ride. Somewhere in my attic I've got some pics, and a bunch of notes that I made while doing the work. If and when I come across them, I'll either post them, or email them to you. They might help.

Good luck on your project. HEMI DARTS ARE AWESOM!!!