1968 Hemi Dart

In 1968 you could walk into a Dodge dealership and if you knew who to talk to, you could buy essentially the same car. 500hp right off the assemblyline. A completely done dragcar that could be taken to the dragstrip the second it was delivered and win.

The best musclecar ever made? No.
The baddest? Probably.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• hemi
• dart
• mopar
• hemidart
• dragster
• drag
• race
• burnout
• musclecar
• 1968
• fast
• rockingham
• the
• rock

[PAINTANK]

Shelby Cobras were street legal cars. These were drag only. They were sold with a signature promising not to drive it on the road because it literally had zero safety options and was 1/3 fiberglass...from the factory. With a 500hp hemi...from the factory. Ford Thunderbolts and Pontiac Superdutys are a closer comparison.

[PAINTANK]

It's a real 1968 Hurst Hemi Dart at the Mopar Nationals in Rockingham a few years ago. The Hemi was shoehorned in so tightly that the master cylinder had to be offset. They were shipped to Hurst to be fine tuned and finished. It was just the largest engine Mopar had stuffed into the smallest, lightest car they made. No other company did this other than GM with 427 L88 Corvettes.

[ProfessorIgor]

the debate ends here, with this car and it's sister the Hurst Hemi Barracuda. They were and still are the fastest production car in the 1/4 ever produced. Many dismiss them as "production" because they were purpose built. The bottom line is that you had to buy them from a Chrysler dealership, and 109 lukcy people did just that. A Stage 1 GS ?? at least present us a FAST GM... Yenko Camaro ? Super Duty Lighweight Pontiac ? COPO Camaro.. ZL1 Vette ? the Hemi Dart is STILL faster than those

[Boredout454]

@rebelman364 Not actually, the first was the 58 Chrysler 300c with the 392 Hemi, was the first car built for racing and sold to the public. Then it was the 62-4 Darts/Fury/ Belvedere, GTO just built the first wildly popular muscle car and had a huge commercial backing. GM left the game in 64 and didnt get back to the game until 70.

[rebelman364]

@Boredout454, GM got into the game an stopped in 70. 64' gto was considered the spark of factory muscle cars

[surrynet]

@ProfessorIgor yes, you are right !!

[ProfessorIgor]

@surrynet we know it as the Tiger...

[MrMuddshovel]

@ProfessorIgor I spank U .

[Boredout454]

@PAINTANK And Ford and GM wouldnt allow just anyone to buy there cars you had to be sponsored by them and they chose you. You had the money you could walk into any Mopar dealership and pick yourself up one. Gm got out of the game in 64 and didnt come back until 70, this whole GM was the greatest fad that has come about my GM lovers is a bunch of bs.

[Boredout454]

@PAINTANK However you could still drive them on the street and people still did. The aluminum nosed Fury's/Darts etc of 63-64 as well and the 65 Coronets.

[majorporpoise]

Greatest drag car ever made.

And if Todd's got one it's the coolest.

[RacerRickxx]

@5773857734 Actually, anyone could buy one but they were expensive and not advertised at all. The cars were sent out from hurst with the body in primer, and the glass front end in gelcoat. They were not acid dipped at the factory, and had a normal steel K-frame - just with hemi mounts.

A friend of mine has a real factory one. You would not believe how crude it was put together by hurst. It looks like they clearanced the inner fender with a sledgehammer!

[RacerRickxx]

You know its the baddest musclecar ever when the NHRA took them out of the normal superstock classes and gave them their own the race each other in so the other cars could be competitive in SS/A - the top superstock class!