Thank you so much for that story. My dad was the general manager of Grand Spaulding Dodge. He started working at Grand Spaulding when it was only a used car lot in 1958. He worked with Mr Norm, Lenny, Norm's brother, & Harvey Norm's Dad. Your are accurate when you said Gary Dyer was a mechanical genius & Mr Norm Knew what the customers wanted. I hung around the dealership as a kid and in 1970 I started working at GSD until the dealership closed. I loved when you talked about the spiral staircase to the accounting office. A lot more was going on than just mini skirts. But that was the 60's & 70's. I'm still in the auto business & remained close to Mr Norm & his family until his passing. There were so many great people & stories from those days. They'll never be another era like that. Thanks again for the story. Lee Wulbert
Dodge had Mr. Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge. Ford had Tasca. Chevrolet had Yenko. Similar performance dealerships still exist but they will never, ever again be the same.
@@ShogunAutoworksCheck the story on Joel Rosen, the owner of Motion Industries. He battled the EPA in 1975 by himself over installing BBCs in a new Vega.
Not only were the well known names like Mr Norm and Yenko there were a lot of lesser known names. A lot of them advertised in the classifieds of hot rod magazine.
Well Uncle Tony I've always been a Bowtie guy, but I definitely appreciate the history of the Mopars, cause I love raw horsepower and those were the best days for that. Thanks from one gearhead to another.
Exactly I'm a Ford guy and appreciate the raw HP too, but there's GM cars that I would love to have. Like Olds 442's, Pontiac GTO'S , Firebirds SD and H.O. output. Also as I've gotten older I love to see them all restored like they came from the factory.
I absolutely dig these ramblings through history, it's like having you narrate some of the old articles you guys used to do. Thanks for preserving the history for future generations! Happy Independence Day to you and Uncle Cathy!
I recently started working on my buddies 1969 RR with a 1970 440, automatic. Being a GM guy, I know next to nothing about Mopar. Through my crash course of learning, it's pretty fascinating what Mopar was doing under the radar. I'm amazed the RR is so light weight, I used to think it had to be heavy a big as it seemed to be. I got the Ole 440 singing with a cam, headers, intake, carb and ignition. Have done all floor pans including trunk, complete front end rebuild, first torsion bar job. It's quite the journey learning about Mopar, even clear back to the Dodge Brothers. Nice video, great info.
One of the techs I worked with at the Chrysler Plymouth dealer starting in 1969 had one of the 1969 440 Barracuda's. He used it for drag racing and had many modifications on it. In late 1970 I bought a new 1970 Duster with a 225 slant six in it. He wanted the six cylinder torsion bars so we swapped my bars for the much stiffer 440 bars. That Duster with those stiff torsion bars on it handled like it was on rails. I had G60-14 tires on it, great on dry pavement but in rain, not so much. I cured that problem when I put a set of radial tires on it.
This was the best half an hour of automotive information I have watched in a very long time. As a Mopar nut and a lover of the lore surrounding Mr. Norm, this was awesome. Great video, Tony! I'm always fascinated with your level of Mopar and automotive knowledge. Keep the great info coming! Cheers.
This guy just likes to hear himself talk. He''s simply repeating what's common knowledge in the Chi-town racing community albeit he's not 100% accurate since he's from NY and scrapes the internet for information to create content without giving credit to the sources.
@@strykerentllc If you don't like his content, then why are you here? LOL! Secondly, I'm not sure if you're aware, but there's an entire world outside of Chicago, and many people outside of the Chi-town area may NOT know about these things. Not only that, there are also plenty of people in the Chicago area who DON'T know these things because they are too young to have lived during that era. Your point is moot. You also talk a lot of crap for someone who has ZERO evidence of Tony doing what you say. If you're such an "encyclopedia of knowledge" on the subject, and I am sure MUCH more (sarcasm), then why don't you have any content posted about this or ANY other automotive subject matter? If you're such a factually accurate "historian", then why don't you make videos about automotive history to quote-unquote "set the record straight"? If you're so knowledgeable, why keep all of this knowledge to yourself? At least Tony is disseminating historical information for fans of these cars. You, you're just an armchair keyboard jockey doing NOTHING for the community at all, except s*** posting on other people's content. It's easy to whine and dump on people online while supplying ZERO content of your own as any kind of supposed "fact check" or counterpoint. Also, if and when you share this supposed fact-checked, 100% accurate knowledge you have (not counting on that), do we all get to say you're not "100% accurate", and that you ripped all of your supposed knowledge from the internet too? I'm sure there's just as many people in Chicago from back in the day who will call you out for historical inaccuracy on whatever you have to say. You're a legend in your own mind, bro. Unless you have something constructive to add, other than whining and throwing around empty accusations, then get a life and move on, Skippy.
I had a copper 1969 factory GTS with a 383 automatic. That thing could fly. ( I hear it is now in Florida being redone) I live in Connecticut. I bought it from a dealer that put black electrical tape over the 383 call outs on the hood bulges because he couldn’t sell it to regular people looking for a grocery getter. When I popped the hood, I told the salesman SOLD! I drove that car for years and won many trophies at a NY drag strip. I loved that car. Good luck to whoever owns it now.
Hi Tony. I actually bought a blower from Gary Dyer also around 1979. I drove to his shop in Chicago to get a cut down Offenhauser tunnelram to accept a 671 GMC blower for a Boss 302 I was putting in my 68 Mustang. He cut the crank pulley while I waited! He told me he only made one other setup for that motor(intake is unique because of the cleveland heads). It's still together,only problem was needing a turtle cap on the distributor to clear the drive.I remember him being an unpretentious nice guy. Even kidded me about if my plane was parked outside when I mentioned I drove straight from NJ in one day.
This was the nicest talk on this legend, the GSS 440, really nice to now know the details and the who and why. HTG you take the time to do talks like this, this is really stellar!
Absolute true story. In the early 70's I had a friend who had a 69 440 Dart. As I remember the car it was a handshaker car, was either dark green or black. I really do not remember all of the details of the car other than it had a 440 in it. And it ran scalded dog, it was a fast car back in those days. Anyway, over the years I have told many MOPAR enthusiasts about that car and everybody has called me a liar. I'm really glad you produced this video because now I have been proven correct !
This was right about the time I was running my little Valiant Gasser. We all wanted one of those low key 440 A bodies, but $ was tight and they were out of reach ... However, factory built and tuned 273 4-speed cars were on discount and some of my acquaintances bought them and ran in stock classes. You'd get beat up unless someone red lighted or broke, but fellas were making rounds and they were fun cars too 😁
I never heard of you Uncle Tony, but your video just happened to pop up in my feeds. I’m 47 and a diehard gear head that grew up around nothing but 60’s and 70’s Mopar muscle and even the 80’s turbo cars as my old man and older brother were Chrysler fanatics. My first car was a 67 Charger 440. Your knowledge of Mopar history is amazing. You’ve earned a new subscriber my friend 👍🏼
Tony, the guy in the shop that norm had Spearhead the 383 conversion was Dennis Hirschbeck, he was the brain behind a lot of things. If you ever want to hear about the behind the scenes dyno tuning, I’ve got a good story for you I won’t say on here
Was it like the story I heard about the high riser 427, add 10 jet sizes, retard the timing until it only made 425 HP, let the governing body watch the pull and then the snow job was complete?
The 383 story came from Mr. Norm himself. It's in an old episode of American Muscle car. th-cam.com/video/Tvb7QSsR-EU/w-d-xo.html and is a little over 10 mins in. He never invented the idea, as much as he got impatient with them after it was already supposed to be in production.
My father bought a 67 Dart GTS 383 4 speed new from the dealer in late 67, very unique vehicle to say the least. Dodge was very conservative with this car, the cam was smaller that the OE 68 335 Road Runner engine, it was only rated 330 HP...my dad's cousin, (who's father owed the dealer) recammed the car, and had rejected and tuned the car when it was just days on the lot. Like you said, Mopar definitely had "thought ahead" on this chassis...a big block in this compact car chassis wasn't practical, but is sure was fun!
Hey I worked with Dennis Hirschboeck for years after Grand Spaulding Dodge at Royal Chrysler Ply and South Holland Dodge. I used to talk to on the phone Mr Norm, Gary Dyer, the guys at Performance auto parts Jim Urso, Kenny Safford and Dennis were close friends,
I owned a 1967 Dodge Dart GTS 383 and I had a friend at a Dodge Dealer who owned a 1969 Dodge Dart GTS 440 ,so I can tell you everything Tony has said is absolutely true.
I bought my first new car in 1967. A 384 4 speed Barracuda. It took over 6 months from order date to delivery. And then the dealer didn’t tell me for a week while they hit rodded it around. You said it was a tight fit: how tight? So tight you couldn’t get power steering, power brakes or air conditioning. Miss that car!
Very informative Tony. Im in ny 50s. I grew up on the s/w side of Chicago and lived near Gary Dyers shop in Summit in the 80s. Actually worked in the area of Grand Spaulding after it shut down though. The 80s were a wonderful time in this area. Great crew of racing guys, cruising Archer avenue. Guys setting up races at Dukes on Harlem, going to the track, in the back of the yards or the corn fields of tinley park. I used to listen to the older guys all of the time. Your historical info videos remind me of those times. Thank you
I lived in Argo and wandered over to Summit as a kid 6,7,8 years old in the late 60s and sat in a funny car, I think the chi town hustler. Slicks stacked to the roof outside, on a small garage, in the alley, riding my sting ray bike around. Great bunch of guys they were.
Thanks for the cool info on the 440 Dart. I figured if any one knew the whole story it would be you. In 1964 I was a 17 year old gear head who used to listen to Chicago radio stations. I'm not sure of the year I started hearing Mr. Norm advertise so bear with me. I knew from his ads that any car he gave the full treatment had GSS emblem on it. Grand Spaulding Sport. All the gear heads I hung with talked about one day taking their car to Mr Norm to have it worked on. None ever did, we didn't make enough money. Later, I think it was in 1969 I saw a charger on the Dodge lot in Beloit, WI with GSS label. I just HAD to drive that car. I don't think the salesman knew what it was, he knew me from prior visits and didn't insist going with me. But I was leaving my 69 Road Runner on the lot as collateral. The GSS Charger had the inline dual quad carbs, tuned headers and I'm certain a hot cam judging by the loping idle and of course the 440 engine, from the start it was obviously tuned. Even at partial throttle the auto trans shifted firmly, I felt every shift. Barely touch the throttle and it was hustling. I went to a remote road out of town and carefully added some throttle, it was clear I could not floor it on blacktop or the back end would head for the ditch. So I made my way to the interstate where it was all concrete. Mashing the throttle at about 30 on the entrance ramp was an eye opener. The front came up, there was so much noise from engine and exhaust I could not be certain if the tires were squealing. The back end got loose for a few seconds but it stayed fairly straight. When second gear kicked in the car lunged forward and I saw in the rear view mirror it had laid down about 8-10 feet of rubber with both tires. When it shifted to third, the front stayed right where it was. It seemed to be accelerating as fast in third as it did in second. It ran all the way up to red line in third so fast I could not believe it. I don't remember how fast that was, it spooked me to see it at red line so fast, I quick let off the throttle to save the engine. When I did look at the speed, it was down to 120 so I suspect it reached 140 maybe 145. That car was wickedly fast. I took it back and told the salesman I had to think about it. I made offer of lower price but he said no. Next day at work it was all I could think of. Went to dealer after work and it was sold. Somebody wanted it at any price. I should have bought it on the spot. Lost it for trying save a few bucks. Wickedly fast barely does justice to that car. And now there is Nicks garage where he is extracting 440 power figures from 383 engines on his dyno.
Tony, have you ever heard of a man named Dick Stoddard? I was lucky enough to know him as a friend. He worked at the Chrysler dealership where my dad worked parts and later farm equipment sales. I heard he was one of the Ramchargers team members for a while. He is part of why I am who I am, and know what I know. He knew as close to everything about vehicles as someone can get. I used to call him when i got stumped in my shop back in the 90s. No matter what i was working on, he knew where to look and how to fix it. He was a Marine in wwii, second wave on Iwo and survived the entire battle. When i came back from desert storm,he treated me very different, like an equal rather than some goofy kid who likes GTOs. He passed in 2001 while I was deployed. I do everything on vehicles tbe right way because of him. Why half ass it, you'll just have to do it again. He loaned me a Motor manual for 64 to 72 vehicles to get me started working on the stuff I was driving. Without his guidance I'd never have been able to do what i do with cars.
In the early 70s I once had a 67 valiant that came equipped with a solid lifter 273 commando 4 speed sure grip disk brake radio delete. I loved that car, wish I still had it, it was fast, can't imagine it with a big block
Great video of the factory and the ingenious designers who made these cars so successful at the tracks... When Chrysler lost money on the hand-built specialty cars that went to the race tracks, they actually got that money back (and then some) by selling many more of their production line vehicles with the standard equipment and the production line H.P. equipment, because of their participation and successful results at the race tracks of several types... Win on Sunday, sell on Monday...
Great video tony! Most people don't know about the 440 darts unless you fall down the rabbit hole wanting to build on like I did! I love my 440 dart but it's not original. Just a kick in the pants to drive!
Good information here. In 1986 we put a '72 400 in a '65 Fury III 318 Poly car, using a mount bracket off of something common, turned upside down/backwards or something weird, and it worked. almost 40yrs ago now! Later a '65 Polara showed up in the junkyard and I got the left side engine mount bracket off, but my buddy never swapped it onto his Fury. Unfortunately my friend was killed in a freak snomobile accident in 1996 and the car was sold and neglected until being scrapped. I did buy the engine back, it was a "cold weather" block with a mid 1971 casting date, and the VIN said it was from a '72 Charger, "HP" stamped.
UNCLE Tony, keep going with those LONG historical car videos. It would be great to get an explanation of why Chrysler keep with the torsen bar suspension in their cars when everyone else was going to a coil spring setup on new cars. I thought I heard they inherited it was a previous compay.
This is fascinating stuff! I was just a 10 year old country hick back then who loved cars. Saw my first set of mag wheels in the flesh in 1967 on a 61 Chevy bubble top in Fargo ND. The coolest thing was a girl was driving and she street raced a guy right in front of me and blew his doors off. I was hooked on this stuff from that day on. Thanks UTG for keeping this stuff alive!
Absolutely great Information! I was in Vietnam at the time but my family sent me care packages from home loaded with hot rod magazines, playboy magazines , Molanari salamis, balls of Provolone cheese , and my favorite Italian almond biscotti cookies, my uncle sent me the magazines and a box of Rum soaked Crook’s cigars! What a delight! Thought you would like to know about that Uncle Tony! LOL any way your story reminded me of the car magazines had the Mr Norm 383, 440 Dodge Dart adds in them and stories, tech arrivals on the Darts! I wanted one of those Bad! I was saving everything I could put together to buy one upon my return from the war! But even back then these cars were twice what I could afford! I ended up with a Pontiac Firebird 400 which I have to say I was throughly happy with looked all over Calif for a no power steering , no power brakes, 4speed Firebird 400 , finally found one with an all synchro three speed floor shifter that had been special ordered bought it new for $2,500.00 bucks came with 4:33 gears and double factory traction bars! I put Mickey Thompson Indy radials on the back mounted to brand new American 4slot mags and regular American mag wheels on the front! I could burn those tires for an entire block!! What a blast! I loved that car!!! Over the coarse of about 32 years I touched and wrenched on every bolt and screw on that car painted it twice! And had it in several configurations, mostly street racing it and road racing it and cruising it to the max!!! I am a Mopar guy at heart just couldn’t afford one , as I have told you before I cut my teeth on the old Flat head six’s for my first engine hop ups, and the did well although they were not built that strong and could not take the added horsepower and RPM’s I could get out of them! Loved the history lesson on this subject! Really brought me back! Regards Mad Mike from the land of freezing as cold! ❄🥶🌨…………
So that explains the low # of 67 Dart GTS,s . Had one many moons ago. Number I have seen was 457 hardtops 67 GTS,s and possible 5 or 6 67 GTS,S. rag tops. Thanks for the great info .
@@davidjenson8124 Well, if you don't have the original 440 block with the relocated and drilled bosses, you would not know. The mount was simply two pieces lap welded.
Great video Tony. When I was a kid an old farmer down the road from me drove a red 68 GTS 383 4 speed Dart. It was the last new car that he bought and he drove it into the 90's when he passed away. I still see that car in my mind everytime I drive by his old farmhouse, and I still wonder if he had any idea what he had.
As an owner of one of the 69 m code darts I found his history lesson to be very interesting Uncle Tony. There was supposedly only 640 of them made. They were all automatic, no power steering or brakes.
I'm not even a Mopar guy but enjoyed this. I will have to look more closely at the motor mounts next time i see a 440 Dart/Barracuda or even a 65 full size Mopar
Uncle Tony (and friends) You're likely the only person that can shed some light on this car. I sold MAC tools from 1985 to 2000. I came across this car in the 90's. The owner was a deaf mute guy that used a teletype deal to communicate. He brought it into a frame/ alignment/ suspension shop for a brake job. A very good friend of mine worked there and he had done all the work on this car for years. He said it had "special brakes"? They had to send out the calipers to get them rebuilt. As I remember, it was a 70 or 71 Dart Rough shape with a terrible paint job. I noticed the B-pillars had a sort of twist in them. Now, as to the car. 1. It currently had a 318 with factory A/C. If it was an add on, it was the best I'd ever seen. Everything looked perfect, The dash, ducts, lines, etc.. 2. It has the big differential.. However, it had the smaller wheel bolt pattern 3. The brakes... MANUAL brakes with 4 piston Aluminum front calipers? 4. I ran the vin tag under the hood (somewhere I still have it written down) Said it was a 426? I sure would like to know what it was. As I understood, with a hemi, there was no room for a brake booster. So they used the 4 piston calipers to compensate. All I could think of was that it had been used as a race car when new, and some swapped out the drivetrain for a street car. I was never able to ask the owner about it because he was a deaf mute. Uncle Tony, can you or your followers help me out?
640 was the production number on the Darts . As of a few years ago remaining was between 33-36 . Two years ago at Carlisle was a display of 440 Darts , both '68 & 69 . In speaking to one of the owners the new number is 45. That's 10 more in the last 32 years or so, since I bought my Black one . Barracuda production for '69 is 360
I have worked in dealerships my whole life as a mechanic not a tech lol. I love hearing stories about dealerships and brands back in the day, that’s when brands and dealers had souls. Dealerships went from a grand automotive toy store to vending machines. Loved this episode!
Had a friend who had a "m" code Barricuda back in the early 80's we had never heard about the 440 A bodies so he installed a 383 and drove it like that.
Gary Dyer. A great guy and really considerate of his neighbors on West 63rd Street in Sumit ill. That pontiac trans am would have been a sleeper except that blower.😊
I'm absolutely green with envy of your knowledge/life experiences with early Mopars. I find your ramblings riveting. Kudos for pointing out Gary Dyer's involvement. 🤩
Uncle Tony you are so upto date with automotive things, America always respects what you are telling us youtubers. America is Canada and the United States of America, North America. I am Canadian.You are one of the best.
My buddy and I used to joke about how Mr Norm would do tune-ups. We figured that the mechanic would take a customer's car out to the back lot and measure how long a burnout the car could do. Then, after tuning, back to the lot to see if the burnout was longer. We both lived in the Chicago area, so we were well aware of Mr Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge!
Cool story Uncle Tony. I stumbled across some old video of the defunct B-Line Dragway here in AZ from back in the day. Cool stuff, Ramchargers altered wheelbase cars and super stock mopars were taking the event.
Good to hear these stories......... wish I was a little older to be in those days.......... had a RT/SE Charger as a kid but of course sold it....... remember my local Dodge dealer and the Direct Connection shop that was in there.......... yeah the 80s but hey like I said was not around in the earlier days.........
@@TheInsaneShecklador I can't remember the color. I worked too many car shows and drag racing and have seen too many cars. I remember the spec sign said it was 1 of x numbered rare factory 440 powered Darts.
Your best yet! As a lad in the 60s, a green with white top 68 383 4 speed superbee used to chase me and my bike into the bushes whenever it went by...later, it was Parked at a house on my way to high school, I think he lunched his motor ( happened alot in the 60s, right?) And sat over 6 years..one day, it disappeared, hopefully to get fixed...
All I can say is ramble on Uncle Tony! Seriously, even to a non-Mopar guy like myself, you offer a fascinating narrative. Best of all it's non scripted, all the info is in your head, and just comes rolling out. You're so knowledgeable on all this stuff, like a Mopar encyclopedia. Always a good listen. If I weren't so heavily invested in my GM stuff I'd be tempted to try to build one. Wishing a great holiday to you and yours!
My Dad worked for Dodge in California back in 1968 and I remember him telling me that the 440 engine was not available in the Dodge Dart because it was too heavy. Well maybe in California, I suppose....
I'm a huge Mopar guy. But broke. I remember reading about the GSS about 35 yrs ago. Like 25 yrs ago I met a guy that had a hemi under glass. My friends used to say there was never a 440 Dart. Only a 383. That's my dream car. A 440 Dart.
When I was 10 years old sitting in a barber shop. There were piles of comic books, hunting, fishing, and car magazines. I rember reading a caption in a car magazine. It was a Barricuda concept car with a 383. That was around 1963.
At beginning of the 1967 model year, the Barracuda competed with the Mustang and got a 383 for the Mustang's 390 in 67. The Dart competed with the Chevy II. Chrysler developed a 1967 318 bored to 4.00" as a performance engine to compete with the 327 Chevy II in the Dart. The 383 wasn't originally available in 67 Dart. The high performance small block had the same size valves as the 273 / 318 and its performance was a disappointment, so it got scratched from production for 67. It was later developed into the 340 by being bored 0,.040" more and having the intake ports mimic the Chevy 327 ports, as well as the 327 valve sizes. The 340 wasn't released until the 68 model year though. The 67 Dart was supposed to get the 4 inch bore small block, but it didn't compare well to the 327 Chevy, so it was never put into production. The whole reason for the 340 was to beat the 327 Chevy. The 1967 Barracuda had the 383 from the beginning of the model year. The 67 383 A-bodies didn't have power steering available. The 68 383 A-bodies got a specially machined engine block for the optional power steering. The 69 383 A-bodies got the high performance 383 and the optional power steering used special mounting brackets. Late in the 67 model year, the 516 cylinder heads were discontinued and 67 440 915 heads were used on some late 67 383 engines, including two-barrel 383's. I remember in the mid-1970's the 915 heads were sold new, as service replacements for closed chamber big block heads. The list price was $100 each, bare, but one dealer of Mopar performance parts sold them new, two for $100, mail order, advertised in car magazines.
@@duanedahl8856 Yes that's true, but the 383 Barracuda came out at the beginning of the 1967 model year. The Dart GTS was supposed to get a high performance small block that was scratched from production for 67 and resulted in being developed into the 340 for 68. The 67 Dart didn't come out with a 383, but got it later in model year.
Can you just imagine the dealer principal stocking the parts department with all flavors of oil filter adapters, motor mounts, oil pans... I'm about to pass out!!! Lol
I’ve also read that Mr. Norm was the creator behind the 340-6 Pack when Chrysler said it couldn’t be done. So he released GSS Darts with 340-6 packs! Or so i read! That supposedly lead to the Challenger T/A 340-6 packs.
I was in high school in '69, and a car nut. I never heard of a factory produced '69 440 barracuda until I saw one on the "Cars and Zebras" TH-cam channel.
the 1960 Valient was a Chrysler model. I had one with the 170 CI slant six. It said Chrysler on back of body. It had 3 speed on the floor and wound up nicely. When I worked at the GM truck plant in Oshawa Ont. we did an inplant mod where we took the extended cab and put with shorter box. This was in 1987 and was an instant success. The 318/340 came out in 2nd half of 1967. On another TH-cam it said the H code was for hemi, whereas Tony says it is for 383 4 speed.?
Colin Comer has one of those 440 darts with the fenderwell headers. I saw a show a while ago where he was ringing the thing out! The thing just melts the tires on demand!😎👍
I new a guy in college trade school back in 1993 that had a 440 Dart. He said when the unibody started getting rusty and fatigued, it would twist and pop the rear window out in one corner when he floored it from a standing start. I also new a guy in high school who had a 6-71 Dyer blower in the 80's, but that was on a 351C in a 71 Mach 1.
383, with a great four speed and a 373 8.75" sure grip in any Chrysler or Dodge and even Plymouth is a great set up and easily done with today's parts for this purpose. Easy peezy!😊
The 440 A-Body is the Mopar equivalent of a Ford Model A roadster body on a '32 V8 chassis. It's just such an inspired, elegant device conjured up with mundane parts. It's my absolute favorite Mopar combo. I haven't had one for a long time but I've sure been thinking about building another one lately. I've got enough decent stuff to parlay into a decent 67-69 Dart or Valiant, and more than enough hardware to build a better one than the ones I had before. Time to start looking
@0004612 I decided to sell or swap my '61 Champ pickup, some 440s and some BB 727s, I'm already texting w a guy about a nice 69 Valiant 2 dr. post with a slant and clutch, lol
Very cool story. I never raced against a 440 Dart. Where we drag raced in Maryland, the 340 Darts and Swingers ruled the drag strip. There was a group of them. They were lightened and nothing could beat them except another one. They beat everything and anything. They had no weight and the 340 motors were powerful and fairly light. Unless they fell asleep on the tree, got crooked, smoked the tires or broke something you needed a perfect run and a lot of luck to run close. We had B body’s, Coronets and Satellites running junk yard 400’s with cams and heavy springs and drive shaft brakes running against them and we rarely won. Our cars were not slow and I remember laughing at this one guy and saying there was no way his little 340 Dart was going to beat my Satellite. Mine was light and had never been beat up to that point unless it broke. I was positive I had him, I was on a hot streak and cutting next to perfect lights. That Dart left even on the light and just walked away. At the time I couldn’t believe it and was in awe. I wish someone would have had a 440 Dart to see what would have happened against them but I don’t think they would be fast enough. Those 340 Darts and Swingers were no joke, they were set up perfectly and ruled at that time and place.
I remember in 1965 it seemed there were a whole lot of Dodge Cornetts at US 30 drag strip south of Chicago and a bunch with Mr. Norm badges on the trunk lid. Seemed like there were always 20 or more in that class.
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Thank you so much for that story. My dad was the general manager of Grand Spaulding Dodge. He started working at Grand Spaulding when it was only a used car lot in 1958. He worked with Mr Norm, Lenny, Norm's brother, & Harvey Norm's Dad. Your are accurate when you said Gary Dyer was a mechanical genius & Mr Norm Knew what the customers wanted. I hung around the dealership as a kid and in 1970 I started working at GSD until the dealership closed. I loved when you talked about the spiral staircase to the accounting office. A lot more was going on than just mini skirts. But that was the 60's & 70's. I'm still in the auto business & remained close to Mr Norm & his family until his passing. There were so many great people & stories from those days. They'll never be another era like that. Thanks again for the story. Lee Wulbert
Now days you would be looking up the star case mini skirts at a huge dong n hairy balls.
that a heck of a story wow do you have old pitchers that would be grate . thanks for sharing that story
Dodge had Mr. Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge. Ford had Tasca. Chevrolet had Yenko. Similar performance dealerships still exist but they will never, ever again be the same.
Dot, EPA and nhtsa, destroyed all that.
@@ShogunAutoworksCheck the story on Joel Rosen, the owner of Motion Industries. He battled the EPA in 1975 by himself over installing BBCs in a new Vega.
Not only were the well known names like Mr Norm and Yenko there were a lot of lesser known names. A lot of them advertised in the classifieds of hot rod magazine.
@@carlt6932Randal AMC put 401,s in the Gremlin at a cost of 2995.A304 in one was fun.
@@thegreenerthemeaner I remember Joel and Richie Zul and the connections to Baldwin Chevrolet. Those were the days !!!
Well Uncle Tony I've always been a Bowtie guy, but I definitely appreciate the history of the Mopars, cause I love raw horsepower and those were the best days for that. Thanks from one gearhead to another.
Exactly I'm a Ford guy and appreciate the raw HP too, but there's GM cars that I would love to have. Like Olds 442's, Pontiac GTO'S , Firebirds SD and H.O. output. Also as I've gotten older I love to see them all restored like they came from the factory.
I absolutely dig these ramblings through history, it's like having you narrate some of the old articles you guys used to do. Thanks for preserving the history for future generations! Happy Independence Day to you and Uncle Cathy!
I'm from Chicago and Grand Spaulding Dodge is legendary.
The spot is still there.
Mr. Norm was the Mickey Thompson of Mopar
I recently started working on my buddies 1969 RR with a 1970 440, automatic. Being a GM guy, I know next to nothing about Mopar. Through my crash course of learning, it's pretty fascinating what Mopar was doing under the radar. I'm amazed the RR is so light weight, I used to think it had to be heavy a big as it seemed to be. I got the Ole 440 singing with a cam, headers, intake, carb and ignition. Have done all floor pans including trunk, complete front end rebuild, first torsion bar job. It's quite the journey learning about Mopar, even clear back to the Dodge Brothers.
Nice video, great info.
One of the techs I worked with at the Chrysler Plymouth dealer starting in 1969 had one of the 1969 440 Barracuda's. He used it for drag racing and had many modifications on it. In late 1970 I bought a new 1970 Duster with a 225 slant six in it. He wanted the six cylinder torsion bars so we swapped my bars for the much stiffer 440 bars. That Duster with those stiff torsion bars on it handled like it was on rails. I had G60-14 tires on it, great on dry pavement but in rain, not so much. I cured that problem when I put a set of radial tires on it.
Uncle Tony at his best. If you're a Mopar guy, his history knowledge is fascinating.
Im not, in fact im no fan of american muscle at all but for whatever reason i love watching his videos, and the history is pretty interesting.
This was the best half an hour of automotive information I have watched in a very long time. As a Mopar nut and a lover of the lore surrounding Mr. Norm, this was awesome. Great video, Tony! I'm always fascinated with your level of Mopar and automotive knowledge. Keep the great info coming! Cheers.
This guy just likes to hear himself talk. He''s simply repeating what's common knowledge in the Chi-town racing community albeit he's not 100% accurate since he's from NY and scrapes the internet for information to create content without giving credit to the sources.
@@strykerentllc If you don't like his content, then why are you here? LOL! Secondly, I'm not sure if you're aware, but there's an entire world outside of Chicago, and many people outside of the Chi-town area may NOT know about these things. Not only that, there are also plenty of people in the Chicago area who DON'T know these things because they are too young to have lived during that era. Your point is moot.
You also talk a lot of crap for someone who has ZERO evidence of Tony doing what you say. If you're such an "encyclopedia of knowledge" on the subject, and I am sure MUCH more (sarcasm), then why don't you have any content posted about this or ANY other automotive subject matter? If you're such a factually accurate "historian", then why don't you make videos about automotive history to quote-unquote "set the record straight"? If you're so knowledgeable, why keep all of this knowledge to yourself? At least Tony is disseminating historical information for fans of these cars. You, you're just an armchair keyboard jockey doing NOTHING for the community at all, except s*** posting on other people's content.
It's easy to whine and dump on people online while supplying ZERO content of your own as any kind of supposed "fact check" or counterpoint. Also, if and when you share this supposed fact-checked, 100% accurate knowledge you have (not counting on that), do we all get to say you're not "100% accurate", and that you ripped all of your supposed knowledge from the internet too? I'm sure there's just as many people in Chicago from back in the day who will call you out for historical inaccuracy on whatever you have to say. You're a legend in your own mind, bro. Unless you have something constructive to add, other than whining and throwing around empty accusations, then get a life and move on, Skippy.
I had a copper 1969 factory GTS with a 383 automatic. That thing could fly. ( I hear it is now in Florida being redone) I live in Connecticut. I bought it from a dealer that put black electrical tape over the 383 call outs on the hood bulges because he couldn’t sell it to regular people looking for a grocery getter. When I popped the hood, I told the salesman SOLD! I drove that car for years and won many trophies at a NY drag strip. I loved that car. Good luck to whoever owns it now.
Hi Tony. I actually bought a blower from Gary Dyer also around 1979. I drove to his shop in Chicago to get a cut down Offenhauser tunnelram to accept a 671 GMC blower for a Boss 302 I was putting in my 68 Mustang. He cut the crank pulley while I waited! He told me he only made one other setup for that motor(intake is unique because of the cleveland heads). It's still together,only problem was needing a turtle cap on the distributor to clear the drive.I remember him being an unpretentious nice guy. Even kidded me about if my plane was parked outside when I mentioned I drove straight from NJ in one day.
This was the nicest talk on this legend, the GSS 440, really nice to now know the details and the who and why. HTG you take the time to do talks like this, this is really stellar!
Absolute true story. In the early 70's I had a friend who had a 69 440 Dart. As I remember the car it was a handshaker car, was either dark green or black. I really do not remember all of the details of the car other than it had a 440 in it. And it ran scalded dog, it was a fast car back in those days. Anyway, over the years I have told many MOPAR enthusiasts about that car and everybody has called me a liar.
I'm really glad you produced this video because now I have been proven correct !
This was right about the time I was running my little Valiant Gasser. We all wanted one of those low key 440 A bodies, but $ was tight and they were out of reach ...
However, factory built and tuned 273 4-speed cars were on discount and some of my acquaintances bought them and ran in stock classes. You'd get beat up unless someone red lighted or broke, but fellas were making rounds and they were fun cars too 😁
I could listen to Uncle Tony rattle off these stories for hours. Great video!
I never heard of you Uncle Tony, but your video just happened to pop up in my feeds. I’m 47 and a diehard gear head that grew up around nothing but 60’s and 70’s Mopar muscle and even the 80’s turbo cars as my old man and older brother were Chrysler fanatics. My first car was a 67 Charger 440. Your knowledge of Mopar history is amazing. You’ve earned a new subscriber my friend 👍🏼
I really like these types of stories of the little known Mopar history, I hope you do more.
Tony, the guy in the shop that norm had Spearhead the 383 conversion was Dennis Hirschbeck, he was the brain behind a lot of things. If you ever want to hear about the behind the scenes dyno tuning, I’ve got a good story for you I won’t say on here
Was it like the story I heard about the high riser 427, add 10 jet sizes, retard the timing until it only made 425 HP, let the governing body watch the pull and then the snow job was complete?
The 383 story came from Mr. Norm himself. It's in an old episode of American Muscle car. th-cam.com/video/Tvb7QSsR-EU/w-d-xo.html and is a little over 10 mins in. He never invented the idea, as much as he got impatient with them after it was already supposed to be in production.
My father bought a 67 Dart GTS 383 4 speed new from the dealer in late 67, very unique vehicle to say the least. Dodge was very conservative with this car, the cam was smaller that the OE 68 335 Road Runner engine, it was only rated 330 HP...my dad's cousin, (who's father owed the dealer) recammed the car, and had rejected and tuned the car when it was just days on the lot.
Like you said, Mopar definitely had "thought ahead" on this chassis...a big block in this compact car chassis wasn't practical, but is sure was fun!
Hey I worked with Dennis Hirschboeck for years after Grand Spaulding Dodge at Royal Chrysler Ply and South Holland Dodge. I used to talk to on the phone Mr Norm, Gary Dyer, the guys at Performance auto parts Jim Urso, Kenny Safford and Dennis were close friends,
@@Moephi1 pretty cool!!
These historical uploads are fantastic Uncle Tony , can you please keep them coming be it on trucks , Cars or vans it doesn’t matter . Cheers 🇨🇦
I owned a 1967 Dodge Dart GTS 383 and I had a friend at a Dodge Dealer who owned a 1969 Dodge Dart GTS 440 ,so I can tell you everything Tony has said is absolutely true.
I drove a Slant Six Dart in the mid-70s. Ever since, my dream car has been a big-block Dart! With a bench seat FTW.
I bought my first new car in 1967. A 384 4 speed Barracuda. It took over 6 months from order date to delivery. And then the dealer didn’t tell me for a week while they hit rodded it around. You said it was a tight fit: how tight? So tight you couldn’t get power steering, power brakes or air conditioning. Miss that car!
Very informative Tony. Im in ny 50s. I grew up on the s/w side of Chicago and lived near Gary Dyers shop in Summit in the 80s. Actually worked in the area of Grand Spaulding after it shut down though. The 80s were a wonderful time in this area. Great crew of racing guys, cruising Archer avenue. Guys setting up races at Dukes on Harlem, going to the track, in the back of the yards or the corn fields of tinley park. I used to listen to the older guys all of the time. Your historical info videos remind me of those times. Thank you
I lived in Argo and wandered over to Summit as a kid 6,7,8 years old in the late 60s and sat in a funny car, I think the chi town hustler. Slicks stacked to the roof outside, on a small garage, in the alley, riding my sting ray bike around. Great bunch of guys they were.
I think the '67 383 Barracuda was called Fomula S. Funs changing spark plugs in a big block A body. Great stuff !!
Best to drill a hole through the fender skirt.
I used a holesaw on the inner fenderwells on my 440 70 duster. Jacked it up and didn’t have to take the tires off
Thanks for the cool info on the 440 Dart. I figured if any one knew the whole story it would be you.
In 1964 I was a 17 year old gear head who used to listen to Chicago radio stations. I'm not sure of the year I started hearing Mr. Norm advertise so bear with me. I knew from his ads that any car he gave the full treatment had GSS emblem on it. Grand Spaulding Sport. All the gear heads I hung with talked about one day taking their car to Mr Norm to have it worked on. None ever did, we didn't make enough money.
Later, I think it was in 1969 I saw a charger on the Dodge lot in Beloit, WI with GSS label.
I just HAD to drive that car. I don't think the salesman knew what it was, he knew me from prior visits and didn't insist going with me. But I was leaving my 69 Road Runner on the lot as collateral. The GSS Charger had the inline dual quad carbs, tuned headers and I'm certain a hot cam judging by the loping idle and of course the 440 engine, from the start it was obviously tuned. Even at partial throttle the auto trans shifted firmly, I felt every shift. Barely touch the throttle and it was hustling. I went to a remote road out of town and carefully added some throttle, it was clear I could not floor it on blacktop or the back end would head for the ditch. So I made my way to the interstate where it was all concrete. Mashing the throttle at about 30 on the entrance ramp was an eye opener. The front came up, there was so much noise from engine and exhaust I could not be certain if the tires were squealing. The back end got loose for a few seconds but it stayed fairly straight. When second gear kicked in the car lunged forward and I saw in the rear view mirror it had laid down about 8-10 feet of rubber with both tires. When it shifted to third, the front stayed right where it was. It seemed to be accelerating as fast in third as it did in second. It ran all the way up to red line in third so fast I could not believe it.
I don't remember how fast that was, it spooked me to see it at red line so fast, I quick let off the throttle to save the engine. When I did look at the speed, it was down to 120 so I suspect it reached 140 maybe 145. That car was wickedly fast.
I took it back and told the salesman I had to think about it. I made offer of lower price but he said no. Next day at work it was all I could think of.
Went to dealer after work and it was sold. Somebody wanted it at any price. I should have bought it on the spot. Lost it for trying save a few bucks.
Wickedly fast barely does justice to that car.
And now there is Nicks garage where he is extracting 440 power figures from 383 engines on his dyno.
Great story!
Tony, have you ever heard of a man named Dick Stoddard? I was lucky enough to know him as a friend. He worked at the Chrysler dealership where my dad worked parts and later farm equipment sales. I heard he was one of the Ramchargers team members for a while. He is part of why I am who I am, and know what I know. He knew as close to everything about vehicles as someone can get. I used to call him when i got stumped in my shop back in the 90s. No matter what i was working on, he knew where to look and how to fix it.
He was a Marine in wwii, second wave on Iwo and survived the entire battle. When i came back from desert storm,he treated me very different, like an equal rather than some goofy kid who likes GTOs. He passed in 2001 while I was deployed. I do everything on vehicles tbe right way because of him. Why half ass it, you'll just have to do it again. He loaned me a Motor manual for 64 to 72 vehicles to get me started working on the stuff I was driving. Without his guidance I'd never have been able to do what i do with cars.
Love these stream of consciousness videos. Lots of asides and trivia thrown in an entertaining way.
Thanks for the great story. I’m not even a Mopar owner. But I love listening to Tony’s wealth of knowledge. Regards from Australia
In the early 70s I once had a 67 valiant that came equipped with a solid lifter 273 commando 4 speed sure grip disk brake radio delete. I loved that car, wish I still had it, it was fast, can't imagine it with a big block
Great video of the factory and the ingenious designers who made these cars so successful at the tracks... When Chrysler lost money on the hand-built specialty cars that went to the race tracks, they actually got that money back (and then some) by selling many more of their production line vehicles with the standard equipment and the production line H.P. equipment, because of their participation and successful results at the race tracks of several types...
Win on Sunday, sell on Monday...
Great video tony! Most people don't know about the 440 darts unless you fall down the rabbit hole wanting to build on like I did! I love my 440 dart but it's not original. Just a kick in the pants to drive!
Good information here. In 1986 we put a '72 400 in a '65 Fury III 318 Poly car, using a mount bracket off of something common, turned upside down/backwards or something weird, and it worked. almost 40yrs ago now! Later a '65 Polara showed up in the junkyard and I got the left side engine mount bracket off, but my buddy never swapped it onto his Fury. Unfortunately my friend was killed in a freak snomobile accident in 1996 and the car was sold and neglected until being scrapped. I did buy the engine back, it was a "cold weather" block with a mid 1971 casting date, and the VIN said it was from a '72 Charger, "HP" stamped.
UNCLE Tony, keep going with those LONG historical car videos. It would be great to get an explanation of why Chrysler keep with the torsen bar suspension in their cars when everyone else was going to a coil spring setup on new cars. I thought I heard they inherited it was a previous compay.
8:63 in a quarter mile was nigh on unfathomable for me when i was into drag racing as a teenager. That's still ridiculously quick
This is fascinating stuff! I was just a 10 year old country hick back then who loved cars. Saw my first set of mag wheels in the flesh in 1967 on a 61 Chevy bubble top in Fargo ND. The coolest thing was a girl was driving and she street raced a guy right in front of me and blew his doors off. I was hooked on this stuff from that day on. Thanks UTG for keeping this stuff alive!
Absolutely great Information! I was in Vietnam at the time but my family sent me care packages from home loaded with hot rod magazines, playboy magazines , Molanari salamis, balls of Provolone cheese , and my favorite Italian almond biscotti cookies, my uncle sent me the magazines and a box of Rum soaked Crook’s cigars! What a delight! Thought you would like to know about that Uncle Tony! LOL any way your story reminded me of the car magazines had the Mr Norm 383, 440 Dodge Dart adds in them and stories, tech arrivals on the Darts! I wanted one of those Bad! I was saving everything I could put together to buy one upon my return from the war! But even back then these cars were twice what I could afford! I ended up with a Pontiac Firebird 400 which I have to say I was throughly happy with looked all over Calif for a no power steering , no power brakes, 4speed Firebird 400 , finally found one with an all synchro three speed floor shifter that had been special ordered bought it new for $2,500.00 bucks came with 4:33 gears and double factory traction bars! I put Mickey Thompson Indy radials on the back mounted to brand new American 4slot mags and regular American mag wheels on the front! I could burn those tires for an entire block!! What a blast! I loved that car!!! Over the coarse of about 32 years I touched and wrenched on every bolt and screw on that car painted it twice! And had it in several configurations, mostly street racing it and road racing it and cruising it to the max!!! I am a Mopar guy at heart just couldn’t afford one , as I have told you before I cut my teeth on the old Flat head six’s for my first engine hop ups, and the did well although they were not built that strong and could not take the added horsepower and RPM’s I could get out of them! Loved the history lesson on this subject! Really brought me back! Regards Mad Mike from the land of freezing as cold! ❄🥶🌨…………
So that explains the low # of 67 Dart GTS,s . Had one many moons ago. Number I have seen was 457 hardtops 67 GTS,s and possible 5 or 6 67 GTS,S. rag tops. Thanks for the great info .
As an owner of an original 69 cuda440, the driver side motor mount looks like someone cobbled it together. And they did.
I own a '69 big block dart. What you say is bull shit
@@davidjenson8124 Well, if you don't have the original 440 block with the relocated and drilled bosses, you would not know. The mount was simply two pieces lap welded.
Great video Tony. When I was a kid an old farmer down the road from me drove a red 68 GTS 383 4 speed Dart. It was the last new car that he bought and he drove it into the 90's when he passed away. I still see that car in my mind everytime I drive by his old farmhouse, and I still wonder if he had any idea what he had.
You couldn't not know..😊
As an owner of one of the 69 m code darts I found his history lesson to be very interesting Uncle Tony. There was supposedly only 640 of them made. They were all automatic, no power steering or brakes.
Can I haves it?
Can I haves it?
I'm not even a Mopar guy but enjoyed this. I will have to look more closely at the motor mounts next time i see a 440 Dart/Barracuda or even a 65 full size Mopar
Thank you Uncle Tony!! I’m a bow tie guy…but there’s something about a 1968 440 dart that makes the juices flow!!!
OUTSTANDING IHISTORICAL INFORMATION! REALLY COOL STUFF! THANKS
Uncle Tony (and friends) You're likely the only person that can shed some light on this car. I sold MAC tools from 1985 to 2000. I came across this car in the 90's. The owner was a deaf mute guy that used a teletype deal to communicate. He brought it into a frame/ alignment/ suspension shop for a brake job. A very good friend of mine worked there and he had done all the work on this car for years. He said it had "special brakes"? They had to send out the calipers to get them rebuilt. As I remember, it was a 70 or 71 Dart Rough shape with a terrible paint job. I noticed the B-pillars had a sort of twist in them. Now, as to the car.
1. It currently had a 318 with factory A/C. If it was an add on, it was the best I'd ever seen. Everything looked perfect, The dash, ducts, lines, etc..
2. It has the big differential.. However, it had the smaller wheel bolt pattern
3. The brakes... MANUAL brakes with 4 piston Aluminum front calipers?
4. I ran the vin tag under the hood (somewhere I still have it written down) Said it was a 426?
I sure would like to know what it was. As I understood, with a hemi, there was no room for a brake booster. So they used the 4 piston calipers to compensate.
All I could think of was that it had been used as a race car when new, and some swapped out the drivetrain for a street car. I was never able to ask the owner about it because he was a deaf mute. Uncle Tony, can you or your followers help me out?
640 was the production number on the Darts . As of a few years ago remaining was between 33-36 . Two years ago at Carlisle was a display of 440 Darts , both '68 & 69 . In speaking to one of the owners the new number is 45. That's 10 more in the last 32 years or so, since I bought my Black one . Barracuda production for '69 is 360
Your Wealth of Knowledge on Mopar's is amazing !!
I have worked in dealerships my whole life as a mechanic not a tech lol. I love hearing stories about dealerships and brands back in the day, that’s when brands and dealers had souls. Dealerships went from a grand automotive toy store to vending machines. Loved this episode!
Had a friend who had a "m" code Barricuda back in the early 80's we had never heard about the 440 A bodies so he installed a 383 and drove it like that.
ANOTHER GREAT AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY LESSON WITH UNCLE TONY! THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR ROCKING CHAIR KNOWLEDGE
Gary Dyer. A great guy and really considerate of his neighbors on West 63rd Street in Sumit ill. That pontiac trans am would have been a sleeper except that blower.😊
I'm absolutely green with envy of your knowledge/life experiences with early Mopars. I find your ramblings riveting. Kudos for pointing out Gary Dyer's involvement. 🤩
Uncle Tony you are so upto date with automotive things, America always respects what you are telling us youtubers. America is Canada and the United States of America, North America. I am Canadian.You are one of the best.
A beautiful summer morning, fresh coffee, and Uncle Tony. Life is good!
Tony, that was great. I could listen to these tales all night. Keep em’ coming!
My buddy and I used to joke about how Mr Norm would do tune-ups. We figured that the mechanic would take a customer's car out to the back lot and measure how long a burnout the car could do. Then, after tuning, back to the lot to see if the burnout was longer. We both lived in the Chicago area, so we were well aware of Mr Norm's Grand Spaulding Dodge!
Cool story Uncle Tony. I stumbled across some old video of the defunct B-Line Dragway here in AZ from back in the day. Cool stuff, Ramchargers altered wheelbase cars and super stock mopars were taking the event.
Fantastic Trivia Tony. Enjoyed it all immensely.!!
Good to hear these stories......... wish I was a little older to be in those days.......... had a RT/SE Charger as a kid but of course sold it....... remember my local Dodge dealer and the Direct Connection shop that was in there.......... yeah the 80s but hey like I said was not around in the earlier days.........
Ready for 30 min part 2. Ty utg.
Wow, I saw a 440 Dart at a classic car show in BC Canada years ago and thought it odd, but never knew it was so rare.
Was it gold colored?
@@TheInsaneShecklador I can't remember the color. I worked too many car shows and drag racing and have seen too many cars. I remember the spec sign said it was 1 of x numbered rare factory 440 powered Darts.
Your best yet! As a lad in the 60s, a green with white top 68 383 4 speed superbee used to chase me and my bike into the bushes whenever it went by...later, it was Parked at a house on my way to high school, I think he lunched his motor ( happened alot in the 60s, right?) And sat over 6 years..one day, it disappeared, hopefully to get fixed...
Great story Tony, keep up the good work!
All I can say is ramble on Uncle Tony! Seriously, even to a non-Mopar guy like myself, you offer a fascinating narrative. Best of all it's non scripted, all the info is in your head, and just comes rolling out. You're so knowledgeable on all this stuff, like a Mopar encyclopedia. Always a good listen. If I weren't so heavily invested in my GM stuff I'd be tempted to try to build one. Wishing a great holiday to you and yours!
My Dad worked for Dodge in California back in 1968 and I remember him telling me that the 440 engine was not available in the Dodge Dart because it was too heavy. Well maybe in California, I suppose....
I loved the history lesson Uncle Tony. More please.
Cheers & stay safe🙂
Old video but I enjoyed hearing the true story of the M code Dart as I am the proud owner of one. Thanks Uncle Tony!
Great history lesson Uncle Tony! Keep 'em coming 👍
Tony, you're totally amazing! I can literally listen to you all DAY
I'm a huge Mopar guy. But broke. I remember reading about the GSS about 35 yrs ago. Like 25 yrs ago I met a guy that had a hemi under glass. My friends used to say there was never a 440 Dart. Only a 383. That's my dream car. A 440 Dart.
Oh my goodness! I just realized you worked with the Great Stevie Collison @ SS/DI. A good friend from the 70 and 80’s… RIP friend
We worked very closely during the last days of SSDI. When Steve died, so did my interest in doing anything else in print.
He was one in a million.
My next door neighbor owned the AMC dealership, they had 401 Javelin, and a Mark Donahue Javelin. Also a big block Rambler.
When I was 10 years old sitting in a barber shop. There were piles of comic books, hunting, fishing, and car magazines. I rember reading a caption in a car magazine. It was a Barricuda concept car with a 383. That was around 1963.
Excellent history lesson Unko. Love it. Thank you!
Definitely one of your best videos Tony!
Great story! Keep them coming ! this type of auto history needs to be recorded! 👍👍🇨🇦🇺🇸
Another great Mopar history lesson. Thanks, Uncle Tony.
Thanks for the technical explanation and Mopar history. Well done!
At beginning of the 1967 model year, the Barracuda competed with the Mustang and got a 383 for the Mustang's 390 in 67. The Dart competed with the Chevy II. Chrysler developed a 1967 318 bored to 4.00" as a performance engine to compete with the 327 Chevy II in the Dart. The 383 wasn't originally available in 67 Dart. The high performance small block had the same size valves as the 273 / 318 and its performance was a disappointment, so it got scratched from production for 67. It was later developed into the 340 by being bored 0,.040" more and having the intake ports mimic the Chevy 327 ports, as well as the 327 valve sizes. The 340 wasn't released until the 68 model year though. The 67 Dart was supposed to get the 4 inch bore small block, but it didn't compare well to the 327 Chevy, so it was never put into production. The whole reason for the 340 was to beat the 327 Chevy. The 1967 Barracuda had the 383 from the beginning of the model year. The 67 383 A-bodies didn't have power steering available. The 68 383 A-bodies got a specially machined engine block for the optional power steering. The 69 383 A-bodies got the high performance 383 and the optional power steering used special mounting brackets. Late in the 67 model year, the 516 cylinder heads were discontinued and 67 440 915 heads were used on some late 67 383 engines, including two-barrel 383's. I remember in the mid-1970's the 915 heads were sold new, as service replacements for closed chamber big block heads. The list price was $100 each, bare, but one dealer of Mopar performance parts sold them new, two for $100, mail order, advertised in car magazines.
67 383 GTS Dart was mid year production, my dad bought one new.
@@duanedahl8856 Yes that's true, but the 383 Barracuda came out at the beginning of the 1967 model year. The Dart GTS was supposed to get a high performance small block that was scratched from production for 67 and resulted in being developed into the 340 for 68. The 67 Dart didn't come out with a 383, but got it later in model year.
Love trivia videos like this. Ease keep em coming.
Uncle Tony in his rocker, spinning yarns. "When I was your age....."
Can you just imagine the dealer principal stocking the parts department with all flavors of oil filter adapters, motor mounts, oil pans... I'm about to pass out!!! Lol
I’ve also read that Mr. Norm was the creator behind the 340-6 Pack when Chrysler said it couldn’t be done.
So he released GSS Darts with 340-6 packs! Or so i read! That supposedly lead to the Challenger T/A 340-6 packs.
I was in high school in '69, and a car nut. I never heard of a factory produced '69 440 barracuda until I saw one on the "Cars and Zebras" TH-cam channel.
UTG definitely has the gift of gab. A true story teller. If that’s all he did I would listen for hours on end
Thanks for the history lesson. It was great.
Uncle Tony Enjoyed this .I'm a long time Mopar owner an fan
Always love these history lessons.
Awesome! Off the dome knowledge, didn't look up anything. Respect.
the 1960 Valient was a Chrysler model. I had one with the 170 CI slant six. It said Chrysler on back of body. It had 3 speed on the floor and wound up nicely. When I worked at the GM truck plant in Oshawa Ont. we did an inplant mod where we took the extended cab and put with shorter box. This was in 1987 and was an instant success. The 318/340 came out in 2nd half of 1967. On another TH-cam it said the H code was for hemi, whereas Tony says it is for 383 4 speed.?
I had a 68 Barracuda Notchback 318 2bb, all original. Nice little car. I wish I had it today.
Colin Comer has one of those 440 darts with the fenderwell headers. I saw a show a while ago where he was ringing the thing out! The thing just melts the tires on demand!😎👍
I new a guy in college trade school back in 1993 that had a 440 Dart. He said when the unibody started getting rusty and fatigued, it would twist and pop the rear window out in one corner when he floored it from a standing start. I also new a guy in high school who had a 6-71 Dyer blower in the 80's, but that was on a 351C in a 71 Mach 1.
Hey UT, love the channel! The 383/4bbl was available for the 1967 Barracuda as the Formula S option . . . .
And only 300 horsepower. The driver side exhaust manifold was very restrictive. By 68 the 383 A Body was back up to 335 horsepower.
383, with a great four speed and a 373 8.75" sure grip in any Chrysler or Dodge and even Plymouth is a great set up and easily done with today's parts for this purpose. Easy peezy!😊
Excellent editing, Kathy!
"You just impressed the whole world with that, man"
The 440 A-Body is the Mopar equivalent of a Ford Model A roadster body on a '32 V8 chassis. It's just such an inspired, elegant device conjured up with mundane parts. It's my absolute favorite Mopar combo. I haven't had one for a long time but I've sure been thinking about building another one lately.
I've got enough decent stuff to parlay into a decent 67-69 Dart or Valiant, and more than enough hardware to build a better one than the ones I had before.
Time to start looking
Go for it! Build it.
@0004612 I decided to sell or swap my '61 Champ pickup, some 440s and some BB 727s, I'm already texting w a guy about a nice 69 Valiant 2 dr. post with a slant and clutch, lol
Very cool story. I never raced against a 440 Dart. Where we drag raced in Maryland, the 340 Darts and Swingers ruled the drag strip. There was a group of them. They were lightened and nothing could beat them except another one. They beat everything and anything. They had no weight and the 340 motors were powerful and fairly light. Unless they fell asleep on the tree, got crooked, smoked the tires or broke something you needed a perfect run and a lot of luck to run close. We had B body’s, Coronets and Satellites running junk yard 400’s with cams and heavy springs and drive shaft brakes running against them and we rarely won. Our cars were not slow and I remember laughing at this one guy and saying there was no way his little 340 Dart was going to beat my Satellite. Mine was light and had never been beat up to that point unless it broke. I was positive I had him, I was on a hot streak and cutting next to perfect lights. That Dart left even on the light and just walked away. At the time I couldn’t believe it and was in awe. I wish someone would have had a 440 Dart to see what would have happened against them but I don’t think they would be fast enough. Those 340 Darts and Swingers were no joke, they were set up perfectly and ruled at that time and place.
True...from a 68 340 GTS owner
@@Mr.SaltwaterAwesome
with traction,my money is on the 440. the weight difference is far less than the hp& tq difference.
i love story time with Uncle Tony
I remember in 1965 it seemed there were a whole lot of Dodge Cornetts at US 30 drag strip south of Chicago and a bunch with Mr. Norm badges on the trunk lid. Seemed like there were always 20 or more in that class.
Outstanding! Thank you! I was just a kid and these details didn't come with the legends.