1969 Dodge Dart - Straight Away

England, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Spain, and Japan-it seems Mopar fever is catching on everywhere. Can you blame them? Mopar's distinguishable body lines, aggressive styling, high-impact colors, and insane amounts of power came to embody the musclecar generation's youthful angst, making any would-be enthusiast a convert in a matter of milliseconds.

We've featured several Mopar machines from outside the U.S. borders in previous issues, and this month we are showcasing Angie Brindley's awesome orange '69 Dart from Northwich, Cheshire, England. at a young age, Angie became enamored with the growling torque rumbling out of her television while watching The Dukes of Hazzard and Smokey and the Bandit.

Now a mother of three, Angie's taste for horsepower bubbled back to the surface thanks in part to her boyfriend, Brendan McCarth. His '97 blue Ram stands out like a sore thumb in the Cheshire traffic, rumbling past gas-sipping four-cylinders and austere German sedans. Wanting a big V-8 of her own, Angie located this '69 Dart in nearby Billing in April 2005. Because it was in such solid condition when purchased, she enjoyed the A-Body through the summer season until November, when it was pulled inside to be overhauled.

Wanting to tackle paint and bodywork first, Bren stripped the running Dart down to bare bones and wheeled it over to New Platt Motors, which is owned by Angie's brother, Steve Taylor. The body panels were straightened, smoothed, and prepped to be coated in several layers of Lamborghini Arancio Orange. Though slightly peculiar, the color is striking, especially under the bright summer sun. Bren called upon his brother, Kevin, to assist with the electronics and rewiring. The brothers installed the custom Stewart Warner gauge cluster and Pioneer CD/MP3 head unit with new JBL speakers all the way around the interior. The collar of the stock steering column was polished and topped with a Grant woodgrain steering wheel. Custom stitching covers the seats with stark black vinyl and brilliant orange striping. The carpet, door panels, and headliner were replaced with factory-correct replacements.

Bren, his brother Kevin, and Angie's nephew, John Taylor, were instrumental in pulling, rebuilding, and returning the 360 small-block back between the Dart's fenders. When apart, the LA motor was stripped of its cylinder heads for a quick porting and polishing. A Carter 625-cfm four-barrel carburetor was bolted to a Weiand Xcelerator intake manifold; an Accel Super Coil with a Mopar Performance ignition was wired to give the engine a spark of life. The trio added Hooker headers that would flow into Flowmaster mufflers, while an electric fan, a Mopar Performance high-volume water pump, and a 160-degree thermostat helped keep the small-block cool.

While all these goodies add up to a fun ride, some added flair was added to the engine compartment. A billet "Dodge Girl" radiator cap was milled along with a ball milled air cleaner nut. Nearly everything that would take a polish was rubbed to near-blinding brilliance, including the intake, carburetor, fuel pump, braided hoses, and the March pulley system.