Hemi Darts - All Super, Far From Stock

It's an automotive legend that most of us know by heart. Amid the height of corporate-sponsored drag racing and in an effort to extend Mopar's already sizeable lead over the competition, Dodge and Plymouth would blitz the NHRA with specialty-built, low-production, Hemi-propelled, econo-bodied rocket ships.

These Hemi Darts were such a limited production that enthusiasts would convert more stripped-down A-Bodies into big-block, tire-melting, street and strip machines. One person with the means and know-how at the head of this trend was Mr. Norm Kraus, proprietor of Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago. His auto dealership enjoyed abundant success as a haven for performance-oriented Mopar enthusiasts, offering dealership-modified, 440-powered Darts-the M-Code GSS-after prototyping the 383 GTS a year earlier. In fact, it would be Mr. Norm's performance development team that would inspire many modifications that Chrysler would implement on factory vehicles.

A decade later, in 1977, Norm would sell his interest in Grand Spaulding Dodge, but he was nowhere near the end of his involvement in Mopar racing. Over the next twenty years, he would be inducted into the Mopar Hall of Fame and the A/FX Funny Car Hall of Fame, as well as crowned the King of High Performance, which noted his dealership for selling the majority of Hurst/Campbell-modified Super Stock Hemi Darts in 1968.

In 2007, Norm Kraus would apply his name to the most daring of high-tier, specialty-made performance machines. Teaming up with vehicle builder Blue Moon Motorsports of Winter Springs, Florida, Mr. Norm is going back to his roots-insane performance-bred Darts.

Blue Moon starts with a straight, original '68 Dart and promptly tears it apart, noting what needs to be replaced and what can be salvaged. Of course, if parts aren't available, Blue Moon has no problem fabricating the needful component. Once dismantled, the Dart's shell is media-blasted, using new water-jet technology. This process means the body is stripped down to bare metal using a solution treated with a potent rust inhibitor. This ensures that while the body is being hosed down at thousands of psi, water won't saturate the sandwiched panels and cause future corrosion.

Now left with virgin sheetmetal, the body team is able to attack the car in full force. Blue Moon strictly adheres to the mantra of zero filler and holds to it, refusing to use any body filler, instead preferring to bang out every square inch of steel perfectly straight. Although labor intensive (approximately 400 hours of body prep), the process is to ensure the body is better now than when it left the assembly line forty years ago. Once straight and to the qualifications Blue Moon has established, the body is coated in an epoxy primer, allowing even more body sanding and adding more rust prevention.

Blue Moon's all-inclusive facility houses its own paint booth, where each Dart is then painted in sealer, basecoat, intermediate tinted clear, final clearcoat layers, and then baked at 150 degrees for thirty minutes. Once out of the booth, the body is left to naturally air dry for 48 hours before wet-sanded with 2,000-grit paper. This rigorous recipe pays off when the fully-assembled and custom-ordered drivetrain is bolted in place. This is followed by the upgraded, modern suspension, cooling system, brakes, and electrical. Reassembled by hand and now on its own wheels, the Dart is all but complete. A custom gas tank with new plumbing is installed to feed the dual-quad Hemi while the interior is being fitted into the cabin.

Using all new materials, the interior is anything but the Spartan accommodation's signature of the original Super Stock A-Bodies of yesteryear. These Darts are now fully furnished and dutifully amended with available accoutrements, including leather-wrapped bucket seats with custom embroidered logo stitching and bolstering, custom white-faced auxiliary gauges, five-point seat restraints, heat and air conditioning, power windows, locks, a security system, and topped off with a Sony Explod AM/FM/CD sound system thundering out of six speakers, dual amplifiers, and a subwoofer for an additional $20,000 above the base $149,900 asking price.

Each individual client selects their choice from four different Hemi plants (two iron-block and two aluminum-based engines, either 472 ci or 528 ci) and transmission. There is a choice of a race-prepped 727 TorqueFlite or a hard-shifting Bowler-built four-speed automatic. For those that like banging their own gears, an A833 four-speed is also available. Both gearboxes come with Hurst shifters and are backed by a bulletproof Dana 60 with 4.10 gears. The differentials are supported by Super Stock springs, custom perches, traction bars, and a pinion snubber, all rated up to 850-plus horsepower regardless of your engine choice. Overbuilt, race-ready, and nicer than anything Dick Landy or Herb McCandless every campaigned, these newly-badged GSS Darts are an enthusiast's street-legal dream come true.