1967 Dodge Dart Sedan - Demodart

There have been plenty of Dodges used as demonstrators over the years, but Fred Kappus Jr.'s '67 Dart is a far cry from the A-Bodies that The Dodge Boys used back in the day.

Fred Kappus Jr. of Fast Freddie's Hot Rods started with a '67 Dart whose previous owner had something else in mind in regards to the finished car. "He had an idea about how he wanted it built, and we decided to take it in a completely different direction," Fred recalls. "He was going to do a Hemi Dart clone with it, and I'm more into the Pro Touring/G-Machine end of the hobby, and that's the direction we decided to take it."

That relocation also included mounting the A/C's four-way connector on top of the inner fender, and relocating its dryer to the outside of the inner fender. "All those things cleaned it up as much as possible, so your main focus is on the engine and not on all the extraneous accessories and things like that," adds Fred.

In back, the unibody gained a pair of mini tubs, adding needed room for the BFG-shod American Racing Torq-Thrust M wheels yet to come. Underneath, a Reilly Motorsports "AlterKtion" tubular K-member with Monroe coilovers went in up front, joined by a Calvert Racing rear suspension.

For power, a 512-inch low-deck stroker went in. As Fred tells it, "We started with a 400, and we got a little more header clearance than we would have with a 440, especially on the passenger side, where it ends up getting pretty cozy." A bigger hurdle involved the Tremec five-speed that backs the Wedge. "Since we used a Tremec, we had to re-form the transmission tunnel and get more clearance," Fred says.

After all the work (which took longer than planned, due to Fred only having evening and weekend time to work on it), the result is a '67 Dart that grabs the road in the corners--and grabs attention wherever it's shown. "It ends up making it to a lot of the bigger events around the upper midwest," says Fred. "We try to get out to as many shows as possible and promote the business the best we can with it." That includes two big annual events just a short drive from Eau Claire--Mopars in the Park in Farmington, Minnesota, and the Car Craft Summer Nationals in St. Paul--as well as a stint on the Hot Rod Power Tour in 2009.

"It [the car] has a real nice low center of gravity, which really helps the handling in the corners," says Fred. "The power-to-weight ratio is incredible--it's a 3,200-pound car. When you have 650 foot-pounds of torque in a little body like that, in first, second, and third gears, you really can't keep the tires under it. It made all that torque at 3,700 rpm.

Fast Facts:

Mopar Power

• Engine: A 512-inch stroker based on a 400 block with Edelbrock Performer RPM heads, built by Jeff Fiala at Wheeler Dyno Service, Blaine, Minnesota, with an Eagle rotating assembly; Comp Cams' flat-tappet hydraulic camshaft, a 950 Holley atop an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, MSD 6AL ignition, tti headers, and Flowmaster mufflers.
• Transmission: Tremec TKO 600 five-speed manual
• Rearend: 8-3/4 inch with Sure Grip, Moser axles and 3.55 gears

Sure Grip

• Suspension: Reilly Motorsports AlterKtion K-Member with Monroe Vari-Shock coilovers in front, and a Calvert Racing monoleaf rear suspension with CalTracs traction bars.
• Brakes: SSBC rotors (13-inch in front, 10-inch in back) and SSBC three-piston front/four-piston rear calipers
• Wheels and Tires: American Racing Torq-Thrust M wheels (17 x 8 inches in front, 17 x 11 inches in back) wear BFGoodrich g-Force T/As (225/45ZR17 in front, 315/35ZR17 in back)

High Impact

• Body: Fred smoothed out the original '67 Dart two-door sedan unibody, and performed remedial pre-paint bodywork.
• Paint: Fred's buddy, Tony O'Meara, applied the PPG Viper Red basecoat/clearcoat (and Black for the rear bumblebee stripe).
• Interior: Black Summit Sport seats and reproduction Auto Custom Carpets, a Rocky Mountain dash with AutoMeter gauges and an Alpine sound system, roll cage and Vintage Air AC.