Speed Hunters Project Yankee at SEMA-- 1975 Dart Sport!

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MRGTX

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This will not be to everyone's taste...and while I'm totally blown away by this project, there are a few things that make me cringe a bit. Nevertheless, the skill and style that went into this project car are totally worth a look.

While I'm a muscle car nut first and foremost, I am also a fan of some of the tricks and style that our car-loving counterparts in Japan enjoy...this car uses a bit of each world.

Project Yankee - Archives Speedhunters

What do you guys think?

Project-Yankee-SEMA-Reveal-03-1200x800.jpg
 
I dig the style actually, if you want a pure corner carver that's what the car ends up looking like.
 
I'm impressed with this car for a few reasons-
1) It runs a modern 17" wheel that somehow looks "correct" to my eye. If not period correct, they match with the aesthetics of the build and the intentions perfectly. Ordinarily, anything bigger than a 15" looks weird on an A-Body (in my opinion).
2) They took one of the least loved A-Body styles (don't get me wrong, I adore the '73+ cars!!!) and put back some of what was lost after 1972. Yes, the big bumpers are there but by removing the grille (entirely!) adding the fog lamps and recessing the bumper, the car looks much less clunky/ "malaise era" and a bit more serious.
3.) Most importantly, the body is completely in tact. Thye didn't butcher the original lines of the car at all. This is the kind of modification that Might do to my own Dart Sport where it might be possible to put the car more or less back into factory configuration.
 
I'd say lose the big bulky looking driving lights and do something a little more subtle. Tuck them in the grill, or something.

I'd lose the oil cooler off the front of the bumper and hide it behind the bumper, duh.

And the chin spoiler is a bit overkill for me. One a little smaller, like the DC one would be perfect.

Fender mounted mirrors need to go. There is no way with their small size and placement that they're of much use. A nice pair of OEM sport mirrors in black would help the flow and be more useful.

And the decals randomly spotted all over the car needs a serious revamp.

Otherwise, the car is wicked cool. I hope it gets driven hard like it should be!
 
there's something about it that doesn't work for me... yeah, "Herbie the love Duster" - well said.
 
This car was swapped to a manual transmission...I've often thought about doing that to my own car but backed off over some misplaced sentimentality over keeping it in the factory's intended configuration.

The truth is that my Dart is worth pretty much nothing as a collector's item...nobody other than me would ever take the time to decode the VIN or attempt to restore it to stock. :p

If one were to do the manual transmission swap like the one in the Project Yankee car, which manual transmission would you choose?
 
I agree, the front mounted external oil cooler, grille and mirrors are just goofy. Spoiler and lights could be less for more. Non-matching engine bay? Overall bones of the build is great, it's the details that throws it for me.
 
Well I like it, although that's probably not a surprise to anyone that's seen my car or posts.

Like with any build done by someone else there are some things I would do differently, but I think he got a lot of things right. I don't know why he stayed with the 833OD after going to the hemi, it's not a bad transmission but considering he converted to a hydraulic clutch and replaced the crossmember anyway (last part not at all necessary to mount that transmission) I would have gone to at least a 5 speed. The TKO conversion kits out there wouldn't have been any harder to install to given the mods he did. Heck even a T56 wouldn't have needed much more. The cosmetic stuff, like the driving lights and fender mounted mirrors aren't really my thing, but I see what he was going for. And while the fender mount mirrors might not be cosmetically pleasing I bet they work better. Certainly not any worse than the factory mirrors, because both the round and sport style factory mirrors are pretty bad for actual function. He got the look he was going for, kind of a 240Z inspired appearance.

With the wheels he did what you need to do in order for the larger diameter wheels to look right. You have to drop the car and fill up the wheel wells. If you don't, it just looks goofy. But if you set the ride height properly and fill up the fenders they look great. Guess he really loved those TE37's though, because the offsets he chose were completely wrong. He pulled the fenders just to mount 255's, which seems like a waste. With the proper offset he could have run the 255's without any significant fender mods. It might have been a little tricky with a 17x9, but the Hotchkis tie rods probably would have helped with the outer tie rod interference issue that can come up with 17x9's and enough offset to fit 255's. Same in the back. You can fit 275's on a bone stock Dart Sport if you get the offset right. If he'd run 17x9's with +25mm offset in the front and a 0 to +12 offset in the back with those 17x10's he could have done those size tires with little to no body modification. Heck even if he had gone +20 or +15 in the front (instead of the -10 he used!) he might have gotten away with just rolling the fender lips instead of pulling the fenders. I run 275's and 295's on my Duster (front/rear) with a lot less body work.

The front spoiler is big for a street car, but he pointed out several times this was a track going build not a street driver. I mean his R888 toyo proxes are an R compound tire, although I guess technically they're DOT legal. On the track bigger is better for the spoiler, you want it to actually do it's job and keep air out from under the car. A smaller spoiler might be more aesthetically pleasing, but it wouldn't work as well. It's actually not much bigger than the '67 Camaro spoiler I run up front, I went with that because you can get OER '67 Camaro spoilers for $30, so when I accidentally bump a parking block or curb it's cheap and easy to fix my spoiler.

IMG_2059_zpsgwedlaiu.jpg
 
Reviving this thread with a question about fog lights--

Anyone running bumper-mounted lights similar to the Project Yankee car?

This probably depends on the particular light that you choose but how many amps should you expect them to draw?

Any concerns about the air flow that they block?

Lastly, are there any problems with mounting these on a fiberglass bumper?

FWIW, my car (October 1972 build '73) has the big rubber blocks sans chrome bezels on the bumper...and while nobody else does, I love the look. I think it gives it a hint of a police car push-bar look maybe? In any case, it offsets the shape of the beak nose in a really positive way to my eye. Since I've been day dreaming about removing the bumper, hanging it up in the garage and bolting on a fiberglass piece. Fog lights seem like a possible way to maintain visual details at that bumper location and preserve the profile that I like. Plus, they may actually be useful and add to the back-road honing machine look that I like... The project Yankee car nailed the look, IMO.

What do you guys think?

Dart 7-3-17 - small.jpg
 
I liked the project yankee car. Wheels and stance on yours look good too. The bumper blocks arent bad, just take getting used to. If you put on a fiberglass bumper, it will dump a whole lot of weight off that front end at min 75 to 100 lbs because of the insane crash support behind the chromed steel outer bumper.

If your diggin the chrome look, you can have the fiberglass bumper (spectrachromed) or (alsachromed) both are a spray on silver nitrate. Or have it chrome vehicle wrapped. May cost you a couple hundred to have it professionally spectrachromed, or cheaper to have vehicle wrapped. If you do that, i recommend to get it all drilled and fitted first, and all rough spots smoothed out, otherwise that will show through with either the spray on, or chrome vehicle wrap.
 
On my Duster, I just removed the rear structure and bolted the Chrome part back on. That is where the majority of the weight saving is. If you did that you could keep your rubber bumpers. I like them too. Not a fan of those big lights personally. Overall I do love the Project Yankee though.

Cley
 
All it needs is a set of pocket flares and some fatties front and rear mounted on some mini lites.
 
How about these?
Does anyone recognize these lights?

C6F02E75-9C3C-4F2D-BBB3-52E6F5D97B50.jpeg
 
i sure am glad they used a beaker for that...too bad they didnt use a 4 door....or a chevy
 
As for Project Yankee, it's quite understated compared to what Ma-Mopar herself did to make the Dart road-race ready.

CKC3.jpg
 
Nice.
Looking for troll food or what?

well, i figured it would get poke some fun at this thing
(nothing personal to you, unless you build the car)


but this car has been around for a while
ive voiced my dislike of it before and just didnt feel like outlining why i think it looks like a turd, so i thought why not look on the bright side...they could have ruined a desirable car

the strange thing is, the renderings Dave posted look great to me, but this one, blah
 
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