How are today’s as/ah cars different
Hi Dartnut. I'm a Dart nut also. The Hemi Darts were picked up at Chrysler transportation on Mt. Elliot and Caniff. I worked a 1/4 mile away and lived on Caniff. Actually they were built pretty well for 1968. The motors were not built to race as is, meaning camshaft and blueprinting. I know because in the 70's I purchased one that was not modified. They were really well built and fitment was good. Although the smashing in the right fender for clearance could have been done a different way. Stock right out of the factory they would run about 11.30's with slicks. Not bad in 68. By 1977/78 they were running 10.0 - high 9's. And they were still running SS springs. Today to run a competitive ss/aa car they start with a shell and build a complete specialized race car. And you better have lots of $$$. I agree totally with your statement except the crudely built as they were really neat vehicles.
Not disagreeing with you at all here, but by them being crudely built I was referring to the hammered in inner fender on the passenger side for valve cover clearance, the rear wheel openings being radiused using a torch in places, the wheel alignment was terrible, and the engines were just good enough to move the cars under their own power.
Anyone who bought one of these cars knew they weren't ready to run at the track as delivered.
The first thing to go would have been the tires and wheels to be replaced by their rolling stock of choice, then the engine would have been taken apart and blueprinted, then wheel alignment issues would be addressed, then body and paint...........just to start with.
The cars were just a good starting point for the racers who bought them.
My brother almost got one of the original SS/A cars in the early '80s from a guy in Washington state.
It was a real BO 4 speed car, and he was going to trade him straight across for his Superbird.
We saw the car in real life, and the owner explained about how they had to be breathed on when they were new to make them safe and competitive, as he had been around them since he was young and talked to several people who owned them from day one. As far as I know, he still is racing one to this day.
BTW, the value of both cars at the time was agreed to be $8,000 each!
Boy, times have changed...........
