Norm’s GSS Darts, and is a great resource for owners of these cars.Īccording to the GTS Registry, code F8 Dark Green and B5 Bright Blue Metallic were the most popular colors in 1969, and our featured Dart is one of those desirable “B5 Blue” cars with a black vinyl interior and standard white “bumblebee” stripe. Big money for a small rocketĮnthusiast Frank Remlinger runs the GTS Registry for both the Dodge GTS and Mr. Norm’s crew did, the M-code in the fifth digit of the VIN identifies the real thing. While it is possible to build a “tribute” (aka fake) GTS 440 the same way Mr. That’s a shocking figure for even the most exotic of 1960s performance cars - but don’t ask about handling or braking capabilities, because this thing was made for one purpose - point straight and hang on. After changing their test car’s original E-70×14 tires to something wider, they ran a 12.7-second 112-mph quarter mile. So how fast was this little exercise in excess? Drag Racing Magazine, in its June 1969 issue, found out. These cars were no longer exclusive to Grand Spaulding Dodge, but many of them were sold by Mr. Dodge built 640 M-code 440 Darts in batches, rolling through production every few weeks from Sunday, December 1, 1968, to Sunday, May 18, 1969. Norm’s ad called it “The mighty midget that’s got what it takes to take what they’ve got!” The GTS 440Ī year later, Chrysler took over the 440 A-body project, now calling them Dart GTS 440s. Grand Spaulding Dodge was the exclusive dealer and sold them for $3,788 - hundreds less than many performance cars of the era. Hurst already had experience with Chrysler’s A-body compacts, building the 1968 Hemi Dart and Hemi ’Cudas for Super Stock drag racing - at least with the 440, Hurst didn’t need to sledgehammer the inner fenders to get the engine to fit. ![]() Externally, the engine was the same size as the 383, so why not? So Norm Kraus got Hurst Performance to build 50 of the Dart GSS cars, this time powered by Chrysler’s brutal 375-hp 440 Magnum V8. But with the power-to-weight ratio of a motorcycle, who cared about being limited to an automatic and having no a/c or power steering?īy 1968, that 383 just didn’t seem quite as hot as some of the new cars from GM and Ford. Some concessions had to be made, since power steering and air conditioning would not fit in the cramped engine compartment, and a 4-speed jolted the drivetrain on launch and could have shredded the differential. Now it’ll be the GSS, which stands for Grand Spaulding Special.’” From big to biggerĭodge’s General Manager, Bob McCurry, saw the supposedly impossible car and told his engineers, “Look at what the kids from Chicago built.”įrom there, the 383-powered Dart GTS became a factory option for 1968, based on Mr. Now what to call the Dart? Back to the Parts Department: “The only ‘S’ was this red ‘S’,” recalled Norm. “I called Denny (Hirschbeck) back in Parts, and I said, ‘Let’s get a Dart in, and let’s get a 383 engine, let’s put it in a Dart, let’s see what it takes to get it there.’ The next morning, he comes in and says ‘it’s done.’” Put a 330-horsepower engine in a car that’s under 3,200 pounds, you got a little performance, if I could get it to the ground. Norm continued, “I wanted the same thing that Ford and General Motors had. ![]() ![]() Right away I called up Dodge and said, ‘I thought we were getting a 383.’ ‘Our engineers said it couldn’t be done.’ That was the challenge.” When we got the car in, the car came with a 273. ![]() “Dodge was supposed to give us a high-performance Dart (Dart GTS) to be competitive against the Malibu or the Camaro,” said Norm Kraus in a 2007 interview with, “and they said they had a high-performance engine for us. Norm’s Grand Spaulding Dodge dealership in Chicago - a beacon of Mopar performance in the 1960s - didn’t agree. It was offered with no reserve.Ī big 383 in a small Dart? Chrysler Engineering said it couldn’t be done. This car, Lot S55, sold for $81,400, including buyer’s premium, at Mecum’s auction in Houston, TX, on April 8, 2017. Pad located on the right side of the block to the rear of the engine mountġ969 Plymouth Barracuda S 440, 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle COPO 427, 1969 Ford Mustang 428 SCJ Plate on driver’s side instrument panel behind windshield
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