1971 DODGE DART GT
"PLUM EVIL"

It all started one afternoon in April 1985. I was riding with a buddy, to drop off a friend from school, and noticed a dilapidated car in the driveway. I asked if it was for sale, and the reply was yes. Upon closer inspection, it turned the car had been in the family since new. I peered through the window, and found the white bucket seats and floor console very unusual for a Dodge Dart. All the Darts I ever saw were bench seat and column shifted. I opened the hood and found a 318 V-8. I thought, cool, I never knew Darts had V-8s, this must be something special. I asked to speak to the girl�s father, whom we had dropped off that day. She said come back in the evening, and we�ll go from there.

I came back that evening with my older brother to hopefully strike a deal on the Dart. I was so excited, I couldn�t wait. I had zero money, but my brother was willing to put up the money and let me pay him off with my part time job. After meeting Porter (the owner of the car), he explained he was an engineer, and had been transferred a few times when the car was new. He special ordered it in Hawaii, and got transferred to Ga during the time it was to be delivered to him. We struck a deal for 175.00, and promptly purchased a new battery, topped off the fluids and tried to start it up. After a few minutes of cranking and some fresh fuel, the Dart came alive. In true Mopar fashion, it was sitting for years, and didn�t let us down when it came to starting its new life. The owner then furnished me with the original service manual, body service manual, Hawaiian Motors bill of sale, along with many other receipts for service work when the car was new. The odometer showed a young 116,500 miles.

Once I learned how to work on the car, which included some repairs, some butchery and some hot rodding, it was ready for the road. It took me through the remainder of high school, which was another 2 years. During that time, I put on cheap headers, duals, cam/lifters, 3.55 sure grip and of course a 4 bbl and intake manifold. I ran it at the track, and it went high 14s @ 95 mph. Pretty good for an old 318 at the time. Through the years it took me to NJ from Fla and 2 more round trips to and from Fla during college. I later converted to disc bakes for safety sake, along with more repairs to make the car more �normal�. Fast forward to after college in 1993, I began my own shop and replaced the heating and ac system, and started on body work. I was fortunate enough to barter for the body work, so I got a top notch job in exchange for building an engine for a fellow body man. It was a good deal indeed. It looked great, now in plum crazy purple. Through the years I continued what is now pro touring by adding sway bars, frame connectors, bigger brakes, torsion bars and special shocks.

I continued to persue the pro touring theme all the way up to the present, where the car has been entirely rebuilt, runs easy low 12s, can stop from 60 mph in approx 110 ft, pulls over a 1G in turns and has a top speed of 150+. My little Dart has become a world class contender from its humble beginnings. It keeps getting better, as I continue to raise the bar for this car. It has become a sincere pleasure to drive. Even after 22 years, my interest in the car has not faltered.
1971 Dodge Dart GT