Custom 1967 Dodge ‘Hell Dart’ Makes 1,000 HP and Sinful Sounds: Wicked Wednesday Presented by the All-New Nitto Recon Grappler™ A/T
‘Hell Dart’ recipe: Take one 1967 Dodge Dart, add one Hellcat motor top with a Magnuson supercharger. Mix in 4,000 hours of labor and enjoy.
The 1967 Dodge Dart was not exactly the first word in performance cars back in the day. However, you can take one of those early Darts and inject it with new life. A good place to start is with a modern Hellcat engine. The Hellcat is such a tremendous performance motor, you never know where one might end up. In the case of the car, we see here, it ended up in a 1967 Dart. From this point forward referred to as the Hell Dart. But sometimes even the Hellcat engine is not enough for the truly power hungry.
This week’s “Wicked Wednesday” presented by Nitto features the Hell Dart that not only has a Hellcat engine but a Magnuson supercharger sitting on top. It is now cranking out 1,000 horsepower and makes the most glorious sounds you will likely ever hear on the street. Owner Don Miller and his son Joey Miller recently made a trip to AutotopiaLA to show off this amazing build. A video showcasing this devil of a car is posted on the AutoptiaLA YouTube channel.
The First Circle of Hell
Miller purchased the 1967 Dodge Dart GT convertible in 2008 at an auction for $20,000. A fun piece of Dodge history but not anything that would turn many heads or offer much performance. That was all about to change in a big way. Miller sent the car to the folks at Dominator Street Rods for some custom work. When we say some custom work, we mean 4,000 hours worth of custom work. The labor costs alone could have paid for a couple brand new Ferraris. But anyone with money can buy a Ferrari, this is a one of one Dodge Dart.
All that labor went into Dominator building a custom tube chassis with S.C.C.A. legal roll cage and door bars. It has Magnum Force front suspension and custom 4-link rear suspension with coil-over shocks. Wilwood 14-inch slotted/vented rotors with 6-piston calipers handle stopping duty. And they are manual brakes.
The Dominator team also hand-made the wheel tubs, bumpers, grille, radiator, air filter housing, stainless steel headers and exhaust system. It has custom Italian leather upholstery. A Flaming River steering column, and custom color matched gauges. It has a Tremec 5-speed transmission, and it had a 512 CI engine. However, that engine was soon replaced.
Enter the Hellcat
Eventually the Hellcat motor was dropped into the Dart. Miller loved it. However, after about a year they had the opportunity to work with the folks at Magnuson Superchargers. That is not an opportunity that you pass up. So, a supercharger was installed on top of the Hellcat as was a meth injection system.
This setup now generates 1,000 horsepower at the crank. That is a big power number, but the car is solid and reliable. It also does more than just get trailered around various show circuits. The Hell Dart gets driven on the road at least once a week.
‘Hell Dart’ on the Road
Stats and build specs are great but it is what this car does on the road that counts. What it does on the road is incredible. First of all, that sound is tremendous. This is a car that will set off car alarms from a block away. The supercharger whine alone is worth the price of admission. But the main event is the acceleration.
The car simply takes off. And despite being able to spin its tires through the gears, it still tracks straight and seems reasonably easy to drive. This is a stunning looking car the has the performance to match.
Hell On Video
This is a build that you have to see for yourself. Checkout the video below with your speakers cranked up loud. Watching this beauty cruise the streets will make your day a little bit brighter.
It goes to show you that even a car with humble beginnings can turn out to be a rock star.
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