Original hemi dart information - Page 189

Hemi Moose · 10-01-2012, 03:01 PM

Liteweight, I got a question for you, do you think that there is a possibility that there were 'two' 68 Hemi Darts called Wildfire? I ask this because I recall someone here having a old conversation with you about that car posted earlier in this thread, they either owned it or once knew of it or something like that, but I don't recall all the facts that they stated about it...Anyway my question is did you ever notice the blue & white Wildfire Hemi Dart had a full loop 5 point roll cage in it, and the red & silver Hemi Dart looks like it had a three point roll bar in it...didn't Hennessey say it had a three point roll bar originally, and the guy that stripped the paint on your Hemi Dart thought the car was Red & Silver...so who ever owned this '68 Hemi Dart then, why would they switch back to three point roll bar after repainting the car, does that make any sense to anyone? Here are some old before & after shots of the Wildfire L023 Hemi Dart...maybe it's just the angle of the photo in the last pic, and it's not showing all of the 5 points of the roll cage...but it sure looks like a three point roll bar to me.

Hemi Moose · 10-01-2012, 04:37 PM

Here's one of the '68 Hemi Dart called the 'Cookie Duster' in the background...

Dennis P Chapman · 10-01-2012, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hemi Moose

Here's one of the '68 Hemi Dart called the 'Cookie Duster' in the background...

That picture of the vette was after Carmen Rotunda sold the vette to Tony Festa great car. Sorry for changing the subject.

JCShiels · 10-02-2012, 06:46 AM

[QUOTE=Hemi Moose;349625]Liteweight, I got a question for you, do you think that there is a possibility that there were 'two' 68 Hemi Darts called Wildfire? I ask this because I recall someone here having a old conversation with you about that car posted earlier in this thread, they either owned it or once knew of it or something like that, but I don't recall all the facts that they stated about it...Anyway my question is did you ever notice the blue & white Wildfire Hemi Dart had a full loop 5 point roll cage in it, and the red & silver Hemi Dart looks like it had a three point roll bar in it...didn't Hennessey say it had a three point roll bar originally, and the guy that stripped the paint on your Hemi Dart thought the car was Red & Silver...so who ever owned this '68 Hemi Dart then, why would they switch back to three point roll bar after repainting the car, does that make any sense to anyone? Here are some old before & after shots of the Wildfire L023 Hemi Dart...maybe it's just the angle of the photo in the last pic, and it's not showing all of the 5 points of the roll cage...but it sure looks like a three point roll bar to me.

I'll chime in again here, with more questions than answers, but here goes --- Daryl got these photos from Tim Wing one of the first owners of Wildfire. I never personally saw the Blue and White paint job since I started work there in 1969. But Hemi Moose has raised a valid question, why the rollbar change? Also the wheels on the car were not on it as I remember it, they ran steel wheels in 1969 and later photos show Cragar's on the car. I know that paint and wheels can (and were) changed rather simply but I think there is more to the story. I believe there were 2 Darts called Wildfire, somewhere there is a photo of one with Wildfire lettered on the front fender which is a totally different car than the one from Town and Country Dodge.

hemidart3 · 10-02-2012, 02:33 PM

i'll also jump in! in aug i posted about meeting the owner of the wild fire dart at a local cruise in the canton, ohio area and that he said he was pretty sure liteweight had contacted him when daryl had called his fax # over and over. his ownership has been verified by several people i trust, although i'm not positive he was the original owner. does this location jive with "know" owners? 4 hemi abodies from my area that i know of, although 1 was a body in white car that per rules could not be raced in super stock as it wasn't "factory ". i won't name people without there permission but i will try to get that if wanted. dave p.s. where has paul been hiding?

Hemi Moose · 10-02-2012, 05:15 PM

Here are some older pics of the Wildfire '68 Hemi Dart painted red & silver and what looks like Cragar 5 spokes on it...or perhaps another name brand.

Hemi Moose · 10-02-2012, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCShiels

I'll chime in again here, with more questions than answers, but here goes --- Daryl got these photos from Tim Wing one of the first owners of Wildfire. I never personally saw the Blue and White paint job since I started work there in 1969. But Hemi Moose has raised a valid question, why the rollbar change? Also the wheels on the car were not on it as I remember it, they ran steel wheels in 1969 and later photos show Cragar's on the car. I know that paint and wheels can (and were) changed rather simply but I think there is more to the story. I believe there were 2 Darts called Wildfire, somewhere there is a photo of one with Wildfire lettered on the front fender which is a totally different car than the one from Town and Country Dodge.

Is this the other '68 Hemi Dart that you were talking about...it does say Wildfire on the front fenders.

JCShiels · 10-03-2012, 06:42 AM

Hemi Moose,
Thanks, that is the photo I was thinking of. Notice the tail panel/trim on that car. The photo of the red and silver Wildfire with the Cragars was taken sometime after the car was sold and taken to Ohio. Notice that the lettering on the rear quarters that said "Town and Country Dodge" has been removed by that time but the rest of the car looks as I remember it. (except for the wheels)

Liteweight · 10-03-2012, 03:13 PM

Hemi Moose
That's something I never noticed before. Good eyes. You've convinced me enough to look into the possibility again. The engine compartment picture is of particular interest. 1- is the aformentioned 3 point bar. Yes,my car had that style of bar in it when Hennesey purchased it. 2- the fuel regulator location. My car has those holes in the approximate location repaired. 3- the rear center hood pin. This is something I can't find the repair on my car. I asked Hennesey if he had repaired this area & his response was no. I'll have to double check. 4- Mechanical tach mount. Same as what was in my car with cable going through the defrost vent
The blue & white dart does look it has a 5 point in it. The red & Silver definately has a 3 point. Strange, like you say to remove it to install a 3 point. The first paint was the blue & silver then painted red in 1970. The silver remained. I spoke with the original owner of the WildFire awhile back, Tim Wing.I wrote as much as I could about the conversation, but I can't find it. Time to call him back.

More to follow, after I go through all my emails & info on WildFire.

liteweight

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hemi Moose

Liteweight, I got a question for you, do you think that there is a possibility that there were 'two' 68 Hemi Darts called Wildfire? I ask this because I recall someone here having a old conversation with you about that car posted earlier in this thread, they either owned it or once knew of it or something like that, but I don't recall all the facts that they stated about it...Anyway my question is did you ever notice the blue & white Wildfire Hemi Dart had a full loop 5 point roll cage in it, and the red & silver Hemi Dart looks like it had a three point roll bar in it...didn't Hennessey say it had a three point roll bar originally, and the guy that stripped the paint on your Hemi Dart thought the car was Red & Silver...so who ever owned this '68 Hemi Dart then, why would they switch back to three point roll bar after repainting the car, does that make any sense to anyone? Here are some old before & after shots of the Wildfire L023 Hemi Dart...maybe it's just the angle of the photo in the last pic, and it's not showing all of the 5 points of the roll cage...but it sure looks like a three point roll bar to me.

Liteweight · 10-03-2012, 04:00 PM

[/QUOTE]Also the wheels on the car were not on it as I remember it, they ran steel wheels in 1969 and later photos show Cragar's on the car. I know that paint and wheels can (and were) changed rather simply but I think there is more to the story. I believe there were 2 Darts called Wildfire, somewhere there is a photo of one with Wildfire lettered on the front fender which is a totally different car than the one from Town and Country Dodge.[/QUOTE]

Hey Jim
Thanx for the input. This is how you probably remember WildFire. So Tim never ran Cragars while he owned it?

liteweight

10-01-2012, 03:01 PM	#1881
Hemi Moose VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 2,824 Likes: 0 Liked 12 Times in 12 Posts	Re: Original hemi dart information Liteweight, I got a question for you, do you think that there is a possibility that there were 'two' 68 Hemi Darts called Wildfire? I ask this because I recall someone here having a old conversation with you about that car posted earlier in this thread, they either owned it or once knew of it or something like that, but I don't recall all the facts that they stated about it...Anyway my question is did you ever notice the blue & white Wildfire Hemi Dart had a full loop 5 point roll cage in it, and the red & silver Hemi Dart looks like it had a three point roll bar in it...didn't Hennessey say it had a three point roll bar originally, and the guy that stripped the paint on your Hemi Dart thought the car was Red & Silver...so who ever owned this '68 Hemi Dart then, why would they switch back to three point roll bar after repainting the car, does that make any sense to anyone? Here are some old before & after shots of the Wildfire L023 Hemi Dart...maybe it's just the angle of the photo in the last pic, and it's not showing all of the 5 points of the roll cage...but it sure looks like a three point roll bar to me. Last edited by Hemi Moose; 10-01-2012 at 03:15 PM.

10-01-2012, 04:37 PM	#1882
Hemi Moose VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 2,824 Likes: 0 Liked 12 Times in 12 Posts	Re: Original hemi dart information Here's one of the '68 Hemi Dart called the 'Cookie Duster' in the background...

10-02-2012, 06:46 AM	#1884
JCShiels Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: SW Lower Michigan. Posts: 37 Likes: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Original hemi dart information [QUOTE=Hemi Moose;349625]Liteweight, I got a question for you, do you think that there is a possibility that there were 'two' 68 Hemi Darts called Wildfire? I ask this because I recall someone here having a old conversation with you about that car posted earlier in this thread, they either owned it or once knew of it or something like that, but I don't recall all the facts that they stated about it...Anyway my question is did you ever notice the blue & white Wildfire Hemi Dart had a full loop 5 point roll cage in it, and the red & silver Hemi Dart looks like it had a three point roll bar in it...didn't Hennessey say it had a three point roll bar originally, and the guy that stripped the paint on your Hemi Dart thought the car was Red & Silver...so who ever owned this '68 Hemi Dart then, why would they switch back to three point roll bar after repainting the car, does that make any sense to anyone? Here are some old before & after shots of the Wildfire L023 Hemi Dart...maybe it's just the angle of the photo in the last pic, and it's not showing all of the 5 points of the roll cage...but it sure looks like a three point roll bar to me. I'll chime in again here, with more questions than answers, but here goes --- Daryl got these photos from Tim Wing one of the first owners of Wildfire. I never personally saw the Blue and White paint job since I started work there in 1969. But Hemi Moose has raised a valid question, why the rollbar change? Also the wheels on the car were not on it as I remember it, they ran steel wheels in 1969 and later photos show Cragar's on the car. I know that paint and wheels can (and were) changed rather simply but I think there is more to the story. I believe there were 2 Darts called Wildfire, somewhere there is a photo of one with Wildfire lettered on the front fender which is a totally different car than the one from Town and Country Dodge.

10-02-2012, 02:33 PM	#1885
hemidart3 Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 16 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Original hemi dart information i'll also jump in! in aug i posted about meeting the owner of the wild fire dart at a local cruise in the canton, ohio area and that he said he was pretty sure liteweight had contacted him when daryl had called his fax # over and over. his ownership has been verified by several people i trust, although i'm not positive he was the original owner. does this location jive with "know" owners? 4 hemi abodies from my area that i know of, although 1 was a body in white car that per rules could not be raced in super stock as it wasn't "factory ". i won't name people without there permission but i will try to get that if wanted. dave p.s. where has paul been hiding?

10-02-2012, 05:15 PM	#1886
Hemi Moose VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 2,824 Likes: 0 Liked 12 Times in 12 Posts	Re: Original hemi dart information Here are some older pics of the Wildfire '68 Hemi Dart painted red & silver and what looks like Cragar 5 spokes on it...or perhaps another name brand.

10-03-2012, 06:42 AM	#1888
JCShiels Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: SW Lower Michigan. Posts: 37 Likes: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Original hemi dart information Hemi Moose, Thanks, that is the photo I was thinking of. Notice the tail panel/trim on that car. The photo of the red and silver Wildfire with the Cragars was taken sometime after the car was sold and taken to Ohio. Notice that the lettering on the rear quarters that said "Town and Country Dodge" has been removed by that time but the rest of the car looks as I remember it. (except for the wheels)

10-03-2012, 04:00 PM	#1890
Liteweight VIP Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1,280 Likes: 23 Liked 31 Times in 19 Posts	Re: Original hemi dart information [/QUOTE]Also the wheels on the car were not on it as I remember it, they ran steel wheels in 1969 and later photos show Cragar's on the car. I know that paint and wheels can (and were) changed rather simply but I think there is more to the story. I believe there were 2 Darts called Wildfire, somewhere there is a photo of one with Wildfire lettered on the front fender which is a totally different car than the one from Town and Country Dodge.[/QUOTE] Hey Jim Thanx for the input. This is how you probably remember WildFire. So Tim never ran Cragars while he owned it? liteweight