Original hemi dart information

[chris3racing]

I would post what you know about the car on MOPARTS on the Unlawful board when you post ask if Reed has information on that race car. Also if you are at the East Coast Drag Times Reunion in October there will more than likely be people there that can tell you about the car.

[bigshow2966]

HemiFred and StewartP will be good sources also.

[Sean Marconette]

Pat Forsyth in Lawrence, Kansas. Automotive Machine & Performance. 785-843-9333

He is a wealth of information on owners of these cars and who they have changed ownership to.

Sean

[John Kelley]

If you can locate a November 1968 issue of CARS Magazine there is an article about a HEMI DART.
It's about Charlie Castaldo picking up his HEMI DART at Hurst's Hamtramck,Michigan facility.

[Paul Ceasrine]

Paul here,

I'm originally from the Mahopac, NY area, and spent pretty much every Sunday at Dover Drag Strip from 68' thru 75'. (Track closed in May 76').
We raced our Cuda's there. Also, good friends with Lou Vignogna.
He lived about a mile away from us. He spent many nights at our house helping my father work on his Cuda. Also, hung out at my fathers garage
"West Road Amoco" in Carmel, a racers haven from 67' thru 70'.
And later the machine shop, "Valley Motors" in Jefferson Valley, NY
from 71' thru 95'. So I know Lou, late wife Chrissie, brothers Ray and
Jerry "Super Scissors". (The damn guy even cut my hair for a while).
As for the Castaldo car, that Daryl has. I'm not so sure. Charlie's
car (the second one) was an original SS/BA car. But it was brown, with a
goldish center section. Not red w/ sliver-white center section. I saw that car more than a few times at Dover (69' thru 71'). Even when Charlie
put a "FOR SALE" sign in the passenger side rear-side window.
Ready for this $5500. Believe it or not, he had a little difficulty selling the car. The car flew pretty good too, 10.70's. In 70' it ran SS/AA and in 71' it split between SS/AA and Pro/Stock (a couple of times). I think
Charlie may have switched up the front grille and headlight bezels to a
69' to qualify for Pro/S at the sanctioned meets. Dover, which was not
sanctioned by the NHRA allowed the rules to be bent for earlier cars that wanted to run in Pro/Stock (2-year old car rule).
As for finding the car in a basement garage in an apartment complex in Mt. Kisco, NY, well that leaves only (2) places. the Mount Kisco Arms,
a Co-op, and another place. I knew that area, and as a Mopar-Nut, I never heard of any Hemi Super Stock car just laying around.

Paul

[Bobby Zlatkin]

In May 1970 I was at Arlen Vanke's shop in Akron, Ohio and took a bunch of pictures of the cars there (his 1st. pro stock Duster, his '68 Cuda, both painted yellow & black and a couple of the '67 Hemi Belvederes SS/DA cars).

If anyone knows how to get in touch with him I would love to send him these pictures before we both die and my kids just throw them out. I know he will enjoy them.

[Paul Ceasrine]

Bobby Z,

If you want to get in touch with Akron Arlon vanke, you can try
Geoff Stunkard at Muscle Car Review (a contributor to the magazine).
Or try Le Hodge, at Hodge Restorations, located in Inman, South Carolina.
He was the Guru who recently restored Arlen's second Barracuda,
which he bought in 69' and sold later that year. The car was painted light blue with a darh blue center section. The nose was white with a dark blue center section. On the door panel, it was lettered Arlon Vanke with
JEGS underneath his name.
The first Cuda, that won the 68' U.S Nationals S/S Eliminator was sold
in late 69', and turned into a Pro/Stock car for 1970. It is no longer with us, as it burned to Hemi-Dust in a fire.

Oh! Please don't die. The kids will sell everything, and what isn't sold
will end up on E-Bay
Paul C

[mopar68]

Originally Posted by Bobby Zlatkin

In May 1970 I was at Arlen Vanke's shop in Akron, Ohio and took a bunch of pictures of the cars there (his 1st. pro stock Duster, his '68 Cuda, both painted yellow & black and a couple of the '67 Hemi Belvederes SS/DA cars).

If anyone knows how to get in touch with him I would love to send him these pictures before we both die and my kids just throw them out. I know he will enjoy them.

Bobby, please, by all means do not leave us out! Please share these photos with us. We would love to see 'em too!

Regards,

M68