Drop-Top Terror



 
 
 

Jamie Fiffles, from the LA area, absolutely loves 68 Darts. And since he also Absolutely hates being under a roof, there was only one choice for a project car. He found this one-of-only 273 '68 GTS convertibles in San Jose, at a cement company, non-running and covered with cement dust.

 
"With help from the yard personnel and a battery from a fork-lift, we managed 
to load it on the trailer."
 The black paint job was thick, rough, and runny, but after many hours of wetsanding, filing, and buffing, Jamie reached the finish you see here.
With the body taken care of, suspension was next. The original 4 piston disks were removed in favor of C-body items, a Hellwig 1.125 front bar was added along with new poly bushings all around. To scrub even more weight, a Firm-Feel aluminum 16-1 manual box replaced the way-too-easy power unit.
 Out back, C-body axles were cut by Moser to fit the original 8 3/4, and C-body drums and backing plates were used as well. A 1" Hellwig bar was also added to the rear to further stiffen things up.
 Rolling stock consists of ARE Torq Thrust II's 17x8 rear and 16x8 front with Z-rated Comp TA's. The wheelwells are all untouched and Jamie states that 275's will actually fit out back. 
I have to admit, I myself didn't believe tires of that size would work.
As for the drivetrain, a 9.5" "positive pitch" Dynamic converter sits in front of a built 727 featuring a bolt-in sprag, manual TCI valvebody and a deep pan. A custom 3.25" shaft connects to the heavy-duty built 8 3/4" with 3.91's.

 
Underhood work is a story in itself.
Jamie originally planned on a Hemi for the car, but after witnessing that a wedge provided the biggest bang for the buck, he sent an iron block to Muscle Motors and let them work their magic on it.
After boring, deburring and clearancing the block, an MP 4.15 stroke crank was installed, along with Eagle H-beam rods, .990 pins on Ross lightweight forged pistons with an .080 negative deck height, and Childs and Albert file-fit rings. ARP bolts hold it all together and a TCI Rattler keep things running smooth.
Up on top, a Pete Jackson gear drive spins a Crane solid roller cam and CompCams lifters operate the Hughes roller rockers in a set of custom ported Stage VI heads. The heads were milled to yield 75cc's setting the compression at 10.5:1, which easily lives on 92 octane.
An Edelbrock Torker intake holds a Barry Grant 850 dbl pumper, and TTI provided the 2" primary headers and custom 3" exhaust.
An alum. water pump and housing sheds another 8lbs, which puts this approx. 600 horsepower motor at about the same weight as a stock smallblock.
The final touch is the custom made "496" emblems that adorn the car and more than a few people have asked if it was a rare option.
Without a rollbar, the car isn't legal for a strip test, but Jamie says his G-Tech Pro records mid 11's using the old "feathering" technique off the line. Jamie says he'll head for the track soon to claim his single run before tech sends him home for no rollbar.
A car of this quality is nice to see at shows, but you can see this one daily making Jamie's 105 mile trek to work each day on the So-Cal freeways.
Cars look best when they're moving, don't ya think?
And if having a car like this isn't enough, Jamie's GTS has also recieved the honor we all secretly hope for...a feature in Hot Rod. Check out the october issue on page 66.

 
 
 
HOME
LINKS
E-MAIL