Strange Brew

 
 
 

Alexandre Garcia and his '78 Dart Sedan are both from Brazilia, Brazil. The A-body line-up in Brazil was quite a bit different than the cars we're used to seeing, and this Dart shows off quite a few of those differences. In Brazil, Darts were made from '68 - '81(!) with the '68 - '78 models being similar to the American '67 - '69 models. It's a shame the American cars never saw hidden headlamps. Also, no convertibles were available, no two-door sedans, and the Demon name also never made it to Brazil.

 

From the rear, you'd sware it was a '68. Mechanically, There were only two rears available. One was a copy of the 10-bolt Chevy, and the other, a Dana 44. This car has the Dana and 3.73's. Bolt patterns on these rears are 5 X 4.25 or 5 X 5.5, which makes wheel selection quite difficult.

 

Moving forward, you'll find that you could order a Brazilian Dart with the familiar  904TF, a Clark260T 3-speed, or a Clark260F 4-speed. Alexandre says the Clark 4-speed is easily as strong as the 833, and takes alot of abuse with no problems. Coupling it to the 383 though took a little effort. He started with a Lakewood bell, redrilled it for the Clark, and had the input shaft register turned down to match the American crank.

Under the hood, you'll find a host of things familiar, and some not so familiar. The electrical system is all Brazilian with no similarities to the US version. Manual steering boxes were made by TRW and Power units by ZF. The power units are a bit smaller than the US box, and it's much easier to fit headers with them.

 

The '67 383 was rebuilt using TRW forged pistons on the stock rods and crank. A Cam Dynamics 296 Solid cam runs MP roller rockers and  2.08/1.88 valves in the stock small chamber heads. A Holley Street Dominator intake rest on top along with a Holley 930 double pumper. Headers are the old Hedman/MP  1 3/4" underchassis.

 
 

I hope you've enjoyed your trip to Brazil.  Watch your step, and please come again :)

 
 
 

E-MAIL ALEXANDRE

 

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