The Ugly Duck

 
Mark Simoneau bought his 67 Dart 270 from a “little old lady” in Hutchinson, Kansas for $1500. It was a one-owner car, garage kept, with 97,000 miles. His Dart started out as a 225/6, A/T car, but was soon transformed into a tire torturing BB 4 speed. Mark opted for the bare bones Hurst “Super Stock” Dart theme, after seeing one for the first time in an old Mopar Muscle magazine.

 
Mark stumbled across a half-disassembled 66’ 440 in a local salvage yard. When he got the motor home and started disassembly, he was shocked to find the motor was in pretty good shape. 
But the need for speed got the best of him. The short block was rebuilt with strength and reliability in mind. The block was bored .030 over and fitted with MP flat top pistons, chrome moly rings, Clevite77 rod and main bearings, and ARP rod bolts. A mild MP 284/484 hydraulic lift cam was installed with Crane mechanical rockers. The stock 915 heads were replaced with 84 cc Edelbrocks, and a Edelbrock 750 manual choke carb sits atop a M1 dual plane intake. An orange box MP Electronic Ignition unit provides spark.

 
A lot of extra attention was spent on the machine work, as his car was built for daily driving. The block was bored with a MP honing plate, and the stock rods were shot-peened and de-burred for extra strength. The forged steel crank was also shot-peened then turned .010 under. The pistons, rods and crank were then balanced to a Hays 10 ½” steel flywheel. Mark opted for the Schumacher Tri-Y’s and engine mounts, and a torque strap helps keep things in place. Numerous other upgrades were made for reliability to include an upgraded 4 core radiator, 65 amp charging system, and a Hays 16” electric fan for those 100 plus degree summer days in south central Kansas.

 

The original 7 ¼ rear was replaced with a 8 ¾, 3:23 Sure Grip unit, and houses 4 ½ bolt pattern Moser axles. The spring perches were moved under the frame rails to provide plenty of room for the 245/60-15 BFG radials. The stock leaf springs were re-arched and a half leaf was added to the front half of each spring. This provides the car with a nice soft ride, but prevents spring “wind up” under hard acceleration. Mark does have plans in the future to widen the wheel wells and upgrade to larger tires, as traction is definitely a problem.

 
 

The front end of the car has been completely gone over, to include new (rubber) bushings everywhere, BB (.890) torsion bars, new tie-rod ends, boots, etc. The original 9 in drums were replaced with a 74 A-body disk set-up, complete with newer control arms, ball joints and a new manual brake master cylinder. Mark also installed a factory A body sway bar to take the lean out of the corners.

 

With the exception of adding the floor hump for an original A-body bench seat Hurst Competition Plus shifter, and the work on the steering column, the only work Mark had to do on the interior is to replace the carpet. Not too shabby for a 35 year old car huh?

 

The exterior of the car was rust free, even the trunk was devoid of the stuff. 90% of the bodywork was done by Mark, with pointers given by friends. All he needed to do was to feather out 35 years of door dings! The fiberglass Hemi hood is from Unlimited and had the underside reinforced by Rhino Linings. The spray-on lining is about 1/16th  of an inch thick, but added some serious structural integrity. The car was painted the original factory color (soft yellow). 

Mark’s wife thinks it’s ugly, thus the nickname for the car, “The Ugly Duck”. 
But Mark kind of likes her that way (the car I mean).

 
 
EMAIL Mark

 
 
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