The Demented Dart is a 1968 Dodge Hemi Dart LO23 Super Stock nostalgia race car which is said to be the only ’68 Hemi Dart sold in Canada that year. It was also campaigned in Canada and did pretty well there by accounts. Today it is one of two very rare nostalgia drag cars being offered for sale at The Auto Collections in Las Vegas, Nevada. Be sure to click through to The Auto Collections’ ad page where they describe the sale of this rare racing collectible. It is being sold in tandem with another 1968 Dodge Hemi Dart LO23 Super Stock car which was owned by Mickey Weise.
The Demented Dart is the only Hemi Dart exported to Canada where it was sold as a new car at Cross Town Motors in Edmonton in ’68 to racer Cam Noseworthy. It was raced all over Canada and in the United States. Racing buffs may have seen it at various times being driven by both Cam Noseworthy and Dick Painter. It has an automatic transmission and Dana rear end. You see it here in racing trim, with a roll cage, Cragar wheels, Goodyear Eagle slicks and a B&M rachet shifter.
The car’s 426 Hemi powerplant with 12.5 to one compression and dual Holleys on a cross ram intake were rebuilt by noted Hemi expert Dale Reed in 2011. This car has been authenticated by Galen Govier.
The LO23 Super Stocks are two of only 80 Dodge Hemi Darts produced in 1968. These historic, purpose built race cars are among the most sought after Mopars in automotive history.
At the height of the “muscle car wars” Chrysler dropped the “A bomb,” the A-body car that is still considered to be the world’s fastest muscle car, the 1968 Dodge Hemi Dart SS by Hurst Performance. To compete with the Yenko Chevrolets and the Shelby Fords Chrysler Corporation put their biggest engine in their smallest cars, the A-body Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda. The result was a fiberglass front Super Stock lightweight racer that could do the quarter-mile in 10’s off the showroom floor (with a little tuning.) They resurrected the Cross Ram manifold and added it to the mix to produce the fastest cars in the world. The Dodge Hemi Darts were coded LO23 and the Plymouth Hemi Barracudas were BO23.
Most notable about the ’68 Hemi Darts was the fiberglass hood with the huge scoop, and lightened body. These Super Stock cars are often referred to as lightweights. Hurst stripped these cars of everything including window regulaters and installed lexan replacements for the side window glass. Non-adjustable Dodge van seats were installed with aluminum brackets. The rear wheel wells were pounded out with sledgehammers to accomodate larger tires. They say two brothers did all the wheel wells. On every car the left and right wheel well were slightly different because the technique of the two brothers differed. They were built for drag racing and included a non-warranty disclaimer. They were shipped in gray primer with black fiberglass front ends.
Both of the ’68 Hemi Darts at The Auto Collections are listed in the S/S Hemi Registry.
As far as we know the two cars never met in competition. However, in 2012, at the Dana Point Concours, both cars were vying for concours judging in the Race Car category. The Demented Dart won in show competition.
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