|
|
Post by stangfreak on Feb 21, 2019 7:39:25 GMT -5
Back in 1975 I sold my 66 Mustang due to the fact my driver license were hanging by a frayed thread. I had been caught drag racing on the streets several times. Drag racing and Reckless operation tickets went together like soup and sandwich. To this day I do not know why I was given so many chances. I was out looking for maybe a 6 banger Mustang when I ran across this 71 Demon sitting on a Dodge dealer's used car lot. I fell in love at first sight. Once I drove it "I HAD TO HAVE IT"!!! That 340 Demon was a race car in disguise. It was once owned by a Mopar mechanic that worked at the dealership, and he knew the tips and tricks how to make that 340 perform. My first time to the track, the car went 12:24 on L60-15 street tires. I never got a chance to get into the engine, but all that was visible was a set of huge tube Hooker headers and one huge Thermoquad carb on a stock manifold. I forgot all about my license situation and was out there putting away many radical sounding Z/28 Camaros and 327, 396 Chevelles. I loved it for a short while.
I demolished the car racing a friend that had a stock 340 Dart early morning hours. I was in the suicide lane and had pulled him by 2 car lengths. When I looked back to see if I was clear to get back in the right lane, some clown with no lights on, turned left in front of us. I plowed that big body 64 Dodge hard at over 100 mph, and so did my buddy. It was a miracle no one was seriously injured. I ended up loosing my license for 5 years... That 340 made a serious Mopar Believer out of me!!!
|
|
|
|
Post by tubbs on Feb 21, 2019 8:06:27 GMT -5
WOW!! sorry about that, but call me sick, I love to hear street racing stories. didn't like the results of this one. as a very influenced teen, me and some bodies would go downtown the not so good part of the warehouse district where they street raced. if my parents ever found out, anyways there was a 66 Fairlane down there that crushed everyone. rumors had every motor imaginable under the hood. of course, nobody was lifting hoods. that particular night there was suppose to be a 64 belvedere coming down to race this guy. he showed up on the back end of a flatbed. it was a hemicar for sure. everyone knows to look for the cross bolts in the block. unfortunately the car never got off the flatbed as the cops knew about this just like we did.
|
|
|
|
Post by stangfreak on Feb 21, 2019 9:25:57 GMT -5
Them "POLICE" could sure be sneaky, but at least no one got tickets... Those tickets sucked big time...LOL
About year after I crashed my Demon, we were out driving in the country and saw the rear of a 68 Dart sticking out of a barn. We went back to check it out. little old lady answered the door and gave us permission to look at it. It was covered with hay bales, boxes of junk and had 4 flat tires. We cleaned it off and raised the hood. It was a 340. The car was like one of those state cars, no stripes, emblems, no carpet inside, a metal dashboard, and even no radio. A real cheappie version of a Dart, and a virgin that had not been modified or messed with. The off white paint was faded and pretty ugly, but no rust anywhere. The car belonged to her husband who passed away a few years earlier. She sold us the car for 50 bucks. We towed it to my garage and got it started, put new plugs, points, wires, distributor cap and rotor. A few other tweaks here and there, pumped up the dry rotted tires that also leaked air, and topped off the leaky fluids. The car leaked every kind of fluid in it, including gas, from sitting so long. We took it out and had old coffee cans under it catching oil, antifreeze, gas, and tranny fluid. My buddy picked a race with a 69 Firebird with a 389 tri-power and very healthy sounding and looking. I could not believe the Dart won 3 out of 3 races by at least a car and a half every time. That was one freak running greasy ole' 340 in that Dart. Speedometer was labeled to 140 mph and that car would top it out with gas pedal to spare. I never seen a plain jane Dart like that with a bluish greenish engine paint. All 340s I had seen at that time were reddish orange.
Always wondered what were these kind of Darts? From what we could tell, it had a 3:73 rear end, a 727 Torqueflite tranny, and a Carter AFB carb. It also wound up demolished a short time later!!!
|
|
