426 numbers, vs. hemi tribute

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All I can say is when I build my dart or cuda, you guys better not start complaining. My car is gunna be primer with a flat black front end, hemi scoop, and black steel wheels.... I'm not going for a clone, I just like the style and that look. If anyone has a problem with cars like that... remember, it's not yours =)
 
autoxcuda said:
I disagree they are not that easy to do RIGHT. It all depends on what corners you cut and how much you pay attention to detail. That goes with about any car though.

I do agree they would be easier than a 66/67 Hemi Charger or 69 Hemi GTX convertible. They don't have much trim and just less parts to them. But with an SS clone you have to do some fabrication. The stock cars bolt back together more or less.

Properly detailing the suspension to a /6 Lancer, S/S Hemi clone, or 71 Hemi Cuda convertible is roughly the same.

I've been watching my friend built his S/S Dart clone.

How about the hours fitting and constructing one of Greg's 68 SS K-member kits? Aligning the centerline of the crank with the rear end. Properly cutting out the wheel wells (Dart). How about the custom headers or poor fitting off the shelf stuff....

That header situation will soon change.

There are very few original 68 SS cars that have "as delivered" top notch restos.
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"header situation will soon change"???? care to elaborate????=P~
 
hemicop said:
I have no problem with that. IMO the World needs more Hemi A-bodies!:-D
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i hereby second that notion.....and to me getting involved in this hobby is about doing what YOU want to your auto. tribute, clone, numbers matching, pro touring, rat rod or whatever "class" you want to put your car in should not really matter. what should matter is the fact that you are building your car how you see fit. and if it offends somebody, well then maybe they should just look the other way......easy for somebody to say that is heavily tattooed and has been getting stared at for several years now because of it....but i thought part of this hobby was being unique. you like a dart, whatever year with a hemi and primer, have it at. you like a numbers matching car, go for it. but bottom line should be to just enjoy your self. :toothy10:
 
OK, OK, OK, stop the presses, I will CHANGE my Tribute Build to:
A 68, that kinda looks like a SS/A car AFTER delivered from the dealer, Street Strip Ready ! How about RED vs Primer & black !
 
hemicop said:
OKay, let's start with the essential: Hemi, TF (more TF were built than 4-spds), 'glass pieces & rear. Now the Hemi (including x-ram) will set you back 16k minimum, the TF (rebuilt by yourself )350 or so, the rear (8 3/4 stock) 2-500 bucks ( I sold 1 for 200 out of desperation), 'glass pieces $1000-1500. The S/S springs? There's enough guys around that aren't happy with them that you could find them used if you had to.
The K-member can be modified for the price of labor (again, remember I posted you're doing most of the work yourself FOR yourself) so that' 0$. Since you're starting off with a Dart270 you already have the door panels & dash, so nothing special there unless there missing, and remember I said a DECENT (aka) Dart, nothing perfect so they're at least there. You can clean-up re-dye the doorpanels so thet's almost nothing. But wait! What about the "famous (?) radio/heater delte plate that everyone thinks makes it "official"? Well since you have a complete dash, you can send that plate out to a shop I know of that will convert it for $200 bucks. The outside mirror delete plate is rare, but I have my own source for them, so they are obtainable. Now you have the A-100 seats. These were basically fixed-back truck seats as we know & the frame of these things were the same throughout their manufactur. So all you REALLY need is a frame set & aa good upholsterer, unless you use the set from Legendary Auto (which offers discounts to FABO members and you're all set. The lightweight seat brackets? Three hole-saws, a good brake & 40dollars in sheetmetal will get you a set instead of the $350 or so some vendors charge. The rear divider that replaces the backseat? Go to an big upholstery supply place & get "speaker board"-- they have it in sizes large enough for this application
The rear quarter cut-outs? Find a friendly, genorous owner of a car with them & make a template yourself. I was lucky enough to fond such an individual & he sent me a paper template I transferred to sheetmetal (for durability) and there you go! Yup, it's work but not rocket science or grossly expensive.
Okay, so I've accounted for the driveline, 'glass, stripped interior, suspension & body mods. What did I miss that seems so hard to do one "right"?
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I agree they are cheaper because they have a lot of simple hand made parts that someone with skills can fabricate. The "harder" part is you have to have and use those fabrication skills.

I think buying an S&S hemi motor k-member conversion kit from Greg makes it look a lot more stock than fabbing stuff up. The stamped/waterjeted cutouts and stampings of the heavy plate give it a real authentic look. And the square K frame spacers. With those kits you still have to weld and mock them up. They give you the parts and then you're on your own.

Now if you took templetes of a S&S kit and had access to a lot of bending equiptment, you could probably get close without the kit.

IIRC, Aaron at Hi Tech products is making seat brackets at a better prices than others.

Troy, my friend that building his own SS Dart clone actually made his own dash blank off plate, complete with pebble grain finish. Also made his own deep hemi oil pan out of a stock big block one.

There's lot of little things that seperate the detailed clones from the not so detailed. Like running an original looking deep 68 hemi pan, correct distributor (not hard to find but not $30 ea), transistor ignition box, correct colored brake offset, 68 style rim centers (not late cop car stuff) correct Hurst gated auto shifter, correct cover for shifter, and there's more stuff I can't remember.

Still really not a ton stuff. And it's not that hard to find. It may be hard or take time to get a good deal though.
 
i understand that this post is about tributes and what not but....have you ever sat down and figured out what it will cost to modify the k frame, just sending it to one of the companies that do this, rebuilding the front end and brakes, no skimping, all brand new parts, rotors and all and then add to that the 3k or so it will cost (this was a guesstimate given to me) to build a set of headers? it is real close (within a couple of hundred bucks I believe) to just buying an alterktion and the headers listed on tti web site. i know which way sounds "easier" to me. granted it will not even be close to a "tribute/clone" but to the guy who just wants a hemi in a dart, not a hemi dart but a hemi in a dart, well how bad could it be? i realize there are some parts that are not necessarly cheap, but what if you just wanted a throw back to yesteryear? maybe just a 727 with a turbo acion cheetah shifter, a mirror on the side of the car etc.? another words, just a big cube motor in a light car, plain old hot rod? no chrome, 10k paint job, $1400 glenn ray radiator or nothing like that? i have never been a fan of cars that are so done up they don't get driven, or driven far. when i do go to car shows, the cars that are are spit polished and mirror shined get passed by I walk right on by. one of the collest cars I have ever seen was a 71 challenger, crate hemi, mass air fuel injection, passon performance hemi od and some road scars, aka scratches. had the hood up, there was the dust from the hundred mile or so drive he had to ge the car there. to me, that is what this should be about, not sitting in a chair next to your prized possesion making sure no one touches it......sorry about the rant, i will now go drink a few beers and take some meds to self medicate..............:toothy10::toothy10::toothy10::toothy10:
 
My first clone (or whatever) Dart had an engine plate in it instead of the stock motor mounts. No one seemed to mind---not even the Chrysler factory guys that thought it was an original. That said, I understand whysomeone would want a letter perfect clone & it can be done pretty easily. But you have to remember that alot of the parts that would make it soooo perfect no one would see or even know about. Few are going to inspect your steelies for the right stamping marks or even know about them. The rubber fles hoses off the master cylinder , no one is going to look for part numbers or date codes. These are truly nit-picking details that someone who wants a driver Hemi Dart will happily forego and improve on this old stuff & have a good time.
As to fabricating skills--again the specialized parts--seat brackets, delete plates, etc. are simple enough that if you take your time, as I said, simple handtools will get the job done.
 
A car is the real deal or not... That's how I feel. I'm not impresses by any clone regardless of how well it's done.



Just to clarify... If you take a Dart, drop in a Hemi and do a tasteful build... I think you will have one hell of a sweet ride... Just don't try convince me how close it is to the real deal.... I won't care.


Just like a 70, 318 Barracuda cloned into a Hemi Cuda... I don't care how factory correct the car is done...... All I will ever see is a nice 318 car, now sporting a Hemi...
 
1968FormulaS340 said:
A car is the real deal or not... That's how I feel. I'm not impresses by any clone regardless of how well it's done.



Just to clarify... If you take a Dart, drop in a Hemi and do a tasteful build... I think you will have one hell of a sweet ride... Just don't try convince me how close it is to the real deal.... I won't care.


Just like a 70, 318 Barracuda cloned into a Hemi Cuda... I don't care how factory correct the car is done...... All I will ever see is a nice 318 car, now sporting a Hemi...
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Well you're right & I kinda agree with you. But for those of us that can't afford the real deal or were too young when they were newit's always exciting to hop in one & see how it was. And again, that's the beauty of them...you can use & abuse 'emall you want & not worry about your precious "investment":crybaby:. I Just find 'em fun,easy to build & nothing turns heads like one.....
 
inkjunkie said:
to some the "wow" factor of a hemi in a dart or what have you might not be a big deal, but how many of them have you really seen?? :toothy10:
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At one time there were 5 of them within 1/2 mile from my house. ALL real. My 5 year old has sat in 4 of them.
 
Also whoever came up with the name "tribute" needs a beating. I'm guessing one of the B-J clowns. Please people, we need to remove that one from our lexicon.
 
I don't know if it's a regional thing or not, but out here anything "HEMI" seems to be looked upon as untouchable or sacred. Sure they're not wedge cars, but even copies seem to be something like :"Oh, you've got ONE!":notworth::notworth::wav::downtown:.Which all seems a little much. B-J didn't help the hobby at all, imo, and they certainly didn't do Mopar any good.
 
I've got the Hurst shifter mech from Dick Landys 4-speed S/S Hemi Dart from when I helped put together the one in there currently, and i've got the old Cragar Supertricks off Mancini's S/S Hemi Dart. Might have a few other original pieces here.
At Car Craft here, the fellow who owns Bob Lambecks S/S Hemi Dart had it on display with no sign or anything on it. I sat there and watched 50 people just walk past the thing like it wasn't even there. They had no clue that that car was so historically significant, and was probably the nicest most unmolested example of a Superstock Hemi Dart in existance. Sad. That is what these clones do... they take away the thing that makes the real cars special. People probably thought it was a clone...
 
Outsider said:
I've got the Hurst shifter mech from Dick Landys 4-speed S/S Hemi Dart from when I helped put together the one in there currently, and i've got the old Cragar Supertricks off Mancini's S/S Hemi Dart. Might have a few other original pieces here.
At Car Craft here, the fellow who owns Bob Lambecks S/S Hemi Dart had it on display with no sign or anything on it. I sat there and watched 50 people just walk past the thing like it wasn't even there. They had no clue that that car was so historically significant, and was probably the nicest most unmolested example of a Superstock Hemi Dart in existance. Sad. That is what these clones do... they take away the thing that makes the real cars special. People probably thought it was a clone...
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Was the hood off?

It just probably looked like a weekend race car to them. Most wouldn't know who Bob Lambeck is and more likely to not know in the midwest. Did it even have Lambeck's name on it?

The owner's got to educate people and help them along with historical stuff like that. Obviously you have a passion for drag racing, but others would gain respect for this type of car if they were given the oppurtunity to learn something about it.
 
Outsider said:
Also whoever came up with the name "tribute" needs a beating. I'm guessing one of the B-J clowns. Please people, we need to remove that one from our lexicon.
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So if I build a car and its not 100 percent true to the old hurst superstockers... but I go for the same look.... I cant call it a clone... so thats where tribute comes in. It will have many of the same things done and to be honest... it's going to be built because I love those cars... so technically isnt it a tribute because I am building it because I love the real ones? What would you call it exactly? A "Dedication?"
 
hemizach said:
So if I build a car and its not 100 percent true to the old hurst superstockers... but I go for the same look.... I cant call it a clone... so thats where tribute comes in. It will have many of the same things done and to be honest... it's going to be built because I love those cars... so technically isnt it a tribute because I am building it because I love the real ones? What would you call it exactly? A "Dedication?"
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I would call it a Dart with a Hemi in it, in need of some quater panel repair.
 
autoxcuda said:
Was the hood off?

It just probably looked like a weekend race car to them. Most wouldn't know who Bob Lambeck is and more likely to not know in the midwest. Did it even have Lambeck's name on it?

The owner's got to educate people and help them along with historical stuff like that. Obviously you have a passion for drag racing, but others would gain respect for this type of car if they were given the oppurtunity to learn something about it.
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You are most likely correct, it is not restored to Lambecks paint scheme. It is nearly perfect however, and the guy who owns it is a credit to the car. His buddy owns the Red Light Bandit.
 
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At Car Craft here, the fellow who owns Bob Lambecks S/S Hemi Dart had it on display with no sign or anything on it. I sat there and watched 50 people just walk past the thing like it wasn't even there. They had no clue that that car was so historically significant, and was probably the nicest most unmolested example of a Superstock Hemi Dart in existance. Sad. That is what these clones do... they take away the thing that makes the real cars special. People probably thought it was a clone...[/quote]

Sadly, Lambeck hasn't raced in years (hasn't he passed away?) and unless you know what the cars looked like from back then even the most original car wouldn't look like anything special. I often explain to the younger guys how it was "back in the day" and they can't believe what Detroit did. A non-specific brand car show will attract all sorts of people, some whoknow zip/zero/nada about cars. How can you expect them to know about a 40 year old race car with no original graphics raced by a driver who hasn't been seen in years?
 
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