VIDEO: Murdered-Out Dodge Dart Thinks Different

For anyone who knows at least something about the compact portion of our musclecar heritage, you already know that while a lot of early Novas, Ford Falcons and other specimens of compact iron were not really geared toward performance, their relatively nimble structures made for ideal performance builds anyway.

Nobody understands this better than /Drive’s Mopar guru, Mike Musto, “When the Dodge Dart was introduced, it really wasn’t introduced as a performance car,” says Musto of the A-Body’s history. “It was introduced as a car that your grandmother would buy, or your aunt would buy, or a school teacher would buy.”

Simplicity really seems to be that attainable goal for most resto-modders, as Geoff Gates of Alloy Motors in Oakland, California makes clear, “We kept it [the Dart] really simple. It’s got a small-block 360; it’s got some go fast parts on it, like a COMP cam and an Edelbrock intake” says Gates of the Oakland Dart build. Gates also shares with us that our featured Dart utilizes a 727 Torqeflite transmission, one that Gates himself describes as “indestructible.”

To build upon the Mopar sled’s structural rigidity, the Dart’s 727 gearbox is linked to an 8-3/4″ rear assembly with 3.55:1 final gears. According to Geoff Gates of Alloy, a state of timelessness was the goal with their super-clean, Dodge Dart build, “The general look of it… I just wanted it to be mean and nasty!” says Gates of his subtle door-slammer.

“As far as where I think the hobby is going, it’s more about things that are timeless,” says Gates of what he perceives to be the future of motoring. “This car will look as cool as it does now, 15-20 years down the road.” With that kind of craftsmanship, combined with a unique taste for Mopar A-Bodies, we have no doubt that this will prove to be an extremely valid statement about what could be one of the Mopar world’s most profound, midsized builds!

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