The current generation of musclecar enthusiasts gravitate to the supercharged Shelbys, ZL1s, Hellcat Chargers and Challengers like a magnet to steel. With 600-700 hp being the norm in regards to ultimate factory performance these days, many of them are clueless to the dark ages of the late-’70s and early ’80s, where cubic inches shrunk, compression took a nosedive and CAFE and the EPA ruled the roost. However, back in the ’60s and early ’70, you were able to walk into just about any Dodge dealer in the country and order up a HEMI-powered Charger, Coronet, Super Bee, Challenger and even a Dart at one point.
But it didn’t come naturally, as the baby Boomers had not only demanded these types of vehicles from the auto manufactures – they expected it! Street racing and quarter-mile drag racing became household conversations over dinner, and most teenagers and twenty-somethings spent all of their income – usually from bagging groceries part-time at the local supermarket – on either buying their brand new musclecar, buying performance parts for their musclecar or BOTH! It eventually got to the point that many dealerships offered tuning and high-performance parts right over the counter; even building complete, one-off muscle machines of their own creation for a period of time.
There were plenty of options out there; the Chevy guys had outlets like Berger, Yenko and Nickey. Ford had Tasca and Galpin, and the Dodge boys had, among others, Mr. Norm’s Grand-Spaulding. Owned by “Mr. Norm” Krause, the Dodge dealership opened its doors for business in October of 1962, after being the home of a used car lot for a number of years. Funny enough, it was an ad for a secondhand ’57 Chevy convertible with a 4-speed that kicked off the performance boom for Mr. Norm.
According to the man himself, as seen in the above video, it wasn’t until after a then recent-customer of his asked for a set of plug wires and seat covers for his race car, in exchange for sponsorship, that Mr. Norm had ever heard of drag racing. The racer’s success at the track that weekend had translated into five car sales for Mr. Norm that following week – solidifying the saying, win on Sunday, sell on Monday!
While many other tuner-dealerships were cooking up unusual combination performance cars to suit their gearhead customer’s tastes, Grand-Spaulding had cooked up the Dart GSS – equipped with the Hi-Po 383 under the hood. The head of Dodge, and even the engineers, said that such a swap wasn’t possible. Mr. Norm proved them wrong. Shortly thereafter, a 383 was available from the Dodge order form, ultimately resulting in 440ci and 426ci. packing Darts.
In the end, the EPA and CAFE had put an end to in-house dealer modifications, as well as strangled performance across the board. insurance rates skyrocketed the same year, and factor in a gas crisis and 1973 was probably the all-time worst year for factory performance, overall. The dealership ultimately phased out their support for performance in the end.
Fast forward a number of years later, and Mr. Norm has started his own company, modifying modern-day HEMI-powered musclecars and trucks, through his own efforts. Performance packages on everything from a HEMI RAM to a Hellcat Challenger, are currently being offered – even a “GSS” Hellcat Charger is available. The original Golden Age of the musclecar might be over, but this second coming is certainly giving it a run for the money!
Image: 70s Street Machines – This shot depicts a Mr. Norm’s sponsored Dodge Challenger sitting in the original showroom sometime during the late-80s, long after the sponsor campaigns and in-house tuning program had ended.
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of AutoCentric Media, the parent company to Timeless Muscle Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the magazine’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next round modifications for his own cars.
